The Phrygian Kingdom (c900-695 BCE) came into existence after the migration of a people to Anatolia in the early Iron Age, after the fall of the Hittite Empire.
[1]
The name the people called themselves is unknown because there are no Phrygian sources telling us about it. ’Phrygian’ is a Greek name while Assyrian texts refer to a Muški kingdom
[2]
"a fierce, aggressive, tribal people" who could be a separate people or a people who formed a union with the Phrygians in the 8th century.
[3]
The kingdom’s most developed phase occurred under king Midas who ruled from the city of Gordium in the late 8th century.
[4]
We cannot say much about the organization of Phrygia at its peak development except that it was a monarchy that ruled from Gordium, a town of perhaps 20,000 inhabitants. The capital of Midas’s hypothesized Mushki-Phrygian union is assumed to have been named after Midas’s father. Earlier names in the dynasty are unknown.
[4]
Archaeologist know of three political documents but have not been able to decipher them. The Phrygian language is not known, and its similarity to Greek languages has only allowed for fragments of texts to be understood.
While we nothing about a central (palace based?) administration that may have been present archaeologists believe that other cities in Phrygia had their own governments
[5]
and a great deal of autonomy.
[5]
The biggest cities had governors.
[5]
The beginning date for the Phrygian period is somewhat arbitrary, based on archaeological records. The end of the Phrygian period, however, is clearly marked by a conquest - it is the year when the Phrygian Kingdom was conquered by the Lydian Kingdom, which de facto put an end to the existence of the Phrygian period.
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 39-40) T Bryce. 2002. ‘’Life and Society in the Hittite World’’. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[2]: (Roller 2011, 563) L Roller. 2011. "Phrygian and the Phrygians" Oxford Handbook of Ancien Anatolia
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 40)
[4]: (Bryce 2002, 41) T Bryce. 2002. ‘’Life and Society in the Hittite World’’. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[5]: (Atasoy 1982, 158) Buluç E A Atasoy. 1982. "Metallurgical and Archaeological Examination of Phrygian Objects". Anatolian Studies. Vol. 32.
| alliance with [---] |
| Konya Plain - Cimmerian Period |
| continuity |
| Preceding: Tabal Kingdoms (tr_tabal_k) [continuity] |
| loose |
| Year Range | Phrygian Kingdom (tr_phrygian_k) was in: |
|---|---|
| (836 BCE 696 BCE) | Konya Plain |
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The period when the king of Phrygia was Midas. It is the period when Assyrian sources tell about this kingdom, and Phrygia won the war against Assyria
[1]
. "Like the kingdom over which it ruled, Gordium reached the peak of its development during Midas’s reign."
[2]
[1]: Ziółkowski, A., 2009, General History: Antiquity, pg:348
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 41)
"The New Chronology of Iron Age Gordion argues that the history and archaeology of the site of Gordion, in central Turkey, have been misunderstood since the beginning of its excavation in the 1950s. The first excavation director, Rodney Young, found evidence for substantial destruction during the first decade of fieldwork; this was interpreted as proof that Gordion had been destroyed ca. 700 B.C. by the Kimmerians, a group of invaders from the Caucusus/Black Sea region, as attested in several ancient literary sources. During the last decade, however, renewed research on the archaeological evidence, within, above, and below the destruction level indicated that the catastrophe that destroyed much of Gordion occurred 100 years earlier, in 800 B.C., and was the result of a fire that quickly got out of control rather than a foreign invasion."
[1]
"According to Greek tradition, the earliest Phrygians were immigrants from Macedon and Thrace. ... In all probability, the references to the Phrygians in the Iliad are anachronistic. The arrival of this people in Anatolia almost certainly dates to the early Iron Age, to the decade immediately following the Hittite kingdom’s collapse early in the 12th century. ... Probably by the end of the millennium, a Phrygian state had begun to evolve."
[2]
From the beginning of Early Phrygian period, according to Gordion stratigraphy
[3]
, to the conquest by Lydian Kingdom
[4]
.
Conquest by Lydia after Gordion sacked by Cimmerians 695 BCE.
695 BCE: sacked by Cimmerians. Then subject to Lydia. Not a Neo-Hittite state.
[1]: (Publisher’s monograph) C Brian Rose. Gareth Darbyshire. Eds. 2011. The New Chronology of Iron Age Gordion (Gordion Special Studies). University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 39-40)
[3]: Voigt, M., "Gordion: the Changing Political and Economic Roles of a First Millenium B.C.E. City" Oxford Handbook of Ancien Anatolia (2011), pg:1075
[4]: Ziółkowski, A., 2009, General History: Antiquity, pg:351
Alliance
"union between the Phrygians and an eastern Anatolian people called the Mushki. ... a fierce, aggressive, tribal people..." Not all scholars agree there was a union "But the balance of scholarly opinion favours the assumption of a united Mushki-Phrygian kingdom, formed some time in the 8th century."
[1]
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 40)
"According to Greek tradition, the earliest Phrygians were immigrants from Macedon and Thrace. ... In all probability, the references to the Phrygians in the Iliad are anachronistic. The arrival of this people in Anatolia almost certainly dates to the early Iron Age, to the decade immediately following the Hittite kingdom’s collapse early in the 12th century. ... Probably by the end of the millennium, a Phrygian state had begun to evolve." [1]
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 39-40)
"According to Greek tradition, the earliest Phrygians were immigrants from Macedon and Thrace. ... In all probability, the references to the Phrygians in the Iliad are anachronistic. The arrival of this people in Anatolia almost certainly dates to the early Iron Age, to the decade immediately following the Hittite kingdom’s collapse early in the 12th century. ... Probably by the end of the millennium, a Phrygian state had begun to evolve." [1]
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 39-40)
squared kilometers. It is a hypothetical number calculated from the map of Phrygia.
1. Capital
2. Town3.
The number of settlements and their sizes are unknown. We can just identify two big cities (Gordion, Ankyra), and some other sites with Phrygian layers, but their function in settlement net is unknown
[1]
.
[1]: Atasoy, E., S. Buluç, 1982, "Metallurgical and Archaeological Examination of Phrygian Objects", Anatolian Studies, Vol. 32, pg:158
1. King
2. Central administration?3.4.
2. Governors of biggest cities
[1]
.3. Local governmentThere was a king in Gordion, and the other cities had local authorities and governments
[1]
4.5.
[1]: Atasoy, E., S. Buluç, 1982, "Metallurgical and Archaeological Examination of Phrygian Objects", Anatolian Studies, Vol. 32, pg:158
There was a king in Gordion, and the other cities had local authorities and governments, [1] but this does not necessarily mean there were specialized government buildings.
[1]: Atasoy, E., S. Buluç, 1982, "Metallurgical and Archaeological Examination of Phrygian Objects", Anatolian Studies, Vol. 32, pg:158
Urartu’s craftsmen used iron picks and hammers to forge horizontal planes out of bedrock on which to erect the empire’s numerous and imposing stone fortresses. [1] ‘Brian Rose provided a better definition of the walled Lower Town to the south of the Citadel and confirmed the presence of a similar area to the north that had been suspected based on massive stone walls in the Sakarya River bed’ [2]
[1]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480
[2]: Mary M. Voigt, ‘Gordion: The Changing Political and Economic Roles of a First Millennium B.C.E. City’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 1074
Yassıhöyük ‘To the northwest of the Citadel lies a large Outer Town partially or completely enclosed by an earth rampart.’ [1]
[1]: Mary M. Voigt, ‘Gordion: The Changing Political and Economic Roles of a First Millennium B.C.E. City’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 1070
In Anatolia siege warfare was mentioned in Old Hittite records. [1] Presumably at this time the catapult was not used? In India, according to Jain texts, Ajatashatru, a 5th century BCE king of Magadha in North India, used a catapult "capable of hurling huge pieces of stone". [2] Marsden (1969) said archaeological records exist before the 4th century BCE. [3] The Achaemenids (c400 BCE?) are assumed to have had the catapult because the Macedonians did. [4] Pollard and Berry (2012) say torsion catapults first came into widespread use in the Hellenistic period 4th - 1st centuries BCE. [5] The Syracuse Greek Dionysios I invented a form of crossbow called the gastraphetes in 399 BCE which encouraged the development of large tension-powered weapons. [6] There is no direct evidence for catapults for this time/location. The aforementioned evidence we currently have covering the wider ancient world suggests they were probably not used at this time, perhaps because effective machines had not been invented yet.
[1]: Siegelova I. and H. Tsumoto (2011) Metals and Metallurgy in Hittite Anatolia, pp. 278 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 275-300
[2]: (Singh 2008, 272) Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Longman. Delhi.
[3]: (Marsden 1969, 5, 16, 66.) Marsden, E. W. 1969. Greek and Roman Artillery: The Historical Development. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
[4]: (Dandamaev 1989, 314) Dandamaev, M A. 1989. A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire. Brill.
[5]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 45) Pollard, N, Berry, J (2012) The Complete Roman Legions, Thames and Hudson, London Rives, J (2006) Religion in the Roman Empire, Wiley
[6]: (Keyser and Irby-Massie 2006, 260) Paul T Keyser. Georgia Irby-Massie. Science, Medicine, And Technology. Glenn R Bugh. ed. 2006. The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
The counter-weight trebuchet was first used by the Byzantines in 1165 CE.
Known from Phrygian drawings [1] . ‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region. [2]
[1]: Roller, L., 1999, “Early Phrygian Drawings from Gordion and the Elements of Phrygian Artistic Style”, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 49, pg:145
[2]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480
Gaebel (referring to New Kingdom Hittites) thinks it is "probable that the Hittite chariots carried javelin throwers and archers." [1] We currently have no closer reference than this, except for Lydia which follows.
[1]: (Gaebel 2002, 37) Robert E Gaebel. 2002. Cavalry Operations in the Ancient Greek World. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman.
"Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE. The Scythian bow was different from the Mesopotamian one primarily in its overall dimensions - it was smaller so that it could be used from the horseback. At the same time, self bows were also in use, but because of their large size they were not suitable for use by horse riders." [1]
[1]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
Known from Phrygian drawings. [1] . ‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region. [2] "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken." [3]
[1]: Roller, L., 1999, “Early Phrygian Drawings from Gordion and the Elements of Phrygian Artistic Style”, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 49, pg:145
[2]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480
[3]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.
Known from Phrygian drawings. [1] ‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region. [2] Spear-using phalanx first used in Sumer 2500 BCE. The phalanx was in use until the 1st century BCE. [3]
[1]: Roller, L., 1999, “Early Phrygian Drawings from Gordion and the Elements of Phrygian Artistic Style”, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 49, pg:145
[2]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480
[3]: (Gabriel 2002, 25) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.
‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region. [1]
[1]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480
Based on previous polities, it is clear horses were a large part of warfare in the region, particularly chariots
‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region. [1]
[1]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480
Closest reference in Anatolia is the Hittite period. [1] In Greece c1600 BCE: "Early Mycenaean and Minoan charioteers wore an arrangement of bronze armor that almost fully enclosed the soldier, the famous Dendra panoply." [2] Mesopotamia (the Assyrians) c800 BCE?: iron plates used for shin protection. [3]
[1]: Bryce T. (2007) Hittite Warrior, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, pp. 15
[2]: (Gabriel 2007, 78) Richard A Gabriel. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Ancient World. Greenwood Press. Westport.
[3]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 51) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport.
Rounded helmet with a high crest [1] . ‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region. [2] Which polity does this quote reference?
[1]: Roller, L., 1999, “Early Phrygian Drawings from Gordion and the Elements of Phrygian Artistic Style”, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 49, pg:146
[2]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480