Phrygians
Phrygians is the Greek name for an Indo-European people who lived in the 8th century BC at the latest . BC had established a great empire in Anatolia . Its capital was Gordion am Sangarios (today's Sakarya ), about 80 km west of today's Ankara , other urban centers were Midas City and Kelainai .
Origin of the Phrygians
Written sources
Homer mentions in the Iliad around 700 BC BC Phrygians as an ally of the Trojans . According to him, they lived east from Lake Askania to Sangarios at the time of the Trojan War .
In connection with the early history of the Phrygians, the Muški / Muschki should also be mentioned, which are mentioned in the annals of Tiglat-Pileser I (approx. 1114-1076 BC). In the first year of his reign he fought against Muški, who were under the command of five kings, on the upper Euphrates arch. According to his reports, the Muški had already settled in eastern Anatolia five decades earlier. Whether here - as in almost four centuries later sources (see below) - the Muški can be equated with the Phrygians is, however, very debatable. In this case, Phrygian elements would have already emerged in the 12th century BC. Spread to Eastern Anatolia.
The Iliad reports that in Paphlagonia , in northern Anatolia, near the Black Sea, the place of origin of the Enetoi was, who, according to later Roman sources, were brought by Antenor to northern Italy after the Trojan War and, according to legend, founded the city of Padua there would have.
At least two ancient sources report that the Phrygians still had the name Bryger before they emigrated from the Balkans . Julius Pokorny etymologizes this in Urindo-European as “emerging from the mountains”. Phrygian would only be the Graecization of this proper name. The fact is that there were intensive Ionic-Thracian interactions, as a result of which European tribes immigrated to Anatolia, but also, conversely, Anatolian tribes immigrated to Europe. To deduce a Phrygian invasion from this would be highly speculative, because the sources have been silent for around 400 years. The Mysers , also known as Dako-Mysers in Dakia (Romania) , also come from the area of the early Dacians .
Archaeological exploration
Until a few decades ago there were no finds from the time before 750 BC. BC, which are clearly assigned to the Phrygians, completely. The early history of this people was in the dark. In the meantime, a clearer picture emerges: Gordion is probably already in the 12th century BC. BC - only shortly after the abandonment of the Hittite city - was settled again. The pottery of the new residents shows strong similarities to the roughly contemporary hump pottery from Troy, layer VIIb2 (12th / 11th century BC). Similar ceramics can often be found in the area of Thrace, Dacia , the central Danube and even as far as Central Europe (e.g. Lusatia ). Since the Hittites already made ceramics with the potter's wheel , the origin of this hand-made ceramics is probably to be found in Europe. The Troy VIIb1 layer is still dominated by Anatolian ceramics. Thrace was assumed to be the original home of the Phrygians because of their burial method in Tumuli .
Another type of ceramic in Gordion from that time is considered to be the forerunner of the so-called Phrygian polished ceramic of the 8th century BC. In the meantime, similar findings seem to be found for other places in Central Anatolia (e.g. Hattuscha , Kemal Kalehüyük). Ceramic finds prove that in the 12th century BC BC people settled in Central Anatolia (especially in Gordion) who made ceramics in the north-west Anatolian (area of Troy) tradition. In the course of the next centuries, what is known as the Phrygian culture developed - probably also through mixing with Anatolian elements - whose bearers ruled a great empire by the 8th century at the latest. The newcomers built mines and half-timbered buildings . This is characteristic of the architecture of Gordion in later times. The sunken buildings and the coarse ceramics associated with them are difficult to classify. Possibly they are in the old Anatolian tradition.
Since at the beginning of the Iron Age , different cultural elements evidently settled in Gordion , it is assumed that the historically tangible Phrygians and their culture emerged from an amalgamation of different population groups.
Phrygian Empire
According to Greek and Assyrian sources, the Phrygian Empire must have been in the second half of the 8th century BC. Of great importance. Several kings with the names Gordios and Midas in Greek scripts are legendary . The historic Midas of Phrygia is well known from Greek sources. He married a Greek woman and donated a precious throne in Delphi . In Assyrian annals first 738 v surfaced. A certain Mita von Muschki . An equation with Midas of Phrygia - in contrast to the Muški at the time of Tukulti-apil-ešarra I (see above) - is generally accepted. Mita is mentioned in various places in Sargon's annals (c. 722–705). Although he was ultimately liable to pay tribute, it is noteworthy that the Phrygian Empire came into the focus of the Assyrians both geographically (Eastern Anatolia) and that Mita was considered an important ruler and tactician. One can therefore legitimately speak of a Phrygian empire.
Towards the end of the 8th century, the Cimmerians invaded Asia Minor from the north-eastern Black Sea region via the Caucasus . At first they oppressed the kingdom of Urartu . Then they turned west and attacked the Phrygian Empire. 696 or 675/674 - the latter date has recently been favored in research - Gordion fell. Midas died thereby suicide - according to tradition, by drinking bull's blood. The end of the Phrygian Empire was sealed.
Period after 675 BC Chr.
After the conquest of Gordion, Phrygian principalities very likely existed. Evidence for this are numerous Phrygian monuments, rock reliefs and sanctuaries from the 7th / 6th centuries. Century BC Impressive evidence can be found in Midas town in the western Anatolian plateau. Phrygian art also lives on without any discernible break. We are extremely poorly informed about the power political situation in Asia Minor at that time. The Cimmerians were in Asia Minor until the end of the 7th century, but they probably did not form a coherent state. From the second half of the seventh century the empire began Lydians to expand. It is not clear whether the Phrygian states came under Lydian rule or remained partially autonomous. 585 BC The whole area east of Halys fell to the Medes and in 546 BC. All of Phrygia was conquered by the Persians , but this does not mean the end of the Phrygian culture. The Phrygian language can be traced back to the 5th century AD.
Phrygian culture
architecture
The partly multi-storey buildings of the 8./7. Century BC BC in the upper town of Gordion were mostly built in megaron form. Characteristic is a post construction of the building and the city wall, which is called Phrygian half-timbered construction. The facades were partially or completely covered with painted terracotta panels, some of which were found in Pazarli and are now on display in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations . The frequent depiction of saddle roof constructions with ridge posts at Phrygian rock sanctuaries and cult niches is striking; they seem to have been a peculiarity of the Phrygian houses or temples.
Funeral customs
In the area around Gordion remains of tumuli with wooden burial chambers were found, some of which were very richly furnished. The most important tumulus is considered to be the Midas tomb . The remains of a 60- to 70-year-old man were found in it. It could actually be the tomb of the most famous Phrygian. The latest grave, structurally related to the Phrygian Tumulus tradition, was found near Tatarli , not far from Kelainai . It was completely painted and already shows clear Persian influences in the iconography. Many metal objects from the graves, often valuable, bear witness to the wealth of the Phrygians on the one hand, and to the lively trade with the metal centers, especially via Urartu , on the other . In art, the mixing of Urartian, Iranian and Hittite influences resulted in a unique Phrygian style. A number of ornate rock monuments (see Arslankaya or Maltaş ), including chamber tombs ( Aslantaş and Yilantaş ) in the so-called Phrygian Valley , near Midas City, are impressive.
Ceramics
The painted ceramics clearly show Greek influences. In addition to geometric decorations, animal motifs were very popular. The Phrygians used an alphabet in inscriptions that is very likely based on the Greek alphabet .
religion
Cybele held a prominent position in religion . The most important cultural center was Pessinus (130 km southwest of Ankara ) with the Cybele sanctuary. The Galatians took over in the 3rd century BC. The administration in Pessinus. The Cybele cult reached Rome via Pergamon by delivering the black meteorite as a symbol (see also stone cult ) of the goddess . Cybele was later revered as the Magna Mater in the Roman Empire. Some speak of a Phrygian origin of the Adonis myth .
See also
literature
- Ekrem Akurgal: Phrygian Art. Archaeological Institute of the Univ., Ankara 1955.
- Ekrem Akurgal: Anadolu uygarliklari. 3. Edition. Istanbul 1990. (Turkish)
- Dietrich Berndt: Midasstadt in Phrygia. Zabern, Mainz 2002, ISBN 3-8053-2855-9 .
- Claude Brixhe: Le Phrygia. In: Francoise Bader (Ed.): Langue Indo-Europeannes CNRS editions, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-271-05043-X , pp. 165-178.
- Elke and Hans-Dieter Kaspar: Phrygia - a legendary kingdom in Anatolia. Hausen 1990, ISBN 3-925696-07-5 .
- Gustav Körte: Gordion. Results of the excavation in 1904 . Berlin 1904.
- EL Kohler: The Lesser Phrygian Tumuli I. The Inhumations. The University Museum, Philadelphia 1995, ISBN 0-934718-39-3 .
- Maximilian Räthel: Midas and the kings of Phrygia. Studies on the history of Phrygia and its rulers from the 12th to the 6th centuries BC Chr. (= Sources and research on the ancient world. Volume 64). utzverlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-8316-4781-1 (also dissertation, University of Göttingen 2017).
- Lâtife Summerer, Alexander von Kienlin: Tatarli. Return of colors. Istanbul 2010, ISBN 978-975-08-1819-6 .
- Rodney S. Young: Gordion. Univ. Museum, Philadelphia 1969.
- Rodney S. Young: Three Great Early Tumuli. Univ. Museum, Philadelphia 1981.
Almost every year there are short reports on the ongoing excavations in Gordion im
- American Journal of Archeology (AJA) .
Web links
- A Gordian affair. In: zenith - magazine for the Orient. July 2010. (on the dispute over Phrygian antiquities in Germany)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Iliad 2,862 and 3,184; see. Strabon Geographika 12,4,5 and 12,3,7
- ↑ Homer Iliad 2, 852.
- ^ Titus Livius , Ab urbe condita 1, 1, 1–3; Virgil , Aeneis 1, 242-249; Claudius Aelianus , De natura animalium 14, 8.
- ↑ Pavol Hnila: Pottery of Troy VIIB. Dissertation . University of Tübingen 2012.