List of ancient peoples of Anatolia
This is a list of peoples who inhabited Anatolia in antiquity. The essential purpose of the list is to identify prehistoric cultures in the region but many of the peoples continued to inhabit Anatolia into and through classical and late antiquity, so the actual scope of the list encompasses the history of Anatolia from prehistory to the Eastern Roman Empire, during which transition to the early medieval occurred.
Anatolia was inhabited by numerous peoples and its history is characterised by different waves of population movement. The earliest recorded inhabitants of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians, non-Indo-European peoples who lived in Anatolia as early as. Indo-European Hittites came to Anatolia and gradually absorbed the Hattians and Hurrians. Besides Hittites, Anatolian peoples included Luwians, Palaic peoples and Lydians. They spoke Anatolian languages. Other incoming people include Armenians, Greeks, Phrygians and Thracians.
Assyrians">Assyria">Assyrians
Ancient Assyrians spoke multiple languages such as Akkadian, Sumerian and Aramaic.[Hattians]
The Hattians occupied the land of Hatti in central Anatolia and are documented at least as early as the empire of Sargon of Akkad. Possibly connected to Northwest Caucasians.[Hurrians]
Indo-European peoples">Proto-Indo-Europeans">Indo-European peoples
[Anatolian peoples] (Anatolian Indo-European">Anatolian peoples">Anatolian Indo-European)
[Hittites]
- Cappadocians? / Leucosyri?
- *Amiseni?
- *Kases? / Cases?
- Cataonians?
[Luwians]
- Carians
- Cilicians
- *Clitae
- Isaurians
- Leleges?
- Lycaonians
- Lycians
- Philistines? - notably inhabited Palestine; their inclusion here is tenuous as they may have had an Anatolian origin
- Pisidians / Pamphylians
- *Homanades
- Sidians
- Solymoi / Solymi
- *Milyans / Milyae
- Telchines?
[Palaic peoples]
- Paphlagonians?
- *Caucones? / Kaukauni?
- *Heneti?
- *Mariandyni?
[Celts]
Galatians">Galatians (people)">Galatians
- Tectosages
- Tolistobogii / Tolistobogioi
- Trocmi / Trokmoi
- Aigosages, between Troy and Cyzicus
- Daguteni, in modern Marmara region around Orhaneli
- Inovanteni, east of the Trocnades
- Okondiani, between Phrygia and Galatia northeast of modern Akşehir Gölü
- Rigosages, unlocated
[Greeks]
- Central-Eastern Greeks
- *Central Greeks
- **Aeolians
- *Eastern Greeks
- **Achaeans
- **Ionians
- Western Greeks
- *Dorians
[Phrygians]
- Kaourkoi / Caurci?
- Fontes?
[Mysians]
- Mysians
- *Milatai? / Milatae?
Possible Indo-European peoples
[Hayasa-Azzi]
[Mushki]
Urumu">Urumeans">Urumu
- Urumu, allied with Mushki and Kaskians, possibly Arimi of Greek sources and Arme/Urme/Armini of Urartian sources
[Tibareni]
[Diauehi]
- Mentioned by Assyrians as one of the Nairi tribes inhabiting the Palu or Mush regions, later mentioned by Urartians in the vicinity of Kars Province, probably the Taochoi of Greek sources
Kartvelian peoples">Kartvelian languages">Kartvelian peoples
[Colchians]
- Byzeres
- Drilae / Sanni
- *Drilae
- *Sanni
- Machelones-Macrones
- *Machelones
- *Macrones
- Marres
- Phasians
- Zydretae