In the mountainous of eastern Anatolia the state of URARTU, in its turn, was defeated by the Syrians in 743 BC. In western Anatolia, Phrygians had arrived from southeastern Europe perhaps earlier than the Trojan War (c. 1190 BC). By the 8th century BC they had created a state (PHRYGIA) with its capital at GORDION, southwest of modern Ankara.

On Anatolia’s western coast, LYCIANS, CARIANS, and MYSIANS, probably descendants of peoples known to the classical Hittites, inhabited defined areas. By the 6th century BC, LYDIA had emerged as the region’s dominant state. The fall of Assyria in 612 BC, and of Babylon in 539 BC, left the field open to the Persians who, after Cyrus the Great’s victory over CROESUS of Lydia in 546 BC, incorporated Anatolia into their empire.

TIMELINE:

The Iron Age and the Classical Periods (1200 – 30 B.C.)

  • Neo-Hittite kingdoms set up at Carchemish, Zincirli, Malatya, and Karatepe. Hurrian descendants establish a kingdom of Urartu.
  • 9th – 8th Centuries B.C.
    Phrygians create Phrygia, with its capital at Gordion; Lycians, Carians, and Mysians in western Anatolia.
  • 743 B.C.
    Urartu (eastern Anatolia) defeated by Syrians.
  • 700 B.C.
    Cimmerians destroy Phrygia. Lydia (capital at Sardis) rises to prominence. Greeks re-occupy former Mycenaean settlements at Troy, Ephesos, and Miletos.
  • 612 B.C.
    Fall of Assyria
  • 6th Century B.C.
    Lydia becomes dominant.
  • 546 B.C.
    Persians incorporate Anatolia into their empire.
  • 539 B.C.
    Fall of Babylon
  • 494 B.C.
    Persians crush Ionian Greek cities in western Anatolia.
  • Mid-4th Century
    Philip II of Macedonia and Alexander the Great destroy the Persian Empire. Following Alexander’s death, Anatolia splits into the independent states of Bithynia, Cappadocia, Pergamum, and Pontus.
  • 1st Century B.C.
    Roman Empire absorbs Anatolia. Out of Pergamum, the Romans form the province of Asia.