Classical Anatolia
Classical Anatolia is Anatolia during classical antiquity. Early in that period, Anatolia was divided into several Iron Age kingdoms, most notably Lydia in the west, Phrygia in the center and Urartu in the east. Anatolia fell under Achaemenid Persian rule c. 550 BC. In the aftermath of the Greco-Persian Wars, all of Anatolia remained under Persian control except for the Aegean coast, which was incorporated in the Delian League in the 470s BC. Alexander the Great finally wrested control of the whole region from Persia in the 330s BC. After Alexander's death, his conquests were split amongst several of his trusted generals, but were under constant threat of invasion from both the Gauls and other powerful rulers in Pergamon, Pontus, and Egypt.
The Seleucid Empire, the largest of Alexander's territories, and which included Anatolia, became involved in a disastrous war with Rome culminating in the battles of Thermopylae and Magnesia. The resulting Treaty of Apamea in saw the Seleucids retreat from Anatolia. The Kingdom of Pergamum and the Republic of Rhodes, Rome's allies in the war, were granted the former Seleucid lands in Anatolia. Anatolia subsequently became contested between the neighboring rivalling Romans and the Parthian Empire, which frequently culminated in the Roman–Parthian Wars.
Anatolia came under Roman rule entirely following the Mithridatic Wars of 88–63 BC. Roman control of Anatolia was strengthened by a 'hands off' approach by Rome, allowing local control to govern effectively and providing military protection. In the early 4th century, Constantine the Great established a new administrative centre at Constantinople, and by the end of the 4th century a new eastern empire was established with Constantinople as its capital, referred to by historians as the Byzantine Empire from the original name, Byzantium.
In the subsequent centuries up to including the advent of the Early Middle Ages, the Parthians were succeeded by the Sasanian Persians, who would continue the centuries long rivalry between Rome and Persia, which again culminated in frequent wars on the eastern fringes of Anatolia. Byzantine Anatolia came under pressure of the Muslim invasion in the southeast, but most of Anatolia remained under Byzantine control until the Turkish invasion of the 11th century.
Early antiquity
had become the predominant power in western Anatolia by the 7th century BC, although often subject to Assyrian control. The Lydian empire gained independence from Assyria by the end of the 7th century. The flourishing of Lydia during the first half of the 6th century BC is also dubbed the Lydian Empire period. Although the Iranian peoples had existed in the area south of the Caspian Sea from pre-historic times, their major influence began when the Medes united them in 625 BC allowing them to sweep away the Assyrian Empire shortly after, when Cyaxares led the invasion in 612 BC. Lydian king Sadyattes joined forces with Cyaxares the Mede to drive the Cimmerians out of Anatolia. This alliance was short lived, since his successor Alyattes found himself being attacked by Cyaxares, although the neighbouring king of Cilicia intervened, negotiating a peace in 585 BC, whereby the Halys River in north central Anatolia was established as the Medes' frontier with Lydia. Herodotus writes:Alyattes issued minted electrum coins, and his successor Croesus, ruling c. 560–546 BC, became known for being the first to issue gold coins.
The southeast of Anatolia was ruled by the Assyrian Empire. Tabal was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom of South Central Anatolia which fell under Assyrian rule in 713 BC.
Persian rule
The Medean Empire turned out to be short lived. By 550 BC, the Median Empire of eastern Anatolia, which had existed for barely a hundred years, was suddenly torn apart by a Persian rebellion in 553 BC under Cyrus II, overthrowing his grandfather Astyages in 550 BC. The Medes then became subject to the Persians.The Persians, who had scant resources for governing their vast empire, ruled relatively benignly as conquerors, attempting to obtain the cooperation of the local elite in governance. They ruled their vassal states by appointing local rulers, or satraps with responsibility for their satrapies. However, the Greeks referred to these satraps as 'tyrants', meaning they were neither democratically elected or derived authority from dynasty. The Achaemenid Persian Empire, continued its expansion under Darius the Great. The satrap system of local governors continued to be used and upgraded and other governmental upgrades were carried out.
Anatolia was carved up under Persian hegemony into regional administrations which replaced the hegemonic kingdoms prior to the conquest. Kings were replaced by Satraps. Satrap and Satrapy corresponding to Governor and Province respectively. The administration was hierarchical, often referred to as Great, Main and Minor Satrapies. The main administrative units in Anatolia were the Great Satrapy of Sardis in the west, Main satrapy of Cappadocia centrally, Main Satrapy of Armenia in the north-east and Main Satrapy of Assyria in the south-east. These correspond to Herodotus's Districts I-IV. However, the number of satrapies and their boundaries varied over time.
Within the hierarchical system, Sparda was a Great Satrapy consisting of the Major Satrapies of Sarda and Cappadocia. Note that Ionia and Aeolis were not considered separate entities by the Persians, while Lycia was included in semi-autonomous Caria, and Sparda included the offshore islands. Greater Phrygia included Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Pamphylia. Cappadocia initially included Cilicia, also known as Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus, and Paphlagonia.
Assyria was a Main Satrapy of the Great Satrapy of Babylon, and included Cilicia, while Armenia was a Main Satrapy within the Great Satrapy of Media.
Anatolia remained one of the most principal regions of the empire during its entire existence. During the reign of Darius the Great, the Royal Road, which directly linked the city of Susa with the western Anatolian city of Sardis.
The fall of Lydia (546 BC) and the Lydian revolt
By 550 BC Lydia controlled the Greek coastal cities, who paid tribute, and most of Anatolia, except Lycia, Cilicia and Cappadocia. In 547 BC, King Croesus, who had amassed great wealth and military power, but concerned by the growing Persian power and obvious intent, took advantage of the instability of the Persian revolt and besieged and captured the Persian city of Pteria in Cappadocia.Cyrus The Great then marched with his army against the Lydians. Although the Battle of Pteria led to a stalemate, the Lydians were forced to retreat to their capital city of Sardis. Some months later the Persian and Lydian kings met at the Battle of Thymbra. Cyrus won, capturing Sardis after a 14-day siege, Croesus giving himself up to Cyrus. According to the Greek author Herodotus, Cyrus treated Croesus well and with respect after the battle, but this is contradicted by the Nabonidus Chronicle, one of the Babylonian Chronicles.
Lydia then became the Persian Satrapy of Sardis, also known as the Satrapy of Lydia and Ionia, although there was an unsuccessful rebellion led by Pactyas, the leader of the civil administration, against Tabalus, the Persian military commander , shortly thereafter. Once Lydia had been subdued, Cyrus returned to deal with problems in the East leaving a garrison to assist in the governing of his new acquisition. Almost immediately Pactyas, who had been given the responsibility of raising tributes, raised a mercenary army from neighboring Greek cities and besieged Tabulus in the citadel. Herodotus' account that Cyrus intended to enslave the Lydians seems unsubstantiated. Pactyas soon found that he had no allies and furthermore that Cyrus was acting swiftly to put down the rebellion, sending Mazares, one of his generals to restore order. Pactyas subsequently fled to the coast and took refuge in the Aeolian city of Cyme. Mazares demanded that Cyme release Pactyas to him. Fearing retribution, the Cymeans sent him to Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. On hearing that the Mytilenians were negotiating a price for Pactyas, the destination was changed to Chios, but they too handed him over to the Persians.
File:Medusa mosaic of Kibyra.jpg|thumb|250px|Medusa head mosaic in Cibyra
Mazares was followed by Harpagus on his death, and then Oroetus. Oroetus became the first satrap recorded as demonstrating insubordination with respect to the central power of Persia. When Cambyses, who succeeded his father Cyrus, died, the Persian Empire was in chaos prior to Darius the Great finally securing control. Oroetus defied Darius' orders to assist him, whereupon Bagaeus was sent by Darius to arrange his murder.
The subjugation of Ionia and the Ionian Revolt (500–493 BC)
had initially unsuccessfully tried to persuade the Aeolian and Ionian cities to rebel against Lydia. At the time of the fall of Sardis, only one city, Miletus, had made terms with Cyrus. According to Herodotus, when Lydia fell to Cyrus, the Greek cities begged him to allow them to exist within the former Lydian territories on similar terms to those they had earlier enjoyed, Cyrus pointed out that they were too late, and they started building defensive structures. They appealed to Sparta for help, but Sparta refused, instead warning Cyrus not to threaten the Greeks. Cyrus was unimpressed, but nevertheless headed east without bothering them further. This account seems somewhat conjectural.Following the defeat of the Lydian revolt, Mazares began to reduce the other cities in the Lydian lands one by one, starting with Priene and Magnesia. However, Mazares died, and was replaced by another Mede, Harpagus, who completed the subduing of Asia Minor. Some communities, rather than face a siege, chose exile, including Phocaea to Corsica and Teos to Abdera in Thrace. Although our principal source for this period, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, implies this was a swift process, it is more likely that it took four years to subdue the region completely, and the Ionian colonies on the coastal islands remained largely untouched.
According to Herodotus around 500 BC Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus approached Artaphernes, satrap of Lydia, for assistance in aiding some citizens of Naxos who had been forced to flee and seek his help. He planned to annex not only Naxos but also the Cyclades and Euboea. With the permission of Darius he gathered a force to invade Naxos, but the expedition was a failure. Motivated by fear of the wrath of Darius he prevailed upon those in the expedition to mount an insurrection and subsequently went to Sparta and Athens for help. The Ionians attacked Sardis in approximately 499 BC, but Artarphernes managed to hold the acropolis, although the lower city was burnt. The Ionians retreated but were defeated by pursuing Persians at Ephesus in 498 BC, whereupon the Athenian ships withdrew. However, over the next two years open rebellion broke out from Byzantium to Caria and Cyprus. Eventually Aristagoras realized the futility of the exercise, as Artaphernes won a number of victories, and fled. Miletus fell to the Persian forces in 494 BC, following the Battle of Lade, who wreaked vengeance. The last pockets of resistance were obliterated by 493 BC. Herodotus depicts these events as the catalyst to the Graeco-Persian Wars.
However, Herodotus, as is so often our only source, had an agenda in his imprecise accounts, which do not fit well with what is known of the period. It is likely that the affair in Naxos represented a democratic revolt against the tyrants.