Priene was originally an ancient Greek town near Miletos. It was a thriving city in ancient times with public buildings a Roman urban plan. However, it then declined in late antiquity, as so many cities did. In the 7th century the lower city was abandoned entirely, and what was left of Priene was centered on the acropolis of the city.
There was a small medieval revival in the fortunes of Priene in the 11th-13th century. It was a small town called Sampson in medieval Roman times. It was notable enough to become a power base for Sabbas Asidenos, an independent ruler in Anatolia who ruled his own small state from 1204-1208. He eventually submitted his domain to the Emperor Theodore Laskaris in Nicaea, and it became power of the Roman state again. It seems during this time the citadel was fortified and fully inhabited, while the lower town was less densely inhabited with even some settlement outside the city walls.
SOURCE:
The Oxford History of Byzantium
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