|
History of Anatolia
Anatolia
has given rise to many civilizations in the course of history.
Although not as advanced as Egypt or Mesopotamia, the Hatti,
who spoke a language characterized by prefixes,were nevertheless
one of the more advanced societies of their age(3000-2000B.C.).
The objects on display at the Ankara Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations constitute the finest Bronze Age collection
in the world next to the Ur Treasure in the British Museum.
The Ankara collection, dated at 2000-1900B.C., comes from
tumuli at Alacahoyuk, Horoztepe and Mahmatlar, and includes
artifacts in gold silver, electrum bronze and ceramic.
An Outpost Against Invasion From The
Balkans : Troy
During the time of the Hatti, Troy I (3000-2500) and Troy
II (2500-2200) represented the Bronze Age in northwestern
Anatolia, that is to say at Canakkale.Both fell within the
sphere of Aegean culture, and Troy II had a particularly
brilliant age. The gold vessels unearthed by Heinrich Schliemann,
and kept in the Berlin Vцlkerkunde Museum, unfortunately
vanished during World War II. The riches of Troy are now
represented by the gold jewellery on display in the Istanbul
museum of Archaelogy. Troy III-V (2200-1800B.C.) is a continuation
of Troy II.
Migration Of Indo-European Peoples
Into Anatolia
The Hatti-Hittite Princedoms
The Indo-European migrations, which took place over a
vast territory extending from Western Europe to India, brought
some peoples over the Caucasus into Anatolia. The Nesi people
settled in Central Anatolia, the Pala in Paphlygonia, and
the Luwians in Southern Anatolia. In the course of these
migrations the new arrivals gradually captured the Hatti
princedoms to form first the Old Hittite Kingdom (1660-1460
B.C.), and than the Great Hittite Kingdom(1460-1190 B.C.).
The Hittite Empire (1660-1190 B.C.)
The Hittites founded a federative feudal state, and during
their final two centuries constituted one of the two superpowers
of the age, the other being Egypt. Indo-European in origin,
the Hittites recognized equality between men and women,and
indeed their law incoporated rights even for slaves. No
other legal system in the world at that time was so advanced.
Although the monarchy passed from father to son, this was
a kingship based on the idea of "primus inter pares",first
among equals, for the ruler was required to bring many matters
before the senate, which was made up of aristocrats known
as the Pankus class.
At a time in the Near East when the flaying and impaling
of enemies was the rule, when heads and hands would be lopped
off and pyramids made of them, the Hittites were astonishingly
humane, almost like civilized of nations today.
The Hittites adopted the Hatti religion, mythology, language
and customs, as well as their names for places, mountains,
rivers and persons. Because the Mesopotamians called Anatolia
"the Land of the Hatti", the newcomers were mistakenly
given the name "Hittite".
Hittite architecture was highly original, and included
the strongest city walls of the Near East in the second
millenium B.C. They also built the most magnificent temples,
and developed a figurative art that was to be widespread
in Anatolia.
The Ilium of Homer's Iliad Troy VI
(1800-1275 B.C.)
As the Hittites were settling in Central Anatolia, another
Indo-European people were flourishing in the Canakkale region
at Troy VI, which today is one of Turkey's finest ruins,
with a city wall preserved to a height of four meters, and
a number of well preserved megaron type houses.
The Ilium of King Priam, in Homer's epic, corresponds to
layer VIh(1325-1275 B.C.), and was destroyed in an earthquake,
while the city captured by the Achaeans was Troy VIIe (1275-1240/1200
B.C.). When Troy VIh was destroyed in an earthquake in 1275
B.C., followed by the pillaging of Troy VIIa in 1240/1200
at the hands of The Achaeans, a staunch outpost against
incursions from the nortwest- an outpost which had stood
for two thousand years was gone. And indeed, the crude hand-made
pottery discovered in Troy VIIb2 / 1240-1190 B.C.),like
the Buckelceramic pots found in Troy VIIb2 (1190-110), are
of Balkan Origin. Having captured Troy in 1200, the Balkan
peoples proceeded to occupy Anatolia in waves; around 1190
they destroyed the Hittite capital of Hattusas and penetrated
as far south as the Assyrian border.
Civilizations Which Influenced The Hellens
The Urartu Kingdom(860-580 B.C.) and The Phrygians(750-300
B.C.)
In southeastern and eastern Anatolia, which seem not to
have been much affected by the migrations of the Balkan
peoples, the Late Hittite Princedoms(1200-700 B.C.) and
the Urartu Kingdom (860-580 B.C.)produced a high level of
culture.
In the 8th century B.C. the Hellenes came in contact with
the rich two-thousand-year-old heritage of Mesopotamia through
the intermediary of the Late Hittite Princedoms living in
southeastern Anatolia. The Hellenes acquired the Phoenician
alphabet from Al Mina, and the mythology and figurative
art which we see in Homer and Hesiod, from such Late Hittite
cities as Kargamish and Malatya. The helmet of a Hellene
in the 8th century, along with his shield, various belts
and different hair styles, were just like Those of the Hittites.
Hellenic figurative and decorative art in the 8th and 7th
centuries followed Hittite styles and iconography.
Although the Urartus were strongly influenced in their
art by Assyrian and Late Hittite example, they produced
fine artifacts which they were able to export to Hellas
and Etruscan cities.
The Phrygians were among the Balkan peoples who came into
Anatolia around the year 1200 B.C., but they first appear
on the scene as a political entitiyafter the year 750 B.C.
The Hellenic world knew of the Phrygian King Midas as a
legendary figure with long ears who turned to gold everything
that the touched. The Assyrians, on the other hand , record
that he qas king in 717, 715, 712 and 709 B.C. Although
the powerful kingdom which Midas founded was swept away
by the Cimmerians in the First quarter of the 7th century,
scattered groupings of the Phrygians continued to evolve
their civilization in Central Anatolia though the 6th century
B.C. The Phrygian rock temples and treasures in the vicinity
of Eskisehir and Afyon are quite well preserved, and among
the finest works produced by their age.
Three Intriguing Anatolian Peoples:
Lydia, Caria and Lycia
The Lydians and Lycians spoke languages that were fundamentally
Indo-European, but both languages had acquired non-Indo-European
elements prior to the Hittite and Hellenic periods. Both
alphabets closely resembled that of the Hellenes. During
the reign of Creosus, fabled for his wealth (575-545 B.C.)
the Lydian capital of Sardes was one of the most brilliant
cities of the ancient world.
Although the Carian alphabet resembles the Lycian, the
Carian language has not been deciphered to date. Herodotus
says that according to a cretan legend the Carians were
called Leleges and lived on the islands during the time
of the Minoan Kingdom, that is, in the mid-2nd millenium
B.C. The Carians themselves, however, claimed to be native
Anatolians, related to the Lydians and Mysians.
The archaelogical finds pertaining to all three cultures
show strong Hellenic influence. Of the three, the Lycians
best kept their own character. Their monuments hollowed
out of the rock are among the most interesting works of
art in ancient Anatolia.
The Ionian Civilization (1050-1030 B.C.)
Following the destruction of Troy, the Hellenes established
cities all along the Western Anatolian shore. In the 9th
century B.C. they produced the first masterpiece of Western
Civilization, the Iliad of Homer.
During the era of the natural philosophers, i.e. 600-545
B.C., Anatolian culture was of a brilliance unmatched in
the world of its time, superceding Egypt and Mesopotamia
Rejecting the idea of djinns, fairies and mythological causes,
the natural philosophers investigated natural phenomena
in a free spirit; Thales, son of the Carian Hexamyes, using
the same methods we would today, predicted an eclipse of
the sun for May 28, 585 B.C. This was the first prediction
of a natural event in history.
During the occupation of the Persians (545-333 B.C.), Anatolia
relinguished its leadership, but regained it in the Hellenistic
Age (333-30 B.C.).
Throughout these centuries, Milletus, Priene, Ephesus and
Teos were among the finest cities in the world, and the
Anatolian architecture of this era greatly influenced Rome.
The Roman Age (30 B.C. - 595 A.D.)
 |
The Romans developed the technique of mortaring bricks
together, thereby producing arches, vaults and domes of
large volume. These were the first major feats of enineering
in history, and although the very first were at Rome, it
soon became the turn of Anatolia Fine cities sprang up not
only in the south and west of the peninsula, but also in
its heartland. In all of these cities there were such monumental
works as an agora, gymnasium, stadium, theater, baths and
foundations, and many of them were of marble. The roads,
too, were paved with marble and lined with colonnades, thus
protecting the citizens from sun and dust in the summer,
and from cold and mud in the winter. Water channeledinto
the cities via aquedects sprang from the fountains, and
a fine, well maintained network of roads and stone bridges
connected the cities on the peninsula. Dozens of ancient
cities in Western and Southern Anatolia, portions of them
almost as they were in Roman times, fill visitors with awe.
The First Christian State in the World
The Byzantine Empire (330-1453 A.D.)
Byzantine art was born in Anatolia at the end of the Roman
era. As the Roman art of sculpture and architectural decoration
entered a period of decline toward the end of the 3rd century,
new life was breathed into them by early Christian practitioners
of both arts. One might say that early Christian and Byzantine
art were an expressionistics rendering of Roman themes;
where architectural space was concerned, they represented
a whole new approach.
For two and a half centuries, from 300 to 565 A.D., Constantinople
(Istanbul) was the leading city of the world in art and
culture. The most brilliant time for the early Christian
era was the reign of Justinian (527-565). Hagia Sophia,
a centrally domed basilica, was built perior to this (532-539),
and is the masterpiece of Byzantine art, one of the most
famous works in the entire world.
The best preserved Byzantine religious buildings are Hagia
Irini Church (6th and 8th centuries), the Basilica of St.
John (Justinian's reign) and the Church of Mary (4th and
6th centuries), both in Ephesus, and the Alahan Church (5th
and 6th centuries) in Southeastern Anatolia. From the Late
Byzantine era the best preserved and finest works are St.
Mary Pammakaristos (1310) next to Fethiye Mosque, and Kariye
Mosque, that is to say the Chora Church, both in Istanbul.
In the latter two buildings, the multidomed ceiling harmonizes
beautifully with the walls and their three-staged arches.
The first people to dwell in all of Anatolia were the Turks.
The Hittites, Phrygians and Greeks lived in only part of
the peninsula.
The Turks arrived in Anatolia from Central Asia by way
of continual migrations and incursions, and through their
policy of tolerance in government earned the love of the
Indo-European peoples living on the peninsula.It was the
Turks who adopted Islam, and on this basis mingled with
the local peoples starting in 1071. The passage of nine
centuries has resulted in present-day Turkey.
Until recently it was thought that contemporary Western
civilization was based on the Greeks, but archaelogy and
history now show that it goes back rather to beginnings
in western and south-western Anatolia.
|
