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Lykia (Lycia) - Region 13

Cities / Mints

1 - Akalissos (Acalissus)
2 - Antiphellos (Antiphellus)
3 - Aperlai (Aperlae)
4 - Arneai (Arneae)
5 - Arykanda (Arycanda)
6 - Balbura
7 - Bubon
8 - Choma
9 - Gagai (Gagae)
10 - Kalynda (Calynda)
11 - Kandyba (Candyba)
12 - Korydalla (Corydalla)
13 - Kragos (Cragus)
14 - Kyaneai (Cyaneae)
15 - Limyra
16 - Masikytes (Masicytes)
17 - Myra
18 - Nisa
19 - Oinoanda
20 - Olympos (Olympus)
21 - Patara
22 - Phaselis
23 - Phellos (Phellus)
24 - Pinara
25 - Podalia



26 - Rhodiapolis
27 - Telmessos (Telmessus)
28 - Termessos Minor (Termessus)
29 - Tlos
30 - Trebenna
31 - Xanthos (Xanthus)

32 - Lykia Uncertain


Dynasts

- Aruvatijesi
- Erbbina (Arbinas)
- Hepruma
- Kherei
- Kuprilli
- Mithrapata
- Perikle
- Sppntaza
- Tenagure
- Thab
- Thiban
- Teththiveibi
- Trbbenimi
- Uvug
- Vedevie
- Vekhssere I and II
- Vedrei
- Zagaba

33 - Dynasts of Lykia

Eras
 
Archaic
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Classical
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Hellenistic
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Roman
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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.

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