Izmir (Smyrna) is a provincial capital and principal harbor of W. Anatolia, Turkey , on the coast of the Aegean Sea. There were Jews settled in Izmir at the beginning of the Christian era as attested by the New Testament (Rev. 1:11; 2:8). During the Middle Ages the number of Jews decreased and they may have disappeared completely from the town. However, when the descendants of the Spanish exiles arrived in the 16th century, they found a small Romaniot community. The development of Izmir dates from the beginning of the 17th century, when it was a flourishing center of Mediterranean commerce. The Jewish community increased in numbers and became one of the most important of the Ottoman Empire. Jews from Salonika , Constantinople, and neighboring towns also settled in Izmir. The new settlers established their own communities (Eẓ Ḥayyim, Gerush, Portugal, etc.) and appointed R. Joseph Escapa of Salonica as their rabbi (before 1630). After some time R. Azariah Joshua Ashkenazi, also from Salonika, arrived in the town. A controversy broke out between Escapa and Ashkenazi, as a result of which the community split into two factions. However, after the death of the latter in 1648, Escapa was appointed rabbi over all the Jewish population, which was thus of diverse origins and had different customs. Escapa endeavored to unite the community. He issued important takkanot still in force in Izmir and the neighboring localities. He instituted tax laws and appointed councils for the spiritual and material administration of the community. As a result religious and social standards improved; one of the eminent rabbis of Salonika during that period, R. Samuel Isaac Modigliano, said of Izmir that it was "a holy and pure community, all of whose regulations are decreed with ability and justice, through the counsel of sages and wise men." This period was the golden era of the Izmir community. Large yeshivot, schools, synagogues (i.e, the Portuguese synagogue in 1710, the Algazi synagogue – Kal de Ariva – in 1728, etc.) and a Hebrew printing press (1658) were founded. The local Jewish population included prosperous merchants, translators, agents of European merchants, banks and consulates, customs offıcials, usurers and eminent rabbis who ranked among the most distinguished of that generation – R. Aaron *Lapapa , R. Solomon Algazi , and R. Ḥayyim Benveniste, all of them during the 17th century. Shabbetai ẓevi was born in Izmir and began his activities there. His appearance shook the Jewish world, and the violent conflict which ensued in Izmir in its wake had an adverse influence on the community. The dispute subsequently subsided and the community returned to its former prosperity. Jews then held important economic positions and Jewish merchants maintained commercial relations with the Balkan countries, the Near East and Far East, Africa, and the large European cities. In addition to the six existing synagogues, another three were erected. Literature also flourished. Important and fundamental works in the fields of halakhah and ethics were written. These include the works of R. Ḥayyim Benveniste on the Shulhan Arukh entitled Keneset ha-Gedolah ("Great Assembly"), and that of R. Elijah ha-Kohen of Izmir , Shevet Musar ("Rod of Admonition"). The westernization and modernization of the Ottoman Empire, stepped up from the end of 18th century, had a profound impact on Ottoman Jewry in general and on the Izmir community in particular. This outside influence was further strengthened by the settlement of the Francos (European Jewish merchants) from the 17th century in Izmir, and brought changes to the social and financial infrastructure of the Izmir community. Also strengthening the modernization processes in Izmir was the establishment of new Alliance schools there starting in 1873 and accompanied by the invasion of Western cultural ideas. It was also Izmir where the first Jewish journal, La Buena Esperansa ("The Good Hope"), was published in 1843, testifying to the flourishing of Jewish journalism that went hand in hand with the accelerated cultural development of the city. The local Jewish theater performed original plays in Ladino and foreign plays in their original language. Groups of dancers appeared for the first time outside religious frameworks. These changes were accompanied by the partial adoption of European dress; by new living quarters, i.e., the move from the Jewish Quarter near the market (Çarşı) to new mixed neighborhoods in the western part of the city: Göstepe, Karataş, and Karantina; by the use of European languages (French and later Turkish) at the expense of Ladino; and by new professions made possible by an Alliance education. These processes of modernization, westernization, and progress at the same time underscored the polaritization that spread within Jewish society. The disintegration of traditional frameworks was also felt within the religious establishment. With the enforcement of the Tanzimat regulations and the legislation of the Chief Rabbinate Law in 1865, the prestige of the rabbis began to decline. The constitution weakened the rabbis and strengthened, in their stead, the rich community leaders. As Izmir was known for the strict religious attitude of its rabbis, spirited struggles, sometimes violent, took place among different groups in the community.