Prehistory of Anatolia

The '''prehistory of Anatolia''' stretches from the [[Paleolithic]] era<ref name="sci-news.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/science-stone-tool-turkey-02370.html |title=1.2-Million-Year-Old Stone Tool Unearthed in Turkey |access-date=2014-12-25 |archive-date=2020-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111170307/http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/science-stone-tool-turkey-02370.html |url-status=live }}</ref> through to the appearance of [[classical civilization]] in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. It is generally regarded as being divided into three ages reflecting the dominant materials used for the making of domestic implements and weapons: [[Stone Age]], [[Bronze Age]] and [[Iron Age]]. The term [[Copper Age]] (Chalcolithic) is used to denote the period straddling the stone and Bronze Ages.

[[Anatolia]] ({{langx|grc|Ἀνατολία|label=[[Ancient Greek|Greek]]}} ({{transliteration|grc|Anatolía}}), ''Turkish: Anadolu''), also known by the [[Latin]] name of ''Asia Minor'', is considered to be the westernmost extent of [[Western Asia]]. Geographically it encompasses the central uplands of modern [[Turkey]], from the coastal plain of the [[Aegean Sea]] east to the western edge of the [[Armenian Highlands]] and from the narrow coast of the [[Black Sea]] south to the [[Taurus Mountains]] and [[Mediterranean Sea]] coast.

The earliest representations of culture in Anatolia can be found in several archaeological sites located in the central and eastern part of the region. Stone Age artifacts such as animal bones and food fossils were found at [[Burdur Province|Burdur]] (north of [[Antalya]]). Although the origins of some of the earliest peoples are shrouded in mystery, the remnants of Bronze Age civilizations, such as [[Troy]], the [[Hattians]], the [[Akkadian Empire]], [[Assyria]], and the [[Hittites]], provide us with many examples of the daily lives of its citizens and their trade. After the fall of the Hittites, the new states of [[Phrygia]] and [[Lydia]] stood strong on the western coast together with [[Lycia|Lykia]] and [[Caria]]. Only the threat from a distant [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] kingdom prevented them from advancing past their peak of success.

== Stone Age == The Stone Age is a prehistoric period in which stone was widely used in the manufacture of implements. This period occurred after the appearance of the genus ''[[Homo]]'' about 2.6 million years ago{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} and roughly lasted 2.5 million years to the period between 4500 and 2000 BC with the appearance of [[metalworking]].

=== Paleolithic === In 2014, a stone tool was found in the Gediz River that was securely dated to between 1.17 and 1.24 million years ago.<ref name="sci-news.com"/> Evidence of [[Paleolithic]] (prehistory 500,000–10,000 BC) habitation include the [[Yarimburgaz Cave]] ([[Istanbul]]), [[Karain]] Cave (Antalya), and the [[Okuzini]], [[Belbaşı|Beldibi and Belbasi]], [[Kumbucagi]] and [[Kadiini]] caves in adjacent areas. Examples of paleolithic humans can be found in the [[Museum of Anatolian Civilizations]] (Ankara), in the Archaeological Museum in Antalya, and in other Turkish institutions.

Evidence of fruit and of animal bones has been found at Yarimburgaz. The caves of the Mediterranean region contain murals.<ref>{{harvnb|Suthan|2009–2014|loc=[http://www.ancientanatolia.com/historical/paleolithic.htm Paleolithic age]}}</ref> Original claims (1975) of 250,000-year-old, [[Middle Pleistocene]], ''Homo sapiens'' footprints at [[Kula, Manisa|Kula]]<ref>[http://www.kultur.gov.tr/TR/belge/2-20013/manisa-museum.html Manisa Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113161714/http://www.kultur.gov.tr/TR/belge/2-20013/manisa-museum.html |date=2012-01-13 }}, Republic of Turkey Culture minister website</ref> and [[Karain Cave]]s are now considered erroneous and have been revised to the [[Late Pleistocene]] era.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940802467835 |doi=10.1080/10420940802467835 |access-date=2012-02-18 |archive-date=2020-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104132921/http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940802467835 |url-status=live |title=In the Footprints of Our Ancestors: An Overview of the Hominid Track Record |year=2008 |last1=Lockley |first1=Martin |last2=Roberts |first2=Gordon |last3=Kim |first3=Jeong Yul |journal=Ichnos |volume=15 |issue=3–4 |pages=106–125 |bibcode=2008Ichno..15..106L |s2cid=130354259 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Mesolithic === Remains of a [[Mesolithic]] culture in Anatolia can be found along the Mediterranean coast and also in [[Thrace]] and the western Black Sea area. Mesolithic remains have been located in the same caves as the paleolithic artefacts and drawings. Additional findings come from the [[Sarklimagara]] cave in [[Gaziantep]], the [[Baradiz]] cave ([[Burdur]]), as well as the cemeteries and open air settlements at [[Sogut Tarlasi]], [[Biris]] ([[Bozova]]) and [[Urfa]].<ref>{{harvnb|Suthan|2009–2014|loc=[http://www.ancientanatolia.com/historical/mesolithic.htm Mesolithic age]}}</ref>

=== Neolithic === [[File:Expansion_of_farming_in_western_Eurasia,_9600–4000_BCE.png|thumb|[[Anatolian Neolithic Farmers|Spread of agriculture from Neolithic Anatolia]] into Europe]] [[File:Göbekli Tepe site (1).JPG|thumb|Göbekli Tepe site (1)]] [[File:Gobekli Tepe 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Pillar 2 from Enclosure A (Layer III) with [[low relief]]s of what are believed to be a [[bull]], [[fox]], and [[Crane (bird)|crane]].]] [[File:GobeklitepeHeykel.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Pillar 27 from Enclosure C (Layer III) with the sculpture of a predatory animal]] [[File:Göbekli Tepe Pillar.JPG|thumb|upright|Pillar with the sculpture of a fox]] {{further|Anatolian hypothesis}} Because of its strategic location at the intersection of Asia and Europe, Anatolia has been the center of several [[civilization]]s since [[prehistoric]] times. The ''Anatolian hypothesis'', first developed by [[British people|British]] [[Archaeology|archaeologist]] [[Colin Renfrew]] in 1987, proposes that the dispersal of [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]] originated in [[Neolithic]] [[Anatolia]]. It is the main competitor to the [[Kurgan hypothesis]], or steppe theory, the more favoured view academically. Neolithic settlements include [[Çatalhöyük]], [[Çayönü]], [[Nevali Cori]], [[Aşıklı Höyük]], [[Boncuklu Höyük]], [[Hacilar]], [[Göbekli Tepe]], [[Karahan Tepe]], [[Norşuntepe]], Kosk, and [[Mersin]].

Çatalhöyük (Central Turkey) is considered the most advanced of these, and Çayönü in the east the oldest (c. 7250–6750 BC).{{Contradictory inline|reason=Göbeklitepe is older|date=September 2024}} We have a good idea of the town layout at Çayönü, based on a central square with buildings constructed of stone and mud. Archeological finds include farming tools that suggest both crops and animal husbandry as well as domestication of the dog. Religion is represented by figurines of [[Cybele]], the mother goddess. [[Hacilar]] (Western Turkey) followed Çayönü, and has been dated to 7040 BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Suthan|2009–2014|loc=[http://www.ancientanatolia.com/historical/neolithic.htm Neolithic age]}}</ref>

== Chalcolithic (Copper) Age == Straddling the [[Neolithic]] and early Bronze Age, the [[Chalcolithic]] era (c. 5500–3000 BC) is defined by the first metal implements made with copper. This age is represented in Anatolia by sites at [[Hacilar]], [[Beycesultan]], [[Canhasan]], [[Yumuktepe|Mersin Yumuktepe]], Elazig Tepecik, [[Malatya Degirmentepe]], [[Norşuntepe]], and [[Kadıköy|Istanbul Fikirtepe]].<ref>{{harvnb|Suthan|2009–2014|loc=[http://www.ancientanatolia.com/historical/chalcolithic.htm Chalcolithic age]}}</ref>

== Bronze Age == {{main|Hattians}} {{See also|List of Hittite kings|label 1=List of Hattian and Hittite Kings}} The [[Bronze Age]] (c. 3300–1200 BC) is characterised by the use of [[copper]] and its tin [[alloy]], [[bronze]], for manufacturing implements. Asia Minor was one of the first areas to develop bronze making.

=== Early Bronze Age (3000–2500 BC) === Although the first habitation appears to have occurred as early as the 6th millennium BC during the Chalcolithic period, functioning settlements trading with each other occurred during the 3rd millennium BC. A settlement on a high ridge would become known as Büyükkaya, and later as the city of Hattush, the center of this civilization. Later still it would become the Hittite stronghold of [[Hattusa|Hattusha]] and is now [[Boğazkale|Boğazköy]]. Remnants of the Hattian civilization have been found both under the lower city of Hattusha and in the higher areas of Büyükkaya and Büyükkale,<ref>[http://www.hattuscha.de/English/cityhistory1.htm A Brief History of Hattusha/Boğazköy ] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120527064520/http://www.hattuscha.de/English/cityhistory1.htm |date=2012-05-27 }}</ref> Another settlement was established at Yarikkaya, about 2 km to the northeast. [[File:Royal tomb, Alaca Höyük 02.jpg|thumb|A royal tomb in [[Alaca Höyük]]]] The discovery of mineral deposits in this part of Anatolia allowed Anatolians to develop [[metallurgy]], producing items such as the implements found in the royal graves at [[Alaca Höyük]], about 25 km from Boğazköy, which it preceded, dating from 2400 to 2200 BC. Other Hattian centers include [[Hassum]], Kanesh, [[Purushanda]], and [[Zalwar]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsMiddEast/AnatoliaHattiHattusa.htm |title=The History Files: Hatti (Hattusa) |access-date=2012-02-18 |archive-date=2020-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725235729/https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsMiddEast/AnatoliaHattiHattusa.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=expanat>{{Cite web |url=http://ancient-anatolia.blogspot.com/2006/09/hattians-first-civilization-in-anatolia.html |title=Expedition in Ancient Anatolia: Hattians - First Civilizations in Anatolia |access-date=2012-02-18 |archive-date=2011-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708023217/http://ancient-anatolia.blogspot.com/2006/09/hattians-first-civilization-in-anatolia.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://proteus.brown.edu/mesopotamianarchaeology/1007 |title=The Joukowsky Institute of Archaeology: The Archaeology of Mesopotamia |access-date=2012-02-18 |archive-date=2013-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209083658/http://proteus.brown.edu/mesopotamianarchaeology/1007 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.hattuscha.de/English/cityhistory2.htm The Hittites, their forerunners and their followers] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120803000911/http://www.hattuscha.de/English/cityhistory2.htm |date=2012-08-03 }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=azPl5Jzv930C&pg=PA161 Burney CA. Historical dictionary of the Hittites: Kültepe. Scarecrow Press, 2004, Lanham MD]</ref> During this time the Hattians engaged in trade with city-states such as those of [[Sumer]], which needed timber products from the [[Amanus]] mountains.

Anatolia had remained in the prehistoric period until it entered the sphere of influence of the [[Akkadian Empire]] in the 24th century BC under [[Sargon of Akkad]], particularly in eastern Anatolia. However, the Akkadian Empire suffered problematic climate changes in Mesopotamia, as well as a reduction in available manpower that affected trade. This led to its fall around 2150 BC at the hands of the [[Gutian people|Gutians]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Saggs|first=H.W.F.|title=Babylonians|publisher= University of California Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-520-20222-1}}</ref> The interest of the Akkadians in the region as far as it is known was for exporting various materials for manufacturing. Bronze metallurgy had spread to Anatolia from the Transcaucasian [[Kura-Araxes culture]] in the late 4th millennium BC.<ref name="Freeman">{{cite book|last=Freeman|first=Charles|title=Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999| isbn=978-0-19-872194-9}}</ref> While Anatolia was well endowed with copper ores, there was no evidence of substantial workings of the [[tin]] required to make bronze in Bronze-Age Anatolia.<ref>Trevor Bryce, ''The Kingdom of the Hittites,'' rev. ed, 2005:9.</ref>

=== Middle Bronze Age (2500–2000 BC) === At the origins of written history, the Anatolian plains inside the area ringed by the [[Kızılırmak River]] were occupied by the first defined civilization in Anatolia, a non-[[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] indigenous people named the [[Hattians]] (c. 2500 BC – c. 2000 BC). During the middle Bronze Age, the Hattian civilization, including its capital of [[Hattusa|Hattush]], continued to expand.<ref name=expanat/> The Anatolian middle Bronze Age influenced the early [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] culture of [[Crete]] (3400 to 2200 BC) as evidenced by [[archaeological]] findings at [[Knossos]].<ref>C. Michael Hogan, [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10854/knossos.html#fieldnotes ''Knossos fieldnotes'', Modern Antiquarian (2007)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108021923/http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10854/knossos.html#fieldnotes |date=2017-11-08 }}</ref>

=== Late Bronze Age (2000–1200 BC) === [[File:Ancient_Near_East_1400BC.svg|thumb|250px|Map of the [[Ancient Near East]] around 1400 BC]]

==== Hattians ==== The [[Hattians]] came into contact with Assyrians traders from [[Assur]] in [[Mesopotamia]] such as at Kanesh (Nesha) near modern [[Kültepe]] who provided them with the tin needed to make bronze. These trading posts or ''Karums'' (Akkadian for ''Port''), have lent their name to a period, the Karum Period. The ''Karums'', or Assyrian trading colonies, persisted in Anatolia until [[Hammurabi]] conquered Assyria and it fell under [[Babylonia]]n domination in 1756 BC. These Karums represented separate residential areas where the traders lived, protected by the Hattites, and paying taxes in return. Meanwhile, the fortifications of Hattush were strengthened with construction of royal residences on Büyükkale.

After the Assyrians overthrew their [[Gutians|Gutian]] neighbours (c. 2050 BC) they claimed the local resources, notably silver, for themselves. However the Assyrians brought writing to Anatolia, a necessary tool for trading and business. These transactions were recorded in Akkadian cuneiform on clay tablets. Records found at Kanesh use an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines. The records also indicate the names of the cities where the transaction occurred.<ref name= "Freeman"/>

==== Hittites ==== {{main|History of the Hittites}} {{further|Kizzuwatna|Arzawa}} [[File:ProcessionBogazkale.JPG|thumb|right|200px|A drawing of rock-carved reliefs of a procession of Hittite deities in [[Yazılıkaya]], Turkey.]]

The history of the Hittite civilization is known mostly from [[cuneiform (script)|cuneiform]] texts found in the area of their empire, and from diplomatic and commercial correspondence found in various archives in Egypt and the Middle East.

===== Old Kingdom ===== Hattian civilization was also impacted by an invading Indo-European people, the Hittites, in the early 18th century BC, Hattush being burned to the ground in 1700 BC by King [[Anitta (king)|Anitta]] of [[Kussara|Kussar]] after overthrowing King [[Piyusti|Piyushti]]. He then placed a curse on the site and set up his capital at [[Kanesh]] 160 km south east.<ref name=expanat/> The Hittites absorbed the Hattians over the next century, a process that was essentially complete by 1650 BC. Eventually Hattusha became a Hittite centre by the second half of the 17th century BC, and King [[Hattusili I]] (1586–1556 BC) moved his capital back to Hattusha from [[Neša]] (Kanesh).

The Old Hittite Empire (17th–15th centuries BC) was at its height in the 16th century BC, encompassing central Anatolia, north-western Syria as far as [[Ugarit]], and upper Mesopotamia. Kizzuwatna in southern Anatolia controlled the region separating the Hittite Empire from [[Syria (region)|Syria]], thereby greatly affecting trade routes. The peace was kept in accordance with both empires through treaties that established boundaries of control.

===== Middle Kingdom ===== Following the reign of [[Telipinu]] (c. 1460 BC) the Hittite kingdom entered a relatively weak and poorly documented phase, known as the Middle Kingdom, from the reign of Telipinu's son-in-law, [[Alluwamna]] (mid-15th century BC) to that of [[Muwatalli I]] (c. 1400 BC).

===== New Kingdom ===== [[File:Map Hittite rule en.svg|right|thumb|300px|Approximate extent of [[Hittites|Hittite]] rule, c. 1350–1300 BC, with [[Arzawa]], the [[Lukka]], and the [[Achaeans (Homer)#Hittite documents|Ahhiyawa]] to the west, and [[Mitanni]] to the southeast.]] King [[Tudhaliya I]] (early 14th century BC) ushered in a new era of Hittite power, often referred to as the Hittite Empire. The Kings took on a divine role in Hittite society and the Hittite peoples, often allied with neighbours such as the Kizzuwatna began to expand again, moving into Western Anatolia, absorbing the Luwian state of [[Arzawa]] and the [[Assuwa league|Assuwa League]].

It was not until the reign of King [[Šuppiluliuma I|Suppiluliumas]] (c. 1344–1322 BC) that [[Kizzuwatna]] was taken over fully, although the [[Hittites]] still preserved their cultural accomplishments in [[Kummanni]] (now Şar, Turkey) and Lazawantiya, north of [[Cilicia]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hawkins|first=John David|title=Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2000|isbn=978-3-11-014870-1}}</ref>

In the 13th century, after the reign of [[Hattusili III]] (c. 1267–1237 BC), Hittite power began to wane, threatened by [[History of ancient Egypt|Egypt]] to the South and [[Assyria]] to the East, effectively ending with [[Suppiluliuma II]] (c. 1207–1178 BC).

===== Syro-Hittite era ===== {{main|History of the Hittites|Bronze Age collapse}} After 1180s BC, amid general turmoil in the [[Levant]] associated with the sudden arrival of the [[Sea Peoples]], and the [[Bronze Age collapse|collapse of the Bronze Age]] the empire disintegrated into several independent [[Syro-Hittite]] (Neo-Hittite) city-states, some of which survived until as late as the 8th century BC. In the West, Greeks were arriving on the Anatolian coast, and the [[Kaskians|Kaskas]] along the northern Black Sea coast. Eventually [[Hattusha]] itself was destroyed around 1200 BC and the age of Empires shifted to that of regional states as the Bronze Age shifted into the Iron Age.

====Mycenaean presence==== There is very little information about early [[Mycenae]]an presence in Anatolia. [[Miletus]] was clearly a center of Mycenaean presence in Asia Minor in the period c. 1450–1100 BC. The zone of intense Mycenaean settlement extends as far as Bodrum/[[Halicarnassus]].<ref name="academia.edu">{{cite journal|last1=Hajnal|first1=Ivo|last2=Posch|first2=Claudia|title=Graeco-Anatolian Contacts in the Mycenaean Period|url=https://www.academia.edu/1822403|website=Sprachwissenschaft Innsbruck Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen|year=2009|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713103631/https://www.academia.edu/1822403|url-status=live}}</ref>

<blockquote> The Mycenaean sphere of influence in Asia Minor is also relatively restricted geographically: Intense Mycenaean settlement is to be found in the archaeological records only for the region between the Peninsula of Halicarnassus in the south and Milet [Miletus] in the north (and in the islands off this coastline, between Rhodes in the south and Kos – possibly also Samos – in the north).<ref name="academia.edu"/> </blockquote>

[[Attarsiya]] was a 15th–14th century BC military leader who was probably Greek. He conducted the first recorded Mycenaean military activity on the Anatolian mainland. His activities are recorded in the Hittite archives of c. 1400 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kelder|first=Jorrit|title=The Chariots of Ahhiyawa|journal=Dacia, Revue d'Archéologie et D' Histoire Ancienne|issue=48–49|year=2004–2005|pages=151–160|url=https://www.academia.edu/219041|access-date=2017-12-03|archive-date=2022-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120003018/https://www.academia.edu/219041|url-status=live}}</ref>

British archaeologist [[J.M. Cook]] studied the Greek historical tradition about the [[Carians]], and drew attention to the many similarities between the Carians and the Mycenaeans.<ref>Cook, J. M. (1959–1960). "Greek Archaeology in Western Asia Minor". Archaeological Reports (6): 27–57</ref>

== Iron Age == The [[Iron Age]] (c. 1300–600 BC) was characterised by the widespread use of [[iron]] and [[steel]]. It is also an age known for the development of various [[alphabet]]s and early literature. It formed the last phase of [[Pre-history]], spanning the period between the [[Bronze Age collapse|collapse of the Bronze Age]] and the rise of classical civilisation. In Anatolia, the dissolution of the [[Hittite Empire]] was replaced by regional [[Neo-Hittite]] powers including Troad, Ionia, Lydia, Caria and Lycia in the west; Phrygia, centrally and Cimmeria and Urartu in the northeast, while the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] occupied much of the southeast.

===Western Anatolia=== {{see also|Mysia|Doris (Asia Minor)||label 3=Doris}}

==== Troad ==== {{main|Troad|Troy}} The Troad, on the [[Biga, Çanakkale|Biga]] peninsula, was settled before 3000 BC. The site of [[Troy]] was occupied for more than three millennia, its [[stratigraphy (archaeology)|archaeological layers]] numbered I-IX. Legends of the [[Trojan War]] may have a basis in historical events concerning [[Late Bronze Age Troy]].<ref name=Jablonka-2011-Steadman-McMahon>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Jablonka |first=Peter |year=2011 |editor-last1=Steadman |editor-first1=Sharon | editor-last2=McMahon | editor-first2=Gregory |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia |title=Troy in regional and international context |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195376142.013.0032}}</ref><ref name=Bryce-2005>{{cite book |author=Bryce, T. |author-link=Trevor Bryce |year=2005 |title=The Trojans and their Neighbours |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-34959-8}}</ref><ref name=Jablonka-2012-Cline>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Jablonka |first=Peter |year=2012 |title=Troy |editor-last=Cline |editor-first=Eric |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean |pages=849–861 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0063|isbn=978-0-19-987360-9 }}</ref>

==== Aeolis ==== {{main|Aeolis}} [[File:Western Asia Minor Greek Colonization.svg|thumb|right|Ancient Greek settlements in western Anatolia (11th–8th centuries BC). Halikarnassus was initially Dorian, then Ionian. Smyrna changed from Aeolian to Ionian]] [[Aeolis]] was an area of the northwestern Aegean coast, between [[Troad]] and Ionia, from the [[Hellespont]] to the [[Hermus River]] (Gediz), west of [[Mysia]] and Lydia. By the 8th century BC the twelve most important cities formed a league. In the 6th century the cities were progressively conquered by Lydia, and then Persia.

==== Ionia ==== {{main|Ionia}} Ionia was part of a group of settlements on the central Aegean coast bounded by Lydia to the east, and [[Caria]] to the south, known as the [[Ionian League|Ionian league]]. Ionians had been expelled from the [[Peloponesus|Peloponnesus]] by the Dorians, and were resettled on the Aegean coastline of Anatolia by the Athenians to whose land they had fled. By the time of the last Lydian king, Croesus (560–545 BC) Ionia fell under Lydian, and then Persian rule. With the defeat of Persia by the Greeks, Ionia again became independent until absorbed into the Roman [[Asia (Roman province)|province of Asia]].

==== Lydia (Maeonia) ==== {{main|Lydia}} {{further|List of kings of Lydia}} [[File:Moneycroesus.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Lydian electrum coin, depicting a lion and bull.]] [[File:Kingdom_of_Lydia.png|thumb|250px|Map of the Lydian Empire under Croesus, 6th century BC]] Lydia, or Maeonia as it was called before 687 BC, was a major part of the history of western Anatolia, beginning with the Atyad dynasty, who first appeared around 1300 BC. Lydia was situated to the west of Phrygia and east of the [[Aegean Sea]] settlement of Ionia. The Lydians were [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]], speaking an [[Anatolian language]] related to [[Luwian language|Luwian]] and [[Hittite language|Hittite]].

The [[List of kings of Lydia|Heraclids]], managed to rule successively from 1185 to 687 BC despite a growing presence of [[Culture of Greece|Greek]] influences along the Mediterranean coast. As Greek cities such as [[Smyrna]], [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]], and [[Ephesus]] rose, the [[Heraclids]] became weaker and weaker. The last king, [[Candaules]], was murdered by his friend and lance-bearer named Gyges, and he took over as ruler. Gyges waged war against the intruding Greeks, and soon faced by a grave problem as the Cimmerians began to pillage outlying cities within the kingdom. It was this wave of attacks that led to the incorporation of the formerly independent Phrygia and its capital [[Gordium]] into the Lydian domain. It was not until the successive rules of [[Sadyattes]] and [[Alyattes of Lydia|Alyattes]], ending in 560 BC, that the attacks of the Cimmerians ended for good.

Under the reign of the last Lydian king Croesus, Lydia reached its greatest expansion. Persia was invaded first at the [[Battle of Pteria]] ending without a victor. Progressing deeper into Persia, [[Croesus]] was thoroughly defeated in the [[Battle of Thymbra]] at the hands of the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[Cyrus II]] in 546 BC.<ref>{{cite book|last=Duncker|first=Max|title=The History of Antiquity, Volume III|publisher=Richard Bentley & Son|year=1879}}</ref>

Following Croesus' defeat, Lydia fell under the hegemony of Persia, Greece, Rome and Byzantium until finally being absorbed into the Turkish lands.

==== Caria ==== [[File:Slab_from_the_Amazonomachy_frieze_from_the_Mausoleum_at_Halikarnassos,_Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus,_British_Museum.jpg|thumb|Relief of an Amazonomachy from the Mausoleum at [[Halicarnassus]].]]

{{main|Caria}} Caria forms a region in Western Anatolia, south of [[Lydia]], east of Ionia and north of Lycia. Partially Greek ([[Ionians|Ionian]] and Dorian), and possibly partially [[Minoa]]n. Caria became subject to [[Persia]], Greece and [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] before being absorbed into Byzantium. Remnants of the Carian civilisation form a rich legacy in the southwestern Aegean. Caria managed to maintain a relative degree of independence during successive occupation, and its symbol, the double headed axe is seen as a mark of defiance and can be seen inscribed on many buildings. The [[mausoleum]] at [[Halicarnassus]] (modern [[Bodrum]]), the tomb of the Persian [[Satrap]] [[Mausolus]], was considered one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]. Other important relics include that of [[Mylasa]] (Milas) at one time capital of Caria and administrative seat of Mausolus, [[Labranda]] in the mountains high above Mylasa and [[Euromos]] (Herakleia) near [[Lake Bafa]].

==== Lycia ==== {{main|Lycia}} Lycia formed the southernmost settlement in Western Anatolia on what is now the [[Teke Province|Teke]] peninsula on the western Mediterranean coast. There many historic Lycian sites include [[Xanthos]], [[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]], [[Myra]], [[Pinara]], [[Tlos]], [[Olympos (Lycia)|Olympos]] and [[Phaselis]]. Emerging at the end of the Bronze Age as a Neo-Hittite league of city states whose governance model still influences political systems today. Alternating between Persian and Greek rule it eventually was incorporated into Rome, Byzantium and the Turkish lands.

=== Central Anatolia === {{see also|Bithynia|Paphlagonia|Galatia|Cappadocia|Lycaonia|Pisidia|Pamphylia|Pontus (region)|Cilicia}}

==== Phrygia ==== {{main|Phrygia}} [[File:Map of Assyria.png|right|thumb|250px|Lydia, Phrygia, Cimmeria and Assyria, 9th-7th centuries BC]] The west-central area of Anatolia became the domain of the Phrygian Kingdom following the fragmentation of the [[Hittite Empire]] during the 12th century BC, existing independently until the 7th century BC, and strongly featured in [[Greek mythology]]. Although their origin is disputed, their language more resembled [[Greek language|Greek]] ([[Dorians|Dorian]]) than the Hittites whom they succeeded. Possibly from the region of Thrace, the [[Phrygians]] eventually established their capital at [[Gordium]] (now [[Yassıhüyük, Polatlı|Yassıhüyük]]) and an important religious center at [[Yazılıkaya, Eskişehir|Yazılıkaya]]. Known as the [[Mushki]] to the Assyrians, the Phrygian people lacked central control in their style of government, and yet established an extensive network of roads. They also held tightly onto a lot of the Hittite facets of culture and adapted them over time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Phrygia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9059836/Phrygia|author=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date=2007-10-19|archive-date=2007-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030202807/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9059836/Phrygia|url-status=live}}</ref>

Well known from ancient Greek and Roman writers is [[King Midas]], the last king of the Phrygian Kingdom. The mythology of Midas revolves around his ability to turn objects to gold by mere touch, as granted by [[Dionysos]], and his unfortunate encounter with [[Apollo]] from which his ears are turned into the ears of a donkey. The historical record of Midas shows that he lived approximately between 740 and 696 BC, and represented [[Phrygia]] as a great king. Most historians now consider him to be King Mita of the Mushki as noted in Assyrian accounts. The [[ancient Assyrians|Assyrians]] thought of Mita as a dangerous foe, for [[Sargon II]], their ruler at the time, was quite happy to negotiate a peace treaty in 709 BC. This treaty had no effect on the advancing Cimmerians in the East, who streamed into Phrygia and led to the downfall and suicide of King Midas in 696 BC.<ref>{{cite web|title=The legends and the truth about King Midas|url=http://www.phrygians.org/midas.html|author=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date=2007-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727173948/http://www.phrygians.org/midas.html|archive-date=2011-07-27}}</ref>

After Midas's death, Phrygia lost its independence, becoming respectively a vassal state of its western neighbour, Lydia, Persia, [[Hellenistic civilization|Greece]], Rome and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]], disappearing in the [[History of Turkey|Turkish]] era.

=== Eastern Anatolia === {{Unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}

==== Cimmeria ==== {{main|Cimmerians}} [[File:Urartu 715 713-en.svg|thumb|right|250px|Cimmerian invasions of Colchis, Urartu and Assyria 715–713 BC]] Cimmeria was a region of northeastern Anatolia, appearing in the 8th century BC from the north and east, in the face of the eastern Scythian advance. They continued to move west, invading and subjugating Phrygia (696–695 BC), penetrating as far south as Cilicia, and west into Ionia after pillaging Lydia. Lydian campaigns between 637 and 626 BC effectively halted this advance. The Cimmerian influence progressively weakened and the last recorded mention is in 515 BC.

==== Urartu ==== {{main|Urartu}} [[File:13-Urartu-9-6mta.gif|thumb|right|250px|Urartu 9th–6th centuries BC]] [[File:Urartu 860 840-en.svg|thumb|right|250px|Urartu under [[Aramu]] 860–840 BC]] Urartu (Nairi, or the Kingdom of Van) existed in north-east Anatolia, centered around [[Lake Van]] (Nairi Sea), to the south of the [[Cimmerians]] and North of Assyria. Its prominence ran from its appearance in the 9th century until it was overrun by the Medes in the 6th century.

Urartu is first mentioned as a loose confederation of smaller entities in the [[Armenian Highlands]] in the 13th to 11th centuries BC, but was subject to recurrent Assyrian incursions before emerging as a powerful neighbour by the 9th century BC. This was facilitated by Assyria's weak position in the 8th century BC. Urartu continued to resist Assyrian attacks and reached it greatest extent under [[Argishti I]] (c. 785–760 BC). At that time it included present day Armenia, southern [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] reaching almost to the [[Black Sea]], west to the sources of the [[Euphrates]] and south to the sources of the [[Tigris]].

Following this Urartu suffered a number of setbacks. King [[Tiglath Pileser III]] of Assyria conquered it in 745 BC. By 714 BC it was being ravaged by both Cimmerian and Assyrian raids. After 645 BC [[Scythian]] attacks provided further problems for Urartu forcing it to become dependent on Assyria. However Assyria itself fell to a combined attack of [[Scythians]], [[Medes]] and [[Babylonians]] in 612 BC. While the details of Urartu's demise are debated, it effectively disappeared to be replaced by Armenia. It was a [[Satrapy of Armenia|Persian Satrapy]] for a while from the 6th century BC before becoming an independent Armenia. To this day Urartu forms an important part of [[Armenian nationalist]] sentiment.

==== Assyria ==== {{main|Assyria}} In the Iron Age Assyria extended to include southeastern Anatolia. Assyria, one of the great powers of the Mesopotamia region, had a long history from the 25th century BC (Bronze Age) until it final collapse in 612 BC at the end of the Iron Age. Assyria's Iron Age corresponds to the Middle Period (resurgence) and the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] in its last 300 years, and its territory centered on what is modern day [[Iraq]].

Assyria influenced Anatolian politics and culture from when its traders first came into contact with Hattians in the late Bronze Age. By the 13th century BC Assyria was expanding to its northwest at the expense of the Hittites, and to the north at the expense of Urartu. Assyrian expansion reached its height under [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] (1244–1208 BC), following which it was weakened by internal dissent. The collapse of the Hittie Empire at the end of the Bronze Age coincided with an era of renewed Assyrian expansion under [[Ashur-resh-ishi I]] (1133–1116 BC) and soon Assyria had added the Anatolian lands in what is now Syria to its empire. [[Tiglath-Pileser I]] (1115–1077 BC) then commenced incursions against the Neo-Hittite Phrygians, followed by the [[Luwian]] kingdoms of [[Commagene]], Cilicia and Cappadocia.

With the death of Tiglath-Pileser I Assyria entered a period of decline during what is referred to as the Ancient Dark Ages (1075–912 BC) in the region that corresponded to the [[Bronze Age Collapse|collapse of the Bronze Age]]. The last 300 years of the Assyrian Empire (Neo-Assyrian Empire) from 911 to 627 BC saw a renewed expansion including attacks on the Neo-Hittite states to its north and west. [[Ashurnasirpal II]] (883–859 BC) extracted tribute from Phrygia while his successor [[Shalmaneser III]] (858–823 BC) also attacked Urartu forcing his Anatolian neighbours to pay tribute. After his death the land was torn by civil war. Assyrian power continued to wax and wane with periodic incursions into the Anatolian lands. [[Sennacherib]] (705–681 BC) encountered and drove back a new force in the region, the [[Ancient Greeks|Greeks]] who attempted to settle Cilicia. His successor [[Esarhaddon]] (680–669 BC) was responsible for the final destruction of [[Urartu]]. Ashurbanipal (669-627 BC) then extended Assyrian influence still further placing Caria, Cilicia, Lydia and [[Cappadocia]] into [[Vassal state|vassalage]].

Assyria found its resources stretched to maintain the integrity of its vast empire and civil war again erupted following the death of Ashurbanipal. Vassal states stopped paying tribute, regaining independence. The weakened Assyrian state was now faced by a new threat, a coalition of Iranian peoples to its east and north, including Medes, [[Persian people|Persians]], Scythians and the Anatolian Cimmerians, who attacked Assyria in 616 BC. [[Ninevah]], the capital, fell in 612 BC and the Assyrian Empire was finally swept away in 605 BC.

With the collapse of Assyria, ended not only the Iron Age, but also the era referred to as [[Pre-History]], to make way for what has been variously described as [[Recorded History]], or more specifically late [[Ancient History]] or [[Classical Civilisation]]. These terms are not precise or universal and overlap.

== See also == {{Portal|Asia|Greece|Turkey}} *[[History of Europe]] *[[History of the Middle East]] *[[Timeline of Middle Eastern history]] *[[Anatolianism]] *[[Ancient kingdoms of Anatolia]] *[[Ancient Regions of Anatolia]] *[[Ancient Near East]]

== Notes == {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References== {{Commons category|Prehistory of Turkey}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110103125533/http://histories.cambridge.org/collection?id=set_cambridge_ancient_history Cambridge Ancient History Online 14 vols. 1970-2000]<br /> ''Note: The original 11 vol [[Cambridge Ancient History]] 1928-36 is now [http://www.digitalbookindex.com/_search/search010hstancienta.asp available as free ebooks]'' *[http://www.cambridge.org/ca/knowledge/series/series_display/item3936908/?site_locale=en_CA Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World. 10 vols.] *Duncker, Max (1879). ''The History of Antiquity, Volume III''. Richard Bentley & Son. *Hornblower, Simon; Antony Spawforth (1996). ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary''. Oxford University Press. *McEvedy, Colin (1967). ''The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History''. Penguin. *Marek, Christian (2010), ''Geschichte Kleinasiens in der Antike''. C. H. Beck, Munich, {{ISBN|978-3-406-59853-1}} (review: [https://web.archive.org/web/20101012222832/http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-08-13.html M. Weiskopf, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2010.08.13]). * {{cite web | first=Resat | last=Suthan | work=Anatolia | title=Historical | url=http://www.ancientanatolia.com/historical/ | year=2009–2014 | publisher=Thracian Ltd.}}

==Further reading== * {{cite journal |last1=Lazaridis |first1=Iosif |last2=Alpaslan-Roodenberg |first2=Songül |display-authors=1 |date=August 2022 |title=The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=377 |issue=6609 |article-number=eabm4247 |doi=10.1126/science.abm4247|pmid=36007055 |pmc=10064553 |s2cid=251843620 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022Sci...377m4247L }}

{{Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia}} {{Historical regions of Anatolia}} {{History of Anatolia}} {{Prehistoric Asia}} {{Turkey topics}}

[[Category:Prehistoric Anatolia| ]]