Lycia
Lycia is the ancient Greek name of a region in the southwest of Asia Minor (Latin Lycia ).
Geography
The area, which was called Lycia, extends to the west of the two semi- circle-like bulges of the south coast of Asia Minor. It took a while to get out were fixed boundaries; probably the area was long less uniform than it looked from the outside. (Originally was perhaps only the Xanthos valley as Lycia. ) Lycia on the west by Caria. The border ran about on the river axon ( Kirten Dere ). To the north it bordered on Pisidia and Phrygia, Pamphylia to the east. The scenery is sometimes very rough and jagged with peaks over 3,000 meters. Lycia is divided roughly into four parts, a western, a central, eastern and northern part. Only the first three can be described as Lycian core area, while Nordlykien, called Milyas, a largely autonomous cultural landscape formed, the BC by the conquests of the dynasts of Pericles Limyra came to Lycia in the 4th century. East and west of Lycia also impressed between the 6th and 4th century BC coins according to different standards.
The main centers are the Xanthos already mentioned in the Iliad with the famous Letoon, Patara, the central city of the Lycian Federation and the seat of the provincial government in Roman times and famous for its oracle of Apollo, which was in the early days of competing with Delphi, Limyra and finally Myra with its famous rock tombs.
A special feature of Lycia are the so-called local couples, there is a frequently encountered pattern of settlement. In this case, a port town on the Mediterranean coast, a corresponding place is assigned in the mountains. As an example Antiphellos be mentioned, today's Kaş. The port city was formed in ancient times with the mountain resort Phellos in the hinterlands a community. Xanthos was formed with the port city of Patara, the most important cities of Lycia pair. This particular type of settlement devoted to the ancient historian Martin Zimmermann his research. He noted at the pair Tyberissos and Timiussa ( Üçağız ) that foreign influences mainly in the mountain settlement Tyberissos that was on a poorly accessible mountain top, first made itself felt in the harbor is not. In the case Phellos - Antiphellos but it was reversed: here the Greek and later Roman influences spread out in the port city, while the mountain settlement preserved Lycian traditions were.
Ancient sites in Lycia
Akalissos I, II Akalissos, Andriake Antiphellos, Aperlai Apollonia, Ariassos, Arif, Arneai, Arykanda, Balboura, Bubon, Choma, Dikitanaura, Gagai, Gedelma, Idebessos, Idyros, Istlada, Kadyanda, Kandyba, Karkabo, Caunos, Korydalla, Kyaneai, Lebissos, Letoon Limyra, Mastaura, Melanippe, Myra, Nisa, Oinoanda, Olympos, Panormos, Patara, Phaselis, Phoinix, Pinara, Pydnai, Rhodiapolis, Sidyma, Sura, Telmessus, Timiussa, Tlos, Tragalassos, Trysa, Tyberissos, Xanthos
Approx. 3 km east of the ruins of the bridge is Limyra Limyra from the Roman period. Four kilometers upstream from Kemer located on the right bank of the river Xanthos ( Eşen / Koca Çayı ) the remains of the Roman bridge at Kemer.
People and Culture
The Lycians were a people with their own culture, their own writing and their own language, the Lycian. This Indo-European language is related to the Luwian. She died in the 3rd century BC.
Noteworthy is the pronounced tendency to plant representative tombs, which are almost ubiquitous. Among the most striking grave types include rock tombs, whose facades implement an indigenous wooden architecture in stone, pillar tombs (also called grave pillar ) as the so-called Harpyienmonument of Xanthos and stone sarcophagi with the landscape typical pointed arch covers. As early as the 6th century BC defeated Lycia - although never really Greek colonization area - Greek influence which, in particular since the 4th century BC reinforced.
History
In the Iliad Lycians dive under the leadership of their heroes Sarpedon and Glaucus on as allies of the Trojans. What is historically certain that Lycia, which Croesus had been unable to conquer, was occupied by 540 BC by Persian troops. In the following nearly two centuries, the country was ruled by a series of smaller princes who probably stand to each other in fierce competition and changing dependency ratios and are referred to in the research as dynasts. By about 400 BC, the dynasts of Xanthos seem to have dominated the country, but around 380 it seems the dynast Pericles of Limyra to be able to bring all of Lycia under his control. He claimed the title of Basileus. 360 but he was overthrown by the Persians, with whom he had come into conflict. Lycia was Mausolus II, the satrap of Caria assumed; the time of the dynasties was over. 334 Alexander the Great conquered the region, the rich cities and seaports served him no resistance. Telmessus, Xanthos and Patara opened its gates to him, a Lycian league with 23 cities reorganized Constitution and Assembly. 309 Lycia fell to the Ptolemies, the Seleucids in 197, 188 on Rhodes. 167 the Romans declared the area for independent; at least now the country is organized as Lycian Federation. 43 AD it was integrated as a Roman province in the Empire under Emperor Claudius, since Vespasian formed Lycia together with its neighboring region for over 200 years, the province of Lycia et Pamphylia.
To 330 was Nicholas of Myra, a man from Patara, Bishop of Myra, whose feast is celebrated on December 6. Because of the marked, steep coastline, he was, among other things patron saint of sailors. His remains were placed in the middle ages of Myra to Bari where they are today. The most famous beside Nicholas Lycians was probably the philosopher Proclus. Still under Justinian I flourished the area; only in the 7th century led the invasions of the Arabs to a decline and the closure of many cities.