Monument of Memmius

This monument was erected by the dictator Sulla in 86 B.C. as a symbol of Roman authority in Ephesus. The Ephesians lent support to Mithridates, king of Pontus, in his attempt to conquer the region in defiance of Rome. Having achieved his aim, he ordered a massacre of all Roman citizens in the region, in which, according to some sources, as many as 80,000 perished in a single night. This monument was erected as a memorial of this event.