APOLLONIS: A MACEDONIAN COLONY IN NORTHEAST LYDIA

Today the ruins of Apollonis are located on the locality called Konurca Kalesi, 2 km north of Mecidiye/Palamut village in the district of Akhisar in Manisa Province. The city, which named after the Attalid queen Apollonis of Kyzikos, the wife of Attalos I and the mother of Eumenes II and Attalos II, was founded by a synoikismos under Eumenes II (197 – 159 B.C.). The available epigraphic and numismatic evidence indicate that the Macedonian colonists, whose presence in the region is well known, were an essential element in the population of the newly established city. Accordingly, it is appropriate to call the city a Macedonian colony. It is well understood that the city preserved its Macedonian identity during the Roman Imperial Period. The mention of the city’s name in the sources related both to the revolt of Aristonikos and to the First Mithridatic War proves its strategic and military significance. Moreover, it is seen that the city was an important agricultural production center because of its fertile lands. Consequently, considering the political, social and economic history of Apollonis in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. with a holistic perspective is quite important for elucidation of the Hellenistic period of Northeast Lydia and its close vicinity as well as understanding the Attalid and Seleucid colonization policie