MYSIA
(TEUTHREA)
Incorporating
the Mariandyni :
Mysia
was a semi-legendary kingdom which was located in the north-western
corner of Anatolia, occupying much of the southern coast of the
Sea of Marmara. Today this territory is split between the northern
parts of Balikesir and Bursa provinces in Turkey, but for the first
millennium AD it was firmly part of the Roman and Byzantine empires.
FeatureMapMysia
(pronounced me-see-ah) should not be confused with the Roman province
of Moesia in the Balkans, although the names are sometimes connected
by claims that Mysia is named by Celts in the third century BC when
they migrate into Anatolia to form the kingdom of Galacia. This
explanation is unsatisfying because it fails to account for the
use of 'Mysia' in connection with the Mycenaean age, some seven
hundred years previously. Theoretically, though, Mysia could have
existed outside Greek myth and history. This would see it placed
as the fifteenth century BC Arzawan sub-kingdom of Masa (see map
link, right). This region (or people) was the subject of a Hittite
campaign under Arnuwanda I prior to his gaining the throne. During
the same period he campaigned to bring his father-in-law, Madduwattas
of Zippasla, to the Arzawan throne, and the attack on Masa could
have been part of this process. David Ross suspects that Masa was
on the other side of the Hellespont in what became Thrace, and that
its people were ancestors to the Phrygians and Armenians. In terms
of general Hittite campaigning areas, though, this seems less likely.
It may be more reasonable to suppose that none of their western
Anatolian campaigns left Anatolia itself.
To
the immediate west of Mycenaean-era Mysia was the Troad (of which
Mysia was part) and Wilusa. By this time the Phrygians were beginning
to migrate across the Hellespont to the immediate north and settle
beyond Mysia's south-eastern border. Maeonia, to the south, was
separated from it by Mount Temnus. While those borders are difficult
to pin down, apparently for periods of its existence Mysia also
extended over areas of western and southern Anatolia, before being
submerged within Phrygia. The northern section of this highly mountainous
kingdom was known as Mysia Minor or Hellespontica. The southern
section was called Major or Pergamene after its major settlement,
and it is this that eventually became the heart of the later kingdom
of Pergamum.
Information
on Mysia's kings comes largely from Herodotus and the dates have
been estimated to bring them into line with those established for
the Trojan War. Herodotus is reliable in many ways, but the heroes
of the Trojan War predated him by over seven hundred years, so the
oral tradition which had kept them alive could easily have been
corrupted by the time it was written down. However, Herodotus does
state that the Mysians were of the same stock as their near neighbours,
the Lydians. Potential support for this comes from the fact that
the two were always stationed together in the later Persian armies
(although that could also be due to the fact that their home states
were similarly close together). If they were indeed related then
it would make them Luwian-speakers, and much more potentially Arzawan
stock. The other possibility, raised by Strabo, is that they were
immigrants from Europe. This means that they were more likely to
be a group of Phrygians who settled in Anatolia a few generations
ahead of the main ingress of Phrygian migrants. Their earliest king,
Daskylos, is the son of [a] Tantalus, who could be the early Phrygian
king of that name.
Daskylos
appears to have a confused role in ancient sources. He is either
the king of Mysia (and seemingly the first, or at least the earliest
to have been recorded), or he rules a tribe known as the Mariandyni.
They could be one and the same, of course (his son, Lykos, is acclaimed
as the king of the Mariandyni in Mysia when he meets the Argonauts).
Normally, though, the Mariandyni are placed on the opposite side
of the Bithyni from Mysia, and the Bithyni were a tribe which seem
to have been hostile towards the Mysians. Reconciling the difference
seems impossible, unless perhaps the Mariandyni occupied territory
on both sides of the intruding Bithyni or were gradually migrating
from their northern flank to their western flank along the shore
of the Sea of Marmara. In Greek mythology, one Mariandynus was the
eponymous hero of the Mariandyni tribe, with no apparent connection
to Daskylos, so the weight of evidence seems to favour Daskylos
being in Mysia.
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information from A History of
Arzawa, David Ross (available via the feature link, above), from
The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from The Penguin Book
of Classical Myths, Jenny March, and from External Links: Greek
Myth Index (dead link), and Apollodorus, the Library 2, J G Frazer
(Translator), and the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, William
Smith (Ed, 1854), and Geography, Strabo (Loeb Classical Library
Edition, 1928).)
fl
c.1260s BC :
Daskylos
/ Dascylus : Son of Tantalus. First king of Mysia or chief
of the Mariandyni?
Connected
with Heracles and the Argonauts of Jason of Iolkos by ties of hospitality,
Daskylos rules Mysia. Other sources say that he rules the Mariandyni,
a tribal group to the north-east of neighbouring Bithynia - which
would place them on the other side of Bithyni territory from Mysia's
location. In fact a tribal background for many of the Mycenaean-era
kings is much more likely than them ruling well-established cities
in this wild and barely-tamed region at the far edges of the Hittite
empire or the kingdom of Arzawa.
![](Troad_MarmaraSea01_full.jpg)
With
the collapse of the Hittites at the end of the thirteenth century
BC, the Sea of Marmara suddenly became a frontier with the aggressive
Greek city states on its far side, although this early twentieth
century painting by Fausto Zonaro makes it look peaceful
The
coastal city of Dascylaeum (or Dascylium) in Caria may be named
after him but may equally be for Daskylos, son of Periaudes. Daskylos
of Mysia fathers several sons, named Lykos, Otreus, and Priolas,
while his own father is Tantalus (possibly an early king of the
still-tribal Phrygians, with the estimated dates matching up perfectly,
or one of the Tantalus figures mentioned for Maeonia, although the
estimated dating here is harder to match up.
Otrea,
on Lake Ascania (now Lake Iznik in Bursa Province, Turkey) is a
settlement within Mysia which may be founded by Ortreus. The settlement
of Priola near Hereclea may be founded by his brother. Both Otreus
and Priolas are killed by Amykos, king of Bithynia. Otreus is taken
while travelling to Troy to sue for the hand in marriage of King
Laomedon's daughter, Hesione. The Mysians would appear to be recent
arrivals in the region (just like the Phrygians), and are no doubt
attempting to cement their position.
fl
c.1250s BC :
Lykos
/ Lycus :
Son. King of Mysia or chief of the
Mariandyni?
Jason
of Iolkos embarks on a quest to find the Golden Fleece. He gathers
together the Argonauts, the crew of his ship, the Argo, and experiences
various adventures along the way. Jason is roughly datable as he
is of the generation that precedes the participants of the Trojan
War. When he makes landfall near the Hellespont, he defeats Amykos
of the Bithyni, to the advantage of Lykos of Mysia. Lykos welcomes
Jason and entertains him and his men. The Argo loses two of its
crew during this break in the voyage, these being Tiphys (of sickness)
and the doomed Idmon (killed by a wild boar), while another, Idas,
attempt to steal the throne and kingdom from Teuthras. Lykos' own
son, Daskylos, joins the crew with one Ankaios in order to make
good the losses.
c.1240
BC :
Teuthras
: 'King
of Teuthraea/Teuthrania'.
The
alternate name of Teuthraea as used in Greek mythology for the region
of Mysia originates from Teuthras. Although the survival of the
renamed kingdom is relatively brief, the name sticks to a district
within Mysia. As for Teuthras himself, he is opposed in his reign
by Idas, formerly a shipmate on the Argo.
c.1240
BC :
Idas
: Rival
for the throne. Defeated by Telephas of Arcadia.
Telephas,
of uncertain birth in Mycenaean Arcadia, travels to Mysia with his
mother, Auge. There she either marries the king or is adopted by
him (sources differ). After Telephas defeats Idas, who has been
threatening to usurp the throne, Teuthras adopts Telephas (or has
already done so when adopting his mother), and he inherits the kingdom.
fl
c.1200 - 1184 BC :
Telephas
/ Telephus : Adopted Mycenaean son of Teuthras.
c.1192
BC :
The
Mycenaean Greeks set sail for Troy and, unaware of its exact location,
land in Mysia instead. As enemies of Troy, to which Mysia owes some
ties of allegiance, they are attacked by Telephas. Famed Achilles
of Phthia strikes back, wounding the king. When the Greeks help
to heal his wound, Telephas shows them the route to Troy.
c.1184
- 1183 BC :
Eurypylos
: Son. Died at Troy.
c.1183
BC
:
In
the last year of the Trojan War against Mycenae, Eurypylos forms
the Mysian forces as allies of Troy, along with Chromis and Ennomus
(an augur who is killed by Achilles), and perhaps with Gyrtios too.
Eurypylos is killed by Neoptolemus of Phthia, son of Achilles.
![](Map1200BC_full.jpg)
![](Troy_City03_full.jpg)
This
is another artist's impression of an unspecified version of Troy,
although it is almost certainly the city of the the Trojan War shortly
before its defeat and destruction, while above that is a map of
Anatolia at the time of the Trojan War, showing the general area
of Dardania, the Troad, and Mysia
Following
the sack of Troy, Phrygians are now free to migrate across the Hellespont
to the immediate north of Mysia and settle on its eastern flank.
With this in mind, it is likely that the small kingdom of Mysia
experiences a good deal of disruption, possibly along with the rest
of the Troad - although it is also possible that the kingdom has
been ruled by Phrygian migrants and their adopted Greek descendants
and is simply swept away by the sudden change in the regional situation.
The kingdom apparently collapses (or simply disappears from history)
soon after Troy's fall and the territory is eventually occupied
as part of the early kingdom of Phrygia.
By
547 BC Mysia has become part of the kingdom of Lydia, at which time
it is conquered by Persia and created a province within the Lydian
satrapy. Demaratus, former king of Sparta, is made governor of the
cities of Pergamum, Teuthrania, and Halisarna in the province of
Mysia. His descendants inherit the office over the subsequent eighty
years or so. Mysia itself is rarely important enough to warrant
a mention in history, but subsequent references to it are handled
under the Lydian satraps.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/
AnatoliaMysia.htm