Lycaonia
| Lycaonia | |
|---|---|
| Ancient Region of Anatolia | |
| Location | South-easternAnatolia,Turkey |
| State existed | Quasi-independent until c.200 BC |
| Roman province | Cappadocia |
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Lycaonia(/ˌlɪkiˈoʊniə/;Greek:Λυκαονία,Lykaonia;Turkish:Likaonya) was a largeregionin the interior ofAsia Minor(modern-dayTurkey), north of theTaurus Mountains.It was bounded on the east byCappadocia,on the north byGalatia,on the west byPhrygiaandPisidia,while to the south it extended to the chain of Mount Taurus, where it bordered on the country popularly called in earlier timesCiliciaand in the Byzantine periodIsauria;but its boundaries varied greatly at different times. The name is not found inHerodotus,but Lycaonia is mentioned byXenophonas traversed byCyrus the Youngeron his march through Asia. That author describesIconiumas the last city of Phrygia; and inActs14:6Paul,after leaving Iconium, crossed the frontier and came toLystrain Lycaonia.Ptolemy,on the other hand, includes Lycaonia as a part of the province of Cappadocia, with which it was associated by the Romans for administrative purposes; but the two countries are clearly distinguished both byStraboand Xenophon and by authorities generally.
Etymology[edit]
There is a theory that the name "Lycaonia" is a Greek-adapted version (influenced by the Greek masculine nameLycaon) of an originalLukkawanna,which would mean "the land of theLukkapeople "in an oldAnatolianlanguage related toHittite.
Geography[edit]
Lycaonia is described byStraboas a cold region of elevated plains, affording pasture to wild asses and to sheep; and at the present day sheep abound, but asses are practically unknown.Amyntas,king ofGalatia,to whom the district was for a time subject, maintained there not less than three hundred flocks. It forms part of the interior tableland ofAsia Minor,and has an elevation of more than 1000 meters. It suffers from want of water, aggravated in some parts by abundance of salt in the soil, so that the northern portion, extending from nearIconiumto the salt lake ofTattaand the frontiers of Galatia, is almost wholly barren, only small patches being cultivated near Iconium and the large villages. The soil, where water is supplied, is productive. In ancient times great attention was paid to storing and distributing the water, so that much land now barren was formerly cultivated and supported a large number of cities.
The plain is interrupted by some minor groups of mountains, of volcanic character, of which theKara Daghin the south, a few miles north ofKaraman,rises to 2288 meters, while the Karadja Dagh, north-east of it, though of inferior elevation, presents a striking range of volcanic cones. The mountains in the north-west, near Iconium andLaodicea Combusta,are the termination of theSultan Daghrange, which traverses a large part of Phrygia.
History[edit]
The Lycaonians appear to have been in early times to a great extent independent of thePersian empire,and were like their neighbors the Isaurians a wild and lawless race offreebooters;but their country was traversed by one of the great natural lines of high road through Asia Minor, fromSardisandEphesusto the Cilician gates, and a few considerable towns grew up along or near this line. The most important wasIconium,in the most fertile spot in the country, of which it was always regarded by the Romans as the capital, although ethnologically it was Phrygian. It is still calledKonya,and it was the capital of theSeljukTurkish sultane for several centuries. A little farther north, immediately on the frontier of Phrygia, stoodLaodicea Combusta(Ladik), surnamedCombusta,to distinguish it from the Phrygian city of that name; and in the south, near the foot of Mount Taurus, wasLaranda,now calledKaraman,which has given name to the province ofKaramania.Derbeand Lystra, which appear from theActs of the Apostlesto have been considerable towns, were between Iconium and Laranda. There were many other towns, which became bishoprics in Byzantine times. Lycaonia was Christianized very early; and its ecclesiastical system was more completely organized in its final form during the 4th century than that of any other region of Asia Minor.
After the defeat ofAntiochus the Great,Lycaonia was given by the Romans toEumenes II,king ofPergamon.About 160 BC, part of it, theTetrarchyof Lycaonia, was added to Galatia; and in 129 BC the eastern half (usually called during the following 200 years Lycaonia proper) was given to Cappadocia as an eleventhstrategia.In the readjustment of the Provinces, 64 BC, byPompeyafter theMithridatic Wars,he gave the northern part of the tetrarchy to Galatia and the eastern part of the eleventh strategia to Cappadocia. The remainder was attached to Cilicia. Its administration and grouping changed often under the Romans. In 371, Lycaonia was first formed into a separate province.
The ancient coinage of Lycaonia is quite limited. Judging from the number of types/issues known, coins appear to have been struck sporadically and perhaps mostly for prestige or some important occasion (like a visit by the Emperor).
The Lycaonians appear to have retained a distinct nationality in the time of Strabo, but their ethnical affinities are unknown. The mention of theLycaonian languagein the Acts of the Apostles (14:11) shows that the native language was spoken by the common people at Lystra about 50; and probably it was only later and under Christian influence that Greek took its place. It is notable though that in the Acts of the ApostlesBarnabaswas calledZeus,and Paul was thought to beHermesby Lycaonians, and this makes some other researchers to believe that Lycaonian language was actually a Greek dialect,[citation needed]the remnant of which can still be found in theCappadocian Greeklanguage which is classified as a distinct Greek dialect.
Localities[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Richard Talbert,ed. (2000).Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World.Princeton University Press. p. 63, and directory notes accompanying.ISBN978-0-691-03169-9.
Bibliography[edit]
- W. M. Ramsay,Historical Geography of Asia Minor(1890),Historical Commentary on Galatians(1899) andCities of St Paul(1907)
- An article on the topography in theJahreshefte des Oesterr. Archaeolog. Instituts,194 (Beiblatt) pp. 57–132.
- Asia Minor Coins - LycaoniaAncient Greek and Roman coins from Lycaonia
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Lycaonia".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 151.
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