Akhisar (Ottoman Turkish: آق حصار) is a municipality and district of Manisa Province, Turkey.

With archaeological findings that are proving settlements going back to 3000 BC, Akhisar has been a busy trade center with its strategic location at the intersection of important roads during ancient and medieval ages.

In later years, Thyateira was captured successively by the Seleucid Empire, the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon, and by Mithridates VI of Pontus, until the Roman Era that started in 80 BC.

In 214 AD, the Roman Emperor Caracalla promoted the town to the status of a regional and administrative center with powers of adjudication (conventus).

As of the 2nd century AD, Christianity spread in western Anatolia by the actions of apostles like John the Evangelist and Paul.

As a matter of fact, Evliya Çelebi writes that in 1671 the city had twenty-four neighbourhoods and 2600 houses, most of which were covered with tiles.

He also records that there were forty-seven mosques, three hamams, about 1000 shops, one bedesten, ten inns, seven madrasas and twenty-three primary schools, and that it is surrounded by vineyards, gardens and orchards.

[6] In October 1895 newly resettled Muslims from Bulgaria attacked and massacred members of the local Armenian community.

Due to the developments of the campaign, which included unrest from the Turkish populace, the Greek forces withdrew on June 10, 1919.

[8] The Turkish Nationalist forces captured the town on September 6, 1922, toward the end of the Great Offensive.

[8] Athanasios Karathanasis in his book wrote that following the capture, an estimated 7,000 local Greeks were killed in Kırtık dere.

[10][need quotation to verify][11][need quotation to verify] Furthermore, although the local Muslims had sworn on the Quran that they would protect the remaining Armenian community upon the arrival of the Turkish army in town, they instead cooperated with them in plundering and massacring the Armenians.

[12] According to demographic statistics of 1917, the district of Akhisar had a total population of 39,157 prior to World War I, with 32,280 being Muslims, 5,877 Greeks, 515 Armenians, and 485 Jews.

Akhisar has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa),[16] with very hot, dry summers, and cool to mild, moderately wet winters.In ancient times, Thyateira was an important center of activity.

This high level of economical activity made Akhisar the most important subdistrict within the sanjak of Saruhan.

These records indicate that Akhisar was a district center which paid 40% more income tax than the seat of the Saruhan Sanjak, present-day Manisa.

Many banks, shops and tourist hotels are now lined up along the busy main street (Tahir Un Avenue) which connects the train station to the city center.

Since the city is located on the State Highway 565 between İzmir and Istanbul—Turkey's two most important ports—Akhisar Industrial Zone offers attractive investment opportunities for both domestic and foreign investors.

However, some houseware findings on this hill reveal the existence of some primitive settlements dating back to 9000 BC.

Oldest Thyateira coin is made of bronze and belongs to times when the rule of Pergamon was prevalent.

During 50s AD, Thyateira printed coins bearing figures of Roman emperors, local governors and city administrators.

This big mass of rock has a very strategic location controlling the Akhisar and Pergamon plains, a large part of the Lydian territories.

The man-made tombs along modern Akhisar – Gölmarmara road are ancient Lydian graves.

The year of construction is unknown but it is evident that the building was formerly a Byzantine church and possibly an earlier Roman temple.

A modern library with the same name was constructed in the 20th century in another part of the city, serving students and researchers.