Perikles of Lycia
Portrait of Perikles of Lycia, from his coinage. Circa 375-362 BC
Allegiance	Lycia
Years of service	375 to 362 BC
Rank	King of Lycia

Perikles (Perikle inLycian), was the last known independentdynast ofLycia. A dynast ofLimyra in eastern Lyciac. 375–362 BCE, he eventually ruled the entire country during theRevolt of the Satraps, in defiance of theAchaemenid Empire.^[1]

Pericles was originally based inLimyra in eastern Lycia. He initially ruled Limyra alongside Trbbẽnimi, a Lycian dynast known primarily from his coinage.^[1] These eastern dynasts flourished in the 370s BCE, when the power of the traditionally-dominant rulers ofXanthos in western Lycia began to wane.^[1] Trbbẽnimi minted several coins on the west Lycianweight standard, perhaps anticipating an invasion ofthe Xanthos valley.^[1] Trbbẽnimi may have diedc. 375 BCE or slightly earlier, after which Pericles became the sole ruler in Limyra.[1] Trbbẽnimi may have been Pericles' father, although coins of Trbbẽnimi only appear at around the same time as those of Pericles, so a parent-child relationship cannot be proven.^[2] Alternatively, they may have been brothers, or one may have married into the other's family.^[1]

Pericles' power was concentrated in eastern Lycia, at least in the early part of his reign. As well as Limyra, inscriptions which date themselves to his reign have been found atTeimiussa in eastern Lycia, as well asArneai andKızılca in northern Lycia and southernMilyas.^[1] His coinage was minted at three sites:Phellos (Lycian: Wehñte), Zagaba, and Wediwiẽ (location unknown).^[1]

Pericles' two most serious rivals wereArttum̃para andMithrapata. These two dynasts, who both hadIranian names, may have been subjects ofArtaxerxes II who tried to subdue Pericles and end the Revolt of the Satraps in Lycia.^[1] We have the most surviving evidence for the career of Arttum̃para, who may have governed in the area around Xanthos in western Lycia. It may be the case that Mithrapata was his equivalent in eastern Lycia, whom Pericles defeated more quickly.^[1]

The most significant evidence which shows that Pericles went to war with these two is an inscription from Limyra, which describes a military frieze as "when Pericles besieges Arttum̃para" (Lycian:ẽke : ese : Perikle : tebete : Arttum̃para).^[1][3]

Arttum̃para was minting coins atSide inPamphylia byc. 372 – c. 370 BCE, at which point Pericles had driven him out of Lycia.[4]^[2] Mithrapata was probably deposed earlier, perhaps by Trbbẽnimi as well as Pericles.^[2]

Further evidence for Pericles' expansion into western Lycia is provided by the Greek historianTheopompus. He describes how Pericles, as king (βασίλευς), besiegedTelmessos on the western frontier of Lycia.^[2]

Pericles styled himself as king of Lycia. TheLycian word for this title wasxñtawata (Lycian script: 𐊜𐊑𐊗𐊀𐊇𐊀𐊗𐊀), and appears on many inscriptions in reference to Pericles. An altar from Limyra gives us the Greek equivalent of this title: Περικλῆς Λυκίας β[ασιλεύων], "Pericles who is king of Lycia".^[5][2] He cast himself as a native Lycian fighting for liberation against Persians. One inscription explicitly describes his rival Arttum̃para as aMede (Lycian: 𐊀𐊕𐊗𐊗𐊒𐊐𐊓𐊀𐊕𐊀:𐊎𐊁𐊅𐊁,Arttum̃para mede).^[6][1]

Pericles took part in theRevolt of the Satraps.^{[7][8][9][10]} This was not a coordinated effort; Pericles had established himself as an independent king of Lycia throughout the 370s BCE, whereas the Great Revolt took place in the late 360s BCE.^[2] Nonetheless, Persian rule was firmly reestablished in Lycia inc. 362 BCE, after the Revolt of the Satraps had collapsed and effort was made to subdue rebellious parts of Anatolia. Control was taken byAutophradates, the satrap ofLydia, who shortly transferred the province toMausolus, the satrap of nearbyCaria.^[1]

A monumental tomb was erected to Perikles in Limyra, decorated with frieze showing Pericles going to war. The tomb was in the form of a GreekIonic temple.^[10] It was one of several monumental tombs built in southwestern Anatolia in the fourth century BCE and belongs to the same tradition as the earlierNereid Monument and the laterMausoleum at Halicarnassus, blending Anatolian and Greek (Athenian) styles.^[2] Several friezes from the tomb are now visible in theAntalya Archeological Museum.^[10]

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  Frieze on the tomb of Pericles, cavalry.
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  Frieze on the tomb of Pericles.
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  Frieze on the tomb of Pericles,phalanx.
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  Tomb of Pericles, fleeing Gorgo.

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  Coin of Perikles.
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  Coin of Perikles (Lion scalp facing andTriskeles)
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  Coin of Perikles (Horned head ofPan, andTriskeles)

• Şare, Tuna (2013). "The sculpture of the Heroon of Perikle at Limyra: the making of a Lycian king".Anatolian Studies.63:55–74.doi:10.1017/S0066154613000045.JSTOR 42657426.

• 4th-century BC monarchs in Asia
• Vassals of the Achaemenid Empire
• Lycians

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata