Anatolia
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| - | '''Paphlagonia''' was an ancient area on the [[Black Sea]] coast of north central [[Anatolia]], situated between [[Bithynia]] to the west and [[Pontus]] to the east, and separated from [[Phrygia]] (later, [[Galatia]]) by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus. According to [[Strabo]], the river [[Bartin River|Parthenius]] formed the western limit of the region, and it was bounded on the east by the [[Halys]] river. | ||
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| - | ==Geography== | ||
| - | The greater part of Paphlagonia is a rugged mountainous country, but it contains fertile valleys and produces a great abundance of hazelnuts and fruit – particularly plums, cherries and pears. The mountains are clothed with dense forests, conspicuous for the quantity of boxwood that they furnish. Hence, its coasts were occupied by [[Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies ("apoikiai")|Greeks]] from an early period. Among these, the flourishing city of [[Sinop, Turkey|Sinope]], founded from [[Miletus]] about [[630 BC]], stood pre-eminent. [[Amasra|Amastris]], a few miles east of the Parthenius river, became important under the rule of the Macedonian monarchs; while [[Samsun|Amisus]], a colony of Sinope situated a short distance east of the Halys river (and therefore not strictly in Paphlagonia as defined by Strabo), grew to become almost a rival of its parent city. | ||
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| - | The most considerable towns of the interior were [[Gangra]] – in ancient times the capital of the Paphlagonian kings, afterwards called [[Germanicopolis]], situated near the frontier of Galatia – and [[Pompeiopolis]], in the valley of the [[Amnias]] river, near extensive mines of the mineral called by Strabo ''[[Realgar|sandarake]]'' (red arsenic or arsenic sulfide), largely exported from Sinope. | ||
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| - | ==History== | ||
| - | Although the Paphlagonians play scarcely any part in history, they were one of the most ancient nations of [[Anatolia]] (''Iliad'', ii. 851—857). | ||
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| - | In the time of the [[Hittites]], Paphlagonia was inhabited by the [[Kaskians|Kashka]] people, whose exact ethnic relation to the Paphlagonians is uncertain. It seems perhaps that they were related to the people of the adjoining country, Cappadocia,{{clarifyme}}<!--who were related to the Cappadocians: the Kaskians or the Paphlagonians?--> who were speakers of one of the [[Anatolian languages|Anatolian]] branch of the [[Indo-European languages]]. Their language would appear, from Strabo's testimony, to have been distinctive. | ||
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| - | Paphlagonians were mentioned by [[Herodotus]] among the peoples conquered by [[Croesus]], and they sent an important contingent to the army of [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes]] in [[480 BC]]. [[Xenophon]] speaks of them as being governed by a prince of their own, without any reference to the neighboring [[satrap]]s, a freedom perhaps due to the nature of their country, with its lofty mountain ranges and difficult passes. All these rulers appear to have borne the name ''Pylaimenes'' as a sign that they claimed descent from the chieftain of that name who figures in the [[Iliad]] as leader of the Paphlagonians. | ||
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| - | ===Under the Kingdom of Pontus=== | ||
| - | At a later period, Paphlagonia passed under the control of the Macedonian kings, and after the death of [[Alexander the Great]], it was assigned, together with [[Cappadocia]] and [[Mysia]], to [[Eumenes]]. However, it continued to be governed by native princes until it was absorbed by the encroaching power of [[Pontus]]. The rulers of that dynasty became masters of the greater part of Paphlagonia as early as the reign of [[Mithridates I of Pontus|Mithridates Ctistes]] ([[302 BC|302]]–[[266 BC]]), but it was not until [[183 BC]] that [[Pharnaces I of Pontus|Pharnaces]] reduced the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city of [[Sinop (Turkey)|Sinope]] under their control. From that time, the whole province was incorporated into the kingdom of [[Pontus]] until the fall of [[Mithridates VI of Pontus|Mithridates]] ([[65 BC]]). | ||
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| - | ===Roman Empire=== | ||
| - | [[Pompey]] united the coastal districts of Paphlagonia, along with the greater part of Pontus, with the Roman province of Bithynia, but left the interior of the country under the native princes, until the dynasty became extinct and the whole country was incorporated into the [[Roman Empire]]. The name was still retained by geographers, though its boundaries are not distinctly defined by the geographer Claudius [[Ptolemy]]. Paphlagonia reappeared as a separate province in the [[5th century AD]] ([[Hierocles (author of Synecdemus)|Hierocles]], ''[[Synecdemus]]'' c. 33). | ||
| - | [[Image:15th century map of Turkey region.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Detail of a 15th-century map showing Anatolia, with Paphlagonia at top.]] | ||
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| - | == Notable people == | ||
| - | *[[Theodora (9th century)|Theodora]] ([[9th century]]) wife of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus | ||
| - | *[[John Mauropous]] ([[11th century]]) Greek poet and author | ||
| + | '''Anatolia''' ({{Lang-tr|Anadolu}}, {{Lang-gr|Ανατολία}}, ''{{Unicode|Anatolía}}'') or '''Asia minor''' is a region of the [[Middle East]], comprising most of the modern [[Republic of Turkey]]. It is a geographic region bounded by the [[Black Sea]] to the north, the [[Caucasus]] to the northeast, the [[Aegean Sea]] to the west, the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the south, [[Greater Syria]] (Upper [[Mesopotamia]]) to the southeast and [[Transcaucasia]] and the [[Iranian plateau]] to the east. | ||
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Revision as of 11:16, 4 November 2008
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Anatolia (Template:Lang-tr, Template:Lang-gr, Template:Unicode) or Asia minor is a region of the Middle East, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, Greater Syria (Upper Mesopotamia) to the southeast and Transcaucasia and the Iranian plateau to the east.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Anatolia" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
