Laodicea on the Lycus

Laodicea on the Lycus was a wealthy ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey, standing on a hill spur above the river Lycus, known today as the Çürüksu. It sat in the borderland of the old regions of Caria, Lydia and Phrygia, and under Rome it belonged to the province of Phrygia Pacatiana. Its ruins lie close to the modern city of Denizli. Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Empire founded it in the middle of the third century BC and named it for his wife Laodice, and it grew rich on a major trade route, notably through its black wool. It later became a seat of Christian life and is counted among the Seven Churches of Asia named in the Book of Revelation. Pamukkale University has run excavations and restoration at the site since 2002, and in 2013 the site was placed on Turkey's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites.