Smyrna, one of the 7 Churches of Asia Minor, still exists by its modern name Izmir. It is the second largest port and third largest city (2.5 million) in Turkey. Located on the Aegean Sea near the Gulf of Izmir, it is the capital of the Izmir Province.
Acts 19:10 suggests that the church in Smyrna was founded during Paul’s third missionary journey. It was the second city to receive a letter from the apostle John in the book of Revelation.
Because it is a thriving city today, little of the ancient Smyrna has be excavated. Except for the agora, theater, and sections of the Roman aqueduct, little remains of the ancient city.
Smyrna, built in the 3rd century BC by Lysimachus, one of Alexander the Great's generals, sat about 35 miles north of Ephesus. The city was later established as a Roman commercial center with a port on the Aegean Sea. Scholars believe the city grew to about 100,000 by the time of the apostles Paul and John.
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