During the war against Mithridates VI, Aphrodisias held to the Romans and even sent auxiliary troops when the Roman general Quintus Oppius was besieged around 88 BC. Out of gratitude, Oppius became patron and advocate of the city in Rome.

During the Roman civil wars after the death of Gaius Iulius Caesar, the city was able to maintain a good relationship with the rulers, as it decided on the right side in the long term: After the troops of Quintus Labienus had forcibly conquered the city 40 or 39, the three Triumvirn Antonius, Octavian and Lepidus secured it after their victory out of gratitude in a decree 39 v. Chr. freedom (from the Roman provincial administration), immunity from Roman taxes and the right of asylum and had this confirmed by a decision of senate and people.
The privileges were confirmed again and again, most recently in 243 AD by Emperor Gordian III. Further inscriptions give information about the relationship of aphrodisias to Rome.

Benefiting from the nearby quarries, an extensive marble industry and a famous sculpture school flourished, but aphrodisias was also known for fine textile products (wool and cotton).
The city was founded in the first two centuries, beginning in Augustan times. Chr. like many cities in Asia Minor with numerous public buildings.
In the late 3rd century it became the capital of the newly established province of Caria.

Numerous and well-preserved ruins make aphrodisias one of the most important archaeological sites of the Eastern Mediterranean from the Greco-Roman period. The remains of the temple of Aphrodite, which is still visible today, date back to the 1st century BC (although an Aphrodite temple existed earlier). Under Augustus and Hadrian the temple was further extended and rebuilt. In the 5th century it was converted into a church. Other sights of Aphrodisias are the Tetrapylon, the Odeon or the Bishop's Palace, the Agora, the theatre, the baths of Hadrian, the Sebasteion (which points to an imperial cult) and the stadium.

The Bishop's Palace

The victory of Christianity in late antiquity led to an outlawing of the cult of Aphrodite. In late antiquity and early Byzantine times, the city was renamed Stauropolis ("City of the Cross"), but the name Caria prevailed, which eventually became the Turkish name Geyre.
Between the 7th and 13th centuries, wars and earthquakes caused the further decline of the city. Since the 15th century Geyre was repopulated.