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Theprehistory of Anatolia stretches from thePaleolithic era[1] through to the appearance ofclassical 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 andIron Age. The termCopper Age (Chalcolithic) is used to denote the period straddling the stone and Bronze Ages.
Anatolia (Turkish: Anadolu), also known by theLatin name ofAsia Minor, is considered to be the westernmost extent ofWestern Asia. Geographically it encompasses the central uplands of modernTurkey, from the coastal plain of theAegean Sea east to the western edge of theArmenian Highlands and from the narrow coast of theBlack Sea south to theTaurus mountains andMediterranean 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 atBurdur (north ofAntalya). Although the origins of some of the earliest peoples are shrouded in mystery, the remnants of Bronze Age civilizations, such asTroy, theHattians, theAkkadian Empire,Assyria, and theHittites, provide us with many examples of the daily lives of its citizens and their trade. After the fall of the Hittites, the new states ofPhrygia andLydia stood strong on the western coast together withLykia andCaria. Only the threat from a distantPersian kingdom prevented them from advancing past their peak of success.
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 genusHomo about 2.6 million years ago[citation needed] and roughly lasted 2.5 million years to the period between 4500 and 2000 BC with the appearance ofmetalworking.
In 2014, a stone tool was found in the Gediz River that was securely dated to 1.2 million years ago.[1] Evidence ofPaleolithic (prehistory 500,000–10,000 BC) habitation include theYarimburgaz Cave (Istanbul),Karain Cave (Antalya), and theOkuzini,Beldibi and Belbasi,Kumbucagi andKadiini caves in adjacent areas. Examples of paleolithic humans can be found in theMuseum 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.[2] Original claims (1975) of 250,000-year-old,Middle Pleistocene,Homo sapiens footprints atKula[3] andKarain Caves are now considered erroneous and have been revised to theLate Pleistocene era.[4]
Remains of aMesolithic culture in Anatolia can be found along the Mediterranean coast and also inThrace 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 theSarklimagara cave inGaziantep, theBaradiz cave (Burdur), as well as the cemeteries and open air settlements atSogut Tarlasi,Biris (Bozova) andUrfa.[5]
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Because of its strategic location at the intersection of Asia and Europe, Anatolia has been the center of severalcivilizations sinceprehistoric times. TheAnatolian hypothesis, first developed byBritisharchaeologistColin Renfrew in 1987, proposes that the dispersal ofProto-Indo-Europeans originated inNeolithicAnatolia. It is the main competitor to theKurgan hypothesis, or steppe theory, the more favoured view academically. Neolithic settlements includeÇatalhöyük,Çayönü,Nevali Cori,Aşıklı Höyük,Boncuklu Höyük,Hacilar,Göbekli Tepe,Karahan Tepe,Norşuntepe, Kosk, andMersin.
Çatalhöyük (Central Turkey) is considered the most advanced of these, and Çayönü in the east the oldest (c. 7250–6750 BC).[contradictory] 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 ofCybele, the mother goddess.Hacilar (Western Turkey) followed Çayönü, and has been dated to 7040 BC.[6]
Straddling theNeolithic and early Bronze Age, theChalcolithic era (c. 5500–3000 BC) is defined by the first metal implements made with copper. This age is represented in Anatolia by sites atHacilar,Beycesultan,Canhasan,Mersin Yumuktepe, Elazig Tepecik,Malatya Degirmentepe,Norşuntepe, andIstanbul Fikirtepe.[7]
TheBronze Age (c. 3300–1200 BC) is characterised by the use ofcopper and its tinalloy,bronze, for manufacturing implements. Asia Minor was one of the first areas to develop bronze making.
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 ofHattusha and is nowBoğazköy. Remnants of the Hattian civilization have been found both under the lower city of Hattusha and in the higher areas of Büyükkaya and Büyükkale,[8]Another settlement was established at Yarikkaya, about 2 km to the northeast.
The discovery of mineral deposits in this part of Anatolia allowed Anatolians to developmetallurgy, producing items such as the implements found in the royal graves atAlaca Höyük, about 25 km from Boğazköy, which it preceded, dating from 2400 to 2200 BC. Other Hattian centers includeHassum, Kanesh,Purushanda, andZalwar.[9][10][11][12][13]During this time the Hattians engaged in trade with city-states such as those ofSumer, which needed timber products from theAmanus mountains.
Anatolia had remained in the prehistoric period until it entered the sphere of influence of theAkkadian Empire in the 24th century BC underSargon 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 theGutians.[14]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 TranscaucasianKura-Araxes culture in the late 4th millennium BC.[15]While Anatolia was well endowed with copper ores, there was no evidence of substantial workings of thetin required to make bronze in Bronze-Age Anatolia.[16]
At the origins of written history, the Anatolian plains inside the area ringed by theKızılırmak River were occupied by the first defined civilization in Anatolia, a non-Indo-European indigenous people named theHattians (c. 2500 BC – c. 2000 BC). During the middle Bronze Age, the Hattian civilization, including its capital ofHattush, continued to expand.[10]The Anatolian middle Bronze Age influenced the earlyMinoan culture ofCrete (3400 to 2200 BC)as evidenced byarchaeological findings atKnossos.[17]
TheHattians came into contact with Assyrians traders fromAssur inMesopotamia such as at Kanesh (Nesha) near modernKültepe who provided them with the tin needed to make bronze. These trading posts orKarums (Akkadian forPort), have lent their name to a period, the Karum Period. TheKarums, or Assyrian trading colonies, persisted in Anatolia untilHammurabi conquered Assyria and it fell underBabylonian 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 theirGutian 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.[15]
The history of the Hittite civilization is known mostly fromcuneiform texts found in the area of their empire, and from diplomatic and commercial correspondence found in various archives in Egypt and the Middle East.
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 KingAnitta ofKussar after overthrowing KingPiyushti. He then placed a curse on the site and set up his capital atKanesh 160 km south east.[10]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 KingHattusili I (1586–1556 BC) moved his capital back to Hattusha fromNeša (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 asUgarit, and upper Mesopotamia. Kizzuwatna in southern Anatolia controlled the region separating the Hittite Empire fromSyria, thereby greatly affecting trade routes. The peace was kept in accordance with both empires through treaties that established boundaries of control.
Following the reign ofTelipinu (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 ofMuwatalli I (c. 1400 BC).
KingTudhaliya 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 ofArzawa and theAssuwa League.
It was not until the reign of KingSuppiluliumas (c. 1344–1322 BC) thatKizzuwatna was taken over fully, although theHittites still preserved their cultural accomplishments inKummanni (now Şar, Turkey) and Lazawantiya, north ofCilicia.[18]
In the 13th century, after the reign ofHattusili III (c. 1267–1237 BC), Hittite power began to wane, threatened byEgypt to the South andAssyria to the East, effectively ending withSuppiluliuma II (c. 1207–1178 BC).
After 1180s BC, amid general turmoil in theLevant associated with the sudden arrival of theSea Peoples, and thecollapse of the Bronze Age the empire disintegrated into several independentSyro-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 theKaskas along the northern Black Sea coast. EventuallyHattusha 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.
There is very little information about earlyMycenaean 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.[19]
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).[19]
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.[20]
British archaeologistJ.M. Cook studied the Greek historical tradition about theCarians, and drew attention to the many similarities between the Carians and the Mycenaeans.[21]
TheIron Age (c. 1300–600 BC) was characterised by the widespread use ofiron andsteel. It is also an age known for the development of variousalphabets and early literature. It formed the last phase ofPre-history, spanning the period between thecollapse of the Bronze Age and the rise of classical civilisation. In Anatolia, the dissolution of theHittite Empire was replaced by regionalNeo-Hittite powers including Troad, Ionia, Lydia, Caria andLycia in the west;Phrygia, centrally and Cimmeria and Urartu in the north east, while theAssyrians occupied much of the south east.
The Troad, on theBiga peninsula, was settled before 3000 BC. The site ofTroy was occupied for more than three millennia, itsarchaeological layers numbered I-IX. Legends of theTrojan War may have a basis in historical events concerningLate Bronze Age Troy.[22][23][24]
Aeolis was an area of the north western Aegean coast, betweenTroad and Ionia, from theHellespont to theHermus River (Gediz), west ofMysia 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 was part of a group of settlements on the central Aegean coast bounded by Lydia to the east, andCaria to the south, known as theIonian league. Ionians had been expelled from thePeloponnesus 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 Romanprovince of Asia.
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 theAegean settlement of Ionia. The Lydians wereIndo-European, speaking anAnatolian language related toLuwian andHittite.
TheHeraclids, managed to rule successively from 1185 to 687 BC despite a growing presence ofGreek influences along the Mediterranean coast. As Greek cities such asSmyrna,Colophon, andEphesus rose, theHeraclids 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 capitalGordium into the Lydian domain. It was not until the successive rules ofSadyattes andAlyattes, 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 theBattle of Pteria ending without a victor. Progressing deeper into Persia,Croesus was thoroughly defeated in theBattle of Thymbra at the hands of thePersianCyrus II in 546 BC.[25]
Following Croesus' defeat, Lydia fell under the hegemony of Persia, Greece, Rome and Byzantium until finally being absorbed into the Turkish lands.
Caria forms a region in Western Anatolia, south ofLydia, east of Ionia and north of Lycia. Partially Greek (Ionian and Dorian), and possibly partiallyMinoan. Caria became subject toPersia, Greece andRome before being absorbed into Byzantium. Remnants of the Carian civilisation form a rich legacy in the south western 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. Themausoleum atHalicarnassus (modernBodrum), the tomb of the PersianSatrapMausolus, was considered one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World. Other important relics include that ofMylasa (Milas) at one time capital of Caria and administrative seat of Mausolus,Labranda in the mountains high above Mylasa andEuromos (Herakleia) nearLake Bafa.
Lycia formed the southernmost settlement in Western Anatolia on what is now theTeke peninsula on the western Mediterranean coast. There many historic Lycian sites includeXanthos,Patara,Myra,Pinara,Tlos,Olympos andPhaselis. 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.
The west-central area of Anatolia became the domain of the Phrygian Kingdom following the fragmentation of theHittite Empire during the 12th century BC, existing independently until the 7th century BC, and strongly featured inGreek mythology. Although their origin is disputed, their language more resembledGreek (Dorian) than the Hittites whom they succeeded. Possibly from the region of Thrace, thePhrygians eventually established their capital atGordium (nowYassıhüyük) and an important religious center atYazılıkaya. Known as theMushki 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.[26]
Well known from ancient Greek and Roman writers isKing 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 byDionysos, and his unfortunate encounter withApollo 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 representedPhrygia as a great king. Most historians now consider him to be King Mita of the Mushki as noted in Assyrian accounts. TheAssyrians thought of Mita as a dangerous foe, forSargon 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.[27]
After Midas's death, Phrygia lost its independence, becoming respectively a vassal state of its western neighbour, Lydia, Persia,Greece, Rome andByzantium, disappearing in theTurkish era.
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Cimmeria was a region of north eastern 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 (Nairi, or the Kingdom of Van) existed in north-east Anatolia, centered aroundLake Van (Nairi Sea), to the south of theCimmerians 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 theArmenian 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 underArgishti I (c. 785–760 BC). At that time it included present day Armenia, southernGeorgia reaching almost to theBlack Sea, west to the sources of theEuphrates and south to the sources of theTigris.
Following this Urartu suffered a number of setbacks. KingTiglath Pileser III of Assyria conquered it in 745 BC. By 714 BC it was being ravaged by both Cimmerian and Assyrian raids. After 645 BCScythian attacks provided further problems for Urartu forcing it to become dependent on Assyria. However Assyria itself fell to a combined attack ofScythians,Medes andBabylonians in 612 BC. While the details of Urartu's demise are debated, it effectively disappeared to be replaced by Armenia. It was aPersian Satrapy for a while from the 6th century BC before becoming an independent Armenia. To this day Urartu forms an important part ofArmenian nationalist sentiment.
In the Iron Age Assyria extended to include south eastern 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 theNeo-Assyrian Empire in its last 300 years, and its territory centered on what is modern dayIraq.
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 north west at the expense of the Hittites, and to the north at the expense of Urartu. Assyrian expansion reached its height underTukulti-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 underAshur-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 theLuwian kingdoms ofCommagene, 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 thecollapse 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 successorShalmaneser 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, theGreeks who attempted to settle Cilicia. His successorEsarhaddon (680–669 BC) was responsible for the final destruction ofUrartu. Ashurbanipal (669-627 BC) then extended Assyrian influence still further placing Caria, Cilicia, Lydia andCappadocia intovassalage.
However 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,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 asPre-History, to make way for what has been variously described asRecorded History, or more specifically lateAncient History orClassical Civilisation. However these terms are not precise or universal and overlap.
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