Cesme, which was known by the name of Cyssus in ancient times, has been one of the most important ports in the Aegean coast since its foundation. History of the oldest settlements Erythrai and Cesmekoy, which are in the borders of today’s Cesme, is dating back to 3000 B.C. Erthyrai was a city state and it joined the Ionian city union in 7th century B.C. However, the region went under the dominance of the Persian Empire in 6th century B.C. and later on with the entrance of Alexander the Great to the west Anatolia in 334 B.C., it regained its independence once again.

As a result of the revolts caused with the death of Alexander the Great, Cesme was conquered by many states and this process was ceased with the capture of the Roman Empire. At those times Cesme was renowned with its wines, goats, mills and the women prophets Sibyl and Herophile.

With the separation of the Roman Empire, Cesme went under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire. Until the Seljukids under the rule of Caka Bey came to the region in the 11th century, The Byzantines were the dominant power. In the 13th century, Cesme became a part of the Aydinogullari principality as a consequence of the decline of the Seljukids.

The Ottomans firstly captured Cesme at the turn of the 15th century but it was recaptured by the Aydinogullari after the war with Timur in 1402. The Ottomans ruled the Cesme peninsula from 1422 to the First World War. It was invaded by Greece and taken back by the army led by General Fahrettin Altay on 16 September 1922 during the Independence War.

Historically, these lands served the Byzantines, the Ottomans, and gathered many cultures and civilizations ranging from the Persians to Greeks, Jewish to Albanians, Kazaks to Caucassians, Italians to Phoenicians. It has become the starting point of the Levant from the Western point of view and the last gate opening into the Western world in the Levantine perspective.