Akmonia

        Situated on a high hill to the south of Ahat Village, surrounded by a stream on three sides, the ancient city of Akmonia is located along the Lydia Royal Road. Archaeological sources have marked it as a significant settlement on the border between the Phrygia and Lydia regions. The city boasts extensive areas with mosaics. It contains Roman and Byzantine ceramic fragments, an excavated gymnasium area, building foundations, architectural stone-marble fragments, as well as two temple podiums and a theater pit. Marble architectural pieces excavated from the ancient city have been transported and used as construction material by Ahat and the surrounding villagers for centuries. However, there are no remaining monumental structure remnants.

        Although there is limited information about the founding of Akmonia within the borders of the Phrygia region and in close proximity to the Lydia border, it became an important center with the dominance of the Roman Empire in Anatolia.

        As understood from the recovered inscriptions, it appears to have been a significant Jewish settlement influenced by the Greeks between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. Emperor Severus and Caracalla even allowed the Jews in Akmonia to control state offices and granted them jurisdiction over civil disputes. The city is surrounded by walls, and in the northeast part facing the village, there is a theater dating back to the Roman period. Additionally, from the inscriptions on the floor mosaics in the gymnasium, it is evident that in the 1st century CE, sports such as wrestling, volleyball, and boxing were conducted in Akmonia, and athletes even came from Alexandria for competitions.

Source;

T.C. İç İşleri Bakanlığı "Uşak/ Banaz Kaymakamlığı" Erişim: 15 Aralık 2023, "http://www.banaz.gov.tr/akmonia"

T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı "Türkiye Kültür Portalı" Erişim: 15 Aralık 2023, "https://www.kulturportali.gov.tr/turkiye/usak/gezilecekyer/banaz-akmonia-antik-kenti"