Caria

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Approximate location of Caria in Asia Minor

Caria ( ancient Greek Καρία Karía , Latin Caria ) is an ancient landscape in the southwest of Asia Minor in what is now Turkey and was an independent kingdom in ancient times . As a peripheral area in the east of the Greek world, which was exposed to diverse and different cultural influences, Caria is characterized as a mixed culture area.

term

The term Karia is etymologically derived from the Hittite and means "Land of the Carians" (for this people see Carians ). Karia was not only a name for the land that the Carian people occupied, but also for other Greek villages, such as the eastern castle of Megara .

geography

The region consisted for the most part of mountain and hill country, in which there were only a few plains. These mountains were crossed by smaller rivers, the most important of which were the meander and its tributaries Marsyas and Harpasos . The Xanthos and the Indos also ran in the southeast . The coast was also very mountainous, while the few plains were limited to the estuaries. This made access to the interior more difficult. There were also numerous islands in front of the coast, the most important of which were Pharmakussa , Patmos , Lepsia , Leros , Kalymna , Kos , Nisyros , Telos , Chalkia , Syme , Rhodes and Rhodussa . Because of the very rugged landscape initially only isolated smaller villages and only later larger cities developed. The most important settlements over the centuries were Priene , Myus , Herakleia , Miletus , Bargylia , Myndos , Halicarnassus , Knidos , Daidala , Magnesia , Tralleis , Nysa , Alabanda , Stratonikeia , Mylasa , Labraunda , Kaunos and Aphrodisias . In the north the region bordered on Lydia , with the Messogis Mountains probably representing the border. Phrygia was to the east and Lycia to the south .

economy

Agriculture on a large scale was not possible in the mountains . It was therefore limited to the few plains and estuaries. There was corn , wine and oil grown and livestock operation. However, the region was of great importance for trade. In the meander plain on the coast was the end point of a road from the interior, which had established itself along the course of the river. Along the coast ran a large sea road that connected the Orient with the Aegean Sea and from which the coastal cities in particular benefited.

history

Caria could be one between 1800 and 1200 BC. BC in ancient Assyrian and Hittite texts as Karkissa , which was west of the Hittite heartland. Only after that did Homer mention the Carians again. According to Herodotus description from the 5th century BC They immigrated from the Aegean Islands to Asia Minor. The Karians themselves would have described themselves as long-established residents of southwest Asia Minor. Linguistic research came to the conclusion that the Carian language was related to the Hittite language and that immigration must therefore have come from inland.

Between 1200 and 800 BC More and more Greeks immigrated and mixed with the local Carians, which resulted in a mixed culture. A little later, the region came under the control of the Lydian king Alyattes , before being rebuilt around 547/46 BC. BC fell to the Achaemenid Empire . In this it was almost always integrated relatively independently. The administrative capital of the satrapy became Halicarnassus. Between 469/466 and 412 BC A part of the country was occupied by the Greeks before Persian suzerainty was restored. In the fourth century, the Hecatomnid dynasty was able to maintain relative independence and, under Hekatomnos' youngest son Pixodaros, finally expanded its influence to Lycia . In 334 BC The region was conquered again by Alexander the Great . After his death she often changed rulers in the wars between the Diadochian empires , until she finally moved between 129 and 42 BC. Successively fell to the Roman Empire .

literature

Web links

Commons : Karien  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bürchner, in: RE, vol. X, 2, col. 1943.
  2. ↑ Bürchner, in: RE, Vol. X, 2 Col. 1943 f .; Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon , Leipzig 1905–1909, Vol. 10, p. 625; Pierer's Universal Lexikon , Altenburg 1857-1865, Vol. 9, p. 303.
  3. ^ Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon , Leipzig 1905, Vol. 10, p. 625.
  4. ↑ Bürchner, in: RE, Vol. X, 2, Col. 1944.
  5. ↑ Unless otherwise stated, the following illustration refers to: Article at Livius.org (English).
  6. ↑ Homer, Iliad 2,867 ff.
  7. ↑ Herodotus, Historien 1, 171.