The area now designated the Antalya province is the general center of classical Lycia. Milas was included by some writers in the district, but the more important cities seem to have been Patara (Gelemls) in the Xanthus Valley, Telmessus (Fethiye), and Myra (Demre). Perhaps it is Lycians who are mentioned in an Egyptian account of the Hittite battle at Kadesh. They may also be the Luqqa of fourteenth and thirteenth century Hittite documents.
Lycia was a geopolitical region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey, and Burdur Province inland. Known to history since the records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age, it was populated by speakers of the Luwian language group. Written records began to be inscribed in stone in the Lycian language (a later form of Luwian) after Lycia’s involuntary incorporation into the Achaemenid Empire in the Iron Age. At that time (546 BC) the Luwian speakers were decimated, and Lycia received an influx of Iranian speakers.
Lycia fought for the Persians in the Persian Wars, but on the defeat of the Achaemenid Empire by the Greeks, it became intermittently a free agent. After a brief membership in the Athenian Empire, it seceded and became independent (its treaty with Athens had omitted the usual non-secession clause), was under the Persians again, revolted again, was conquered by Mausolus of Caria, returned to the Persians, and went under Macedonian hegemony at the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great. Due to the influx of Greek speakers and the sparsity of the remaining Lycian speakers, Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage.
On defeating Antiochus III in 188 the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 BC. In these latter stages of the Roman republic Lycia came to enjoy freedom as part of the Roman protectorate. The Romans validated home rule officially under the Lycian League in 168 BC. This native government was an early federation with democratic principles; these later came to the attention of the framers of the United States Constitution, influencing their thoughts.
Despite home rule under democratic principles Lycia was not a sovereign state and had not been since its defeat by the Carians. In 43 AD the Roman emperor, Claudius, dissolved the league. Lycia was incorporated into the Roman Empire with a provincial status. It became an eparchy of the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire, continuing to speak Greek even after being joined by communities of Turkish language speakers in the early 2nd millennium. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, Lycia was under the Ottoman Empire, and was inherited by the Turkish Republic on the fall of that empire. The Greeks were withdrawn when the border between Greece and Turkey was negotiated in 1923.
Lycia today is a substantial component of the Turquoise Coast. It is of interest not only for recreation and sport, but as a location of antiquities going back as early as the Bronze Age. The ruins of ancient Lycia are seemingly everywhere. For reasons unknown, perhaps isolation, recycling of the building stone was minimal compared to other regions.
Lycia,
awesome a must travel by a day boat trip and take in the majestic views
This was part of our visit to Dalyan,plenty of photo opportunities and the boat guide gave us a great history and insight into the tombs.
very good day out 🙂 enjoyed the boat trip their and back would recomend for everyone , seeing the turtles were my highlight 🙂
we seen the tombs whilst on our way to turtle beach, they are breathtaking to see how high up they are and the detail and effort put into them must see
These tombs sit above the river and the town itself creating a sight to marvel at, they are illuminated in the evening and create an eerie sight .
These are part of the Dalyan scenery. On my first visit to Dalyan, I was amazed by them. Then on subsequent visits I was still staggered by them. They are floodlit at night so you can enjoy your dinner on the waterfront with a clear view of them.
Easy to see from the boat, seen several times as the river meandered and they kept coming back into view; very clear even from a distance.
Saw the tombs en route to Kaunos. Well worth taking the ferry from Dalyan then walking the 15 minutes up to Kaunos. An interesting site with tremendous views out to the sea – easy to imagine being stationed there in Roman times. Very peaceful as it's seldom busy.
Day trip to Dalyan all the way from Bodrum, but it was worth it! Did the mud pools/sulphur springs, followed by an acceptable lunch in a riverside restaurant. Then a boat trip passing by the spectacular rocks tombs and on to the beach at the estuary. Sampled some tasty blue crab and fed the scraps to the loggerhead turtles. Even…
worth a photo shot and to go see.just a shame they are so far out of reach to see close up.very relaxing going down the river.