Ancient kingdoms of Anatolia

Below is a list of Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia. Anatolia (most of modern Turkey) was the home of many ancient kingdoms. This list does not include the earliest kingdoms, which were merely city states, except those that profoundly affected history. It also excludes foreign invaders (such as The Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, Roman Empire etc.).[1]

The list of kingdoms

Map of the Hittite Empire showing and the neighbouring Anatolian peoples and kingdoms

Bronze and Iron Age

The first column shows the name of the kingdom or the state, the second column shows the name of the capital, the third column shows the life span of the state. However, there are uncertainties both in the second and in the third columns. In particular, the first dates (of emergence) are approximate.

Name of the kingdom Capital Duration (BC)
Aeolia Smyrna 8th century - 6th century
Arzawa Apasa (Ephesus?)
Assuwa league 1300-1250
Colchis 13th century - 164
Diauehi 1118-760
Doria 1200-580
Gurgum Marqas ?-711
Hatti Hattuma 2500-1780
Hayasa-Azzi 1500-1290
Hitti Hattusa 1700-1180
Ionia Delos 1070-545
Isuwa 1630-1200
Karuwa 1250-560
Kaskia 1430-1200
Kizzuwatna Kummanni (Comana ?) 1600-1220
Kummuh Kummuh ?-705
Neša Kanesh 2800-1720
Lycia Xanthos, Patara 1250-546
Lydia Sardis 1200-546
Luwia 2300-1400
Lukka 2000-1183
Mitanni Washukanni 1690-1300
Miletus Miletus[2]
Pala ?-1178
Neo-Hittites Carchemish 1180-700
Phrygia Gordium 1200-700
Troy Troy[3] 3000-700
Urartu Tushpa 860-590

Classical Age

Name of the kingdom Capital Duration (BC)
Antigonids Antigonea (Nicaea (?)) 306-168
Armenia 331-1
Bithynia Nicomedia 297-74
Cappadocia 322-130
Commagene Samosata 163-72
Galatia Ancyra 280-64
Paphlagonia Gangra 5th century - 183
Pergamon Pergamon 281-133
Pontus Amasia 291-62

In the table it can be seen that there are no new local kingdoms between the 9th and 3rd centuries BC. This era roughly corresponds to foreign rule (Achaemenid Empire and Macedonian Empire.)

See also

References and notes

  1. ↑ Seton Lloyd:Ancient Turkey (Trans. Ender Varinlioğlu) Tubitak populer Bilim Kitapları,Ankara, 1989, ISBN 975-403-084-7
  2. ↑ Leading state of Ionian League
  3. ↑ Both Troy and Miletus were actually city states. So the names of the capital and the state were identical

a. Andreas Schachner 2011, Hattuscha: the oldest settlement is of 6000 BC; between 3200-2500 there is no habitation. Hattum is the Akkadian name for Hattus(sa), the Hattian name is probably Ha-at-ti, so the same as the name of the land.(Oǧuz Soysal 2004,Hattischer Wortschatz in hethithiser Text Überlieferung). The Hattians lived in several kingdoms (city-states)in the Kizirl bassin of the Bronze Age.


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