1.   Antiquity and Byzantine Era

Archaeological evidence indicates that Izmir (Smyrna) has been inhabited by different ethnic and religious groups since 3000 B.C.E. Traces of the first Jewish inhabitants date back to the second century, as indicated by the New Testament (Revelation 1:11, 2:8) and Greek inscriptions. Jews disappeared from the city in medieval times, but reappeared in the sixteenth century, a…