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| Pisidia (Πισιδία) | |
|---|---|
| Ancient Region of Anatolia | |
 Theatre ofTermessos | |
| Location | SouthernAnatolia |
| State existed | - |
| Language | Pisidian |
| Notable cities | Termessos,Sagalassos |
| Roman province | Asia,Galatia |
 | |
Pisidia (/pɪˈsɪdiə/;Ancient Greek:Πισιδία,Pisidía;Turkish:Pisidya) was a region of ancientAsia Minor located north ofPamphylia, northeast ofLycia, west ofIsauria andCilicia, and south ofPhrygia,[1] corresponding roughly to themodern-day province of Antalya inTurkey. Among Pisidia's settlements wereAntioch in Pisidia,Termessos,Cremna,Sagalassos,Etenna,Neapolis,Selge,Tyriacum,Laodiceia Katakekaumene,Adada (Pisidia) andPhilomelium.
Although Pisidia is close to theMediterranean Sea, the warm climate of the south cannot pass the height of theTaurus Mountains. The climate is too dry for timberland, but crop plants grow in areas provided with water from the mountains, whose annual average rainfall is c. 1000 mm on the peaks and 500 mm on the slopes. This water feeds the plateau. The Pisidian cities, mostly founded on the slopes, benefited from this fertility. The irrigated soil is very suitable for growing fruit and for husbandry.
The area of Pisidia has been inhabited since thePaleolithic age, with some settlements known from historical times ranging in age from the eighth to third millennium BC.
The ancestors of the classical Pisidians were likely present in the region before the 14th century BC, whenHittite records refer to a mountain site of "Salawassa", identified with the later site ofSagalassos. At that time, Pisidia appears to have been part of the region the Hittites calledArzawa. ThePisidian language is poorly known, but is assumed to be a member of theAnatolian branch ofIndo-European languages.
There is alacuna (gap) in the text ofHerodotus (7.76), but it is doubtful to surmise a reference to the Pisidians in that passage.[2] There can be little doubt that the Pisidians andPamphylians were the same people, but a distinction between the two seems to have been established at an early period.Herodotus, who does not mention the Pisidians, enumerates the Pamphylians among the nations of Asia Minor, whileEphorus mentions them both, correctly including the one among the nations on the interior, the other among those of the coast. Pamphylia early received colonies fromGreece and other lands, and from this cause, combined with the greater fertility of their territory, became more civilized than its neighbor in the interior. Pisidia remained a wild, mountainous region, and one of the most difficult for outside powers to rule.
As far back as the Hittite period, Pisidia was host to independent communities not under the Hittite yoke. Known for its warlike factions, it remained largely independent of theLydians, and even thePersians, who conqueredAnatolia in the 6th century BC, and divided the area intosatrapies for greater control, were unable to cope with constant uprisings and turmoil.
Alexander the Great had a somewhat better fortune, conquering Sagalassos on his way to Persia, though the city of Termessos defied him. After Alexander died, the region became part of territories ofAntigonus Monophthalmus, and possiblyLysimachus of Thrace, after whichSeleucus I Nicator, founder of theSeleucid Dynasty ofSyria, took control of Pisidia. Under the Seleucids, Greek colonies were founded at strategically important places and the local peopleHellenised. Even so, theHellenistic kings were never in complete control, in part becauseAnatolia was contested between the Seleucids, theAttalids ofPergamon, and theGalatians, invadingCelts fromEurope. The cities in Pisidia were among the last in western Anatolia to fully adopt Greek culture and to coin their own money.
Pisidia officially passed from the Seleucids to the Attalids as a result of theTreaty of Apamea, forced onAntiochos III of Syria by theRomans in 188 BC. AfterAttalos III, the last king of Pergamon, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome in 133 BC as theprovince of Asia, Pisidia was given to the Kingdom ofCappadocia, which proved unable to govern it. The Pisidians cast their lot with pirate-dominatedCilicia and Pamphylia until the Roman rule was restored in 102 BC.
In 39 BCMarcus Antonius entrusted Pisidia to the Galatianclient kingAmyntas and charged him with suppressing a people of the Taurus Mountains known as theHomonadesians, who sometimes controlled the roads connecting Pisidia to Pamphylia.
After kingAmyntas of Galatia was killed in the struggle in 25 BC, Rome made Pisidia part of the newprovince of Galatia. The Homonadesians were finally wiped out in 3 BC.
During the Roman period Pisidia wascolonized with veterans of itslegions to maintain control. For the colonists, who came from poorer parts ofItaly, agriculture must have been the area's main attraction. UnderAugustus, eight such colonies were established in Pisidia, and Antioch andSagalassos became the most important cities. The province was gradually Latinised. Latin remained the formal language of the area until the end of the 3rd century.
Pisidia became an importantearly Christian centre.Paul the Apostle preached inAntioch on his first journey.[3] He also visited the area in his second[4] and third[5] journeys. After theEmperor Constantine's legalization of Christianity in 311,Antioch in Pisidia (which has various namesakes, including the Patriarchate in Syria) played an important role as the Christianmetropolitan see as well as being the capital of thecivil province of Pisidia. Most Pisidian cities were heavily fortified at that time due to civil wars and foreign invasions.
The area was devastated by an earthquake in 518, a plague around 541–543, and another earthquake and Arab raids in the middle of the 7th century. After theMuslim conquest of Syria disrupted the trade routes, the area declined in importance. In the 8th century the raids increased. In the 11th century theSeljuk Turks captured the area and founded theSeljuk Sultanate in Central Anatolia. Pisidia frequently changed hands between theByzantine Empire and the Turks. In 1176, SultanKılıçarslan defeatedManuel Komnenos in theBattle of Myriocephalon (thousand heads).
37°18′N30°18′E / 37.3°N 30.3°E /37.3; 30.3
| Bronze Age | |
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| Iron Age | |
| Classical Age | |
