Lycia

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For other uses, see Lycia (disambiguation).
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Ancient Region of Anatolia
Lycia (Λυκία)
Lycian rock cut tombs of Dalyan
Location Southern Anatolia
State existed: 15-14th c. BC (as Lukka)
1250-546 BC
Language Lycian
Historical capitals Xanthos
Roman province Lycia
Location of Lycia as known to the ancient Greeks

Lycia (pronounced /ˈlɪ.ʃi.ə/;[1] Lycian: Trm̃mis; Greek: Λυκία) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire. The Lycian League was the first federation in the world with democratic principles which later influenced the American Constitution.[2]

Contents

[edit] Geography

[edit] Modern

Lycia is a mountainous and densely forested region along the coast of southwestern Turkey on and around the Teke Peninsula. Turkey's first waymarked long-distance footpath, the Lycian Way, follows part of the coast of the region.

[edit] Ancient

Further information: List of Lycian place names

Lycia was bounded by Caria to the west and north west, Pamphylia to the east, and Pisidia to the north east. The principal cities of ancient Lycia were Xanthos, Patara, Myra, Pinara, Tlos and Olympos (each entitled to three votes in the Lycian League) and Phaselis.

[edit] Features and sights of interest

Lycian rock cut tombs of Dalyan.

Though the second-century AD dialogue Erotes found the cities of Lycia "interesting more for their history than for their monuments, since they have retained none of their former splendor", many relics of the Lycians remain visible today, especially their distinctive rock-cut tombs in the sides of cliffs in the region. The British Museum in London has one of the best collections of Lycian artifacts. Lycia was an important center of worship for the goddess Leto and later, her twin children, Apollo and Artemis.

[edit] Ancient language

The eponymous inhabitants of Lycia, the Lycians, spoke an Indo-European language, belonging to its Anatolian branch. The closest language to the Lycian language is the Luwian language, which was spoken in Anatolia during the 2nd and early 1st millennium BC; it may even be its direct ancestor.

[edit] History

[edit] Bronze age

Ancient Egyptian records describe the Lycians as allies of the Hittites. Lycia may have been a member state of the Assuwa league of ca. 1250 BC, appearing as 'Lukka or Luqqa. After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, Lycia emerged as an independent "Neo-Hittite" kingdom. According to Herodotus, Lycia was named after Lycus, the son of Pandion II of Athens. The region was never unified into a single territory in antiquity, but remained a tightly-knit confederation of fiercely independent city-states.

The eternal fires of Chimera in Lycia which provides the setting for the Chimera myth.

Lycia was frequently mentioned by Homer as an ally of Troy. In Homer's Iliad, the Lycian contingent was said to have been led by two esteemed warriors: Sarpedon (son of Zeus and Laodamia) and Glaucus (son of Hippolochus). Elsewhere in Greek mythology, the Lycian kingdom was said to have been ruled by another Sarpedon, a Cretan exile and brother of the king Minos; Sarpedon's followers were called Termilae, and they founded a dynasty after their conquest of a people called the Milyans. As with the founding of Miletus, this mythical story implies a Cretan connection to the settlement of Asia Minor. Lycia appears elsewhere in Greek myth, such as in the story of Bellerophon, who eventually succeeded to the throne of the Lycian king Iobates (or Amphianax).

Lycian inscription in Xanthos.

[edit] Classical period

Lycia came under the control of the Persian Empire in 546 BC when Harpagus of Media, a general in the service of Cyrus conquered Asia Minor. Harpagus's descendants ruled Lycia until 468 BC when Athens wrested control away. Following the ousting of the Persians, as Athens and Sparta fought the Peloponnesian wars, the majority of Lycian cities defaulted from the Delian League, with the exception of Telmessos and Phaselis.

In 429 BC, Athens sent a expedition against Lycia to try to force it to rejoin the league. This failed when Lycia's leader Gergis of Xanthos defeated General Melasander. The Lycians once again fell under Persian domination and by 412 BC, Lycia is documented as fighting on the winning side of Persia. The Persian satraps were re-installed, but (as the coinage of the time attests) they allowed local dynasts the freedom to rule.[3] Persia held Lycia until it was conquered by Alexander III (the Great) of Macedon during 334-333 BC.[4]

[edit] Hellenistic period

After the death of Alexander the Great in 324 BC, his generals fought amongst themselves over the succession. Lycia fell into the hands of the general Antigonus by 304 BC. In 301 BC Antigonus was killed by an alliance of the other successors of Alexander, and Lycia became a part of the kingdom of Lysimachus, who ruled until he was killed in battle in 281 BC.[5] By 240 BC Lycia was part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, centred on Egypt,[6] and remained in their control through 200 BC.[7] It had apparently come under Seleucid control by 190 BC, when the Seleucids' defeat in the Battle of Magnesia resulted in Lycia being awarded to Rhodes in the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC. It was then granted independence by Rome in 168 BC (see Lycian League below) and remained so until becoming a Roman province in 43 AD.[8]

Lycian tombs at Simena, Üçağız (Turkey).

[edit] Lycian League

The Lycian League was established in 168 BC with democratic principles. It comprised some 23 known city-states as members. Lycia, which had been under Rhodian control since the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC, was granted independence by the Roman Empire at the conclusion of the Third Macedonian War. These city states joined together in a federal-style government that shared political resources against larger nations. A “Lyciarch” was elected by a senate that convened every autumn at a different city, where each member sent one, two or three representatives, depending on the city's size, to the senate, or Bouleuterion, as it was called. The major cities of the League included Xanthos, Patara, Pinara, Olympos, Myra, and Tlos, with Patara as the capital. Phaselis joined the League at a later time. The league continued to function after Lycia became a Roman province in 46 AD. Lycia ceased being a federation in the fourth century AD, when it was taken over by the Byzantine Empire.

[edit] Roman period

Main article: Lycia et Pamphylia

In 43, the emperor Claudius annexed it to the Roman Empire and united it with Pamphylia as a Roman province. The heir of Augustus, Gaius Caesar, was killed there in 4 AD.

[edit] Byzantine era

It subsequently was a part of the Byzantine Empire.

[edit] Turkish era

It was incorporated into the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire and eventually became part of Turkey. The last Greeks were displaced following the Greco-Turkish War in the early 20th century. The region is now one of the key centres of domestic and foreign tourism in Turkey.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Lycia", retrieved from dictionary.reference.com.
  2. ^ Patty and Kemal Safyurek. Lycia and the American Constitution, retrieved from www.lycianturkey.com. 2007 Mavi Real Estate and Property Services.
  3. ^ Asia Minor Coins - Lycian Dynasts
  4. ^ Haywood, John, et al. Historical Atlas of the Classical World: 500 BC - AD 600. Barnes & Noble Books: New York, New York, 2002, Plate 2.09.
  5. ^ Haywood, John, et al. Historical Atlas of the Classical World: 500 BC - AD 600. Barnes & Noble Books: New York, 2002. Plate 2.09.
  6. ^ Barraclough, Geoffrey, ed. Collins Atlas of World History. Borders Press: Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2003, p. 77.
  7. ^ Black, Jeremy, ed. World History Atlas. Dorling Kindersley: London, 2000, p. 179.
  8. ^ Barraclough, Geoffrey, ed. Collins Atlas of World History. Borders Press: Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2003, pp. 77, 89.

[edit] Sources

[edit] Primary sources

  • “Poem on the Battle of Kadesh” 305-313, Ramesses II
  • “Great Karnak Inscription” 572-592, Merneptah
Breasted, J. H. 1906. Ancient Records of Egypt. Vol. III. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • “Plague Prayers of Mursilis” A1-11, b, Mursilis
Pritchard, J. B. 1969. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

[edit] Secondary sources

  • R.D. Barnett (1975). "The Sea Peoples". in J. B. Bury, S. A. Cook, F. E. Adcock. The Cambridge Ancient History. II, part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 362–366. 
Refers to many different sea peoples and their contact with Egypt and Anatolia. Also tells about the Philistines during the reign of Ramesses III.
Discusses Lukka's relations to other regions (like Miletus) and where they inhabited.
Covers the Lycians and where they lived, their history, language, culture, cults, and their language.
  • R. Drews (1995). The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe CA. 1200 B.C.. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 
A description of the Egyptian evidence on the Sea Peoples.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lycia

[edit] Activities

[edit] Photos and videos

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Historical regions of Anatolia

Aeolis · Cappadocia · Caria · Cilicia · Bithynia · Galatia · Ionia · Lycaonia · Lycia · Lydia · Mysia · Pamphylia · Paphlagonia · Phrygia · Pisidia · Pontus · Troad
v • d • e
Roman Imperial Provinces (AD 117)
The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, at the death of Trajan (117 AD)
v • d • e
Late Roman Provinces
Western Empire (395–476)
Praetorian
Prefecture of Gaul		 Diocese of Gaul: Lugdunensis I | Lugdunensis II | Lugdunensis III | Lugdunensis IV | Belgica I | Belgica II | Germania I | Germania II | Alpes Poeninae et Graiae | Maxima Sequanorum
Diocese of Vienne (later Septem Provinciae): Viennensis | Alpes Maritimae | Aquitanica I | Aquitanica II | Novempopulana | Narbonensis I | Narbonensis II
Diocese of Spain: Baetica | Baleares | Carthaginensis | Tarraconensis | Gallaecia | Lusitania | Mauretania Tingitana
Diocese of Britain: Britannia I | Britannia II | Flavia Caesariensis | Maxima Caesariensis | Valentia (369)
Praetorian
Prefecture of Italy		 Diocese of Suburbicarian Italy: Apulia et Calabria | Bruttia et Lucania | Campania | Picenum Suburbicarium | Samnium | Tuscania et Umbria | Valeria | Sicilia | Sardinia | Corsica
Diocese of Annonarian Italy: Liguria et Aemilia | Flaminia et Picenum Annonarium | Venetia et Istria | Alpes Cottiae | Raetia I | Raetia II
Diocese of Africa†: Africa proconsularis (Zeugitana) | Byzacena | Mauretania Caesariensis | Mauretania Sitifensis | Numidia Cirtensis | Numidia Militiana | Tripolitania
Diocese of Pannonia (later of Illyricum): Dalmatia | Noricum mediterraneum | Noricum ripense | Pannonia I | Pannonia II | Savia | Valeria ripensis
Eastern Empire (395–ca. 640)
Praetorian
Prefecture of Illyricum		 Diocese of Dacia: Dacia mediterranea | Dacia ripensis | Moesia I | Praevalitana | Dardania
Diocese of Macedonia: Achaea | Epirus vetus | Epirus nova | Macedonia I | Macedonia II Salutaris | Thessalia | Creta
Praetorian
Prefecture of the East		 Diocese of Thrace: Europa | Thracia | Haemimontus | Rhodope | Moesia II§ | Scythia§
Diocese of Asia*: Asia | Hellespontus | Pamphylia | Caria§ | Lydia | Lycia | Lycaonia (370) | Pisidia | Phrygia Pacatiana | Phrygia Salutaria | Insulae§
Diocese of Pontus*: Bithynia | Galatia I* | Galatia II Salutaris* | Paphlagonia* | Honorias* | Cappadocia I* | Cappadocia II* | Helenopontus* | Pontus Polemoniacus* | Armenia I* | Armenia II* | Armenia Maior* | Armenian Satrapies* | Armenia III (536) | Armenia IV (536)
Diocese of the East: Cilicia I | Cilicia II | Isauria | Cyprus§ | Syria I | Syria II Salutaris | Syria Euphratensis | Osroene | Mesopotamia | Phoenice | Phoenice Libanensis | Palaestina I | Palaestina II | Palaestina III Salutaris | Arabia | Theodorias (530s)
Diocese of Egypt: Ægyptus I | Ægyptus II | Augustamnica I | Augustamnica II | Arcadia Ægypti | Thebais Superior | Thebais Inferior | Libya Superior | Libya Inferior
Other territories Taurica | Lazica (532/562) | Spania (552)
Notes Provincial administration reformed by Diocletian, ca. 293. Praetorian Prefectures established after the death of Constantine I. Empire permanently partitioned after 395. Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa established after 584. Provinces replaced by Theme system, ca. 680.
* affected (boundaries modified/abolished/renamed) by Justinian's administrative reorganization in 534-536
† re-established after reconquest by the Eastern Empire in 534, as the separate praetorian prefecture of Africa
§ joined together into the Quaestura exercitus in 536

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