[1] Authorities differ in their methods and results of computation of
these and other similar measurements.
ASIA, in a restricted sense, the name of the first Roman province east
of the Aegean, formed (133 B.C.) out of the kingdom left to the Romans
by the will of Attalus III. Philometor, king of Pergamum. It included
Mysia, Lydia, Caria and Phrygia, and therefore, of course, Aeolis, Ionia
and the Troad. In 84 B.C., on the close of the Mithradatic War, Sulla
reorganized the province, forming 40 _regiones_ for fiscal purposes, and
it was later divided into _conventus_. From 80 to 50 B.C. the upper
Maeander valley and all Phrygia, except the extreme north, were detached
and added to Cilicia. In 27 B.C. Asia was made a senatorial province
under a pro-consul. As the wealthiest of Roman provinces it had most to
gain by the _pax Romana_, and therefore welcomed the empire, and
established and maintained the most devout cult of Augustus by means of
the organization known as the _Koinon_ or Commune, a representative
council, meeting in the various _metropoleis_. In this cult the emperor
came to be associated with the common worship of the Ephesian Artemis.
By the reorganization of Diocletian, A.D. 297, Asia was broken up into
several small provinces, and one of these, of which the capital was
Ephesus, retained the name of the original province (see ASIA MINOR).
ASIA MINOR, the general geographical name for the peninsula, forming
part of the empire of Turkey, on the extreme west of the continent of
Asia, bounded on the N. by the Black Sea, on the W. by the Aegean, and
on the S. by the Mediterranean, and at its N.W. extremity only parted
from Europe by the narrow straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles. On
the east, no natural boundary separates it from the Armenian plateau;
but, for descriptive purposes, it will suffice to take a line drawn from
the southern extremity of the Giaour Dagh, east of the Gulf of
Alexandretta along the crest of that chain, then along that of the
eastern Taurus to the Euphrates near Malatia, then up the river, keeping
to the western arm till Erzingan is reached, and finally bending north
to the Black Sea along the course of the Churuk Su, which flows out west
of Batum. This makes the Euphrates the main eastern limit, with radii to
the north-east angle of the Levant and the south-east angle of the Black
Sea, and roughly agrees with the popular conception of Asia Minor as a
geographical region. But it must be remembered that this term was not
used by classical geographers (it is first found in Orosius in the 5th
century A.D.), and is not in local or official use now. It probably
arose in the first instance from a vague popular distinction between the
continent itself and the Roman province of "Asia" (q.v.), which at one
time included most of the peninsula west of the central salt desert
(_Axylon_). The name _Anatolia_, in the form _Anadol_, is used by
natives for the western part of the peninsula (_cis Halym_) and not as
including ancient Cappadocia and Pontus. Before the reconstitution of
the provinces as _vilayets_ it was the official title of the principal
_eyalet_ of Asia Minor, and was also used more generally to include all
the peninsular provinces over which the beylerbey of Anadoli, whose seat
was at Kutaiah, had the same paramount military jurisdiction which the
beylerbey of "Rumili" enjoyed in the peninsular provinces of Europe. The
term "Anatolia" appears first in the work of Constantine Porphyrogenitus
(10th century).
The greatest length of Asia Minor, as popularly understood, is along
its north edge, 720 m. Along the south it is about 650 m. The greatest
breadth is 420 m. from _C. Kerembe_ to _C. Anamur_; but at the waist
of the peninsula, between the head of the Gulf of Alexandretta and the
southernmost bight of the Black Sea (at Ordu), it is not quite 300 m.
The greater portion of Asia Minor consists of a plateau rising
gradually from east to west, 2500 ft. to 4500 ft.; east of the Kizil
Irmak (Halys), the ground rises more sharply to the highlands of
Armenia (q.v.). On the south the plateau is buttressed by the Taurus
range, which stretches in a broken irregular line from the Aegean to
the Persian frontier. On the north the plateau is supported by a range
of varying altitude, which follows the southern coast of the Black Sea
and has no distinctive name. On the west the edge of the plateau is
broken by broad valleys, and the deeply indented coast-line throws out
long rocky promontories towards Europe. On the north, excepting the
deltas formed by the Kizil and Yeshil Irmaks, there are no
considerable coast plains, no good harbours except Sinope and Vona,
and no islands. On the west there are narrow coast plains of limited
extent, deep gulfs, which offer facilities for trade and commerce, and
a fringe of protecting islands. On the south are the isolated plains
of Pamphylia and Cilicia, the almost land-locked harbours of
Marmarice, Makri and Kekova, the broad bay of Adalia, the deep-seated
gulf of Alexandretta (Iskanderun), and the islands of Rhodes with
dependencies, Castelorizo and Cyprus.
_Mountains._--The Taurus range, perhaps the most important feature in
Asia Minor, runs the whole length of the peninsula on the south,
springing east of Euphrates in the Armeno-Kurdish highlands, and being
prolonged into the Aegean Sea by rocky promontories and islands. It
attains in Lycia an altitude of 10,500 ft., and in the Bulgar Dagh
(Cilicia) of over 10,000 ft. The average elevation is about 7000 ft.
East of the Bulgar Dagh the range is pierced by the Sihun and Jihun
rivers, and their tributaries, but its continuity is not broken. The
principal passes across the range are those over which Roman or
Byzantine roads ran:--(1) from Laodicea to Adalia (Attalia), by way of
the Khonas pass and the valley of the Istanoz Chai; (2) from Apamea or
from Pisidian Antioch to Adalia, by Isbarta and Sagalassus; (3) from
Laranda, by Coropissus and the upper valley of the southern
Calycadnus, to Germanicopolis and thence to Anemourium or Kelenderis;
(4) from Laranda, by the lower Calycadnus, to Claudiopolis and thence
to Kelenderis or Seleucia; (5) from Iconium or Caesarea Mazaca,
through the Cilician Gates (Gulek Boghaz, 3300 ft.) to Tarsus; (6)
from Caesarea to the valley of the Sarus and thence to Flaviopolis on
the Cilician Plain; (7) from Caesarea over Anti-Taurus by the Kuru
Chai to Cocvsus (Geuksun) and thence to Germanicia (Marash). Large
districts on the southern slopes of the Taurus chain are covered with
forests of oak and fir, and there are numerous _yailas_ or grassy
"alps," with abundant water, to which villagers and nomads move with
their flocks during the summer months.
Anti-Taurus is a term of rather vague and doubtful application, (a)
Some have regarded it as meaning the more or less continuous range
which buttresses up the central plateau on the north, parallel to the
Taurus, (b) Others take it to mean the line of heights and mountain
peaks which separates the waters running to the Black Sea and the
Anatolian plateau from those falling to the Persian Gulf and the
Mediterranean. This has its origin in the high land, near the source
of the Kizil Irmak, and thence runs south-west towards the volcanic
district of Mt. Argaeus, which, however, can hardly be regarded as
orographically one with it. After a low interval it springs up again
at its southern extremity in the lofty sharp-peaked ridge of Ala Dagh
(11,000 ft.), and finally joins Taurus. (c) South of Sivas a line of
bare hills connects this chain with another range of high forest-clad
mountains, which loses itself southwards in the main mass of Taurus,
and is held to be the true Anti-Taurus by geographers. It throws off,
in the latitude of Kaisarieh, a subsidiary range, the Binboa Dagh,
which separates the waters of the Sihun from those of the Jihun. The
principal passes are those followed by the old roads:--(1) from
Sebasteia to Tephrike and the upper valley of the western Euphrates;
(2) from Sebasteia to Melitene, by way of the pass of Delikli Tash and
the basin of the Tokhma Su; (3) from Caesarea to Arabissus, by the
Kuru Chai and the valley of Cocysus (Geuksun). The range of Amanus
(Giaour Dagh) is separated from the mass of Taurus by the deep gorge
of the Jihun, whence it runs south-south-west to Ras el-Khanzir,
forming the limit between Cilicia and Syria, various parts bearing
different names, as Elma Dagh above Alexandretta. It attains its
greatest altitude in Kaya Duldul (6500 ft.), which rises abruptly from
the bed of the Jihun, and it is crossed by two celebrated passes:--(1)
the Amanides Pylae (Baghche Pass), through which ran the road from the
Cilician Plain to Apamea-Zeugma, on the Euphrates; (2) the Pylae
Syriae or "Syrian Gates" (Beilan Pass), through which passed the great
Roman highway from Tarsus to Syria. On the western edge of the plateau
several short ranges, running approximately east and west, rise above
the general level:--Sultan Dagh (6500 ft.); Salbacus-Cadmus (8000
ft.); Messogis (3600 ft.); Latmus (6000 ft.); Tmolus (5000 ft.);
Dindymus (8200 ft.); Ida (5800 ft.); and the Mysian Olympus (7600
ft.). The valleys of the Maeander, Hermus and Caicus facilitate
communication between the plateau and the Aegean, and the descent to
the Sea of Marmora along the valleys of the Tembris and Sangarius
presents no difficulties. The northern border range, though not
continuous, rises steadily from the west to its culmination in the
Galatian Olympus (Ilkaz Dagh), south of Kastamuni. East of the Kizil
Irmak there is no single mountain chain, but there are several short
ranges with elevations sometimes exceeding 9000 ft. The best routes
from the plateau to the Black Sea were followed by the Roman roads
from Tavium and Sebasteia to Sinope and Amisus, and those from
Sebasteia to Cotyora and Cerasus-Pharnacia, which at first ascend the
upper Halys. Several minor ranges rise above the level of the eastern
plateau, and in the south groups of volcanic peaks and cones extend
for about 150 m. from Kaisarieh (Caesarea) to Karaman. The most
important are Mt. Argaeus (Erjish Dagh, 13,100 ft.) above Kaisarieh
itself, the highest peak in Asia Minor; Ali Dagh (6200 ft.); Hassan
Dagh (8000 ft.); Karaja Dagh; and Kara Dagh (7500 ft.). On the west of
the plateau evidences of volcanic activity are to be seen in the
district of Kula (Katakekaumene), coated with recent erupted matter,
and in the numerous hot springs of the Lycus, Maeander, and other
valleys. Earthquakes are frequent all over the peninsula, but
especially in the south-east and west, where the Maeander valley and
the Gulf of Smyrna are notorious seismic foci. The centre of the
plateau is occupied by a vast treeless plain, the _Axylon_ of the
Greeks, in which lies a large salt lake, Tuz Geul. The plain is
fertile where cultivated, fairly supplied with deep wells, and in many
places covered with good pasture. Enclosed between the Taurus and
Amanus ranges and the sea are the fertile plains of Cilicia Pedias,
consisting in great part of a rich, stoneless loam, out of which rise
rocky crags that are crowned with the ruins of Greco-Roman and
Armenian strongholds, and of Pamphylia, partly alluvial soil, partly
travertine, deposited by the Taurus rivers.
_Rivers._--The rivers of Asia Minor are of no great importance. Some
do not flow directly to the sea; others find their way to the coast
through deep rocky gorges, or are mere torrents; and a few only are
navigable for boats for short distances from their mouths. They cut so
deep into the limestone formation of the plateau as to over-drain it,
and often they disappear into swallow holes (_duden_) to reappear
lower down. The most important rivers which flow to the Black Sea are
the following:--the Boas (Churuk Su) which rises near Baiburt, and
flows out near Batum; the Iris (Yeshil Irmak), with its tributaries
the Lycus (Kelkit Irmak), which rises on the Armenian plateau, the
Chekerek Irmak, which has its source near Yuzgat, and the Tersakan Su;
the Halys (Kizil Irmak) is the longest river in Asia Minor, with its
tributaries the Delije Irmak (Cappadox), which flows through the
eastern part of Galatia, and the Geuk Irmak, which has its sources in
the mountains above Kastamuni. With the exception of Sivas, no town
of importance lies in the valley of the Kizil Irmak throughout its
course of over 600 m. The Sangarius (Sakaria) rises in the Phrygian
mountains and, after many changes of direction, falls into the Black
Sea, about 80 m. east of the Bosporus. Its tributaries are the Pursak
Su (Tembris), which has its source in the Murad Dagh (Dindymus), and,
after running north to Eski-shehr, flows almost due east to the
Sakaria, and the Enguri Su, which joins the Sakaria a little below the
junction of the Pursak. To the Black Sea, about 40 m. east of Eregli,
also flows the Billaeus (Filiyas Chai). Into the Sea of Marmora run
the Rhyndacus (Edrenos Chai) and the Macestus (Susurlu Chai), which
unite about 12 m. from the sea. The most celebrated streams of the
Troad are the Granicus (Bigha Chai) and the Scamander (Menderes Su),
both rising in Mt. Ida (Kaz Dagh). The former flows to the Sea of
Marmora; the latter to the Dardanelles. The most northerly of the
rivers that flow to the Aegean is the Caicus (Bakir Chai), which runs
past Soma, and near Pergamum, to the Gulf of Chanderli. The Hermus
(Gediz Chai) has its principal sources in the Murad Dagh, and,
receiving several streams on its way, runs through the volcanic
district of Katakekaumene to the broad fertile valley through which it
flows past Manisa to the sea, near Lefke. So recently as about 1880 it
discharged into the Gulf of Smyrna, but the shoals formed by its
silt-laden waters were so obstructive to navigation that it was turned
back into its old bed. Its principal tributaries are--the Phrygius
(Kum Chai), which receives the waters of the Lycus (Gurduk Chai), and
the Cogamus (Kuzu Chai), which in its upper course is separated from
the valley of the Maeander by hills that were crossed by the Roman
road from Pergamum to Laodicea. The Caystrus (Kuchuk Menderes) flows
through a fertile valley between Mt. Tmolus and Messogis to the sea
near Ephesus, where its silt has filled up the port. The Maeander
(Menderes Chai) takes its rise in a celebrated group of springs near
Dineir, and after a winding course enters the broad valley, through
which it "meanders" to the sea. Its deposits have long since filled up
the harbours of Miletus, and converted the islands which protected
them into mounds in a swampy plain. Its principal tributaries are the
Glaucus, the Senarus (Banaz Chai), and the Hippurius, on the right
bank. On the left bank are the Lycus (Churuk Su), which flows
westwards by Colossae through a broad open valley that affords the
only natural approach to the eleated plateau, the Harpasus (Ak Chai),
and the Marsyas (China Chai). The rivers that flow to the
Mediterranean, with two exceptions, rise in Mt. Taurus, and have short
courses, but in winter and spring they bring down large bodies of
water. In Lycia are the Indus (Gereniz Chai), and the Xanthus (Eshen
Chai). The Pamphylian plain is traversed by the Cestrus (Ak Su), the
Eurymedon (Keupri Su), and the Melas (Menavgat Chai), which, where it
enters the sea, is a broad, deep stream, navigable for about 6 m. The
Calycadnus (Geuk Su) has two main branches which join near Mut and
flow south-east, and enter the sea, a deep rapid river, about 12 m.
below Selefke. The Cydnus (Tersous or Tarsus Chai) is formed by the
junction of three streams that rise in Mt. Taurus, and one of these
flows through the narrow gorge known as the Cilician Gates. After
passing Tarsus, the river enters a marsh which occupies the site of
the ancient harbour. The Cydnus is liable to floods, and its deposits
have covered Roman Tarsus to a depth of 20 ft. The Sarus (Sihun) is
formed by the junction of the Karmalas (Zamanti Su), which rises in
Uzun Yaila, and the Sarus (Saris), which has its sources in the hills
to the south of the same plateau. The first, after entering Mt.
Taurus, flows through a deep chasm walled in by lofty precipices, and
is joined in the heart of the range by the Saris. Before reaching the
Cilician Plain the river receives the waters of the Kerkhun Su, which
cuts through the Bulgar Dagh, and opens a way for the roads from the
Cilician Gates to Konia and Kaisarieh. After passing Adana, to which
point small craft ascend, the Sihun runs south-west to the sea. There
are, however, indications that at one period it flowed south-east to
join the Pyramus. The Pyramus (Jihun) has its principal source in a
group of large springs near Albistan; but before it enters Mt. Taurus
it is joined by the Sogutli Irmak, the Khurman Su and the Geuk Su. The
river emerges from Taurus, about 7 m. west of Marash, and here it is
joined by the Ak Su, which rises in some small lakes south of Taurus.
The Jihun now enters a remarkable defile which separates Taurus from
the Giaour Dagh, and reaches the Cilician Plain near Budrun. From this
point it flows west, and then south-west past Missis, until it makes a
bend to discharge its waters south of Ayas Bay. The river is navigable
as far as Missis. The only considerable tributary of the Euphrates
which comes within our region is the Tokhma Su, which rises in Uzun
Yaila and flows south-east to the main river not far from Malatia. In
the central and southern portions of the plateau the streams either
flow into salt lakes, where their waters pass off by evaporation, or
into freshwater lakes, which have no visible outlets. In the latter
cases the waters find their way beneath Taurus in subterranean
channels, and reappear as the sources of rivers flowing to the coast.
Thus the Ak Geul supplies the Cydnus, and the Beishehr, Egirdir and
Kestel lakes feed the rivers of the Pamphylian plain.
_Lakes._--The salt lakes are Tuz Geul (anc. _Tatta_), which lies in
the great central plain, and is about 60 m. long and 10 to 30 m. broad
in winter, but in the dry season it is hardly more than a saline
marsh; Buldur Geul, 2900 ft. above sea-level; and Aji-tuz Geul, 2600
ft. The freshwater lakes are Beishehr Geul (anc. _Karalis_), 3770 ft.,
a fine sheet of water 30 m. long, which discharges south-east to the
Soghla Geul; Egirdir Geul (probably anc. _Limnae_, a name which
included the two bays of Hoiran and Egirdir, forming the lake), 2850
ft., which is 30 m. long, but less broad than Beishehr and noted for
the abundance and variety of its fish. In the north-west portion of
Asia Minor are Isnik Geul (L. Ascania), Abulliont Geul (L. Apollonia),
and Maniyas Geul (L. Miletopolis).
_Springs._--Asia Minor is remarkable for the number of its thermal and
mineral springs. The most important are:--Yalova, in the Ismid sanjak;
Brusa, Chitli, Terje and Eskishehr, in the Brusa vilayet; Tuzla, in
the Karasi; Cheshme, Ilija, Hierapolis (with enormous alum deposits),
and Alashehr, in the Aidin; Terzili Hammam and Iskelib in the Angora;
Boli in the Kastamuni; and Khavsa, in the Sivas. Many of these were
famous in antiquity and occur in a list given by Strabo. The Maeander
valley is especially noted for its hot springs.
_Geology._--The central plateau of Asia Minor consists of nearly
horizontal strata, while the surrounding mountain chains form a
complex system, in which the beds are intensely folded. Around the
coast flat-lying deposits of Tertiary age are found, and these often
extend high up into the mountain region. The deposits of the central,
or Lycaonian, plateau consist of freshwater marls and limestones of
late Tertiary or Neogene age. Along the south-eastern margin, in front
of the Taurus, stands a line of great volcanoes, stretching from
Kara-Dagh to Argaeus. They are now extinct, but were probably active
till the close of the Tertiary period. On its southern side the
plateau is bounded by the high chains of the Taurus and the
Anti-Taurus, which form a crescent with its convexity facing
southwards. Devonian and Carboniferous fossils have been found in
several places in the Anti-Taurus. Limestones of Eocene or Cretaceous
age form a large part of the Taurus, but the interior zone probably
includes rocks of earlier periods. The folding of the Anti-Taurus
affects the Eocene but not the Miocene, while in the Taurus the
Miocene beds have been elevated, but without much folding, to great
heights. North of the Lycaonian plateau lies another zone of folding
which may be divided into the East Pontian and West Pontian arcs. In
the east a well-defined mountain system runs nearly parallel to the
Black Sea coast from Batum to Sinope, forming a gentle curve with its
convexity facing southwards. Cretaceous limestones and serpentine take
a large part in the formation of these mountains, while even the
Oligocene is involved in the folds. West of Sinope Cretaceous beds
form a long strip parallel to the shore line. Carboniferous rocks
occur at Eregli (Heraclea Pontica), where they have been worked for
coal. Devonian fossils have been found near the Bosporus and
Carboniferous fossils at Balia Maden in Mysia. Triassic, Jurassic and
Cretaceous beds form a band south of the Sea of Marmora, probably the
continuation of the Mesozoic band of the Black Sea coast. Farther
south there are zones of serpentine, and of crystalline and schistose
rocks, some of which are probably Palaeozoic. The direction of the
folds of this region is from west to east, but on the borders of
Phrygia and Mysia they meet the north-westerly extension of the Taurus
folds and bend around the ancient mass of Lydia. Marine Eocene beds
occur near the Dardanelles, but the Tertiary deposits of this part of
Asia Minor are mostly freshwater and belong to the upper part of the
system. In western Mysia they are much disturbed, but in eastern Mysia
they are nearly horizontal. They are often accompanied by volcanic
rocks, which are mainly andesitic, and they commonly lie unconformably
upon the older beds. In the western part of Asia Minor there are
several areas of ancient rocks about which very little is known. The
Taurus folds here meet another system which enters the region from the
Aegean Sea.
_Climate._--The climate is varied, but systematic observations are
wanting. On the plateau the winter is long and cold, and in the
northern districts there is much snow. The summer is very hot, but the
nights are usually cool. On the north coast the winter is cold, and
the winds, sweeping across the Black Sea from the steppes of Russia,
are accompanied by torrents of rain and heavy falls of snow. East of
Samsun, where the coast is partially protected by the Caucasus, the
climate is more moderate. In summer the heat is damp and enervating,
and, as Trebizond is approached, the vegetation becomes almost
subtropical. On the south coast the winter is mild, with occasional
frosts and heavy rain; the summer heat is very great. On the west
coast the climate is moderate, but the influence of the cold north
winds is felt as far south as Smyrna, and the winter at that place is
colder than in corresponding latitudes in Europe. A great feature of
summer is the _inbat_ or north wind, which blows almost daily, often
with the force of a gale, off the sea from noon till near sunset.
_Products, &c._--The mineral wealth of Asia Minor is very great, but
few mines have yet been opened. The minerals known to exist are--alum,
antimony, arsenic, asbestos, boracide, chrome, coal, copper, emery,
fuller's earth, gold, iron, kaolin, lead, lignite, magnetic iron,
manganese, meerschaum, mercury, nickel, rock-salt, silver, sulphur and
zinc. The vegetation varies with the climate, soil and elevation. The
mountains on the north coast are clothed with dense forests of pine,
fir, cedar, oak, beech, &c. On the Taurus range the forests are
smaller, and there is a larger proportion of pine. On the west coast
the ilex, plane, oak, valonia oak, and pine predominate. On the
plateau willows, poplars and chestnut trees grow near the streams,
but nine-tenths of the country is treeless, except for scrub. On the
south and west coasts the fig and olive are largely cultivated. The
vine yields rich produce everywhere, except in the higher districts.
The apple, pear, cherry and plum thrive well in the north; the orange,
lemon, citron and sugar-cane in the south; styrax and mastic in the
south-west; and the wheat lands of the Sivas vilayet can hardly be
surpassed. The most important vegetable productions are--cereals,
cotton, gum tragacanth, liquorice, olive oil, opium, rice, saffron,
salep, tobacco and yellow berries. Silk is produced in large
quantities in the vicinity of Brusa and Amasia, and mohair from the
Angora goat all over the plateau. The wild animals include bear, boar,
chamois, fallow red and roe deer, gazelle, hyena, ibex, jackal,
leopard, lynx, moufflon, panther, wild sheep and wolf. The native
reports of a maneless lion in Lycia (_arslan_) are probably based on
the existence of large panthers. Amongst the domestic animals are the
buffalo, the Syrian camel, and a mule camel, bred from a Bactrian sire
and Syrian mother. Large numbers of sheep and Angora goats are reared
on the plateau, and fair horses are bred on the Uzun Yaila; but no
effort is made to improve the quality of the wool and mohair or the
breed of horses. Good mules can be obtained in several districts, and
small hardy oxen are largely bred for ploughing and transport. The
larger birds are the bittern, great and small bustard, eagle,
francolin, goose; giant, grey and red-legged partridge, sand grouse,
pelican, pheasant, stork and swan. The rivers and lakes are well
supplied with fish, and the mountain streams abound with small trout.
The principal manufactures are:--Carpets, rugs, cotton, tobacco,
mohair and silk stuffs, soap, wine and leather. The exports
are:--Cereal, cotton, cotton seed, dried fruits, drugs, fruit, gall
nuts, gum tragacanth, liquorice root, maize, nuts, olive oil, opium,
rice, sesame, sponges, storax, timber, tobacco, valonia, walnut wood,
wine, yellow berries, carpets, cotton yarn, cocoons, hides, leather,
mohair, silk, silk stuffs, rugs, wax, wool, leeches, live stock,
minerals, &c. The imports are:--Coffee, cotton cloths, cotton goods,
crockery, dry-salteries, fezzes, glass-ware, haberdashery, hardware,
henna, ironware, jute, linen goods, manufactured goods, matches,
petroleum, salt, sugar, woollen goods, yarns, &c.
_Communications._--There are few metalled roads, and those that exist
are in bad repair, but on the plateau light carts can pass nearly
everywhere. The lines of railway now open are:--(1) From Haidar Pasha
to Ismid, Eski-shehr and Angora; (2) from Mudania to Brusa; (3) from
Eski-shehr to Afium-Kara-hissar, Konia and Bulgurli, east of Eregli
(the first section of the Bagdad railway). These lines are worked by
the German _Gesellschaft der anatolischen Eisenbahnen_. (4) From
Smyrna to Manisa, Ala-shehr and Afium-Kara-hissar, with a branch line
from Manisa to Soma. This line is worked by a French company. (5) From
Smyrna to Aidin and Dineir, with branches to Odemish, Tireh, Sokia,
Denizli, Ishekli, Seidi Keui and Bouja, constructed and worked by an
English company. (6) From Mersina to Tarsus and Adana, an English line
under a control mainly French. There are two competing routes for the
eastern trade--one running inland from Constantinople (Haidar Pasha),
the other from Smyrna. The first is connected by ferry with the
European railway system; the second with the great sea routes from
Smyrna to Trieste, Marseilles and Liverpool. The right to construct
all railways in Armenia and north-eastern Asia Minor has been conceded
to Russia, and the Germans have a virtual monopoly of the central
plateau.
_Ethnology._--None of the conquering races that invaded Asia Minor,
whether from the east or from the west, wholly expelled or exterminated
the race in possession. The vanquished retired to the hills or absorbed
the victors. In the course of ages race distinction has been almost
obliterated by fusion of blood; by the complete Hellenization of the
country, which followed the introduction of Christianity; by the later
acceptance of Islam; and by migrations due to the occupation of
cultivated lands by the nomads. It will be convenient here to adopt the
modern division into Moslems, Christians and Jews:--(a) _Moslems._ The
Turks never established themselves in such numbers as to form the
predominant element in the population. Where the land was unsuitable for
nomad occupation the agricultural population remained, and it still
retains some of its original characteristics. Thus in Cappadocia the
facial type of the non-Aryan race is common, and in Galatia there are
traces of Gallic blood. The Zeibeks of the west and south-west are
apparently representatives of the Carians and Lycians; and the peasants
of the Black Sea coast range of the people of Bithynia, Paphlagonia and
Pontus. Wherever the people accepted Islam they called themselves Turks,
and a majority of the so-called "Turks" belong by blood to the races
that occupied Asia Minor before the Seljuk invasion. Turkish and
Zaza-speaking Kurds (see KURDISTAN) are found in the Angora and Sivas
vilayets. There are many large colonies of Circassians and smaller ones
of Noghai (Nogais), Tatars, Georgians, Lazis, Cossacks, Albanians and
Pomaks. East of Boghaz Keui there is a compact population of Kizilbash,
who are partly descendants of Shia Turks transplanted from Persia and
partly of the indigenous race. In the Cilician plain there are large
settlements of Nosairis who have migrated from the Syrian mountains (see
SYRIA). The nomads and semi-nomads are, for the most part,
representatives of the Turks, Mongols and Tatars who poured into the
country during the 350 years that followed the defeat of Romanus.
Turkomans are found in the Angora and Adana vilayets; Avshars, a tribe
of Turkish origin, in the valleys of Anti-Taurus; and Tatars in the
Angora and Brusa vilayets; Yuruks are most numerous in the Konia
vilayet. They speak Turkish and profess to be Moslems, but have no
mosques or imams. The Turkomans have villages in which they spend the
winter, wandering over the great plains of the interior with their
flocks and herds during the summer. The Yuruks on the contrary are a
truly nomad race. Their tents are made of black goats' hair and their
principal covering is a cloak of the same material. They are not limited
to the milder districts of the interior, but when the harvest is over,
descend into the rich plains and valleys near the coast. The Chepmi and
Takhtaji, who live chiefly in the Aidin vilayet, appear to be derived
from one of the early races. (b) _Christians._ The Greeks are in places
the descendants of colonists from Greece, many of whom, e.g. in
Pamphylia and the Smyrna district, are of very recent importation; but
most of them belong by blood to the indigenous races. These people
became "Greeks" as being subjects of the Byzantine empire and members of
the Eastern Church. On the west coast, in Pontus and to some extent of
late in Cappadocia, and in the mining villages, peopled from the
Trebizond Greeks, the language is Romaic; on the south coast and in many
inland villages (e.g. in Cappadocia) it is either Turkish, which is
written in Greek characters, or a Greco-Turkish jargon. In and near
Smyrna there are large colonies of Hellenes. Armenians are most numerous
in the eastern districts, where they have been settled since the great
migration that preceded and followed the Seljuk invasion. There are,
however, Armenians in every large town. In central and western Asia
Minor they are the descendants of colonists from Persia and Armenia (see
ARMENIA), (c) The _Jews_ live chiefly on the Bosporus; and in Smyrna,
Rhodes, Brusa and other western towns. _Gypsies_--some Moslem, some
Christian--are also numerous, especially in the south.
_History._--Asia Minor owes the peculiar interest of its history to its
geographical position. "Planted like a bridge between Asia and Europe,"
it has been from the earliest period a battleground between the East and
the West. The central plateau (2500 to 4500 ft.), with no navigable
river and few natural approaches, with its monotonous scenery and severe
climate, is a continuation of central Asia. The west coast, with its
alternation of sea and promontory, of rugged mountains and fertile
valleys, its bright and varied scenery, and its fine climate, is almost
a part of Europe. These conditions are unfavourable to permanence, and
the history of Asia Minor is that of the march of hostile armies, and
rise and fall of small states, rather than that of a united state under
an independent sovereign. At a very early period Asia Minor appears to
have been occupied by non-Aryan tribes or races which differed little
from each other in religion, language and social system. During the past
generation much light has been thrown upon one of these races--the
"Hittites" or "Syro-Cappadocians," who, after their rule had passed
away, were known to Herodotus as "White Syrians," and whose descendants
can still be recognised in the villages of Cappadocia.[1] The centre of
their power is supposed to have been Boghaz Keui (see PTERIA), east of
the Halys, whence roads radiated to harbours on the Aegean, to Sinope,
to northern Syria and to the Cilician plain. Their strange sculptures
and inscriptions have been found at Pteria, Euyuk, Fraktin, Kiz Hissar
(Tyana), Ivriz, Bulgar, Muden and other places between Smyrna and the
Euphrates (see HITTITES). When the great Aryan immigration from Europe
commenced is unknown, but it was dying out in the 11th and 10th
centuries B.C. In Phrygia the Aryans founded a kingdom, of which traces
remain in various rock tombs, forts and towns, and in legends preserved
by the Greeks. The Phrygian power was broken in the 9th or 8th century
B.C. by the Cimmerii, who entered Asia Minor through Armenia; and on its
decline rose the kingdom of Lydia, with its centre at Sardis. A second
Cimmerian invasion almost destroyed the rising kingdom, but the invaders
were expelled at last by Alyattes, 617 B.C. (see SCYTHIA). The last
king, Croesus (? 560-546 B.C.) carried the boundaries of Lydia to the
Halys, and subdued the Greek colonies on the coast. The date of the
foundation of these colonies cannot be fixed; but at an early period
they formed a chain of settlements from Trebizond to Rhodes, and by the
8th century B.C. some of them rivalled the splendour of Tyre and Sidon.
Too jealous of each other to combine, and too demoralized by luxury to
resist, they fell an easy prey to Lydia; and when the Lydian kingdom
ended with the capture of Sardis by Cyrus, 546 B.C. they passed, almost
without resistance, to Persia. Under Persian rule Asia Minor was divided
into four satrapies, but the Greek cities were governed by Greeks, and
several of the tribes in the interior retained their native princes and
priest-dynasts. An attempt of the Greeks to regain their freedom was
crushed, 500-494 B.C., but later the tide turned and the cities were
combined with European Greeks into a league for defence against the
Persians. The weakness of Persian rule was disclosed by the expedition
of Cyrus and the Ten Thousand Greeks, 402 B.C.; and in the following
century Asia Minor was invaded by Alexander the Great (q.v.), 334 B.C.
(See GREECE; PERSIA; IONIA.)
The wars which followed the death of Alexander eventually gave Asia
Minor to Seleucus, but none of the Seleucid kings was able to establish
his rule over the whole peninsula. Rhodes became a great maritime
republic, and much of the south and west coast belonged at one time or
another to the Ptolemies of Egypt. An independent kingdom was founded at
Pergamum, 283 B.C., which lasted until Attalus III., 133 B.C., made the
Romans his heirs. Bithynia became an independent monarchy, and
Cappadocia and Paphlagonia tributary provinces under native princes. In
southern Asia Minor the Seleucids founded Antioch, Apamea, Attalia, the
Laodiceas and Seleuceias, and other cities as centres of commerce, some
of which afterwards played an important part in the Hellenization (see
HELLENISM) of the country, and in the spread of Christianity. During the
3rd century, 278-277 B.C., certain Gallic tribes crossed the Bosporus
and Hellespont, and established a Celtic power in central Asia Minor.
They were confined by the victories of Attalus I. of Pergamum, c. 232
B.C., to a district on the Sangarius and Halys to which the name Galatia
was applied; and after their defeat by Manlius, 189 B.C., they were
subjected to the suzerainty of Pergamum (see GALATIA).
The defeat of Antiochus the Great at Magnesia, 190 B.C., placed Asia
Minor at the mercy of Rome; but it was not until 133 that the first
Roman province, Asia, was formed to include only western Anatolia,
without Bithynia. Errors in policy and in government facilitated the
rise of Pontus into a formidable power under Mithradates, who was
finally driven out of the country by Pompey, and died 63 B.C. Under the
settlement of Asia Minor by Pompey, Bithynia-Pontus and Cilicia became
provinces, whilst Galatia and Cappadocia were allowed to retain nominal
independence for over half a century more under native kings, and Lycia
continued an autonomous League. A long period of tranquillity followed,
during which the Roman dominion grew, and all Asia Minor was divided
into two provinces. The boundaries were often changed; and about A.D.
297, in Diocletian's reorganization of the empire, the power of the
great military commands was broken, and the provinces were made smaller
and united in groups called dioceses. A great change followed the
introduction of Christianity, which spread first along the main roads
that ran north and west from the Cilician Gates, and especially along
the great trade route to Ephesus. In some districts it spread rapidly,
in others slowly. With its advance the native languages and old
religions gradually disappeared, and at last the whole country was
thoroughly Hellenized, and the people united by identity of language and
religion.
At the close of the 6th century Asia Minor had become wealthy and
prosperous; but centuries of peace and over-centralization had affected
the _moral_ of the people and weakened the central government. During
the 7th century the provincial system broke down, and the country was
divided into _themes_ or military districts. From 616 to 626 Persian
armies swept unimpeded over the land, and Chosroes (Khosrau) II. pitched
his camp on the shore of the Bosporus. The victories of Heraclius forced
Chosroes to retire; but the Persians were followed by the Arabs, who,
advancing with equal ease, laid siege to Constantinople, A.D. 668. It
almost appeared as if Asia Minor would be annexed to the dominion of the
Caliph. But the tide of conquest was stemmed by the iconoclast emperors,
and the Arab expeditions, excepting those of Harun al-Rashid, 781 and
806, and of el-Motasim, 838, became simply predatory raids. In the 10th
century the Arabs were expelled. They never held more than the districts
along the main roads, and in the intervals of peace the country rapidly
recovered itself. But a more dangerous enemy was soon to appear on the
eastern border.
In 1067 the Seljuk Turks ravaged Cappadocia and Cilicia; in 1071 they
defeated and captured the emperor Romanus Diogenes, and in 1080 they
took Nicaea. One branch of the Seljuks founded the empire of Rum, with
its capital first at Nicaea and then at Iconium. The empire, which at
one time included nearly the whole of Asia Minor, with portions of
Armenia and Syria, passed to the Mongols when they defeated the sultan
of Rum in 1243, and the sultans became vassals of the Great Khan. The
Seljuk sultans were liberal patrons of art, literature and science, and
the remains of their public buildings and tombs are amongst the most
beautiful and most interesting in the country. The marches of the
Crusaders across Asia Minor left no permanent impression. But the
support given by the Latin princes to the Armenians in Cilicia
facilitated the growth of the small warlike state of Lesser Armenia,
which fell in 1375 with the defeat and capture of Leo VI. by the
Mameluke sultan of Egypt. The Mongols were too weak to govern the
country they had conquered, and the vassalage of the last sultan of Rum,
who died in 1307, was only nominal. On his death the Turkoman governors
of his western provinces drove out the Mongols and asserted their
independence. A contest for supremacy followed, which eventually ended
in favour of the Osmanli Turks of Brusa. In 1400 Sultan Bayezid I. held
all Asia Minor west of the Euphrates; but in 1402 he was defeated and
made prisoner by Timur, who swept through the country to the shores of
the Aegean. On the death of Timur Osmanli supremacy was re-established
after a prolonged straggle, which ended with the annexation by Mahommed
II. (1451-1481) of Karamania and Trebizond, and the abandonment of the
last of the Italian trading settlements which had studded the coast
during the 13th and 14th centuries. The later history of Asia Minor is
that of the Turkish empire. The most important event was the advance
(1832-1833) of an Egyptian army, under Ibrahim Pasha, through the
Cilician Gates to Konia and Kutaiah.
The defeat of the emperor Romanus (1071) initiated a change in the
condition of Asia Minor which was to be complete and lasting. A long
succession of nomad Turkish tribes, pressing forward from central Asia,
wandered over the rich country in search of fresh pastures for their
flocks and herds. They did not plunder or ill-treat the people, but they
cared nothing for town life or for agricultural pursuits, and as they
passed onward they left the country bare. Large districts passed out of
cultivation and were abandoned to the nomads, who replaced wheeled
traffic by the pack horse and the camel. The peasants either became
nomads themselves or took refuge in the towns or the mountains. The
Mongols, as they advanced, sacked towns and laid waste the agricultural
lands. Timur conducted his campaigns with a ruthless disregard of life
and property. Entire Christian communities were massacred, flourishing
towns were completely destroyed, and all Asia Minor was ravaged. From
these disasters the country never recovered, and the last traces of
Western civilization disappeared with the enforced use of the Turkish
language and the wholesale conversions to Islam under the earliest
Osmanli sultans. The recent large increase of the Greek population in
the western districts, the construction of railways, and the growing
interests of Germany and Russia on the plateau seem, however, to
indicate that the tide is again turning in favour of the West.
[Illustration: Asia Minor map.]
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--1. GENERAL AUTHORITIES:--C. Texier, _Asie Mineure_
(1843); P. Tchihatcheff, _Asie Mineure_ (1853-1860); C. Ritter,
_Erdkunde_, vols. xviii. xix. (1858-1859); W.J. Hamilton, _Researches
in Asia Minor_ (1843); E. Reclus. _Nouv. Geog. Univ._ vol. ix. (1884);
V. Cuinet, _La Turquie d'Asie_ (1890); W.M. Ramsay, _Hist. Geog. of A.
M._ (1890); Murray's _Handbook for A. M. &c._, ed. by Sir C. Wilson
(1895). For GEOLOGY see Tchihatcheff, _Asie Mineure, Geologie_ (Paris,
1867-1869); Schaffer, _Cilicia, Peterm. Mitt. Erganzungsheft_, 141
(1903); Philippson, _Sitz. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss._ (1903), pp.
112-124; English, _Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc._ (London, 1904), pp.
243-295; see also Suess, _Das Antlitz der Erde_, vol. iii. pp.
402-412, and the accompanying references.
2. A. _Western Asia Minor._--J. Spon and G. Wheler, _Voyage du Levant_
(1679); P. de Tournefort, _Voyage du Levant_ (1718); F. Beaufort,
_Ionian Antiquities_ (1811); R. Chandler, _Travels_ (1817); W.M.
Leake, _Journal of a Tour in A. M._ (1820); F.V.J. Arundell, _Visit to
the Seven Churches_ (1828), and _Discoveries, &c._ (1834); C. Fellows,
_Excursion in A. M._ (1839); C.T. Newton, _Travels_ (1867), and
_Discoveries at Halicarnassus, &c._ (1863); Dilettanti Society,
_Ionian Antiquities_ (1769-1840); J.R.S. Sterrett, _Epigr. Journey_
and _Wolfe Exped._ (Papers, Amer. Arch. Inst. ii. iii.) (1888); J.H.
Skene, _Anadol_ (1853); G. Radet, _Lydie_ (1893); O. Rayet and A.
Thomas, _Milet et le Golfe Latmique_ (1872); K. Buresch, _Aus Lydien_
(1898); W.M. Ramsay, _Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia_ (1895), and
_Impressions of Turkey_ (1898).
B. _Eastern Asia Minor._--W.F. Ainsworth, _Travels in A. M._ (1842);
G. Perrot and E. Guillaume, _Expl. arch, de la Galatie_ (1862-1872);
E.J. Davis, _Anatolica_ (1874); H.F. Tozer, _Turkish Armenia_ (1881);
H.J. v. Lennep, _Travels_ (1870); D.G. Hogarth, _Wandering Scholar_
(1896); Lord Warkworth, _Notes of a Diary, &c._ (1898); E. Sarre,
_Reise_ (1896); D.G. Hogarth and J.A.R. Munro, _Mod. and Anc. Roads_
(R.G.S. Supp. Papers iii.) (1893); H.C. Barkley, _A Ride through A. M.
and Armenia_ (1891); M. Sykes, _Dar ul-Islam_ (1904); E. Chantre,
_Mission en Cappadocie_ (1898).
C. _Southern Asia Minor._--F. Beaufort, _Karamania_ (1817); C.
Fellows, _Discoveries in Lycia_ (1841); T.A.B. Spratt and E. Forbes,
_Travels in Lycia_ (1847); V. Langlois, _Voy. dans la Cilicie_ (1861);
E.J. Davis, _Life in Asiatic Turkey_ (1879); O. Benndorf and E.
Niemann, _Lykien_ (1884); C. Lanckoronski, _Villes de la Pamphylie et
de la Pisidie_ (1890); F. v. Luschan, _Reisen in S.W. Kleinasien_
(1888); E. Petersen and F. v. Luschan, _Lykien_ (1889); K. Humann and
O. Puchstein, _Reisen in Kleinasien und Nordsyrien_ (1890).
D. _Northern Asia Minor._--J.M. Kinneir, _Journey through A. M._
(1818); J.G.C. Anderson and F. Cumont, _Studia Pontica_ (1903); E.
Naumann, _Vom Goldenen Horn, &c._ (1893).
See also G. Perrot and C. Chipiez, _Hist. de l'art dans l'antiquite_,
vols. iv. v. (1886-1890); J. Strzygowski, _Kleinasien, &c._ (1903).
Also numerous articles in all leading archaeological periodicals, the
_Geographical Journal_, _Deutsche Rundschau_, _Petermann's Geog.
Mitteilungen_, &c. &c.
3. MAPS.--H. Kiepert, _Nouv. carte gen. des prov. asiat. de l'Emp.
ottoman_ (1894), and _Spezialkarte v. Westkleinasien_ (1890); W. von
Diest, _Karte des Nordwestkleinasien_ (1901); R. Kiepert, _Karte von
Kleinasien_ (1901); E. Friederich, _Handels- und Produktenkarte von
Kleinasien_ (1898); J.G.C. Anderson, _Asia Minor_ (Murray's Handy
Class. Maps) (1903). (C. W. W.; D. G. H.)