TROY
/ ILIUM
Troy
/ Ilium (Wilusa?) :
In
the 1870s (in two campaigns in 1871-73 and 1878-79), the German
archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated a hill, called Hissarlik
by the Turks, near the town of Chanak in north-western Anatolia.
Here he discovered the ruins of a series of ancient cities, dating
from the Bronze Age to the Roman period. Situated in the north-western
corner of Anatolia, close to the Dardanelles, Schliemann realised
he had found the city of Troy.
The
events described in Homer's Iliad, even if based on historical events
that preceded its composition by some 350 years, will never be completely
identifiable with historical or archaeological facts, even if the
city called Troy was destroyed by fire or war at about the same
time as the period postulated for the Trojan War. No text or artefact
has been found on site itself which clearly identifies it, although
Bronze Age cities in north-western Turkey are rare. The same is
mostly true of Troy's allies during the Trojan War - minor states
or tribal groupings which may have seemed important in the context
of this war, but which were wholly insignificant and probably short-lived
in overall terms.
In
the 1920s the Swiss scholar Emil Forrer claimed that place names
found in Hittite texts - Wilusa and Taruisa - should be identified
with Ilium (or Ilios - the city of Troy) and Troia (the Troad) respectively.
Wilusa and Illium do stem from the same root, so it is entirely
possibly to link them on this basis. He further noted that the name
of Alaksandu, king of Wilusa, mentioned in one of the Hittite texts,
is quite similar to the name of Prince Alexandros (Paris of Troy).
Wilusa has also been linked to Ahhiyawa, a (possibly) Mycenaean
Greek area of settlement which was located further south in Anatolia,
but the state was more probably the most remote of Arzawan lands,
lying on the coast, as mentioned by the Hittites. The Arzawan link
could mean that Troy likewise was a Luwian-speaking colony. An inscription
in Indo-European Luwian has been found in the Troy VI remains, but
assigning Luwian as the state's language is still perhaps a step
too far without further evidence.
(Additional
information from The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age
Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World, David
W Anthony, and from The Iliad, Homer (Translated by E V Rieu, Penguin
Books, 1963).)
31st-26th
cent BC :
Troy
first appears as a settlement and each subsequent rebuilding of
the settlement leaves an archaeological layer. The first four layers
are built and subsequently abandoned or destroyed by the twentieth
century BC. Troy I is relatively basic - mud brick houses and a
rubblework wall have been discovered from it. The settlement has
been founded by very recently-arrived proto-Anatolians, close relatives
of their fellow migrants in Anatolia, the Luwians, Hittites, and
Pala, all of whom are slightly less closely related to the proto-Indo-Europeans
of the Pontic-Caspian steppe. The ancestors of the proto-Anatolians
may first have demonstrated their migratory skills as part of the
Suvorovo culture of a millennium previously.
26th-23rd
cent BC :
Troy
II shows the same signs of trade with Sumer and increasingly sophisticated
artwork that characterises the Hatti during the same period between
2500-2200 BC. This is the 'burnt city' layer with extended towered
walls and royal treasure.
23rd-21st
cent BC :
Troy
III is dominated by stone houses. It is sacked and burned around
the mid-twenty-first century BC.
21st-20th
cent BC :
Troy
IV is rebuilt from the ashes with a citadel that covers four acres
and mud-brick houses which feature domed ovens. The cause of destruction
for this layer is unknown.
20th-19th
cent BC :
The
houses in Troy V are larger than before and evidence from the site
suggests a greater sophistication in pottery production methods.
This layer is contemporaneous with the Hatti city states in central
Anatolia and that of Zalpa to the north. The region is probably
also settled by Luwians from Arzawa by this time.
17th-15th
cent BC :
Troy
VI is in use. According to tradition, the state of Troy is built
up in this period by the Teucri and Dardanians (although the later
use of 'Teucrian' to refer to Trojans is mistaken). The state grows
to control the Dardanelles, the north-western corner of Anatolia,
and areas in the Balkans. A Luwian inscription found here is dated
to this period, but whether or not the Trojans themselves are Luwian-speakers
is uncertain.
Traditional
rulers are shown here in green alongside historical counterparts.
Later Greeks date the Trojan War as follows: Eratosthenes to 1184/83
BC, the Parian Marble to 1209/08 BC, Herodotus to about 1250 BC,
and Douris to 1334/03 BC. Herodotus' dates have been adjusted downwards
by eighty-seven years to bring them into line with the timeframe
used here for the Trojan War.
The
Hittites claim in their later treaty with Alaksandu of Wilusa that
ties of friendship between the two states date from this period,
under the reign of Hattusili I.
c.1400
- 1300 BC :
Troy
VIh subdivision layer is in use. If Troy is indeed Wilusa, then
it is this city which borders Mira, a division of Arzawa to the
south-east. In the period between 1380-1370 BC, when the Hittite
king Tudhaliya IV (III) invades Arzawa, he does not enter Wilusa
because the state is a member of the Assuwa (or Assua), a confederacy
of local minor states (probably including the states of the Troad)
which has traditionally been allied to the Hittites. This word,
Assuwa, is claimed as the original form of 'Asia' as used by the
ancient Greeks to denote Anatolia.
![](Troy_City_VIh_02_full.jpg)
Shown
here is an artist's impression of Troy VIh/VIi around 1400 BC, although
only the citadel has been excavated properly, with much of the rest
of the city's footprint lying beneath mud and still waiting to be
rediscovered
c.1375
- 1315 BC :
Tros
: Also ruler of the Dardanians.
c.1315
BC :
Tros
leaves Troy to one of his sons, Ilos (who marries Eurydice), while
the other, Assaracus, rules Dardania. Ilos is credited with founding
the royal line of Ilium (or Ilios, which equates to the Hittite
(W)ilios / Wilusa).
fl
c.1330s BC :
Kikunni
/ Kukunni : Ally of Hittite King Suppiluliuma I. Murdered.
c.1315
- 1260 BC :
Ilos
/ Ilus : Son. Source of the Hittite
name of Wilusa or a construct?
c.1300 - 1183 BC :
Troy VIIa is in use following an earthquake which destroys the VIh
city. This is the most likely candidate for Homer's large city which
is sacked at the end of the Trojan War, and is also believed to
correspond with the Hittite Wilusa of roughly 1330-1245 BC. It is
mainly a rebuilding of elements from the previous layer and the
city shows signs of rationing, but may recover and expand from this.
Using Classical dating, the city walls are constructed (by Poseidon,
Apollo, and Aeacus) in 1282 BC (this could be rebuilding work undertaken
by Alaksandu).
fl
1295 - 1280? BC :
Piyama-Radu
/ Piyamaradu :
A king of Arzawa? Fled to Ahhiyawa? Same as Priam?
Piyamaradu
is a renegade (or adventurer) who seizes the throne in Wilusa after
slaying the king, possibly launching his bid from Arzawa. According
to Hittite texts he has the help of Ahhiyawa. He is mention in about
1295 BC and 1250 BC, and in the past tense in about 1245 BC. It
may be that he seizes Wilusa in about 1295 BC, is overthrown by
the Hittites and replaced by Alaksandu (who himself is not necessarily
a blood relative of Kikunni's), and ends up in Miletus where he
is aided by the brother of the king of Ahhiyawa. Despite his name
being similar to that of the Priam of Greek legend, his career sounds
very different, so the link between the two that some scholars favour
seems doubtful.
There
is also a possibility that the real Trojan War is this fight between
the Hittites and Piyama-Radu. Homer's build-up to the fall of Troy
includes various events in western Anatolia which could also be
attributed to a Hittite campaign. The timeframe for this theory
fits better with Piyama-Radu being Priam, and his being succeeded
by Alexander (Paris). The arrival of Mycenaeans on the coast could
be a confusion with later migrations (after 1200 BC) which perhaps
have to fight coastal Anatolians to be able to secure a foothold.
Later generations possibly merge the two events before Homer's treatment
of them.
fl
c.1280 BC :
Aleksandu
of Wilusa : Ally of Hittite King Muwatalli II. Same as
Paris Alexandros?
c.1280 BC :
At Mira in Arzawa, Kupanta-Kurunta, the adopted son of the Hittite
King Muwatalli's aunt, is considered to be a Hittite family member
so Alexandros is duty-bound to help Kupanta-Kurunta even against
his own people if need be. The Arzawan state of Masa (on the south-eastern
border of Wilusa's territory) attacks Alexandros and is destroyed
(again) by Muwatalli who already has a treaty agreement with Aleksandu.
c.1290/1250
BC :
Walmu
/ Wilmu of Wilusa : Restored by the Hittite King Muwatalli
II or Tudhaliya V (IV).
c.1260
- 1224 BC :
Laomedon
: Son. Dau m Cygnus of Kolonae.
Otreus,
son of Daskylos, king of Mysia, is killed by Amykos, king of Bithynia,
whilst 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, and are no doubt attempting to cement their
position.
Laomedon
is claimed by Greek literature to be the father of Tithonus, who
himself is later a lover of Eos, goddess of the dawn. Eos bears
Tithonus two sons, Memnon and Emathion, while Tithonus is claimed
to be the founder of Susa after travelling east into [through] Assyria.
In fact, Susa is already an ancient city of Elam. Memnon, 'son of
[the] dawn', apparently forms an overseas colony, claimed to be
Ethiopia but more probably much closer to Troy, who brings his forces
to Troy's assistance during the Trojan War.
c.1224
- 1183 BC :
Priam
/ Podarces : Son. Same as Piyama-Radu?
c.1200
BC :
Wilusa's
traditional ally, the Hittites, are destroyed around this time,
as are the Arzawan lands to the south-east, and general instability
grips the Eastern Mediterranean coast. The state probably finds
itself very much alone in this period, with just its local allies
for support.
1183
BC :
Paris
(Alexandros) : Son of Priam. Mortally wounded by
Philoctetes.
c.1193
- 1183 BC :
Agamemnon
of Mycenae amasses the forces of his allied Achaean kingdoms and
sails from Greece, determined to attack Troy. In response, Troy
gathers its own allies together, including those of Dardania, the
Halizones, the Hyrtacidae, Karkissa, Kolonae, Larissa, Lycia, Lyrnessos,
Maeonia, Mysia, Paphlagonia, Percote, Phrygia, Thrace, and Zeleia,
along with Pelasgians from several locations in western Anatolia.
They are led by Hector and Paris of Troy. The allied contingents
speak a multitude of languages, so orders have to be translated
by each contingent's commander.
In
the Iliad, the Achaeans beach their ships in the final year of the
conflict and set up camp near the mouth of the River Scamander (modern
Karamenderes, five kilometres further inland than today, pouring
into a bay). The city of Troy itself stands on a hill, across the
plain of Scamander, which is where the battles of the Trojan War
take place. After fighting to a stalemate, the Mycenaeans finally
enter and sack Troy.
The
son of Achilles of Phthia kills Priam and takes Andromache, the
widow of Hector, as his concubine. He also takes Elenos, a son of
Priam, as a slave when he travels to northern Greece to found the
kingdom of Epirus. Chaon, brother or friend of Elenos, goes with
them. The rest of the invaders also carry off slaves and booty.
On the Trojan side, Aeneas manages to escape the destruction and
with his Dardanian followers eventually settles in Latium, while
the Elymi of Sicily are also claimed as Trojans.
The
single, ten year war is probably Homer's collecting together of
an ongoing conflict, as at one point a Hittite letter to a Mycenaean
king briefly waves aside the Wilusa 'problem' and states that the
two kings are friends again. Later Greek myths (from the sixth century)
say that Helen spends the duration of the Trojan War in Egypt rather
than Troy, and that after the war the Mycenaeans go there to recover
her and are identified by the Egyptians as Sea Peoples.
1183
BC :
Deiphobus
: Son of Priam. m Helen but killed by Menelaus.
c.1183
- 1120 BC :
Troy
VIIb1 is in use as a smaller settlement is rebuilt out of the ruins,
probably by a mixture of surviving natives and Mycenaean settlers.
Mycenaeans have already been settled near, and in, Troy since before
the Trojan War (probably traders for the most part), as evidenced
by the Greek cemetery uncovered at Troy by archaeologists in the
twentieth century. This Troy is destroyed by fire.
![](Troy_City_VIh_02_full.jpg)
This
illustration is another artist's impression of an unspecified version
of Troy, although it is believed to be based on the city which existed
around the time of the Trojan War, shortly before its defeat and
destruction
c.1120
- 1020 BC :
Troy
VIIb2 is in use and is apparently destroyed by fire.
c.1000
- 950 BC :
Troy
VIIb3 is in use but is deserted by around 950 BC, with the site
remaining uninhabited for about two centuries.
fl
c.700 BC :
Troy
VIII is in use but is again abandoned, remaining uninhabited during
the Classical period.
20s
BC :
Hellenistic
Troy IX is founded by Rome and remains an important trading city
until Constantine establishes his new city of Constantinople. Under
Byzantine rule the city gradually declines and eventually disappears.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/AnatoliaTroy.htm