Ala-shehr — Chambers's Encyclopaedia

Ala-shehr (i.e. 'the exalted city,' ancient Philadelphia), a city of Asia Minor, 75 miles E. of Smyrna, at the NE. base of Mount Tmolus. It was founded by Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, about 200 B.C., and is famous as the seat of one of the Seven Churches of Asia. It is still a place of considerable importance, is the seat of a Greek archbishopric, and carries on a thriving trade in corn, tobacco, and cotton fabrics, chiefly with Smyrna, to which it is now joined by a railway. There are many interesting remains of antiquity. Pop. about 15,000, including 3000 Greeks.