| Paphlagonia (Παφλαγονία) | |
|---|---|
| Ancient Region ofAnatolia | |
| Location | North centralAnatolia,Turkey |
| State existed | 5th century – 183 BC |
| Historical capitals | Gangra (modern-dayÇankırı,Turkey) |
| Achaemenidsatrapy | Cappadocia |
| Roman province | Pontus |
 | |
 | |
Paphlagonia (/ˌpæfləˈɡoʊniə/;Greek:Παφλαγονία,romanized: Paphlagonía,modern translit.Paflagonía;Turkish:Paflagonya) was an ancientregion on theBlack Sea coast of north-centralAnatolia, situated betweenBithynia to the west andPontus to the east, and separated fromPhrygia (later,Galatia) by a prolongation to the east of theBithynian Olympus. According toStrabo, the region was bounded by the riverParthenius to the west and theHalys River to the east.Paphlagonia was said to be named after Paphlagon, a son of the mythicalPhineus.[1]
The greater part of Paphlagonia is a rugged mountainous country, but it contains fertile valleys and produces a great abundance of hazelnuts and fruit – particularly plums, cherries and pears. The mountains are clothed with dense forests, notable for the quantity of boxwood that they furnish. Hence, its coasts were occupied byGreeks from an early period. Among these, the flourishing city ofSinope, founded by colonists fromMiletus in ca. 630 BC, stood pre-eminent.Amastris, a few miles east of the Parthenius river, became important under the rule of the Macedonian monarchs; whileAmisus, a colony of Sinope situated a short distance east of the Halys river (and therefore not strictly in Paphlagonia as defined by Strabo), grew to become almost a rival of its parent city.
The most considerable towns of the interior wereGangra – in ancient times the capital of the Paphlagonian kings, afterwards calledGermanicopolis, situated near the frontier ofGalatia – andPompeiopolis, in the valley of theAmnias river, near extensive mines of the mineral called by Strabosandarake (red arsenic or arsenic sulfide), largely exported fromSinope.
In the time of theHittites, Paphlagonia was inhabited by theKashka people, whose exact ethnic relation to the Paphlagonians is uncertain. It seems perhaps that they were related to the people of the adjoining country,Cappadocia,[clarification needed] who were speakers of one of theAnatolian branch of theIndo-European languages. Their language would appear, from Strabo's testimony, to have been distinctive.
The Paphlagonians were one of the most ancient nations ofAnatolia and were listed among the allies of the Trojans in theTrojan War (ca. 1200 BC or 1250 BC), where their kingPylaemenes and his son Harpalion perished (Iliad, ii. 851–857). According toHomer andLivy, a group of Paphlagonians, called theEnetoi in Greek, were expelled from their homeland during a revolution. With a group of defeated Trojans under the leadership of the Trojan prince Antenor, they emigrated to the northern end of theAdriatic coast and later merged with indigenousEuganei, giving the nameVenetia to the area they settled.
Paphlagonians were mentioned byHerodotus among the peoples conquered byCroesus, and they sent an important contingent to the army ofXerxes in 480 BC.Xenophon speaks of them as being governed by a prince of their own, without any reference to the neighboringsatraps, a freedom perhaps due to the nature of their country, with its lofty mountain ranges and difficult passes. All these rulers appear to have borne the namePylaimenes as a sign that they claimed descent from the chieftain of that name who figures in theIliad as leader of the Paphlagonians.
At a later period, Paphlagonia passed under the control of the Macedonian kings, and after the death ofAlexander the Great, it was assigned, together withCappadocia andMysia, toEumenes. However, it continued to be governed by native princes until it was absorbed by the encroaching power ofPontus. The rulers of that dynasty became masters of the greater part of Paphlagonia as early as the reign ofMithridates Ctistes (302–266 BC), but it was not until 183 BC thatPharnaces reduced theGreek city ofSinope under their control. From that time, the whole province was incorporated into thekingdom of Pontus until the fall ofMithridates (65 BC).
Pompey united the coastal districts of Paphlagonia, along with the greater part of Pontus, with the Roman province ofBithynia et Pontus, but left the interior of the country under the native princes, until the dynasty became extinct and the whole country was incorporated into theRoman Empire. The name was still retained by geographers, though its boundaries are not distinctly defined by the geographer ClaudiusPtolemy. Paphlagonia reappeared as a separate province in the 5th century AD (Hierocles,Synecdemus c. 33). In the 7th century it became part of thetheme ofOpsikion, and later of theBucellarian Theme, before being split off c. 820 to form aseparate province once again. Under the Byzantine Empire, Greeks often disparaged Paphlagonians as crooks, particularly in the 10th to 12th centuries. During this period, the high profile of Paphlagonians in positions of power, such as court eunuchs, often attracted backlash from the rest of society.[2]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Paphlagonia".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Bronze Age | |
|---|---|
| Iron Age | |
| Classical Age | |
41°30′N33°30′E / 41.5°N 33.5°E /41.5; 33.5
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
