ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS

ANATOLIA: (Little Asia) Was invaded a lot throughout history. Why?

1- Surrounded by sea on three sides, is accessed easily from both land and sea from Europe and Africa

2- Positive climate conditions, productive lands and abundant water resources

WHY DID CIVILIZATIONS PROSPER IN ANATOLIA?

1- People who came through migration and occupation carried their own culture and civilization here

2- Anatolia was close to Egypt, the Aegean and Greek civilizations and so, was influenced by them

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS: in order:

1. Hittites, Phyrigs, Lydians, İons, Urartu (between 2000 BC and 600 AD)

2. Persians (543-333 BC)

3. Macedonian Empire

4. Roman Empire

5. Byzantine (395-1071)

6. Turks (1071-…)

Anatolian civilizations that existed between 2000 BC and 600 AD

1. Hittites:

- Are believed to have come to Anatolia from the Caucasus

- Settled around the Kızılırmak river. Their capital was Hattuşaş

- Signed the Kadeş Agreement as a result of their war with Egypt over Syria. This is the first written agreement in known history.

- They had an assembly called Pankuş which limited the powers of the king

- The most authorized figure after the king was the queen known as Tavananna

- They had diaries called Anal, which depicted the lives of the kings and commenced objective history records

- They made Stones flat and made reliefs of Gods (the İvriz and Yazılıkaya reliefs belong to them)

- They were brought down by the Assyrians

2. PHYRIGIA:

- Established a state around the Sakarya river in Central Anatolia in 800 BC. Their capital was Gordion.

- Was toppled by the Kimmers

- Their greatest goddess was Cybele

- Progressed in weaving. They are famous for their carpets and rugs called TAPETES

3. LYDIANS:

- The area between the Gediz and Menderes rivers was known as Lydia

- Their capital was Sard

- Progressed in trade, were the first to use money in history

- Were influential in the King’s Route that started from Ephesus and stretched until Ninova in Mesopotamia

- Were toppled by the Persians

- Tumbled easily because their army was made up of merceneries from different clans (couldn’t establish its own constant army)

4. IONS:

- The area stretching between the Bay of İzmit until the Gulluk Bay was called IONIA

- The Akas who came from Greece mixed with local people and lived in city states

- The main Ion cities were: Ephesus, Milet, İzmir, Foça and Bodrum

- The Artemis temple in Ephesus belongs to them

- Progressed in naval trade

- The most important piece of their literature was the “Illiad and Odessia” legend belonging to Homer

- Progressed in arts and science. They had Thales and Pythagoras in Maths, Homer in History, Hippocrate in Medicine and Dyogenes in Philosophy

5. URARTU:

- Established a state around the Lake of Van. Their capital was Tuşba

- The king used to rule the country in the name of the war god Haldi

- Progressed in mining

- Known for their castles and water canals (the Toprrakkale, Çavuştepe, Patnos and Kayalıdere castles)

Culture, civilization and government:

1- The states set up in Anatolia were mostly ruled by kings. The king was the commander in chief, chief judge and chief priest. This shows that the king held all military, political and religious power in his own hands. The fact that he was also the chief priest shows that they were not secular

2- The Hittites had an assembly called Pankuş. This limited the powers of the king

3- The most authorized figure after the king was the queen known as Tavananna

4- The Ions lived in city states called Site rather than a centralized kingdom

Religion and faith:

1- They were a multi-god society

2- The Hittites believed in gods of Asia Minor, Lydian and Greek gods as well as their own. This shows the interaction of faiths in Anatolia

3- The Urartu believed in life after death and this is why they made their graves like homes and rooms and put various belongings in them

4- The greatest god of Phyrigs was Goddess Cybele

5- The Arthemis temple in Ephesus belongs to the Lydians

6- Ions were developed in naval trade

7- Were influential in the King’s Route that started from Ephesus and stretched until Ninova in Mesopotamia

Social and economic life:

1- The society was divided into classes like the nobles, priests, the free people and slaves

2- The basis of economic life was agriculture, trade and animal husbandry

3- The Urartu were devloped in mining

4- The Lydians progressed in trade, were the first to use money in history

5- The Ions progressed in naval trade

- The Lydians were influential in the King’s Route that started from Ephesus and stretched until Ninova in Mesopotamia

Writing, language and literature:

1. Assyrians developed writing in Anatolia. The Hittites and Urartu used the cuneiform script they adopted from Assyrians and the hieroglyph, which they discovered themselves

2. The Ions and Lydians used the phoenicia type of writing and the Ions spread this to the west

3. They had diaries called Anal, which depicted the lives of the kings and commenced objective history records

4. Signed the Kadeş Agreement as a result of their war with Egypt over Syria. This is the first written agreement in known history.

5. The most important piece of their literature was the “Illiad and Odessia” legend belonging to Homer

Law:

Laws in Anatolia were not eye for eye like in Mesopotamia.

Arts and science:

1. The Hittites made stones flat and made reliefs of Gods (the İvriz and Yazılıkaya reliefs belong to them)

2. Known for their castles and water canals (the Toprrakkale, Çavuştepe, Patnos and Kayalıdere castles)

3. Progressed in arts and science. They had Thales and Pythagoras in Maths, Homer in History, Hippocrate in Medicine and Dyogenes in Philosophy

4. Hittites and Phyrigs progressed in weaving. They are famous for their carpets and rugs called TAPETES

States that ruled Anatolia:

1. Persian Empire: Anatolia was ruled by this empire between 543-333 BC. It was originally set up in Iran.

2. Macedonian Empire: Alexander the Great formed a great empire with an expedition to Asia. He conquered most of Anatolia, Syria, Egypt and parts of India. Ended the Persian Empire and died on the way back.

Hellenistic civilization: the Greek and Oriental civilizations were influenced by each other during this expedition. A mixture of these two civilizations created the Hellenistic civilization. Small kingdoms formed in Anatolia after the death of Alexander. These were:

a. The Bitinia Kingdom in northwest Anatolia

b. Pontus Kingdom in the Black Sea

c. Pergamo Kingdom in Western Anatolia

The kings of Pergamo gave importance to science, literature and arts. They created the parchment paper from goat and sheep skin. This is how many books have survived until today. They are also famous for their Zeus temple.

3. The Roman Empire:

- Established in Italy but spread to Asia, Europe and Africa in a rapid way. Split into east and west in 395. The west toppled in 476 and east (Byzantine Empire) in 1453.

- The Bozdogan Belt, Cemberlitas in Istanbul, Augustus Temple and Roman Bath in Ankara and Aspendos Theatre are their most well known master pieces

- They took the sun calender from the Egyptians and developed it with the name of the Julian calendar

- The alphabet discovered by Fenicians passed on to the Greeks through the Ions and in turn to the Romans. The Romans developed this into the Latin alphabet.

- The first written laws in Rome were the 12 Tablet Laws. Roman law forms the basis of law in Europe today

4. The Byzantine Empire (Eastern Rome)

 - Centered in Istanbul, was toppled by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1453

- Known for Hagia Sophia, Aya Irini, Hora, Sergios and Bakus churches, the Basilica and Thousand Pillar cisterns
Culture and civilizations around Turkey

Mesopotamia: starts from southeast Anatolia and stretches into Basra. The area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Enjoyed productive soil, good climate and was thus a target of many attacks and lots of migration. Lots of interaction between people developed civilization a lot.

Major nations were:

1. Sumerians

2. Akkads

3. Elams

4. Babylon

5. Assyrians

1. Sumers:

- Lived in independent city states. Ur, Uruk and Lagaş were their most important cities. Their city states were governed by priest-kings known as Ensi or Patesi.

- Polytheic Sumers called their temples Ziggurat

- Houses and temples were made of mud walls and bricks due to the absence of Stones. Many occupations prevented them from surviving until today

- They discovered the cuneiform script that forms the basis of today’s civilization (3500 BC)

- Formulated first written laws in history. This is why they can be called the world’s first state governed by the rule of law. The first written laws devised by Lagash King Urukagine were based on the ransom and cost system

- Their most important epics were Gılgamış, Creation and the Hurricane Story

- Formed the basis of maths and geometry (discovered the four steps in math, calculated the area of a circle and drafted tables of addition and division)

- Progressed in astronomy (discovered the signs, calculated a month as 30 days and a year as 360 days). They were the first to discover calendars based on the moon calculation

- Latest research on their traditions, language and belongings shows that they could have be among the Turks who came from Central Asia

- Were toppled by the Akads

2. Akkads:

- A Sami nation that came to Mesopotamia from the Arabian Peninsula

- Established the first constant army (and so conquered Mesopotamia in a short time)

- Established the first known empire in history

- Was founded by Sargon in Agade

- The Victory Monument was their most important piece of art

3. Elams:

- Is the name given to southeast Mesopotamia

- Capital was Sus

- Progressed in fine arts and decorating

4. Babylon:

- First idea of absolute monarchy

- Their famous king Hammurabi formulated the first constitution, the Hammurabi Laws

- Most important work was the Tower of Babylon and Babylon’s Vineyards

5. Assyrians:

- Established in upper Mesopotamia (southeast Anatolia). Spread up to the Taurus Mountains and Cappadochia

- Set up trade colonies in Anatolia (Kültepe)

- Taught the cuneiform script and started the age of written history in Anatolia

- Collected all pieces in this script in their capital Hattuşaş and started the first libraries and archives

Egyptian civilization:

- Was established around the Nile River in North Africa

- Interaction with other civilizations was less due to it being surrounded by sea and deserts. This is why it is unique

- The previous city states called NOM were transformed into a centralized kingdom by King Menes as of 4.000 BC. He also started the reign of pharoahs

- Egyptian kings were called pharaos. They were responsible for religion and politics and had declared themselves god.

- Polytheism. Their gods were depicted in the form of humans or animals. Built pyramids for the pharoahs. Believed in rebirth.

- Was invaded by the Persians in 525 BC and Alexander the Great in 333 BC. This made the Greek and Egyptian civilizations influence each other.

- Signed the Kadeş Agreement with the Hittites in 1280 BC

- Used their unique hieroglyph writing

- Wrote on leaves called papyrus

- Developed in medicine, chemistry and pharmacy

- Found the number pi in maths. Developed in astronomy. Set up planetariums and calculated the overflow times of the Nile

- Developed the first calendar on earth based on a sun year. The Romans developed this into what we use today

- Their economy was based on agriculture, trade and mining

The Aegean and Greek civilizations: all the people living in Crete, Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, Western Anatolia and the Aegean islands

1. Crete civilization: is the place where the Aegean and Greek civilizations first developed. It then spread to the other islands, Mora and Greece. The Knossos Palace is their most important piece.

2. Mycenean civilization (Akas): was established by the Akas who came from Anatolia in 2.000 BC.

- Lived in city states. Most important city was Mycene

- The Troyan Wars were their most important point in history. This battle was waged between the Mycenean and Troyan people for control over the straits. This created the problem of the Straits in history for the first time. Homer’s Illiad depicts this.

- The Mycene and Tirinis Castles are significant

- Was toppled by the Dors

3. Greek civilization: was established by the Dors. Influenced the later Hellenistic and Roman civilizations.

- Set up city states called polis. Athens, Sparta and Korint were the most notable

- All city states were equally powerful, so none was dominant. That is why they couldn’t set up national unity in the early ages. United only againt the Persians who tried to conquer them and defeated the Persian armies in the Peleponnes War.

- The Greek society was divided into classes like the nobles, merchangs, villagers and slaves. This led to a struggle between the classes

4. Phoenician civilization: lived in the region between the Lebanese mountains and the Mediterranian Sea. Developed in shipping and trade.

- Set up trade colonies in the east of the Mediterranian and western Africa. Carried qualities of the east and west civilizations to each other

- Discovered the alphabet based on letters. Had a 22 letter alphabet that passed on to the Greeks and Romans and formed today’s Latin alphabet

- Discovered glass, were good at ivory cutting

5. Jewish civilization: the Jews who lived in Palestine and Lebanon in 1500 BC were from the Sami race.

- Formed a unity at the time of Moses, established a state at the time of David, strongest at the time of the Prophet Suleiman

- Split into the Israeli and Jewish states after Suleiman. The former was toppled by the Assyrians and the latter by Babylon.

- Monotheism. First clan to believe in one god in the early ages. Their holy book was the Torah.

- For them Judaism was a national religion, this is why it did not spread much.

- They have always been in solidarity despite being all around the world because they unite around their religion as a nation

- Set up today’s Israeli state with the help of the US and UK after World War 2.

- Their most important creation in architecture is the Mescid-i Aksa in Jerusalem.