Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in total.

The original settlement was founded around 3000 BC, and the city has survived through different iterations to this day.

On September 13, 1472, the Venetians, under Pietro Mocenigo, captured and destroyed the city, in a failed attempt.

[3] In January 2021, archaeologists headed by Elif Koparal, announced the discovery of the ruins of a 2500 year-old temple of Aphrodite from the 5th century BC in the Urla-Çeşme peninsula.

Among other findings in and around the temple, they found a statue piece depicting a woman, a terracotta female head and an inscription that reads, "This is the sacred area".