List of ancient kingdoms of Anatolia explained

Below is a list of ancient kingdoms in Anatolia. Anatolia (most of modern Turkey) was the home of many ancient kingdoms. This list does not include the earliest kingdoms, which were merely city states, except those that profoundly affected history. It also excludes foreign invaders (such as The Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, Roman Empire etc.).[1]

List of kingdoms

Bronze and Iron Age

The first column shows the name of the kingdom or the state, the second column shows the name of the capital, the third column shows the life span of the state. However, there are uncertainties both in the second and in the third columns. In particular, the first dates (of emergence) are approximate.

Name of the kingdomCapitalDuration (BC)
AeoliaSmyrna8th century - 6th century
ArzawaApasa (Ephesus?)
Assuwa league1300-1250
CariaHalicarnassus11th century - 6th century
Diauehi1118-760
Doria1200-580
GurgumMarqas?-711
HattiHattuma2500-1780
Hayasa-Azzi1500-1290
HittitesHattusa1700-1180
IoniaDelos1070-545
Isuwa1630-1200
Karuwa1250-560
Kaskia1430-1200
KizzuwatnaKummanni (Comana ?)1600-1220
KummuhKummuh?-705
NešaKanesh2800-1720
LyciaXanthos, Patara1250-546
LydiaSardis1200-546
Luwia2300-1400
Lukka2000-1183
MitanniWashukanni1690-1300
MiletusMiletus[2]
Pala?-1178
Neo-HittitesCarchemish1180-700
PhrygiaGordium1200-700
TroyTroy[3] 3000-700

Classical Age

Name of the kingdomCapitalDuration (BC)
AntigonidsAntigonea (Nicaea (?))306-168
ArmeniaArtaxata, Armavir, Tigranocerta331-1
BithyniaNicomedia297-74
CappadociaMazaka322-130
CommageneSamosata163-72
GalatiaAncyra280-64
PaphlagoniaGangra5th century - 183
PergamonPergamon281-133
PontusAmasia291-62

In the table it can be seen that there are no new local kingdoms between the 9th and 3rd centuries BC. This era roughly corresponds to foreign rule (Achaemenid Empire and Macedonian Empire.)

See also

References and notes

  1. Seton Lloyd: Ancient Turkey (Trans. Ender Varinlioğlu) Tubitak populer Bilim Kitapları,Ankara, 1989,
  2. Leading state of Ionian League
  3. Both Troy and Miletus were actually city states. So the names of the capital and the state were identical

a. Andreas Schachner 2011, Hattuscha: the oldest settlement is of 6000 BC; between 3200-2500 there is no habitation. Hattum is the Akkadian name for Hattus(sa), the Hattian name is probably Ha-at-ti, so the same as the name of the land.(Oǧuz Soysal 2004,Hattischer Wortschatz in hethithiser Text Überlieferung). The Hattians lived in several kingdoms (city-states)in the Kizirl bassin of the Bronze Age.