CILICIA 4th Century BC Baal Wolf TINY Authentic Ancient Silver Greek Coin i38827

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CILICIA 4th Century BC Baal Wolf TINY Authentic Ancient Silver Greek Coin i38827:
$98.80

Item: i38827

Authentic AncientCoin of:

Greek city inCilicia
Silver Obol 10mm (0.54 grams) Struck circa 5th Century B.C.
Reference: SNG Paris 444 var. (direction of obverse and reverse)
Baal seated right with palm branch.
Forepart of wolf left.

You are offerding on the exact item pictured,provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee ofAuthenticity.

In antiquity, Cilicia, was the south coastal region ofAsia Minor, south of the centralAnatolian plateau. It existed as a politicalentity fromHittitetimes into theByzantine Empire. Cilicia extends inland fromthe southEastern coast of modernTurkey, due north and northeast of the islandof Cyprus. Cilicia corresponds to the modernregion of Çukurovain Turkey.

Geography andnomenclature

Cilicia extended along the Mediterranean coast east fromPamphylia, to theAmanus Mountains, which separated it fromSyria. North and east of Cilicia lie the ruggedTaurus Mountainsthat separate it from the highcentral plateau of Anatolia, which are pierced by a narrow gorge, called inantiquity theCilician Gates. Ancient Cilicia was naturallydivided into Cilicia Trachaea and Cilicia Pedias by theLamusriver.Salamis, the city on the east coast of Cyprus,was included in its administrativejurisdiction. The Greeks invented for Ciliciaan eponymousHellene founder in the purely mythicCilix, but the historic founder of the dynastythat ruled Cilicia Pedias wasMopsus,[5]identifiable in Phoenician sources as Mpš, the founder ofMopsuestiawho gave his name to an oraclenearby. Homermentions the people of Mopsus, identifiedas Cilices (Κίλικες), as from theTroadin the northernwesternmost part of theAnatolian peninsula.

The English spelling Cilicia is the same as the Latin, as it wastransliterated directly from the Greek form Κιλικία. The palatalization ofcoccurring in the west in laterVulgar Latin(c. 500-700) accounts for itsmodern pronunciation in English.

Cilicia Trachea (\"rugged Cilicia\"-Greek:Κιλικία Τραχεία; the Assyrian Khilakku or Khilikku, also sometimestranscribed as Hilakku or Hilikku, classical \"Cilicia\") is arugged mountain district formed by the spurs of Taurus, which often terminate inrocky headlands with small sheltered harbors, a feature which, in classicaltimes, made the coast a string of havens for pirates and, in the Middle Ages,outposts for GenoeseandVenetiantraders. The district is watered bythe Calycadnusand was covered in ancient times byforests that supplied timber toPhoeniciaandEgypt. Cilicia lacked large cities.

Cilicia Pedias (\"flat Cilicia\"-Greek:Κιλικία Πεδιάς; Assyrian Kue), to the east, included the rugged spurs ofTaurus and a large coastal plain, with rich loamy soil, known to the Greeks suchas Xenophon, who passed through with his10,000 Greek mercenaries, for its abundance (euthemia),filled with sesameandmilletand olives[20]and pasturage for the horses imported bySolomon. Many of its high places werefortified. The plain is watered by the three great rivers, the Cydnus (TarsusÇay), the Sarus (Seyhan)and the Pyramus (Ceyhan),each of which brings down much silt from the deforested interior and which fedextensive wetlands. The Sarus now enters the sea almost due south of Tarsus, butthere are clear indications that at one period it joined the Pyramus, and thatthe united rivers ran to the sea west of Kara-tash. Through the rich plain ofIssus ran the great highway that linked east and west, on which stood the citiesofTarsus(Tarsa) on the Cydnus,Adana(Adanija) on the Sarus, and Mopsuestia(Missis) on the Pyramus.

Early historyFugitive slave treaty between Idrimi ofAlalakh(nowTell Atchana) and Pillia ofKizzuwatna(now Cilicia),(c. 1480 BC) Ref:131447.

Cilicia was settled from the Neolithic period onwards. Dating of the ancientsettlements of the region from Neolithic to Bronze Age is as follows: Aceramic/Neolithic:8th and 7th millennia BC; Early Chalcolithic: 5800 BC; Middle Chalcolithic(correlated with Halaf and Ubaid developments in the east): c. 5400-4500 BC;Late Chalcolithic: 4500-c. 3400 BC; and Early Bronze Age IA: 3400-3000 BC; EBAIB: 3000-2700 BC; EBA II: 2700-2400 BC; EBA III A-B: 2400-2000 BC.:168-170

The area had been known asKizzuwatnain the earlierHittiteera (2ndmillennium BC). The region was divided into two parts, Uru Adaniya(flat Cilicia), a well-watered plain, and \"rough\" Cilicia (Tarza), in themountainous west.

The Cilicians appear as Khilikku inAssyrianinscriptions, and in the early part ofthe first millennium BC were one of the four chief powers of western Asia.Homermentions the plain as the \"Aleianplain\" in whichBellerophonwandered, but he transferred theCilicians far to the west and north and made them allies of Troy. The Ciliciancities unknown to Homer already bore their pre-Greek names: Tarzu (Tarsus),Ingira (Anchiale),Danuna-Adana, which retains its ancient name,Pahri (perhaps modernMisis), Kundu (Kyinda, thenAnazarbus) andKaratepe.

There exists evidence that circa 1650 BC both Hittite kingsHattusili IandMursili Ienjoyed freedom of movement along thePyramus River(now the Ceyhan River in southernTurkey), proving they exerted strong controlover Cilicia in their battles withSyria. After the death of Murshili around 1595BC, Hurrianswrested control from the Hitties, andCilicia was free for two centuries. The first king of free Cilicia,Išputahšu, son ofPariyawatri, was recorded as a \"great king\" inboth cuneiformandHittite hieroglyphs. Another record of Hittiteorigins, a treaty between Išputahšu andTelepinu, king of the Hittites, is recorded inboth Hittite andAkkadian.

In the next century, Cilician kingPilliyafinalized treaties with both KingZidanta IIof the Hittites andIdrimiofAlalakh, in which Idrimi mentions that he hadassaulted several military targets throughout Eastern Cilicia.Niqmepa, who succeeded Idrimi as king ofAlalakh, went so far as to ask for help from a Hurrian rival,ShaushtatarofMitanni, to try and reduce Cilicia\'s power inthe region. It was soon apparent, however, that increased Hittite power wouldsoon prove Niqmepa\'s efforts to be futile, as the city ofKizzuwatnasoon fell to the Hittites,threatening all of Cilicia. Soon after, KingSunassura IIwas forced to acceptvassalizationunder the Hittites, becoming thelast king of ancient Cilicia.

In the 13th century BC a major population shift occurred as theSea Peoples(who may have been the ancestors ofthe overran Cilicia.[citationneeded] The Hurrians that resided there deserted thearea and moved northeast towards theTaurus, where they settled in the area ofCappadocia.

In the 8th century BC, the region was unified under the rule of the dynastyof Mukšuš, whom the Greeks renderedMopsosand credited as the founder ofMopsuestia, though the capital was Adana. Mopsuestia\'s multicultural characteris reflected in the bilingual inscriptions of the 9th and 8th centuries, writtenboth in Indo-Europeanhieroglyphic Luwianand West SemiticPhoenician.

In the 9th century BC theAssyriansbegan to conquer the region, and itbecame part of theAssyrian Empireuntil the late 7th century BC.

Persian EmpireSee also:Cilicia (satrapy)The PersianPharnabazus, pictured, as Satrap ofCilicia (379-374 BC).British Museum.

Under the Persian empire Cilicia was apparently governed bytributarynative kings who bore a Hellenizedname or the title of \"Syennesis\", but it was officially included in the fourthsatrapybyDarius.Xenophonfound a queen in power, and noopposition was offered to the march ofCyrus the Younger.

The great highway from the west existed before Cyrus conquered Cilicia. Onits long rough descent from the Anatolian plateau to Tarsus, it ran through thenarrow pass between walls of rock called theCilician Gates. After crossing the low hillseast of the Pyramus it passed through a masonry (Cilician) gate, Demir Kapu, andentered the plain of Issus. From that plain one road ran southward throughanother masonry (Syrian) gate toAlexandretta, and thence crossed Mt. Amanus bythe Syrian Gate, Beilan Pass, eventually to Antioch and Syria. Another road rannorthwards through a masonry (Armenian) gate, south of Toprak Kale, and crossedMt. Amanus by the Armenian Gate, Baghche Pass, to northern Syria and theEuphrates. By the last pass, which was apparently unknown to Alexander, Dariuscrossed the mountains prior to thebattle of Issus. Both passes are short and easyand connect Cilicia Pedias geographically and politically with Syria rather thanwith Asia Minor.

Alexander the Great

Alexanderforded theHalys Riverin the summer of 333 BC, ending upon the border of southEasternPhrygiaand Cilicia. He knew well the writingsof Xenophon, and how the Cilician Gates had been\"impassable if obstructed by the enemy\". Alexander reasoned that by force alonehe could frighten the defenders and break through, and he gathered his men to doso. In the cover of night they attacked, startling the guards and sending themand their satrap into full flight, setting their crops aflame as they made forTarsus. This good fortune allowed Alexander andhis army to pass unharmed through the Gates and into Cilicia.

After Alexander\'s death it was long a battleground of rivalHellenisticmonarchs and kingdoms, and for atime fell underPtolemaicdominion (i.e., Egypt), but finallycame to theSeleucids, who, however, never held effectuallymore than the Eastern half. During theHellenisticera, numerous cities wereestablished in Cilicia, which minted coins showing the badges (gods, animals andobjects) associated with each polis.

Roman CiliciaSee also:Cilicia (Roman province)andCibyrrhaeot ThemeA Roman-period triumphal arch atAnazarbus, later converted into thecity\'s south gate

Cilicia Trachea became the haunt of pirates, who were subdued byPompeyin 67 BC following aBattle of Korakesion(modernAlanya), and Tarsus was made the capital of theRoman provinceof Cilicia. Cilicia Pediasbecame Roman territory in 103 BC first conquered byMarcus Antonius Oratorin his campaign againstpirates, withSullaacting as its first governor, foiling aninvasion ofMithridates, and the whole was organized byPompey, 64 BC, into a province which, for ashort time, extended to and included part ofPhrygia.

It was reorganized byJulius Caesar, 47 BC, and about 27 BC becamepart of the province Syria-Cilicia Phoenice. At first the western district wasleft independent under native kings or priest-dynasts, and a small kingdom,underTarcondimotus I, was left in the east; butthese were finally united to the province byVespasian, AD 72. Containing 47 known cities,it had been deemed important enough to be governed by aproconsul.

Under Emperor Diocletian\'sTetrarchy(c. 297), Cilicia was governed by aconsularis; with Isauria and the Syrian,Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Libyan provinces, formed theDiocesis Orientis(in the late 4th century theAfrican component was split off asDiocese of Egypt), part of theOrienspretorian prefecture also called(\'the East\', also including thedioceses ofAsianaandPontica, both in Anatolia, andThraciaein the Balkans), the rich bulk of theEastern Roman Empire.

Roman Cilicia exported the goats-hair cloth, Cilicium, which was usedto make tents. Tarsus was also the birthplace of the earlyChristian missionaryand authorSt. Paul, writer (or purported writer) of 13 ofthe 27 books included in theNew Testament.

Cilicia had numerous Christian communities and is mentioned six times in theBook of Actsand once in theEpistle to the Galatians(1:21). AfterChristianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4thcentury, Cilicia was included in the territories of the patriarchate of Antioch.The region was divided into two civil and ecclesiastical provinces: CiliciaPrima, with ametropolitan dioceseatTarsusandsuffragan and Cilicia Secunda, with ametropolitan diocese atAnazarbusand suffragan dioceses for Bishops from the various dioceses ofCilicia were well represented at theFirst Council of Nicaeain 325 and at the laterecumenical councils.

After the breakup of the Roman Empire Cilicia became part of the ByzantineEmpire.

In the 7th century Cilicia was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The area was forsome time an embattled no-man\'s land. The Arabs succeeded in conquering the areain the early 8th century. Under theAbbasid Caliphate, Cilicia was resettled andtransformed into a fortified frontier zone (thughur).Tarsus, re-built in 787/788, quickly became the largest settlement in the regionand the Arabs\' most important base in their raids across the Taurus Mountainsinto Byzantine-held Asia Minor.

The Muslims held the country until it was reoccupied by the EmperorNicephorus IIin a series of campaigns in962-965. From this period onward, the area increasingly came to be settled byArmenians, especially as Imperial rule pushed deeper into the Caucasus over thecourse of the 11th century.

Armenian KingdomMain article:Armenian Kingdom of CiliciaThe Kingdom of Cilician Armenia, 1199-1375.

During the time of theCrusades, the area was controlled by theArmenian Kingdom of Cilicia. TheSeljuk Turkishinvasions of Armenia werefollowed by an exodus of Armenians migrating westward into the Byzantine Empire,and in 1080Ruben, a relative of the last king ofAni, founded in the heart of the CilicianTaurus a small principality which gradually expanded into the Armenian kingdomof Cilicia. This Christian state, surrounded by Muslim states hostile to itsexistence, had a stormy history of about 300 years, giving valuable support tothe crusaders, and trading with the great commercial cities of Italy.

Gosdantin(r. 1095 - c. 1100) assisted thecrusaders on their march to Antioch, and was created knight and marquis.Thoros I(r. c. 1100 - 1129), in alliance withthe Christian princes of Syria, waged successful wars against the Byzantines andSeljuk Turks.Levond II(Leo the Great (r. 1187-1219)),extended the kingdom beyondMount Taurusand established the capital atSis. He assisted the crusaders, was crownedKing by theArchbishop of Mainz, and married one of theLusignansof the crusader kingdom Cyprus.

Hetoum I(r. 1226-1270) made an alliance withthe Mongols, sending his brotherSempadto the Mongol court to submit in person.[34][35]The Mongols then assisted with the protection of Cilicia from theMamluksof Egypt, until the Mongols themselvesconverted to Islam. WhenLevond Vdied (1342), John of Lusignan wascrowned king asGosdantin IV; but he and his successorsalienated the native Armenians by attempting to make them conform to the RomanChurch, and by giving all posts of honor to Latins, until at last the kingdom,falling prey to internal dissensions, succumbed in 1375 to the attacks of theEgyptian Mamluks.

Cilicia Trachea was conquered by theOttomansin the 15th century, but CiliciaPedias remained independent until 1515.[citationneeded]

See also:List of monarchs of the Armenian Kingdom of CiliciaOttoman EmpireFurther information:Ottoman Empire

In the 15th century, Cilicia fell underOttomandominion and officially became known asthe Adana Vilayet. Cilicia was one of the mostimportant regions for the Ottoman Armenians because it managed very well topreserve Armenian character throughout the years. In fact, the Cilicianhighlands were densely populated by Armenian peasants in small but prosperoustowns and villages such asHadjinandZeitun, two mountainous areas where autonomywas maintained until the 19th century. In ports and cities of the Adana plain,commerce and industry were almost entirely in the hands of the Armenians andthey remained so thanks to a constant influx of Armenians from the highlands.Their population was continuously increasing in numbers in Cilicia in contrastto other parts of the Ottoman Empire, where it was, since 1878, decreasing dueto repression. This is true despite the fact that in 1909, Armenians weresubjected to amassacre in Adana. During the 1915Armenian genocide, the Armenians of Zeitun hadorganized a successful resistance against the Turkish onslaught. In order tofinally subjugate Zeitun, the Turks had to resort to treachery by forcing anArmenian delegation from Marash to ask the Zeituntsi-s to put down theirarms. Both the Armenian delegation, and later, the inhabitants of Zeitun, wereleft with no choice.

From December 1918 to October 1921, after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire inWorld War I, the French controlled Cilicia. According to theTreaty of Sèvressigned in 1920, Cilicia was tobecome an independent Armenian state under French authority. That treaty neverwent into effect because of theTurkish War of Independence. Measures weretaken to repopulate the region with Armenians. More than 170,000 refugees, themajority of whom were originally from Cilicia, were to be taken back to theirhomes by the French and British. The Armenians formed theArmenian National Unionwhich acted as anunofficial Cilician Armenian government composed of the four major politicalparties and three Armenian religious denominations. However, rivalries betweenthe French and British andKemalistincursions shattered Armenianaspirations for an autonomous Cilicia. On October 21, 1921, France signed theTreaty of Ankarawith the Kemalistrevolutionaries and relinquished Cilicia to Turkey.

Republic of TurkeyFurther information:Franco-Turkish War,Republic of Turkey

After the Franco-Turkish War and consequent battles duringTurkish War of Independence, the region becomepart of the Republic of Turkeyin 1921 with the signing oftheTreaty of Lausanne. The modern TurkishprovincesMersin,Adana, andOsmaniyeare located in former Cilicia.

Mythological namesake

Greek mythologymentions another Cilicia,as a small region situated immediately southeast of theTroadin northwestern Asia Minor, facing theGulf of Adramyttium. The connection (if any)between this Cilicia and the better-known and well-defined region mentionedabove is unclear. This Trojan Cilicia is mentioned inHomer\'s Iliad andStrabo\'s Geography, and containedlocalities such These three cities were all attacked andsacked by Achillesduring theTrojan War.

In Prometheus Bound (v 353),Aeschylusmentions the Cilician caves, wherethe earth-born, hundred-headed monsterTyphondwelt before he withstood the gods andwas stricken and charred byZeus\'s thunderbolt.