Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

CHAPTER 21a
ASIA MINOR AND CYPRUS
charlotte rouechi
i. sources
The literary evidence for the history of Asia Minor and Cyprus is abundant
for every period, but it suffers to some extent from too much familiarity:
Asia Minor and Cyprus were the homeland of so many writers and readers.
There was nothing exotic about this area, the heartland of the eastern
empire, and so authors felt little need to describe it; much has to be deduced
from what they assume. Furthermore, the chief characteristic of Asia
Minor and Cyprus in the fifth and sixth century was that they were at peace,
so that there was little to recount in historical narratives. The exception,
here as in other things, is Isauria, whose turbulent history in the fifth
century brought it into the history of the empire.
The lack of ‘historical’ events can therefore convey a spurious air of
immobility. In such a situation, the contribution of archaeological evidence
is particularly important; and as the archaeology of this region in this
period has developed, it has revealed more and more evidence of marked
change. The majority of early excavations concentrated on city sites, and it
was common for the late Roman material to be dealt with cursorily during
the search for ‘more interesting’ periods. More recently, excavators have
come to treat such material more attentively; moreover, since the 1950s,
archaeologists have been surveying the countryside, and their work is starting
to provide a more balanced picture of this very large area. Recent work
on Roman defences and fortifications has also produced a great deal of evidence
for the period. Because of the changes in approach and emphasis,
and also because so much archaeological work is going on at present, it is
necessary to look at the most recent work possible, while remembering that
one year’s observations are sometimes reversed by those made a year later. 1
1 For Asia Minor, regular reports in English are to be found in ‘Archaeology in Anatolia’, edited by
Professor M. Mellink, in the American Journal of Archaeology, and normally in Anatolian Studies; regular
summary articles, ‘Archaeology in Asia Minor’, appear every five years in Archaeological Reports, published
with the Journal of Hellenic Studies. An important source of information is the reports on current work
– in various languages, but usually in Turkish – which are given by excavators at the annual symposia
organized by the Turkish Department of Antiquities. For Cyprus, the principal source is the annual
Report of the Department of Antiquities in Cyprus; summary reports also appear every five years or so in
Archaeological Reports.
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