ROOTSHUNT

This region lies to the north-east of Cyprus, on the southern Anatolian coast where it meets Syria, stretching from its eastern plains (Cilicia Pedias, or 'flat') to the rugged western section (Cilicia Trachea, or 'rugged'), formed by spurs of the Taurus mountains. Although it had been inhabited since the eighth millennium BC, it first emerged into history during the Hittite period where it formed part of Kizzuwatna, and included the ancient city of Adaniya.

Its earlier Anatolian (Luwian-derived) name of Khilikku may have been interpreted by the Egyptians as Kode or Qodi, possibly as a direct descendant of 'Kizzuwatna'. It came to be known as Cilicia by later Greeks and Romans. In Greek mythology the land was named after King Cilix. Note that the different spellings of Cilicia using either 'k' or 'h' indicates that the 'c' was pronounced as a 'kh', like the Welsh 'c', or the German/Scots 'ch' - kilikia rather than see-licia, which would certainly bring the Greek version of the name much closer to its Anatolian original. It is also possible that 'Khilakku' was originally known as 'Que' and was later extended.

Exiled by his brother from Crete, Sarpedon seeks refuge with his Uncle Cilix. From here he conquers Lycia to the west along the Mediterranean coastline.

The region is settled by Luwians as part of Kizzuwatna and then controlled by the Hittites. In late Hittite times a people called the Denyen or Danuna settle in Adana. They could be connected to the Sea Peoples known as the Danya. Other groups of Denyen are also believed to settle in Cyprus.

A bronze seal written in the almost universal Anatolian language of Luwian which was discovered at Troy in 1995

This was a Luwian-speaking neo-Hittite state which emerged in former south-western Kizzuwatna. It occupied the area of the far eastern Anatolian section of the Mediterranean coastline, including the city of Adana (or Adaniya or even Adanawa), and followed the two main rivers north to the borders of Tabal. Bordering it to the east were Gurgum, Yadiya and Pattin, while the later region of Khilakku seems to have occupied a pocket of territory to the west, between Que and Tabal. The state of Que derives its name from Khilakku, retaining only the last part of '-kku'. An alternative option is that 'Que' is the original name and is later extended to form Khilakku. Unfortunately too little is known about the Anatolian languages, even Hittite, to be certain.

The name Hiyawa appears to mirror that of the state of Ahhiyawa, which existed until the general collapse into a dark age at the end of the thirteenth century BC. Little is known about that state, even down to its exact location and the origin of its people. Hiyawa was not a continuation of it, however. Despite the uncertainties about Ahhiyawa, it is know to have been situated in western Anatolia, not in Hiyawa's south-eastern location. The similarity in name may be down to language. The Ahhiyawans probably spoke a form of Luwian, the Indo-European language of southern and western Anatolia, as did the Hiyawans, so the meaning of both names is probably similar. The only thing even vaguely close to 'Hiyawa' is the Luwian word 'hawi-', meaning 'a sheep'!

The state possessed a stronghold at the city of Karatepe, while its Luwian name of Hiyawa is usually replaced by the better-known Assyrian form - Que. However, the name Que was not formally applied to the state until its annexation into the Assyrian empire. In late Hittite times a people called the Denyen or Danuna had settled in Adana, with a possible but entirely unconfirmed connection to the Sea Peoples known as the Danya, making the Hiyawans a mixture of Luwians, Hittites and Danya.

(Additional information by Edward Dawson, and from External Link: Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA.)

Midas of Phrygia conquers several fortresses in the west of the state. The act seems to go unpunished by the Assyrians who are the overlords of Hiyawa, possibly because Tiglath-Pileser III is heavily involved in campaigns in Syria. This may be one of the earliest incidents to involve Midas as a significant nuisance factor for Assyria.

The River Seihan (or Seyhan) runs into the eastern Mediterranean at Adana, providing vital irrigation in a tough, mountainous environment

The last king of Hiyawa is Warikas (known in Assyrian as Urikki). Previously a loyal servant of the empire, he throws off the shackles of Assyrian domination. The result is Assyrian invasion, the defeat of Hiyawa and the removal of its king, and its incorporation into the empire as a province named Que. The date of this event is uncertain, and it may be that several years elapse from the rebellion of Warikas to the fateful invasion. The events take place either during the poorly documented reign of Shalmaneser V or at the very start of the reign of Sargon II. Rarely with such events, the transformation of Warikas from steadfast vassal to self-assured sovereign is documented in his own inscriptions at Çineköy and Karatepe. They are written both in Luwian hieroglyphs and the Phoenician alphabet - a key source in deciphering Luwian. Warikas' change of heart may be connected to the increasing influence of the western Anatolian kingdom of Phrygia, with its capital city of Gordion lying not very far from Hiyawa.

This was a Luwian-speaking neo-Hittite state which emerged in former south-western Kizzuwatna in the mid-ninth century BC. It occupied a pocket of territory on the fertile coastal plains of Çukurova, ancient Cilicia, which was sandwiched between Tabal to the north and the kingdom of Que to the east, with Pamphylia to the west. How much of Khilakku was independent of or subject to Que, and how much of later Cilicia formed part of Que, is entirely unknown. The territory that formed ancient Cilicia had effectively formed the predecessor state of Que, although borders for either state are highly speculative.

The newly-expanded Lydia of the mid-seventh century BC quickly incorporated territory that saw its borders stretch from the Greek fringe on the western coast as far as the River Halys in the east. It was at this river that the Lydians came to blows with the Medians in 590 BC. To the south of this, the rulers of Khilakku (primarily Syennesis) appear to have absorbed the remaining principalities of eastern Anatolia. The realm of Syennesis seems to have reached to the Euphrates crossing at Isoli (Tomisa, 'ad Aras') in Melitene (possibly the chief city of Ishuwa, modern Malatya in Turkey), although the kingdom's evolution seems difficult to explain. In Aramaic is was known as H(i)l(i)k, and the Greeks believed that coastal Cilicia was occupied by people called Kilikes who had moved there from the Aegean. The Assyrians and Babylonians still knew the Cilician plain as Que or Huwe, and applied the name Hilakku to the neighbouring hill country.

To the north of Khilakku the broken country between the Halys and the Euphrates was known as Tabal - Katpatuka (to the Persians) or Cappadocia (to the Greeks). It reached as far as the Black Sea but never seems to have had any political coherence until the Greek empire period. Herodotus viewed these people as being Syrians.

Local dynasts had a capital that was likely to be at Tarsus as it also served that function under later regimes. They held the title syennesis, even after the Persian conquest of the kingdom. The Luwian word suuannassai means 'belonging to the dog', a title that is well attested although its meaning remains unclear. It hints at domination from elsewhere. In several instances, both during Cilicia's existence as an independent territory and during Persian occupation, 'Syennesis' is all that survives to identify individual rulers - unless the title had become commonplace enough to be used as a name. The word itself, 'syennesis', seems to consist of 'syenn' ('sienn') plus a nominative suffix, '-es' (with Indo-European variants including '-us, -os, -as', etc), plus a 'land' or 'locale' suffix, '-is', if written by Greeks.

(Additional information by Edward Dawson, from Jewish War & Jewish Antiquities, Flavius Josephus, from The Augustan Empire, 43 BC-AD 69, A K Bowman, E Champlin, & A Lintott (1996), from The History of Esarhaddon (Son of Sennacherib) King of Assyria, BC 681-688, Ernest A Budge, from The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from The Persian Empire, J M Cook (1983), and from External Links: Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA, and Diodorus of Sicily at the Library of World History (dead link), and Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Encyclopaedia Iranica, and Lives of Eminent Commanders, Cornelius Nepos (1886 Edition), and Livius.)

Esarhaddon of Assyria conducts a campaign against the Cimmerians. He defeats them and their leader, Teuspa, in the region of Hubusna (probably Hupisna-Cybistra), but the area is not pacified. In the same year Esarhaddon's troops also fight a war in Hilakku (Khilakku), and a few years later they punish the Anatolian prince of Kundu (Cyinda) and Sissu (Sisium, modern Sis), who has allied himself with Phoenician rebels against Assyrian rule. The regions to the north of the Cilician plain repeatedly cause trouble for Assyria.

This image shows Cimmerians battling early Greeks - prior to the advent of accepted 'Classical' Greece - with the mounted Cimmerians warriors apparently being accompanied by their dogs

Appuashu / Appuašu / Appuwašu : Son of Syennesis? Vassal from 549 BC under Persian rule.

The Persian defeat of the Medes opens the floodgates for Cyrus with a wave of conquests, beginning with Cilicia in 549 BC. Appuashu may even welcome the intervention of the light-handed overlordship of Cyrus the Great over the tighter controls of the Babylonians. He is sometimes described as an ally of the Persians. Harpagus, a Median of the royal house and the main cause of the defeat of the Medes, commands Cyrus' army in Anatolia, conquering it between 547-546 BC. Taken during this campaign are Karkâ (Caria), Lycia, Lydia, Paphlagonia, Phrygia, and Tabal (Cappadocia), and Harpagus and his descendants reign thereafter in Karkâ and Lycia as satraps of the empire, normally within the satrapy of Karkâ. Cilicia would appear also to be under their control, at least initially, although Appuashu continues to administer it at first.

Persian Satraps of Khilakku (Cilicia / Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus) :

Conquered by Cyrus the Great, the region of Cilicia was added to the Persian empire. Under the Persians, it was formed into an official satrapy or province, and the satraps ruled the region in the name of the Persian king. By the mid-fourth century BC, part of Cilicia (Khilakku) was known officially as the minor satrapy of Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus. Under Satrap Datames in the mid-fourth century it was joined with his original satrapal seat of Cappadocia-beside-the-Pontus (Katpatuka). The River Halys separated these two very minor provinces.

Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus bordered Cappadocia-beside-the-Pontus along its northern border. Its eastern frontier was formed by the Euphrates, as confirmed by Herodotus, with a western border which was shared with Greater Phrygia and a southern border with Ebir-nāri which is only vaguely definable. Only in the south-west do references to the Taurus Gates, and especially to the Cilician Gates, provide more precise indications about the border with Cilicia 'proper'.

Babirush (Babylon) was the senior great satrapy in Mesopotamia. The main satrapy of Athura (former Assyria) fell within Babylonia's administrative umbrella and was subservient to it. Thanks to its close association with Babylonia, the name of Athura was used almost synonymously (certainly by Herodotus and Strabo). Babylon's rank during the Achaemenid period (and beyond) and the status of officials who were installed there also suggest that Babylonia was the superior great satrapy. On the occasion of the rebellion of Megabyzus in Syria, the satrap of Babylonia was responsible for its suppression. This alone proves its higher hierarchical rank, as does the fact that Alexander the Great settled matters relating to Assyria in Babylon. It was also Strabo who reported (accurately) that Athura consisted of (old) Assyria along with Khilakku, Syria, and Phoenicia. Therefore Megabyzus and other holders of his office were satraps of all of these - at least at first.

The provincial capital of Cilicia 'beside-the-sea' was at Tarsus. Local dynasts with the title syennesis held power until the fourth century, but then the royal court began to install officers. To the north and east, mounts Taurus and Amanus separated the province from Greater Phrygia and Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus, as well as from Syria. Several well-known passes may have marked the frontier, including the Cilician Gates, the Amanus Gates, and the Syrian Gates. In the west the province touched Pamphylia, which belonged to Greater Phrygia; the boundary must have been situated somewhere between Coracesium and Celenderis.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson, from The Persian Empire, J M Cook (1983), from The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from Alexander the Great, Krzysztof Nawotka (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Iranica, and Lives of Eminent Commanders, Cornelius Nepos (1886 Edition), and The Government of Syria under Alexander the Great, A B Bosworth (The Classical Quarterly Vol 24, No 1, May, 1974, pp 46-64, Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association (available at JSTOR)), and Livius.)

549 - 546 BC :

Appuashu / Appuašu : Last king of Cilicia and first Persian client king of Khilakku.

549 - 546 BC :

The Persian defeat of the Medes allows Cyrus the Great to conquer Anatolia between 549-546 BC. Appuashu may even welcome the intervention of the light-handed overlordship of Cyrus over the tighter controls of the Babylonians. He is sometimes described as an ally of the Persians. However, he remains in the post of client king of Khilakku only for three years.

Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great freed the Indo-Iranian Parsua people from Median domination to establish a nation that is recognisable to this day, and an empire that provided the basis for the vast territories that were later ruled by Alexander the Great

Harpagus, a Median of the royal house and commander of Cyrus' army in Anatolia, is already ruling in Karkâ (Caria), Lykia, and Sparda. From 546 BC - when the conquest of Anatolia has been completed - Cilicia would appear also to be under his control, and the fate of Appuashu is not known.

546 - bef 530? BC :

Harpagus : Satrap of Karkâ, Lykia, & Sparda. Of the royal house of Media.

530s? BC :

Harpagus is succeeded as satrap of Sparda at some point before 530 BC, which possibly marks his death rather than retirement. There seem to be no subsequent satraps of Karkâ. Instead Sparda remains the dominant satrapy, with Karkâ possibly being administered directly through minor local offices. Khilakku would appear to regain its status as a client kingdom at some point between now and the early years of the fifth century BC, possibly the only way to successfully govern this fairly independently-minded territory. Oromedon, if he is a client king himself, is probably descended from Appuashu or his immediate family.

fl c.500? BC :

Oromedon : Client king of Khilakku?

It is not known for certain that Oromedon is a client king himself. The historical record only provides him as the father of 'Syennesis' (II). This Syennesis - a title rather than a name - is almost certainly a Persian client king of Khilakku (the first bearer of the 'name' being the earliest-known instance of its use at the start of sixth century Cilicia). The Luwian word suuannassai means 'belonging to the dog', a title that is well attested in Khilakku, although its meaning remains unclear. It seems highly likely that only the ruler's title has been recorded, not his name, and perhaps the title has later been mistaken for a name.

? - 480 BC :

'Syennesis' (II) : Son. Client king of Khilakku. Killed at Salamis.

480 - 479 BC :

Invading Greece in 480 BC, the Persians subdue the Thracian tribes, and they join his forces, all except the Satrai, precursors to the Bessoi, who refuse to succumb. The Macedonians are also subdued but continue to supply aid in the war against the Persians. Then the vast army of the Persian King Xerxes makes its way southwards and is swiftly engaged by Athens and Sparta in the Vale of Tempe. The Persians are subsequently stymied by a mixed force of Greeks led by Sparta at Thermopylae. (These events are depicted somewhat colourfully - but no less impressively for that - in the 2007 film, 300.)

Battle of Thermopylae

The Spartan stand at Thermopylae in 480 BC, along with some Greek allies, stopped the Persian advance in its tracks and provided a rallying call for the rest of the free Greek cities to oppose the Persians

Athens, as the leader of the coalition of city states known as the Delian League, then defeats the Persian navy at Salamis, and after Xerxes returns home his army is decisively defeated at the Battle of Plataea and kicked out of Greece. (The naval battles of Artemisium and Salamis are shown to superb graphic effect in the 2014 sequel film, 300: Rise of an Empire, although it does contain a great many historical inaccuracies.) Along with many others killed at Salamis on the Persian side is the client ruler of Khilakku, Syennesis. Xeinagores becomes his replacement after saving the life of the brother of Xerxes, one Masistes.

480 - ? BC : Xeinagores Of Halicarnassus. Client king of Khilakku.

469 BC :

Athenian statesman and general, Kimon (or Cimon) leads an allied Greek fleet to Karkâ. The attack focuses on destroying Persian strongholds as far as Phaselis on the border with Pamphylia. The response from Xerxes is to send an army under Pherendates to Pamphylia and a joint fleet from Khilakku and Phoenicia (rebuilt after the loss of the Persian fleet in 479 BC) under the command of Tithraustes, a bastard son of Xerxes. The new fleet is destroyed and captured, and the Persian army is utterly defeated.

? - 401 BC :

'Syennesis' (III) : Client king of Khilakku. Removed?

401 BC :

Cyrus, satrap of Asia Minor, attempts to revolt, mobilising an army and ten thousand Greek mercenaries to attack his brother. Defeat leads to his death in October 401 BC at the Battle of Cunaxa. Along with his wife, Epyaxa, the client king of Khilakku, 'Syennesis' (a title rather than a name), has supported the rebel army of Cyrus, primarily to protect his own lands from looting. Now his position may be untenable. Khilakku is reorganised as a formal satrapy within about a decade and its native kings are either removed or entirely sidelined, not to be mentioned again.

Battle of Cunaxa

The Battle of Cunaxa saw the end of just one in a number of internal Persian revolts that often involved thousands of troops on either side, although in this case the presence of a large body of Greek mercenaries should have been an indicator of the future threat the Greeks would become

? - 385 BC :

Camissares / Kamisares : Persian satrap of Khilakku. Carian by birth. Killed in battle.

385 BC :

Camissares is in favour with the Persian court of Artaxerxes II. He is made satrap of Khilakku at an uncertain date but is killed in the war against the Kadousioi to the north-east of Media, in the Iranian mountains on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. His son - by a Paphlagonian or Scythian mother - becomes his successor.

385 - 362 BC :

Datames : Son. Satrap of Khilakku (with Katpatuka & Paphlagonia). Killed.

367 - 365 BC :

At this time, Khilakku is known officially as the minor satrapy of Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus. This is the main seat of Datames, although later in his career he is promoted as satrap of Katpatuka, otherwise known as the minor satrapy of Cappadocia-beside-the-Pontus. Ariobarzanus, satrap of Phrygia, joins Datames, now satrap of Khilakku and Katpatuka and independent ruler of Paphlagonia, in revolt against Artaxerxes II. Autophradates, satrap of Sparda, is ordered to suppress the rebellion and he manages to expel Ariobarzanes from the greater part of his satrapy. In 365 BC, Athens sends thirty ships and 8,000 mercenaries to aid Ariobarzanus. He rewards Athens with the gift of Sestos and Crithote, cities on the Thracian Chersonesus.

364 - 358 BC :

This seems to be the point, in 364 BC, at which the native princes of Paphlagonia are finally removed from holding any kind of office. They are replaced by various individuals from more powerful regions. By now the Greek city of Sinope has also fallen under Persian domination. Datames is the first outsider to take control there. Given the fact that he is in revolt against Persia, it would seem that Paphlagonia has been seized as part of this effort.

Southern coast of the Black Sea

Like the Kaskans before them, the Paphlagonians struggled to survive in the somewhat tough conditions of the Black Sea's southern coast

Soon all of Asia Minor (Anatolia) revolts against Artaxerxes II and, in 362 BC, even Autophradates is driven to join the rebels. Sparta, and also Takhôs, pharaoh of Egypt, send substantial help to the rebels. Two years later, in 360 BC, Ariobarzanes is betrayed by his son, Mithridates, and is executed. The satrapal revolt is finally suppressed in 359-358 BC, by which time Datames has officially been removed as satrap of Khilakku.

362 - 353? BC :

Sysinas : Son. Satrap? Title or name? In Khilakku & Paphlagonia.

Has the former kingly title of syennesis become so commong in terms of usage as a name that it can now be altered or shortened, probably without losing its meaning in much the same way as the modern 'Michael' can be shortened? The alternative (less likely now that Khilakku is an official satrapy rather than a client kingdom) is that Sysinas is a title and the satrap's name has been lost. Edward Dawson considers the title to have been reduced rather than being a diminutive, with a switched consonant order from 'ns' to 'sn'. The word itself 'syennesis' seems to consist of 'syenn' ('sienn') plus a nominative suffix, '-es' (with Indo-European variants including '-us, -os, -as', etc), plus a 'land' or 'locale' suffix, '-is', if written by Greeks. As for 'sienn' itself, this could be a nominative use of the verb 'to cut'. A translation of 'the Cutter' would be appropriate.

fl 351/350 BC :

Mazaeus / Mazaios / Mazdai : Satrap. Promoted to Athura with Khilakku after 345 BC.

346 BC :

In tandem with Satrap Bēlsunu of Ebir-nāri, Mazaeus leads fresh contingents of Greek mercenaries to put down the revolt in the Levant. Phoenicia is attacked first, but both satraps are repulsed. The Persian king himself is forced to follow up with a more direct intervention. It is known that Mazaeus is issuing coins in Sidon as satrap of Ebir-nāri during his time in office (353-333 BC), which makes problematical the assignment there of Bēlsunu (not to mention Arsames, below). However, Mazaeus could be acting as the senior satrap, overseeing both Bēlsunu and Ebir-nāri, perhaps distantly at first, and more directly later. Arsames could be a short term replacement in 333 BC alone.

? - 333 BC :

Arsames : Satrap of Athura, Ebir-nāri, Khilakku & Phoenicia. Killed.

334 - 333 BC :

In 334 BC Alexander of Macedon launches his campaign into the Persian empire by crossing the Dardanelles. The first battle is fought on the River Graneikos (Granicus), eighty kilometres (fifty miles) to the east. The Persian defeat forces Satrap Arsites of Daskyleion to commit suicide. Sparda surrenders but Karkâ's satrap holds out in the fortress of Halicarnassus with the Persian General Memnon. The fortress is blockaded and Alexander moves on to fight the Lykian mountain folk during the winter when they cannot take refuge in those mountains.

Alexander the Great crosses the River Graneikos

Alexander the Great crossed the River Graneikos (or Granicus) in 334 BC to spark a direct face-off with the Persians that had been brewing for generations, and his victory in battle near the river sent shockwaves through the Persian empire

The campaigning season of 333 BC sees Darius III and Alexander miss each other on the plain of Cilicia and instead fight the Battle of Issus on the coast. Darius flees when the battle's outcome hangs in the balance, gifting the Greeks Khilakku and Katpatuka, although pockets of Persian resistance remain in parts of Anatolia. The former Persian satrapy of Khilakku now becomes the Greek-dominated satrapy of Cilicia.

Argead Cilicia / Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus :

The Argead were the ruling family and founders of Macedonia who reached their greatest extent under Alexander the Great and his two successors before the kingdom broke up into several Hellenic sections. Following Alexander's conquest of the Persian holdings in Anatolia and Syria between 334-331 BC, the Greek empire ruled the region until Alexander's death in 323 BC and the subsequent regency period which ended in 310 BC. Alexander's successors held no real power, being mere figureheads for the generals who really held control of Alexander's empire. Following that latter period and during the course of several wars, Anatolia was divided between Cassander of Macedonia, the Lysimachian empire, and the Antigonid empire.

Cilicia had initially been conquered by Cyrus the Great in the sixth century BC, following which it was formed into an official satrapy or province. By the mid-fourth century BC, part of Cilicia (Khilakku) was known officially as the minor satrapy of Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus [Mountains]. Under Satrap Datames in the mid-fourth century it was joined with his original satrapal seat of Cappadocia-beside-the-Pontus (Katpatuka). The River Halys separated these two very minor provinces. Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus bordered Cappadocia-beside-the-Pontus along its northern border. Its eastern frontier was formed by the Euphrates, as confirmed by Herodotus, with a western border which was shared with Greater Phrygia and a southern border with Syria which is only vaguely definable. Only in the south-west do references to the Taurus Gates, and especially to the Cilician Gates, provide more precise indications about the border with Cilicia 'proper'.

The provincial capital of Cilicia 'beside-the-[Black]-sea' was at Tarsus. Local dynasts with the title syennesis held power until the fourth century, but then the Persian royal court began to install officers. To the north and east, mounts Taurus and Amanus separated the province from Greater Phrygia and Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus, as well as from Syria. Several well-known passes may have marked the frontier, including the Cilician Gates, the Amanus Gates, and the Syrian Gates. In the west the province touched Pamphylia, which belonged to Greater Phrygia; the boundary must have been situated somewhere between Coracesium and Celenderis.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson, from The Persian Empire, J M Cook (1983), from The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from Alexander the Great, Krzysztof Nawotka (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Iranica, and Lives of Eminent Commanders, Cornelius Nepos (1886 Edition), and The Government of Syria under Alexander the Great, A B Bosworth (The Classical Quarterly Vol 24, No 1, May, 1974, pp 46-64, Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association (available at JSTOR)), and Livius, and A Walk Through Ancient Miletus.)

334 - 323 BC :

Alexander III the Great : King of Macedonia. Conquered Persia.

323 - 317 BC :

Philip III Arrhidaeus : Feeble-minded half-brother of Alexander the Great.

317 - 310 BC :

Alexander IV of Macedonia : Infant son of Alexander the Great and Roxana.

333 - 332? BC :

Balacrus : Greek satrap of Cilicia. Killed in battle in 332 BC.

332 - 331 BC :

Balacrus, son of Nicanor, is killed fighting the herdsman inhabitants of Isaura and Laranda, possibly in support of Antigonus of Phrygia who is campaigning in Lycaonia. The date of his death is very uncertain (after 332 BC, when he is know to regain Miletus from a Persian reoccupation) and seemingly before the end of 331 BC), but this approximate location seems suitable. This mountainous region near Caria has long been at odds with the more placid farming communities of the Colician plain, with the two groups even coming to blows in the fourth century BC (and probably earlier). Even now the Isaurians remain unbowed and undefeated.

Map of Central Asia & Eastern Mediterranean 334-323 BC

The route of Alexander's ongoing campaigns are shown in this map, with them leading him from Europe to Egypt, into Persia, and across the vastness of eastern Iran as far as the Pamir mountain range

331 BC :

With a Samaritan insurgency dealt with, Syria seems to be securely under Macedonian Greek control. From around this point onwards it seems to revert to a single satrapal territory with only one incumbent. The post is given to Menes at the end of 331 BC who also commands a rather vast swathe of neighbouring territory.

331 - 323? BC :

Menes : Greek satrap of Athura, Cilicia, Phoenicia, & Syria.

329 BC :

The appointment of Menes (probably the son of Dionysius who had been raised to the circle of Alexander's 'Bodyguards' in 333 BC - a major distinction which would mark him out as a commanding figure) in such a satrapal role over so much territory has been called into question by scholars. He has even been labelled as nothing more than a communications officer despite scholars linking him the the 'Bodyguards' role.

329 - 328? BC ? : Unnamed deputy or stand-in?

Either way, Menes is not in direct command of Syria in 329 BC, but may be required in Cilicia as well as in Syria as a matter of urgent expediency, what with the death of Balacrus and with Alexander's crossing of the Euphrates being imminent. The fact that Menes is also in Zariaspa in Bactria in 329 BC with his own levy of troops makes it clear that his appointment is largely to retain peaceful control without launching any unnecessary offensives against remaining pockets of Persian resistance while raising as many recruits as possible for Alexander's drive eastwards. However, records regarding Syria now fall silent until the death of Alexander, so Menes may well retain his position until then, once he has returned from Bactria.

Hindu Kush mountains

In his Hannibal Barca moment of brilliant tactical manoeuvre, Alexander the Great confounded expectations by entering Bactria from the southern side of the Hindu Kush mountain range

323 - 321 BC :

Philotas : Greek satrap of Cilicia. Removed to aid Perdiccas.

323 BC :

Following the death of Alexander the Great, Philotas is appointed satrap of Cilicia. Then the First War of the Diadochi (the successors - the generals of Alexander's army) sees civil war break out between the generals. After having replaced Philotas with Philoxenus in Cilicia, Perdiccas is murdered by his own generals during an invasion of Egypt. Philip III agrees terms with the murdering generals and appoints them as regents.

321 - ? BC :

Philoxenus : Greek satrap of Cilicia.

320 BC :

A new agreement with Antipater makes him regent of the Greek empire instead and commander of the European section. Antigonus remains in charge of Lycia and Pamphylia, to which is added Lycaonia, Syria and Canaan, making him commander of the Asian section. Ptolemy retains Egypt, Lysimachus retains Phrygia and Thrace, Philoxenus retains Cilicia, while the three murderers of Perdiccas - Seleucus, Peithon, and Antigenes - are given the former Persian provinces of Babylonia, Media, and Susiana respectively. Arrhidaeus, the former regent, receives Hellespontine Phrygia, while Tlepolemus is again confirmed in Carmania. Eudamus regains control of the Northern Indus. Unfortunately detailed information on Cilicia ceases at this point, with no sign of how long Philoxenus retains his office. However, numismatic (coin) evidence shows that coins are being produced by Philoxenus in Cilicia from an unknown mint between 321-318/317 BC.

301 BC :

During the Fourth War of the Diadochi, the diadochi generals proclaim themselves king of their respective domains following a similar proclamation by Antigonus the year before. In 302 BC, Lysimachus had entered western Asia Minor, governed as part of Greater Phrygia, and he soon gains (or regains) control of much of it. Following the death of Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, his territories are carved up by the other diadochi.

The Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC ended the drawn-out and destructive Wars of the Diadochi which decided how Alexander's empire would be divided

301 - 300 BC :

Pleistarchus : Brother of Cassander of Macedonia. King of Cilicia & Lycia.

301 BC :

As part of his Lysimachian empire, Lysimachus gains Ionia, Lydia, Phrygia, and the southern Black Sea coast of Asia Minor. Cilicia and Lycia are initially given to the brother of Cassander of Macedonia, Pleistarchus, but he is forced out in the following year by the Antigonid ruler, Demetrius I Poliorcetes. The region soon also falls under the rule of the Lysimachian empire. Upon the death in battle of Lysimachus in 281 BC, Cilicia seems to pass to Egypt, but at some point before about 240 BC it is seized by the Seleucid empire. They, however, rarely seem to hold much more than the eastern regions.

Macedonian Cilicia / Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus :

Following the regency period of Greek rule between 323-310 BC over its newfound empire, the course of several wars decided that Anatolia would be divided between Cassander of Macedonia, the Lysimachian empire, and the Antigonid empire. The conclusion of those wars in 301 BC saw Lysimachus gain Ionia, Lydia, Phrygia, and the southern Black Sea coast of Asia Minor. Cilicia and Lycia were initially given to Cassander's brother, Pleistarchus, but he was forced out in 300 BC. Cilicia soon seemingly fell to the Lysimachian empire until, upon the death in battle of Lysimachus in 281 BC, Egypt gained mastery over it. At some point before about 240 BC it was then seized by the Seleucid empire. They, however, rarely seem to hold much more than the eastern regions.

190 - 188 BC :

Antiochus III of the Seleucid empire and Rome fight each other at the Battle of Magnesia ad Sipylum in 190 BC. The Romans win a resounding victory, ending the Seleucid War. Anatolia (Asia Minor) is taken as a Roman province in 188 BC. The Seleucid ally, Cappadocia, negotiates friendly terms with Rome, notably because Stratonice, the king's daughter, is about to marry the king of Pergamon, a Roman ally. Lydia is probably lost to Pergamon at the same time, while Seleucid Lycia is awarded to Rhodes. Rome's enforced Treaty of Apamea in 188 BC has denuded the Seleucid empire of all of its Anatolian holdings bar Cilicia. It is reduced to Syria, Mesopotamia, and western Iran.

134 - 129 BC :

Antiochus VII is the last Seleucid emperor of the east. After the death of the Arsacid King Mithradates I in 132 BC, Antiochus launches a campaign to recover lost Seleucid domains there. The campaign is initially successful, recapturing Media and Babylonia in 130 BC. Antiochus demands that the Parthians restore all Seleucid territories in Iran, so they defeat him in battle in 129 BC and he commits suicide later that year. His death ends Seleucid rule in Mesopotamia and Iran and limits them to Syria and Cilicia, plus Babylonia.

115 - 104 BC :

Antiochus IX, a son of Cleopatra Thea and her marriage to Antiochus VII, attempts to seize the Seleucid throne. He revolts against his half-brother, occupying southern Syria and then Antioch, while Antiochus VIII retains Cilicia, although he is unable to prevent Cilician pirates from becoming increasingly powerful. In 104 BC, a Roman commander, Marcus Antonius, attacks the Cilician pirates while the Seleucid civil war peters out.

96 BC :

In 96 BC (and not 92 BC as has previously been stated), Rome and Parthia meet on the Euphrates. The Parthian ambassador, Orobazos, offers Sulla, the propraetor of the province of Cilicia, the 'friendship' and 'alliance' of his master. Though the exact outcome of this meeting is unclear, the agreements with China and Rome prove Parthia's rise as a world power.

95 - 94 BC :

Seleucus VI meets his uncle, Antiochus IX, in battle and defeats him, but the Seleucid empire remains divided with neither side able to deliver a knock-out blow. With Antiochus IX dead, his son, Antiochus X, continues to hold the southern part of the empire. At last, this time the civil war is ended when Seleucus VI is defeated (in 94/93 BC depending on precise dating), being burned to death in the gymnasium of the city of Mopsus in Cilicia.

66 - 65 BC :

Even at this stage of their decline, the Seleucids cannot stop fighting one another. In 67/66 BC, supported by the population of Antioch and a local ruler from Cilicia, Philip II Philoromaeus expels his relative, Antiochus XIII, from Antioch, but Antiochus is restored in 66/65 BC.

39 BC :

Darius : Son. Vassal king of Cilicia & Pontus to Mark Antony. Died 37 BC.

39 BC :

Having made Darius a vassal king of Cilicia, Mark Antony moves him to Pontus in 39 BC and hands Cilicia to one Polemon I Pythodoros in thanks for services rendered to Rome by his father, Zenon. When Arsaces of Pontus dies in 37 BC, Pontus is added to Polemon's domains.

39 - 8 BC :

Polemon I Pythodoros : Roman vassal king of Cilicia, Kolkis, & Pontus.

31 - 30 BC :

With Octavian's defeat of Mark Antony at Actium and no other opponents to his hold on power, Egypt and Libya become provinces of Rome upon the death of Cleopatra in the following year. Octavian also recognises the authority of the turncoat Polemon I, confirming his governance of Cilicia, Kolkis, and Pontus.

13 or 12 BC :

Polemon's marriage to Dynamis of the Bosporan kingdom is relatively brief. In either 13 or 12 BC he replaces her with Pythodoria of Pontus by whom he has two sons and a daughter. During this period he is also able to expand the borders of the Bosporan kingdom to the River Tanais (otherwise known as the Jaxartes/Iaxartes or Syr Darya, which traditionally forms the boundary between Sogdiana and Scythia). Upon the death of Polemon in 8 BC, Dynamis resumes command of her kingdom while his second wife retains Pontus and its holdings.

8 BC - AD 17 :

Pythodoria of Pontus : Wife. Queen of Cilicia, Kolkis, & Pontus.

AD 17 :

Archelaus of Cappadocia proves relatively popular with Rome but is less liked by the Cappadocians. For angering the Emperor Tiberius after favouring one of his rivals for the imperial diadem, Archelaus is summoned to Rome where he dies, possibly of natural causes (or suicide). Tributary Cappadocia now becomes a Roman province with Pythodoria of Pontus having to return to her own lands, while Armenia and Lesser Armenia are recombined and handed to the elder son of Polemon I, Artaxias III, who rules there as a client king. Cilicia is handed to Archelaus' own son to rule as another client king.

AD 17 - 38 :

Archelaus II / Archelaus Minor : Son of Archelaus of Cappadocia.

38 :

The junior Archelaus dies childless after a largely unremarked and unrecorded reign. Antiochus IV of Commagene is restored to his ancestral dominion as a Roman client king and is given Cilicia Trachaea and other Cilician territories. The region around Cilicia eventually forms part of the wide swathe of lands under the control of the Armenians and later the Lesser Armenians.

Source :

https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/AnatoliaCilicia.htm