A Look Into The Classical Anatolian Era

• published: 21 Mar 2015
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Anatolia, also known by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is considered to be the westernmost extent of Asia. Geographically it encompasses the central uplands of modern Turkey, from the coastal plain of the Aegean Sea east to the mountains on the Armenian border and from the narrow coast of the Black Sea south to the Taurus mountains and Mediterranean coast. The earliest representations of culture in Anatolia were Stone Age artifacts. The remnants of Bronze Age civilizations such as the Hattian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Hittite peoples 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 as Greek civilization began to flourish. Only the threat from a distant Persian kingdom prevented them from advancing past their peak of success. As Persia grew in strength, their system of local government in Anatolia allowed many port cities to grow and to become wealthy. Their governors revolted periodically but did not pose a serious threat. The Greek Alexander the Great finally wrested control of the whole region from Persia in successive battles, proving victorious over the Persian Darius III. After Alexander's death, his conquests were split amongst several of his trusted generals, but were under constant threat of invasion from both the Gauls and other powerful rulers in Pergamon, Pontus, and Egypt. The Seleucid Empire, the largest of Alexander's territories, and which included Anatolia, became involved in a disastrous war with Rome culminating in the battles of Thermopylae and Magnesia. The resulting Treaty of Apamea in (188 BC) saw the Seleucids retreat from Anatolia. The Kingdom of Pergamum and the Republic of Rhodes, Rome's allies in the war, were granted the former Seleucid lands in Anatolia. Roman control of Anatolia was strengthened by a 'hands off' approach by Rome, allowing local control to govern effectively and providing military protection. In the early 4th century, Constantine the Great established a new administrative centre at Constantinople, and by the end of the 4th century a new eastern empire was established with Constantinople as its capital, referred to by historians as the Byzantine Empire from the original name, Byzantium. Following the Pre-History period, the period of recorded history produced a more coherent body of work that has passed down to modern times, although history was certainly being recorded long before this time. The development of alphabetised written languages during the preceding Iron Age facilitated this. Classical Antiquity The era of Classical Antiquity (c. 700 BC – 600 AD) produced an unprecedented body of literary and scientific writing, much of which has survived to this day and continues to influence modern thought. Politically Anatolia saw the era of regional powers swept away by the clash of two vast empires, first the Persians invading from the east, and then being pushed back by the Greeks advancing from the west. Medean and Achaemenid (Persian) Empires Our sources, predominantly Greek historians such as Herodotus, provide many details about Western Anatolia but relatively little about the rest of the area in this era. Although the Iranian peoples had existed in the area south of the Caspian Sea (Iranian Plateau) from pre-historic times, their major influence began when the Medes united them in 625 BC allowing them to sweep away the Assyrian Empire shortly after, when Cyaxares (625–585 BC) led the invasion in 612 BC. By this time Lydia had become the predominant power in western Anatolia, although often subject to the former Assyrian control. However Sadyattes (621–609 BC) or (624–610 BC) joined forces with Cyaxares the Mede to drive the Cimmerians out of Anatolia. This alliance was short lived, since his successor Alyattes II (609 or 619 – 560 BC) found himself being attacked by Cyaxares, although the neighbouring king of Cilicia intervened, negotiating a peace in 585 BC, whereby the Halys River in north central Anatolia was established as the Medes' frontier with Lydia. Herodotus writes: "On the refusal of Alyattes to give up his supplicants when Cyaxares sent to demand them of him, war broke out between the Lydians and the Medes, and continued for five years, with various success. In the course of it the Medes gained many victories over the Lydians, and the Lydians also gained many victories over the Medes." Achaemenids The Medean Empire turned out to be short lived (c. 625 – 549 BC). By 550 BC, the Median Empire of eastern Anatolia, which had existed for barely a hundred years, was suddenly torn apart by a Persian rebellion in 553 BC under Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great c. 600 BC or 576–530 BC), overthrowing his grandfather Astyages (585–550 BC) in 550 BC. The Medes then became subject to the Persians.