The area now designated the Antalya province is the general center of classical Lycia. Milas was included by some writers in the district, but the more important cities seem to have been Patara (Gelemls) in the Xanthus Valley, Telmessus (Fethiye), and Myra (Demre). Perhaps it is Lycians who are mentioned in an Egyptian account of the Hittite battle at Kadesh. They may also be the Luqqa of fourteenth and thirteenth century Hittite documents.
Lycia was a geopolitical region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey, and Burdur Province inland. Known to history since the records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age, it was populated by speakers of the Luwian language group. Written records began to be inscribed in stone in the Lycian language (a later form of Luwian) after Lycia’s involuntary incorporation into the Achaemenid Empire in the Iron Age. At that time (546 BC) the Luwian speakers were decimated, and Lycia received an influx of Iranian speakers.
Lycia fought for the Persians in the Persian Wars, but on the defeat of the Achaemenid Empire by the Greeks, it became intermittently a free agent. After a brief membership in the Athenian Empire, it seceded and became independent (its treaty with Athens had omitted the usual non-secession clause), was under the Persians again, revolted again, was conquered by Mausolus of Caria, returned to the Persians, and went under Macedonian hegemony at the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great. Due to the influx of Greek speakers and the sparsity of the remaining Lycian speakers, Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage.
On defeating Antiochus III in 188 the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 BC. In these latter stages of the Roman republic Lycia came to enjoy freedom as part of the Roman protectorate. The Romans validated home rule officially under the Lycian League in 168 BC. This native government was an early federation with democratic principles; these later came to the attention of the framers of the United States Constitution, influencing their thoughts.
Despite home rule under democratic principles Lycia was not a sovereign state and had not been since its defeat by the Carians. In 43 AD the Roman emperor, Claudius, dissolved the league. Lycia was incorporated into the Roman Empire with a provincial status. It became an eparchy of the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire, continuing to speak Greek even after being joined by communities of Turkish language speakers in the early 2nd millennium. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, Lycia was under the Ottoman Empire, and was inherited by the Turkish Republic on the fall of that empire. The Greeks were withdrawn when the border between Greece and Turkey was negotiated in 1923.
Lycia today is a substantial component of the Turquoise Coast. It is of interest not only for recreation and sport, but as a location of antiquities going back as early as the Bronze Age. The ruins of ancient Lycia are seemingly everywhere. For reasons unknown, perhaps isolation, recycling of the building stone was minimal compared to other regions.
Lycia,
My family and I went to see the tombs through our Thomsons rep. It was worth every penny as our tour person was very good and told us all about how and why they were there. Very interesting
You cannot begin to imagine the effort it took for people to chip away at hard rock to create these amazing tombs. You can see them from town or on boat trip, at night sitting in riverside restaurant. However you see them they are impressive. They are lit up at night marvellous.
MIRA – an ancient city. In addition to the usual eye ruins here are preserved rock tombs, cemetery, constructed in the form of houses of several rooms, where the runways carved into the rocks, were placed in the life of loved objects and foods. In the tombs can be reached only through a single entrance, covered a large stone. At…
I love going away and learning new things – go on this trip and learn all about the tombs! you will see some beautiful scenery also.
You can only see them from far and not allowed to get close like it used to be some time ago. However if you can get a good spot opposite the river you can get some good images
We visited the tombs many years ago on our first visit when you could still climb up into a couple of them. I didn't as it seemed unsafe and it was shortly after closed off. There is nothing much to see there so best seen from the distance when they are spectacular – particularly lit up in the evenings. Such…
These were really interesting to see and were much more accessible than I had been led to believe.There were many private bloats at Dalyan wanting to take you there by boat .. Or rather cruise past there by boat.This was usually rolled up in a package that would take you onto to mud baths and the turtle beach .If you…
We visited this on the way to the mud bath but it was a very long day. However it was worth it and what a fantastic view! The Kings Tombs are quite far away but can be clearly seen.
Can only look at them from across the river, but they really are astonishing – like little Greek temples carved into the face of the cliff.
These tombs are unique and amazing. Dalyan place is so beautiful itself. Nice town, beautiful river where you can take boat trips, nice restaurants!