History

The period following the destruction of the Hittite Empire saw the immigration of and invasion by a number of civilizations. In Anatolia the Hittite Empire, now destroyed, fractured into independent principalities. The Phrygians, who were probably the "Sea People" or migrants from Thrace responsible for the destruction of the Hittite Empire, became the dominant Anatolian power in the 8th and 9th centuries B.C.

The demise of the Phrygian Kingdom came during the reign of King Midas, the last Phrygian king (and of the Golden Touch of mythology fame). He succumbed to invasions by the Cimmerian nomadic people around 725 B.C. The Hurrians, a native Anatolian mountain people, gave way to the Urartians, who, up until around 850 B.C., occupied the eastern region around Lake Van; they constructed walled citadels and an elaborate system of escape tunnels for their own defense. The Lycians, probably survivors of a nation of sailors or pirates -- and possibly one of the Sea Peoples who caused the fall of the Hittite Empire -- settled along the southwest coast.

At about the same time the Phrygians rose to power, several Hellenistic tribes fled Greece to escape the invading Dorians. This group, the Ionians, migrated to the Aegean islands and into the central west coast of Anatolia (although the term Ionia often refers to the entire west coast). Ephesus, Miletus, and Priene are among the settlements formed during this migration; around 850 B.C., Smyrna (now Izmir) was established as their center. Originally an agricultural civilization, Ionia developed an advanced artistic and literary tradition, taking its influences from other, more advanced groups in Anatolia as well as from contact with Egyptians, Assyrians, and Phoenicians. Miletus became a vibrant center for the exchange of scientific ideas, and here you find a foundation for modern-day mathematics, geometry, astronomy, and philosophy.

Around the 7th century B.C., the Lydians appeared on the coast, establishing their capital at Sardis and inhabiting the inland district of western Anatolia. The Lydians were the first to coin modern money, mixing gold from the rich Pactolos Valley with silver and thus immortalizing the (apparently very rich) King Croesus. The Lydians also claim to have invented the game of dice.

Under Croesus, Lydia conquered and incorporated Ionia into its kingdom, but in 546 B.C., it was defeated and captured by Cyrus the Great of Persia, who was consolidating Persian power in Asia Minor. Cyrus the Great's successor, Darius I, crossed the Bosphorus and incorporated Thrace and Macedonia into the Persian Empire.

The Carians, mostly known as mercenaries, settled along the southwestern coast, having been chased off the Aegean islands by invading Greeks. They established, among other cities, Halicarnassus. In the 6th century B.C., Caria was incorporated into the Lydian kingdom, but later it, too, succumbed to the Persian Empire. Carian kings continued to rule as subjects of Cyrus the Great, maintaining some degree of autonomy. But 200 years of Persian domination created feelings of resentment toward Eastern ways. Many Ionians, including most of the philosophers and artists, migrated back to either Athens or Italy. The remaining Ionians regained their freedom by joining the Delian League, a federation of Greek city-states formed in 478 B.C. as security against the renewal of Persian aggression.

In the summer of 334 B.C., Alexander the Great began his war on the Persian Empire, retaking Thrace, crossing the Dardanelles, and confronting the Persian armies near Troy. He succeeded in annexing all of Anatolia under Macedonian/Greco rule. Alexander showed an unprecedented tolerance toward the Eastern world: He took Persians for wives and permitted Persian nobles to retain their land in exchange for loyalty. Alexander the Great's untimely death, in 323 B.C., was the catalyst for internal conflict among his generals, resulting in generations of clashes over the division of his territories.

During the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., several independent Greek states emerged in western Anatolia. The city of Pergamum was established and, under Eumenes II, enjoyed its greatest period of prosperity, earning itself a privileged position with Rome.

Gordius, from Pauper to Prince

Legend has it that the Phrygian elders, seeking a leader to mediate quarrels and to gain status with their neighbors, consulted a local oracle for advice on how to select a king. The oracle responded that the next person to pass his shrine riding in a cart should be king, and soon enough, a farmer named Gordius rode by in his oxcart on the way to market. Gordius was proclaimed king, and the capital (near present-day Ankara), assumed his name, Gordion.

The expression "Gordion knot," which refers to a highly complex problem, takes its name from Gordius as well. Apparently, Gordius was quite proud of the fittings on his oxcart -- particularly of the unusual knot he used to tie the cart's pole to the axle. He challenged all potential passersby to untie it, but the knot remained intact long after his death. When Alexander the Great arrived in Gordion more than 500 years later, he carefully studied the knot, then decisively severed it in two with his sword, before continuing on to more challenging conquests.