The byzantine palace of Ephesus, a vast administrative complex?

The so-called Byzantine Palace of Ephesus, also known by its Turkish name Sarhoç Hamam, in reference to its bathing section, is a large public building in the late Roman city of Ephesus. Located about 70 meters southeast of the episcopal complex, this vast complex was long identified as a Byzantine bathhouse. It does indeed have a large thermal section in the north, but also a large octagonal reception hall in the south, preceded by a long hall with two apses in the west.

The dating and identification of the complex are very uncertain. Some scholars suggest that it was the palace of the proconsul of Asia, whose construction would be placed under Diocletian, by analogy with the other tetrarchic palaces. Indeed, the plan and construction technique present similarities with the Octagon of Galerius’ palace in Thessaloniki, dated between 308 and 311. The hall with an apse would then be the audience hall where the proconsul would sit.

This identification of the complex as a late antique official and administrative residence has been generally accepted, although recently the hypothesis of the bathhouse complex has resurfaced. The dating is also contested: the care of the construction has led to it being pushed back to the Roman period, or conversely to being pushed back to the 7th century, making the high-ranking official responsible for its construction the strategos of the theme of Thrakesion rather than the proconsul of Asia.