Lycia

{{other uses|Lycia (disambiguation)}} {{redirect|Sidyma|the [[moth]] [[genus]] named|Sidyma (moth)}} '''Lycia''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|l|ɪ|ʃ|ə}}; [[Lycian language|Lycian]]: ''Trm̃mis''; {{lang-el|Λυκία}}) was a region in [[Anatolia]] in what are now the [[Provinces of Turkey|provinces]] of [[Antalya Province|Antalya]] and [[Muğla Province|Muğla]] on the southern [[coast]] of [[Turkey]]. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a [[Roman province|province]] of the [[Roman Empire]]. The Lycian League founded in 168 BC was an early federation with democratic principles; these later influenced the [[United States Constitution]]. ==Geography== [[File:Lycia-turkey-ancient.svg|thumb|350px|alt=Map of Classical Lycia|Map of Lycia showing significant ancient cities and some major mountains and rivers. Red dots are mountain peaks, white dots are ancient cities.]] The borders of Lycia varied over time but at its center was the Teke peninsula in south-western Turkey. It was bounded by [[Caria]] to the west and north west, [[Pamphylia]] to the east, and [[Pisidia]] to the north east. The region is mountainous and densely forested region with few large valleys. The mountains are the westernmost part of the [[Taurus mountains]] in particular the Akdağ and Beydağı mountains whose peaks can exceed 3000 meters. Inland is the Elmalı basin. The major rivers are the [[Eşen Çay]] (ancient Xanthos river), Demre Çay (ancient Myros river), Arykandos, and Alakir Çay. The area is known for steep gorges and underground rivers. ===Modern=== In modern Turkey the region is split between Antalya (on the east) and Muğla (on the west) provinces. The major city is [[Fethiye]] built on ancient Telmessos. Well known towns include [[Kalkan]], [[Kaş]], and [[Demre]] (ancient Myra). Inland [[Elmalı]] is fairly important. Turkey's first [[Waymarking#Waymarking signage|waymarked]] long-distance footpath, the [[Lycian Way]], follows part of the coast of the region. ===Ancient=== {{See|List of Lycian place names}} The principal cities of ancient Lycia were [[Xanthos]], [[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]], [[Myra]], [[Pinara]], [[Tlos]] and [[Olympos (Lycia)|Olympos]] (each entitled to three votes in the Lycian League) and [[Phaselis]]. Cities such as [[Telmessos]] and [[Krya]] were sometimes listed by Classical authors as Carian and sometimes as Lycian. Ancient names can sometimes be difficult to match with modern features: the [[Mount Cragus|Cragus and Anticragus mountains]] on the west side of the Xanthos river seem to include modern [[Babadağ (mountain)|Babadağ]]. ==Features and sights of interest== [[Image:Lycian Kings Tombs-Dalyan.JPG|thumb|[[Lycian]] rock cut tombs of [[Dalyan]].]] Although the 2nd-century AD dialogue, ''[[Erōtes (Lucian)|Erōtes]]'', 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. These relics include the distinctive [[rock-cut tombs]] in the sides of cliffs. The [[British Museum]] in [[London]] has one of the best collections of Lycian artifacts. [[Letoon]], an important center in Hellenic times of worship for the goddess [[Leto]] and her twin children, [[Apollo]] and [[Artemis]], and nearby Xanthos, ancient capital of Lycia, constitute a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]]. ==Ancient language== The eponymous inhabitants of Lycia, the Lycians, spoke an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] language, belonging to the [[Anatolian languages|Anatolian]] branch. The closest language to the [[Lycian language]] is the [[Luwian]] language, which was spoken in Anatolia during the 2nd and the early 1st millennia BC; Lycian may even be one of Luwian's direct descendants. ===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]] [[Athens|of Athens]]. The region was never unified into a single territory in antiquity, but remained a tightly-knit confederation of fiercely independent city-states. [[Image:FiresChimera2.jpg|thumb|The eternal fires of [[Chimera (geography)|Chimera]] in Lycia which provides the setting for the [[Chimera (mythology)|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 (soldier)|Glaucus]] (son of [[Hippolochus]]). Elsewhere in [[Greek mythology]], the Lycian kingdom was said to have been ruled by another [[Sarpedon]], a [[Crete|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). [[Image:Xanthos inschriftenpfeiler axb01.jpg|thumb|upright|Lycian inscription in [[Xanthos]]]] ===Classical period=== Lycia came under the control of the [[Persian Empire]] in 546 BC when [[Harpagus]] [[Medes|of Media]], a general in the service of [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] conquered [[Anatolia|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 an 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. Persia held Lycia until it was conquered by [[Alexander the Great|Alexander III (the Great)]] [[Macedon|of Macedon]] during 334–333 BC. ===Hellenistic period=== After the death of [[Alexander the Great]] in 324 BC, [[Diadochi|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. By 240 BC Lycia was part of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]], centred on Egypt, and remained in their control through 200 BC. 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. ===Lycian League=== {| border="2" style="font-size:75%; float:right;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" |+'''LYCIAN LEAGUE''' |- style="background:#ddd;" !align=left|City !Votes |- style="background:#fff;" |[[Xanthos]] |3 |- style="background:#e5e5e5;" |[[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]] |3 |- style="background:#fff;" |[[Myra]] |3 |- style="background:#e5e5e5;" |[[Pinara]] |3 |- style="background:#fff;" |[[Tlos]] |3 |- style="background:#e5e5e5;" |[[Olympos (Lycia)|Olympos]] |3 |- style="background:#fff;" |[[Cybira]] |2 |- style="background:#e5e5e5;" |[[Boubon]] |2 |- style="background:#fff;" |[[Balbira, Lycia]] |1 |- style="background:#e5e5e5;" |[[Oenoanda]] |1 |- style="background:#fff;" |Simpolity of [[Aperlae]], [[Simena]],
[[Isinda]], [[Apollonia, Lycia]] |1 |} The Lycian League (''Itlehi Trm̃mili'') first came together around 205 BC and was formally established in 168 BC under democratic principles. It comprised some 23 known [[city-state]]s as members. Lycia, which had been under [[Rhodes|Rhodian]] control since the [[Peace of Apamea]] in 188 BC, was granted independence by the [[Roman Republic]] 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 (Lycia)|Patara]], [[Pinara]], [[Olympos (Lycia)|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 4th century AD, when it was taken over by the [[Byzantine Empire]]. ===Roman period=== {{main|Lycia et Pamphylia}} In 43AD, the emperor [[Claudius]] annexed it to the [[Roman Empire]] as a province and by the time of [[Vespasian]], it was united with [[Pamphylia]] as a Roman province. The heir of [[Augustus]], [[Gaius Caesar]], was killed there in 4 AD. ===Byzantine era=== It subsequently was a part of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. [[Image:Graven1kl.jpg|thumb|Lycian tombs at Simena, Üçağız (Turkey).]] ===Turkish era=== It was incorporated into the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman (Turkish) Empire]] and eventually became part of [[Turkey]]. A substantial [[Christian]] community of [[Greeks]] lived in Lycia until the 1920s when they were forced to migrate to [[Greece]] after the [[Population exchange between Greece and Turkey]] following the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)|Greco-Turkish War]] in the early 20th century. The abandoned Greek villages in the region are a striking reminder of this exodus. Abandoned Greek houses can still be seen at in the towns of [[Demre]], [[Kalkan]], [[Kas]] and [[Kaya]] which is a Greek ghost town. A small population of Turkish farmers moved into the region when the Lycian Greeks migrated to Greece. The region is now one of the key centres of domestic and foreign tourism in Turkey. ===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. ===Secondary sources=== – Refers to many different [[sea people]]s 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. – A description of the Egyptian evidence on the Sea Peoples.