City
Tyatira
Akhisar
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Thyatira, today Akhisar in western Turkey, a Turkish name meaning 'white castle', was founded in 281 BC by Seleucus the First as a colony of Macedonian soldiers. The name itself is old Lydian, though the Byzantine lexicographer Stephanus wrongly traced it to the Greek word for daughter. Under Roman rule the city grew rich on textiles and purple dyeing. The Acts of the Apostles mention Lydia, a purple trader from here, and it was one of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation. On the map, its first two letters stand apart, split off to make room for the road line.