Ephesus remained an important city in the Byzantine period, when it was a major Christian center, the site of church councils in 431 and 449 CE, and a pilgrimage destination for the tombs of St. John and the Seven Sleepers. Byzantine coins, often showing the emperor and Christian symbols, record this later phase of the city.
Ephesus minted coins for more than a thousand years. Its early silver coins carried the bee, the symbol of the city and of Artemis, and later issues show the city's temples, rulers and gods, so coins found at the site help date buildings and trace the city's trade and history.
