In as much as it was traceable, the Pamphylian language is a Greek dialect spoken in southern Greece, moving to Asia Minor with its emigrants who arrived here before 1100 BC. Proof of this dialect can be found in an inscription from Sillyum. On the other hand, strangely enough, the people of Side spoke a dialect of their own that had yet to be deciphered.
The history of Pamphylia is somewhat confusing. We have to wait till the 6th century BC when King Croesus of Lydia annexed this territory. However, his rule was short-lived because, in 546 BC, he was already defeated by the Persian King Cyrus. During the following centuries, Pamphylia was occupied in turns by the Athenians and the Persians until, in 386 BC, a treaty of peace was finally signed by both powers, giving the cities of Asia Minor to the Great Persian King. The yoke of Persian rule was not heavy, and Pamphylia settled quickly.
The situation changed in 333 BC when Alexander entered
Pamphylia from Phaselis in
Alexander then returned to Perge and conceived plans to push northwards to meet up with his general Parmenion and the rest of his army, who spent the winter in Gordion. For unclear reasons, Alexander is made to believe that the only road to Gordion passes through the strategic city of Termessos, which commanded a very narrow mountain pass, a sort of Thermopylae. While Alexander was preparing for the attack, a peace delegation from Selge reached him. What exactly has been said remains a mystery. Still, they pointed out that there was indeed a much easier road north, the one that corresponds to the modern main road from Antalya to Sagalassos. The entire attack of Termessos was called off, of course, and Alexander led his army to Sagalassos.
After Alexander died in 323 BC, his generals fought and bickered over the territory of Pamphylia, which fell successively under the rule of Greece and Macedonia, then of Egypt under the Ptolemys, and finally under the Seleucids of Syria. By 280 BC, the Seleucid branch of Pergamon was taking over with kings that all went by the name of Attalus or Eumenes. The Romans appear but are in no mood to worry about this part of the world and leave things in the hands of Pergamon. This dynasty ended in 133 BC when Attalus III, the last king of Pergamon, simply donated his kingdom to Rome. But Rome showed little or no interest until they were forced to interfere because of the heavy piracy along the coast of Asia Minor. Solving this problem was not easy. The first success was booked by Servilius Vatia in 78 BC, but Emperor Pompey finalized the job in 67 BC.
This is a corner of Turkey I want to investigate further since it plays a significant part in Alexander's conquests eastwards. Walking in the great man's footsteps always is an honor and a privilege, and I'm very excited to see all these fascinating places with my own eyes. Besides the usual Alexander historians, I am relying on the precision work of George Bean with his Turkey's Southern Coast and on the handy maps and itineraries from the Sunflower Guide, From Antalya to Demre. Alexander, here I come!
[Click here to see all the pictures of Pamphylia]
[Click here to see all the pictures of Pamphylia]
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