Historical
As a result
of excavations, the prehistory of Lykia (Lycia in Latin) has largely been filled
in. Early Bronze Age examples of earthenware pottery reveal
that the region was settled by 3000 BC. Moreover the fact
that place names occur in a number of Anatolian sites also
dated to the fourth millennium BC verifes this early settlement
date linguistically. By
the second millennium BC, the Lykians possessed powerful sea
and land forces and had already established an independent
state. We know from Egyptian - Hittite - Ugaritic texts that
the Lykians were involved in acts of piracy against Cyprus
around 1400 BC and that they fought against Egypt in the ranks
of the Hittites during the battle of Kadesh in 1295 BC. Homer
mentions the Lykians in The Iliad and tells that they battled
heroically on the side of the Trojans against their enemies
the Archaeans. It does appear to be true that Greek efforts
to colonize Lykia during the first millennium BC were largely
unsuccessful and the Greeks were able to establish only one
important colony there (Phaselis).
In 545
BC the Persian commander Harpagos seized Lykia's principal
city Xanthos after a bloody struggle. Thus began Persian sovereignty
over Lykia and the rest of Asia Minor, a rule which was to last
for over 200 years. The Persians applied moderate policies
and brought about a state of calm that fostered the economic
growth and strength of the region. The Lykians developed dynastic
rulers, who took part in certain military campaigns on the
side of Persia. They had a matriarchal system, as told by
Herodotos: "They have customs that resemble no one else's.
They use their mother's name instead of their father's. If
one Lykian asks another from whom he is descended, he gives
the name of his mother."
Persian
rule in Lykia came to an end when Asia Minor fell to the Macedonian
king Alexander the Great in 333 B.C. In spite of the moderate
policies the Persians pursued, the Lykians must have been
unhappy under their rule since they opened the gates to Alexander
without offering him any resistance. However, the Lykia we
have seen up to now, with its distinctive indigenous culture,
began to loose its native character during the course of the
Hellenistic era. After the death of Alexander the Great the
history of the region becomes rather complicated. First, Lykia
fell by lot to the Macedonian Antigonos, after which it changed
hands for many years between Ptolemies and the Seleucids.
When Antiochos III lost to Rome at the battle of Magnesia,
in spite of support from Lykia, the region was given to Rhodes,
which had allied itself with Rome. The proud Lykians, resentful
of being handed over to Rhodes like chattel, turned against
Rhodes, and in 167 BC, at the end of a long struggle, succeeded
in regaining their liberty by a decision of the Roman Senate.
Strabo tells that 23 cities joined the Lykian League and that
the six largest cities - Xanthos, Myra, Patara, Tlos, Pinara,
and Olympos - each had the right to three votes, while the
others each had one. The League had an assembly, or synedrion.
In a general meeting held every autumn, this assembly, with
the participation of the city representatives, selected a
chief and other officials in a democratic election.
The second
half of the first century B.C. was a time in which Lykia was
affected by internal conflicts and disturbances in Rome itself,
from time to time even suffering disaster as a result. However
the area again recovered its properity under Augustus (reigned
27 BC - 14 AD). In 43 AD, Claudius reduced Lykia to the status
of a Roman province, and it was then administered by a governor
whom the emperor appointed. During the first and second centuries
AD, a few of the Roman emperors, such as Vespasian, Trajan,
and Hadrian, actually visited Lykia for various reasons. The
period was again one in which the region developed and prospered
and in which many public works were carried out. As a natural
outcome of this, culture, art, and daily life began to undergo
a process of romanization. Lykian aristocrats from this time
to on began to adopt Roman names, there was a demand for the
wild animal fights and gladiatorial combat peculiar to Roman
culture, and the emperor cult spread rapidly. In 141 AD, Lykia
was levelled by a large earthquake, and its cities were rebuilt
by Rome, along with the help of wealthy Lykians of high rank.
From written sources we lear that after the earthquake a certain
Opramoas, a wealthy man from Rhodiapolis, made a donation
of 500,000 dinars toward the rebuilding of cities. After a
second earthquake in 240 AD, some cities were unable to recover,
and gradually began to decline.
