The 4 Most Important Cultures in Ancient Anatolia

The peoples of ancient Anatolia developed several cultures that, although interconnected, were also distinct in several ways. Beginning with the Hittites in the Bronze Age and ending with the Lydians in the Classical period, the Anatolian peoples traded, fought, and engaged in diplomacy with each other and other notable ancient Near Eastern peoples. The Anatolian peoples truly affected the course of ancient history in many ways. The following is a survey of the five most important Anatolian cultures in chronological order: the Hittites, the Arzawa, the Phrygians, and the Lydians.

Before beginning this survey, it is important to understand where and what Anatolia is. Anatolia is the name that historians and archeologists of ancient Near Eastern history apply to the landmass that is roughly equivalent to the modern nation-state of Turkey. The Hittites were Indo-Europeans who arrived in Anatolia in the late third millennium BCE and by the middle of the second millennium, they had created a kingdom in central Anatolia. The first king of what modern scholars refer to as the “Hittite Old Kingdom” was Hattusili I (ruled c. 1650-1620 BCE). Hattusili I conquered the abandoned city of Hattusa, making it the Hittite capital until the empire collapsed nearly 400 years later. The first Hittite king was also responsible for establishing Hittite royal ideology and the dynasty that ruled most of Anatolia until about 1500 BCE.

Hittite religion was unique because it blended elements of their Indo-European background with the religions of non-Indo-European Anatolian peoples as well as Hurrian beliefs. The primary Hittite deity,  known simply as the “Storm-god,” was similar to other Indo-European gods—such as Zeus, Thor, and Indra—in his attributes. The Hittites also worshiped the primary god of the Hurrian people known as Teshub. Because the Hurrian god was also an elemental deity, Teshub and the Hittite Storm-god were merged in the late thirteenth century BCE, with the new syncretic deity taking the name Teshub. The Hittite sun-goddess originated from the non-Indo-European Anatolian people known as the Hattians. The sun goddess eventually evolved and became known as Cybele during the Greco-Roman period.

The pinnacle of Hittite power came during what historians and archeologists refer to as the Hittite New Kingdom (c. 1430-1200 BCE). After an interregnum period, Tudhaliya I (reigned c. 1430-1420) established a new Hittite dynasty in Hattusa, but it was Suppiluliuma I (ruled c.1370-1330 BCE) who made the land of Hatti a strong, militaristic empire.

Suppiluliuma I expanded Hittite control into the northern Levant and sacked the Mitanni kingdom’s capital of Washshukanni. According to Amélie Kuhrt, doing this established the Hittites as one of the “Great Powers” of the ancient Near East along with Babylon, the Assyrians, and the Egyptians.

The high water mark of the Hittite Empire came during the reign of Hattusili III (ruled c. 1267-1237 BCE) when the Hittites and Egyptians encroached on each other in the Levant. Hattusili III led a large Hittite force against an equally large Egyptian force led by Ramesses II (reigned c. 1290-1224 BCE) near the city of Kadesh. The ensuing battle was one of the greatest and best documented of the Bronze Age, but the result was a stalemate. The Egyptians and Hittites later signed a peace treaty, but the Hittite Empire collapsed under the pressure of the Sea Peoples invasions around 1200 BCE.

2. Arzawa

Contemporary with the Hittites, and sharing a similar Indo-European background, was the confederacy known as Arzawa. The composition, members, and even location of Arzawa are still debated by modern scholars, although there is a working outline of this mysterious Anatolian culture. The scholarly consensus is that Arzawa was located in western Anatolia and partially on the Aegean coast. Arzawa was unique among the other Anatolian states because it was a confederation of several states. The states of Mira-Kwaliya, Hapalla, Seha River Land, and Arzawa itself were the primary members, although membership occasionally changed.

Identifying “Arzawan culture” has proven difficult. It is known that their primary language was Luwian, which was in the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European cultural-linguistic family, closely related to Hittite. Many modern scholars, like David W. Anthony, believe that Arzawa was a multi-ethnic, multilingual state more so than a unified culture. Arzawan arts and pottery reflect Hittite styles and the Storm-god was likewise their most important deity. Modern scholars have struggled to construct Arzawan chronology, but Hittite documents indicate the two states constantly fought by the seventeenth century BCE. Arzawan history becomes clearer with the reign of the Arzawan king, Madduwatta (ruled c. late 1400s BCE), who corresponded with the Hittites and a land known as Ahhiyawa. Modern scholars believe that Ahhiyawa was the collective name for the Mycenaean lands in the Aegean Sea.

When King Tudhaliya III (reigned c. 1360-1344 BCE) died, Arzawa took advantage of the chaos and extended its reach east to the Cilician Gates. Although Arzawan expansion was short-lived and was quickly pushed back by Suppiluliuma I of Hatti, it may have caught the attention of the Great Powers Club. Arazawa’s possible membership in the Great Powers Club was short-lived, though, because, by the late fourteenth century, Suppiluliuma I and the Hittites were on the offensive. Uhha-Ziti (reigned c. mid to late 1300s BCE) was the last known independent ruler of Arzawa, as the Hittites conquered and incorporated the confederacy into their empire.

The Phrygians established a kingdom in the northwestern region of Anatolia in the mid-twelfth century BCE, after the collapse of the Hittite Empire. The borders of Phrygia were roughly the Black Sea to its north, the Aegean Sea to its west, the Halys River to its east, and Cappadocia to its east and south. As the Phrygian state developed, the city of Gordium, which was located on the Sangarius River, became its capital. The exact date of the inception of the Phrygian state is unknown, as are the origins of the Phrygian people.

O. Masson argued in the chapter “Anatolian Languages” of the Cambridge Ancient History that the Phrygian language was probably Indo-European. More recently, Amélie Kuhrt has argued that the Phrygian language’s origins are unsure, but that it has no direct link to either Hittite or Luwian. David Anthony similarly does not consider Phrygian an Indo-European language. The Phrygian people were likely a conglomeration of invaders who entered Anatolia during the Bronze Age collapse and native Anatolians, both Indo-European and non-Indo-European.

Although there are a number of Phrygian inscriptions that have been dated before 700 BCE, the nature of the language and even the origins of the script are still debated. A unique element of Phrygian culture that archeologists have uncovered is the burial custom of tumulus-style tombs. Tumuli were unknown in Anatolia before the Phrygians, but it was a common practice among the Indo-Europeans of the steppe, suggesting the Phrygians’ possible origins.

King Midas of the Phyrgians 

Phrygian chronology becomes clearer during the reign of the legendary, but very real, King Midas (ruled c. 738-696). Many are aware of the legendary tale of how everything King Midas touched turned to gold, as written by the Roman poet in The Metamorphoses. Midas, though, was a historical figure who is documented by several primary sources. The annals of the Assyrian King Sargon II (reigned 721-705 BCE) refer to Midas as “Mita,” “king of Muski” whom the Assyrians drove out of central Anatolia.

The fifth century BCE historian, Herodotus, claimed Midas was the first non-Greek to offer at Delphi. He wrote: “Midas presented the royal throne from which he used to give judgment.” Herodotus’ statement is likely at least part of the reason for Ovid’s later account of Midas turning everything to gold, but other sources corroborate this. Ezekiel 27:13 of the Old Testament mentions Meshech (Phrygia) as trading “the person of men and vessels of brass in thy market.” These references would appear to indicate that there was something to Ovid’s reference to Midas’ wealth, although it was meant to be metaphorical. The Phrygians’ wealth, though, would not save them from being conquered by an even wealthier and more powerful Anatolian kingdom.

Like the Phrygians, the Lydians were another Anatolian people who emerged in the post-Bronze Age-Early Iron Age chaos. Unlike the linguistic background of the Phrygians, though, modern scholars have known for more than 100 years that the Lydian language was Indo-European. Extant Lydian inscriptions are much more prevalent today and Herodotus detailed the chronology of the Lydian dynasties, beginning with the Heraclid. The Heraclid Dynasty lasted until about 680 BCE when it was overthrown by Gyges (reigned c. 680-652 BCE), who initiated Lydia’s greatest era of prosperity and influence.

The kingdom of Lydia was located in west central Anatolia, extending from the Aegean Sea inland to the Halys River in the east, north of Cappadocia, and south of Mysia. The capital city of Lydia was Sardis, which was located along the Pactolus River. Sardis was an impressive city by the seventh century BCE, largely due to the rich electrum deposits in the Pactolus. Electrum is a natural gold-silver alloy, which is valuable alone and even more so when it is refined for its gold. The Lydians used their electrum deposits to create a wealthy society and the world’s first coined currency. Herodotus noted in The Histories (I, 94): “The Lydians were the first people we know of to use a gold and silver coinage and to introduce retail trade.”

King Croesus of Lydia

The best-known and arguably greatest of all the Lydian kings was Croesus (ruled c. 560-540s BCE), who like Midas before him, was associated with great wealth. The saying, “richer than Croesus” comes from the great wealth that Croesus inherited from his predecessors, but he did his part to make Lydia even more powerful. Croesus conquered Phrygia during his rule (Herodotus I, 28) and involved Lydia deeply in the affairs of the Greeks. According to Herodotus (I, 29), Croesus invited the greatest Greek philosophers, teachers, and poets of the era to Sardis to make the city a cultural center. The historian wrote: “All the great Greek teachers of that epoch, one after another, paid visits to the capital.” In return, Croesus gave generous offerings to the Oracle of Delphi in Greece. According to Herodotus (I, 50), Croesus donated three thousand animals as burnt offerings, couches overlaid with gold and silver, and silver other precious objects. The offering was no doubt as much a tactic to win the Greeks’ favor as it was to get a favorable prediction from the Oracle.

Croesus also developed an alliance with Sparta, Babylon, Egypt, and the Medes before establishing complete control of Ionia on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. The alliance was created to stand against the encroaching Achaemenid Persian Empire, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. In 546 or 542-541 BCE, Croesus and his allies went to war against the Achaemenid Persians and lost. Herodotus (I, 86-88) wrote that Cyrus (reigned 559-530 BCE) took Croesus as a prisoner after almost burning him on a pyre. A section of the Akkadian cuneiform Nabonidus Chronicle relates a different story:

“Cyrus, king of Persia, called up his army and crossed the Tigris below the town of Arbela. In the moth Aiaru [he marched] against the country Ly[dia] . . . killed its king, took his possessions, put (there) a garrison of his own. Afterwards, his garrison as well as the king remained there.”

Whatever was Croesus’ fate, the fate of his kingdom was sealed. Lydia became a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire and was never again independent.