the scour of the water; and this part of the course is evidently the result of a great and well-designed

scheme for improving the bed of the river. Probably, this was a new channel, cut specially in order to avoid

the shallows of the entrance to the gulf.

The ultimate result, however, is certain. Ephesus ceased to be accessible for shipping, and the city harbour

became an inland marsh. It is probable that this result had been accomplished before the time of Justinian,

527-563 AD; he chose Ayassoluk for the site of his great Church of St. John Theologos, and this site implies

that all thought of maritime relations had ceased.

The constitution of Ephesus sought to maintain by a division into Tribes an equipoise between the diverse

elements which were united in the city. Apparently there were originally three, Epheseis, including the

native population, Euonymoi, the Athenian colonists, and Bembinaioi (Bembineis), possibly the colonists of

other Greek regions (taking name from Bembina, a village of Argolis, beside Nemea). Two more Tribes, Teioi

and Karenaioi, were introduced to accommodate new bodies of settlers from the Ionian city Teos and,

presumably, from Mysia (where the town Karene was situated). Ephorus, who wrote in the middle of the

fourth century, describes these as the five Ephesian Tribes.

A sixth Tribe was introduced at some later time; but the date of its formation is uncertain. It is mentioned

under the name Sebaste, i.e. Augustan, a name given to it in honour of Augustus; but the Tribe was not first

instituted then, for, had that been so, its divisions (Chiliastyes) would have naturally been called by names

characteristic of the period; but they bear names which point to an earlier origin. It would therefore appear

that the new name Sebaste was given to one of the existing Tribes; and the latest formed Tribe was chosen

for the purpose. As to the origin of the sixth Tribe, nothing is known except that it was later than about 340

BC, and older than the time of Augustus. The only two occasions on which the formation of a new Tribe

seems reasonably probable were the refoundation by Lysimachus about 287 BC, and the remodelling of the

constitution by Antiochus II, 261-246 BC. Lysimachus introduced bodies of new citizens from the Ionian

cities of Lebedos and Colophon; but he did not form a new Tribe to hold them. He classed the Lebedians as

a special division (Chiliastys) of the Tribe Epheseis, which he evidently instituted under the name Lebedioi;

and if a complete list of the Chiliastyes were preserved, we might find another called Colophonioi.

Apparently Lysimachus was anxious to avoid a too marked break with the past, and left the old Tribes

unchanged in names and number. It remains that the sixth Tribe must have been formed by Antiochus II.

Now it has been shown in chapter 12 that Antiochus placed in Ephesus a body of Jews as citizens, and it is

expressly recorded t hat he settled the constitution on a lasting basis, which remained unchanged at least

until 15 BC. It has also been shown in that chapter that a body of Jewish citizens could be introduced into a

Hellenic city only by placing them in a special Tribe. The old five Tribes had their own long-established

religious rites, which could not be avoided by any member, and were impossible for Jews. A new Tribe was

required whose bond of unity should not be of a kind to exclude the Jews. Antiochus formed a sixth Tribe

and placed all his new citizens in it. The original name of this Tribe is unknown; but it was probably such as

to give an appearance of Hellenic character (as the Jewish Tribe in Alexandria was called Macedones). The

only known Chiliastyes of this Tribe were Labandeos (which seems Carian, and may mark a body of Carian

colonists) and Sieus (from the name of an aquatic plant like parsley, that grew in the marshes near Ephesus):

the latter seems intended to give a native appearance to this latest and most fore ign of classes in the State.

It is not necessary to suppose that the new Tribe consisted exclusively of Jews. It would be sufficient to

make two provisions: first, one of the Chiliastyes of the new Tribe must have been reserved for the Jews;

secondly, the bond of unity in the whole Tribe must not be a pagan ritual. It must be observed that, while it

was hardly possible for the king to tamper with the religion of any of the old Tribes, the character of the new

one was entirely within his control.