ANCIENT HISTORY OF ANATOLIA

PALEOLITHIC AND MESOLITHIC AGES ( 600.000 – 8000 B.C )

Civilization in Anatolia begins with the appearrance of man on earth in the Paleolithic Age  also called Early Stone Age. During this period , man lived in caves , the walls of which he decorated with drawings. These were usually stylized figures of animals they adored and hunted. And Their hunt , they had recourse to weapons made of stone. The rock paintings in Karain , Kadıini , Beldibi and Belbaşı caves near Antalya and in the vicinity of Adıyaman , Gaziantep and Dölük are representative of their arts.

NEOLITHIC AGE ( 8000 – 5000 B.C. )

Man leaves the cave to settle in plains. Agriculture gradually replaces hunting . The tools made of stone are polished and made sharper. Anatolia once again gives the most comprehensive sites in the world for this age with Cayönü, Hacilar, Catalhöyük and Köskhöyük excavation sites.

Man starts to built homes on rectangular ground plans erected on stone foundations . He uses adobes in constructing the walls. Animal husbandry comes to be dded to his hunting pursuits. Primitive art develops , precious stones are used to decorate valuable ornaments or other such as rings or necklaces  , along with shells of animals and obsidian.Figurines of clay are produced and worshipped. The Çatalhöyük settlement in Konya is the best representative of Anatolian Neolithic Culture. 

The Cayönü settlement which is not far from the city of Diyarbakir has been unearthed by the expedition teams under the leadership of Cambel, Braidwood, Mehmet Ozdogan, Wulf Schirmen and it is dated back to 7250-6750 BC. In the middle of the settlement is a center and around it are monumental, rectangular structures and houses. The foundation of the structures is stone and above is sun-dried brick. The inhabitants of Cayonu are the first farmers of Anatolia . They raised sheep and goat, and domesticated dog. The woman fi gurines among the finds discovered are the earliest traces of the Mother Goddess cult.

The Hacılar Settlement, brought to the daylight by James Mellart, located on the 25 km southwest of Burdur, is dated back to 5700-5600 BC. The walls and the floors of Hacilar houses which are made of mud-brick on stone foundations are lime mortared and red painted. Wooden poles for supporting flat roofs and ladders to suggest that some structures had two stories are discovered. In every house, there are goddess figurines made of clay, in standing and sitting postures. Different from other settlement areas, the dead are buried outside the cities. The pottery in Hacilar is well fired and comes in red, brown and yellow colors.

The Çatalhöyük settlement in Konya is the best representative of Anatolian Neolithic Culture.  on the 52 km southeast of Konya and north of the town of Cumra is, dated back to 6800-5000 BC and it is the most developed center of the Near East and the Aegean . The excavations have shown that the city with ten different settlement levels was built according to a designed plan. This is achieved by arranging the rectangular planned houses next to one another around the courtyards. There are no stone foundations in Catalhoyuk and all the houses carry flat roofs. Houses were made up of mud brick and they all were built according to the same ground plan. They have no doors. Instead the entrance to them is through windows on the ceilings by using portable ladders. The windows for air and light are placed on the topmost part of the walls near the roofs. The houses are composed of wide living rooms, storage rooms and kitchens. In the rooms there are seats and furnaces. The dead are buried under the seats in the houses after having been dried in the sun.The walls of the houses are decorated with bull heads and paintings. These paintings which signify the rituality in the community are placed in a corner in the houses rather than in a special separate location within the settlement area. Bull heads are formed in high reliefs, like statues, and some of them are made by the covering of original bullheads with clay. In the formation of the wall paintings, red, brown, black, white and pink dies on top of the gray mud brick are used. Among the motifs used are geometrical designs, flowers, stars, circles and in some parts depictions of life as well as human hands, deities, human figures, hunting scenes, bulls, birds, vultures, leopards, wild deer and pigs, lions and bears. A depiction of the eruption of a volcanic mountain ( very likely, the Mount Hasan , near Cappadocia ) is the oldest known scenery painting.

In Catalhoyuk, we can also trace the early stages of farming. This is also accompanied with the worship of the Mother Goddess along with the holy animal, the bull. The Mother Goddess stands for fertility and multiplication of man. In the excavations carried in Hacilar and Catalhoyuk, hundreds of Mother Goddess statutes have been found. She, with her sexual organs in exaggeration is almost always depicted nude and lies down in the postures of crouching, and specially in the process of birth-giving . The fact that similarly designed Mother Goddess statues could also be found in the Near Eastern and Aegean cultures signifies the existence of matriarchal societies in these regions in the same time periods. The Goddess Kybele comes into sight around the 7000 BC. ( Most of the finds from this period are on display in Ankara Museum of Anatolian Ci vilizations.

CHALCHOLITHIC AGE (5000 – 3000 B.C )

In this period, in addition to stone tools, copper pieces also come into sight. The need to change valuable goods (ceramics, textiles) for both raw and shaped mines helped trade develop, and this brought the exchange between peoples and the preparation of inventory listings with the beginning of communication. Symbols, hieroglyphs, writing with pictures, came into use. By the end of 4000 BC cities emerged and the first steps of human civilization were made. Burdur-Hacilar level 5 (5500 BC) is the oldest site in Anatolia where metal objects have been discovered. Regarding technique and forms; the handmade pottery production reached an advanced level here and the single-colored, polished, ceramic pots were produced as an alternative to the metallic pots which were respectively more valuable. The surface of the pots is finely polished with a special technique to create a metallic effect. One other important settlement area of the Chalcholithic period in Western Anatolia is the Beycesultan site, going back to 4000-3000 BC, located 5 km southeast of town of Civril in Denizli, excavated by Seton Lloyd. Here, some of the mud-brick structures with a rectangular plan look like long megaron houses (megaron is a long and narrow room that has a hearth in the center). Inside the structures are hearths, seats along the walls and storage. Here, in a pot, was discovered a collection of silver and copper rings, part of a dagger and metallic pins. The ceramic of this period has a background of gray, black and brown. The Canhasan site, 13 km northeast of Karaman town in Konya , unearthed by David French, was a bridge between west and east Anatolia and Mesopotamia for trade and cultural exchange. Copper rings and bracelets are among the most important finds here. Anatolia , which had the most advanced culture on earth during the Paleolithic period, had lost its leadership in the Chalcolithic period to Mesopotamia and Egypt , after writing was discovered there. Due to the fact that writing was used in Anatolia a thousands years later, the level of culture here could not go beyond that of the Neolithic period primitive village, even though people were using metal in daily life.

EARLY BRONZE AGE ( 3000 B.C. – 2000 B.C. )

Early Bronze Age begins towards the end of the fourth millennium B.C. , and the beginning of the  third millennium B.C. The yellowish brown metal made of a mixture of copper and tin which had been discovered was a much harder metal than copper of which they could  make weapons , untensils and jewelry. A new epoch had been initiated with gold and silver which had started to be wrought. Inlaying of statues with silver and gold indicates further progress achieved during this age. Hasanoğlu figurines and idols in the form of bulls and deers are fine examples of this craft. The golden untensils excavated at the royal tombs at Alacahöyük show the refined aesthetic taste developed by this time. Troy is the most important centre of this age in western Anatolia . The golden bracelets , earrings and necklaces that Schliemann excavated in Troy show the remarkable progress achieved during this age. Troy had relations with other comtemporary settlements in Anatolia such as Eskiyapar , Karapınar , Polatlı and Alacahöyük in Central Anatolia .

MIDDLE AND LATE BRONZE AGES ( 2000 B.C. – 1200 B.C )

In the Middle Bronze Age Kültepe was capital of Anatolian kingdoms around the beginning of the second millennium. The Assyrian merchants whole attention was drawn to the gold and silver mines in Anatolia established business relations with Anatolia from Kültepe of which they had made a centre. They exchanged the gold and silver they bought from Anatolia for the jewelry and clothes they brought over from Mesopotamia . This trade promoted by the Anatolian sovereigns lasted for about two centuries. . Letters, agreements and commercial correspondence deciphered from tablets excavated at Kültepe have revealed many interesting aspects of this era. A large number of similar tablets have also been  excavated at Boğazköy and Alişar near Kültepe. Acemhöyük in Niğde and Karahöyük in Konya were the important centers of this age of the Assyrian commercial colonies.

HATTI CIVILIZATION (2500 - 2000 B.C)

The remnants of the Hatti language, which we encounter in the texts of Hittite Civilization, has its own special structure and do not display any similarity with other language used at the very same age period.

Although the Hatti Civilization displays the effects of Mesopotamia culture and civilizations, they represent a strong originality in the fields of art and especially physical culture. The effects of Hatti Civilization had influenced Anatolia for approximately two thousand years which had demonstrated major riches in religion, tradition, mythology and art. Therefore, Anatolia was called as the land of Hatti by the neighboring civilizations reigning between BC 2500 - 700 years. Again because of the same fact, the Hittites originated from Indo - Europe had mentioned Anatolia as The land of Hatti in their written sources during their history. The meaning of Cheta in the Old Testament was understood to be the folk accommodating in Anatolia after the discovery and study of the Boğazköy tablets in the beginning of the century.

The Hatti Civilization was composed of small governmental states. These minor kings also bear the high priest title and assisted the creation of very original works of art in their states. The samples of these works of art were discovered in the region located in the curve of Kızılırmak River like Alacahöyük, Horoztepe and Mahmatlar and resembled gods in the shape of animals; the bulls depict god of storm, the deer depict his wife, the goddess Vurushemu and the banners of the kings represent the Universium. This universe symbol which generally stands at the tip of the horns of two oxen is the source of the folk tale "the world stands at the tips of the horns of an ox, and if the ox shakes his head, earthquake happens" which is still told in the villages.

TROIA II SETTLEMENT (2500 - 2000 B.C)

The second major culture center of the Intermediate Bronze Age in Anatolia is the above-mentioned Troia II settlement located in the borders of Çanakkale. Schliemann executed the first excavation in Troia and he had accidentally discovered a treasure composed of golden household objects and various jewelry, which he named as the Treasure of Priamos. This unique and wonderful treasure was taken to the Berlin Museum but unfortunately this unique treasure was lost forever in the World War II. Today, only a small but very important part of this famous treasure remained in the Istanbul Museum . However, only beautiful galvanize copies of the lost golden bowls are present in the museum.

Although H. Schliemann had greatly ruined and damaged the city of Troia II at the excavation studies, today the entrance ramp, the city walls and some sections of the large megarons are still standing at the excavation site.

THE PERIOD OF HATTI - HITTITE CITY STATES (2000 - 1750 B.C)

The Hittites have reached Anatolia among Caucasia by the end of 3000 B.C during the great migration of the Indo - Europe nations travelling towards the warmer countries from the Northern Europe. But this migration of the Hittite tribes had occurred in the way of infiltration more than invasion. The Hatti city-states were dominating Anatolia Region during the period of the first quarter of BC second thousand while the Indo - European originated city-states begin to be founded suddenly. The number of the Hittite cities states begin to increase and by the 1750 B.Cthe Hittites invaded Anatolia totally and founded the Hittite State .

HITTITE STATE (1750 - 1200 B.C)

As mentioned above, the Indo - Europe originated Hittite tribes had entered Anatolia about 2000 B.C years had founded their first kingdom near 1750 B.C and in the mids of 2000 B.C , they have founded The Great Hittite Kingdom (Hittite Empire).

The Hittites founded one of the greatest states of Near East in 15th and 14th Centuries B.C. In 13th Century B.C, they share the dominance of the world with Egypt .

In 1875 B.C, there was a great battle between Hittites and Egyptians at Kadesh, where the King of Hittites Muvattalli had used 3500 chariots which was the most powerful strike weapon of the age and defeated the rival army. The text of the treaty which is written in the Hittite Language signed between Hattuşili IV and Rhamsesis II is exhibited in the Istanbul Archeological Museum . This document is the first political treaty signed between the two major states in the history of the world.

The pin writing was in use in the city of Kanesh (Kültepe in the vicinity of Kayseri ) in 18th century B.C, which was one of the first settlement centers of Hittites. The Hittite civilization also used hieroglyphics (painted language), which was their invention for the understanding of the common folk. Therefore, the historic age in Anatolia had started with Hittites initially, 1000 years after Egypt and Mesopotamia .

We have mentioned above in the Hatti section that the Hittites had mentioned Anatolia as "the Land of Hatti " like Mesopotamians and the Chetans stated in the Old Testament have been originated from the Hatti language. During the decryption of the Hittite language, the philologists had accidentally named this Indo - Europe originated nation as Hittites instead of Nesi because they encounter the name Hatti frequently and they are also inspired from the Old Testament. The Hittites are called "Hititler" in Turkish, "die Hethister" in German, "Les Hitites" in French and " Gli ititi " in Italian. In Turkish, the Hittites were used to be called with the word "Eti".

The Hittites were influenced from the Hatti civilization in all aspects of the culture and civilization. Their religion, mythology, tradition, costoms and in all fields of culture and art were influenced from Hatti and they have obtained the names of gods, rivers and cities from Hatti civilization. For example, the name of the Hittite capital Hattuşa is originally from Hatti language and is derived from Hattuş. Hattuşili, which is the name of the 4 major kings of Hittites are originated from the same root.

Although being majorly influenced from the cultures of Hatti and Mesopotamia civilizations, the Hittite culture displays interesting characteristics. The temples display original properties and the city walls are unique in the world with the characteristic of possibility to counter attack the enemy while protecting the defense position. Although the figurative art of the Hittites display the influence of Mesopotamian culture from the iconographic view, they have created an original and interesting style.

The Hittite State was the only state in Near East in which the women had important social rights and the human rights were under the protection of the laws.

HURRI CIVILIZATION

This civilization was founded nearly in the same period with the Hittites in the Eastern Anatolia Region and is reigned by a royal Indian family. Mitannis used the language of Hurri. This language forms a unique language group and is used by the Urartus (900 - 600 B.C) which are encountered in the first period of 13th century. The Hittites were majorly effected by the Hurri civilization in the 13th century.

Troia VI Civilization (1800 - 1275 B.C )

A kingdom had founded and developed the advanced Troia VI Civilization in Çanakkale, which was in the same period with the Great Hittite Kingdom. The nation forming this civilization was relatives of Mykens, and the settlement was the city of Illion stated in the epic of Ilias by Homer. The city walls and the megarons of the Troia VI was well preserved and forms one of the most valuable place of visit of Turkey . The important ceramic remnants discovered in the excavations of Troia are exhibited in Istanbul Archeological Museum .

"THE AEGEAN MIGRATION" AND THE INVASION OF ANATOLIA BY BALKAN NATIONS (1200 B.C)
As a result of the "Aegean Migration" occurred in 1200 B.C, the Indo - European nations from Balkans had primarily destroyed Troia VI and later Hattuşa and caused the removal of this two original cultured states from history. After 1200 B.C, because of the destruction of the two advanced civilizations, the usage of writing had ceased existence and Anatolia had regionally retreated to the poorly cultured level for 300 - 400 years. The hand made rude ceramic works discovered in the Troia 7b1 section and the Buckelceramic obtained from the Troia 7b 2 section belong to the above mentioned Balkan nations and are exhibited in Istanbul Archeological Museum .

At the first period of the 1000 B.C, in the Iron Age (1200 - 700 B.C), Anatolia peninsula was under the reign of various sized city states of various nations as is was in the first quarter of 2000 B.C. The Southeast Anatolia and some regions of Syria was dominated by Late Hittites, Eastern Anatolia was under the dominance of Urartus who are the continuance of Hurri state, Central Anatolia was under the dominance of Phrygia, Lydians and The Southwestern Anatolia was under the dominance of Karians and Lykians.

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.

THE LYDIAN KINGDOM ( 700 – 550 B.C. )

The Lydians established a kingdom in western Anatolia around the beginning of the VII th  century B.C. with Sardes as their capital. Herodots tells us their history from the time of King Giges to Croresus. King Alyattes of this lineage extended the borders of the kingdom to Kızılırmak in the east and brought Prrygia under his rule . When the Lydian King Crosus was defeated in 547 B.C. , by the Persian King Cyrus in Kızılırmak War , The Lydian kingdom collapsed. The Lydians established relations with the Ionian Cities in Western Anatolia . When the conquered Ephasus , they also built the temple of Artemis . Lydians who minted money in the VII century  , were famous for their wealth.

THE PERSIAN DOMINANCE (545 - 383 B.C)

Anatolia was under the dominance of Persia until the invasion of Anatolia by Alexander the Great in 6th century and the defeat of Dara in 333 at Issos. After the total invasion of Anatolia by Persians, the leadership of the Ion civilization in the world had ended. However as some of the Persian governors acted like independent kings, worldwide art works were created especially in Karia, Lykia and Propontis by the end of 5th century B.C and in the 4th century. Among these, the Nereidler monument in Xanthos and the Mausoleum in Bodrum could be counted. The architectural and statue works of these two monuments are majorly exhibited in the British Museum and some ruins and finding are present in Bodrum.

HELLENISTIC PERIOD (333 - 30 B.C)

As Alexander the Great had wiped the Persian invasion from Anatolia and freed the Hellenic provinces from dominance, the Peninsula once again become the leading place of the world art.. The cities like Assos, Bergama , Magnesia, Ephesos, Tralleis ( Aydın ), Miletos and Didyma had gained power again and the architectural works produced in these cities had effected the Roman art.                                                                                                                 

THE ROMAN AGE ( 30 B.C – 330 B.C. )              

The Greco-Anatolian tradition continued almost uninterrupted in Roman times (30 BC.-AD. 395). This is primarily reflected in the originality of the local architecture of Asia Minor . Nevertheless the new building techniques and engineering methods employed in Anatolian architecture in this period were entirely Roman in character. The building material (bricks bound with mortar) enabled the Romans to construct functional structures of huge dimensions; but the Roman architects were also masters in the use of marble, which now became the dominant material for building. The Romans were the first in the world to build solid, permanent roads with paved surfaces and monumental bridges. Especially significant are the architectural elements and forms they developed under the inspiration of Near Eastern models, such as arches, barrel and groined vaults and also domes, which were used to build monuments of incomparable engineering mastery. The huge stadiums and theatres which rest on vaulted substructures, the amphitheaters, colonnaded streets, triumphal arches and especially the baths with central heating, in addition to a variety of multi-storied structures with rich ornamental decoration, are innovations and achievements of Roman architects and engineers. Anatolia was, during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, one of the most important cultural and artistic centers of the Roman Empire . The cities of Ephesus, Sardis, Aphrodisias and Hierapolis, as well as Side, Perge, Aspendos and Termessus, are the most superb and imposing ruins in Anatolia dating from the Roman period.