INFLUENCE OF AN INDIGENOUS BELIEF AND ITS TRANSITION IN THE URBAN STRUCTURE OF AIZANOI DURING THE HELLENISTIC AND THE ROMAN PERIODS

The present study explores how indigenous culture impacted the urban structure of cities in Asia Minor during the Greek and the Roman periods. Previous researches indicated that urban planning in Roman Aizanoi was influenced by an indigenous belief, but the interaction among this belief, Greek and Roman culture, and the way this belief influenced urban planning haven’t been discussed. Through analyzing Aizanoi’s urban structure, this paper reveals that while city followed Greek and Roman city formation principles, a mythical obvious relationship between an indigenous divinity and a Greek divinity allowed an indigenous belief to influence urban planning in Aizanoi.