Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
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Alexander's campaign, also writing in the 2 nd century, observes merely
that Xanthos was surrendered to Alexander along with P›nara, Patara,
and other places. Appian's hearsay account therefore should no doubt be
rejected. While Alexander was in the region, a prophecy is said to have
occurred. A fountain near Xanthos suddenly welled up of its own accord
and threw out a bronze tablet inscribed with archaic letters announcing
the overthrow of the Persian Empire by the Greeks. Alexander was
encouraged by this to clear the whole coast of Persians as far as Cilicia.
In the confused period following Alexander's death, Xanthos came into
the hands of Antigonus. Lycia was, however, claimed by the Egyptian
king, and Ptolemy I came in 309 BC with a fleet and took it from him by
force. Subsequently, we hear of the fortunes of Xanthos, which comes
from an inscription, later erased but still just legible, on a jamb of the
city's southern gate. This informs us that King Antiochus the Great
dedicated the city to Leto, Apollo, and Artemis.' From this unusual text
it is inferred that Antiochus III engaged in 197 BC in taking Lycia from the
Ptolemies, finding himself unable to occupy Xanthos by force, made an
agreement with the citizens, who were no doubt tired of being besieged,
that they should make a nominal surrender of the city to him, on
condition that he should consecrate it to the national deities of Lycia, that
is in effect that he should declare it free and inviolable. This benefit,
however, was not of long duration. After Antiochus' defeat at Magnesia,
Xanthos along with the rest of Lycia was given to Rhodes. An attempted
tyranny at Xanthos in the 2 nd century, which may have had Rhodian
support, is mentioned above.
During the Roman civil wars of the 1 st century BC, the Xanthians staged
their second (if it was not their third) melodramatic holocaust. In 42 BC,
Brutus, who was engaged in raising forces and money for the forthcoming
showdown with Octavian and Antony, came to Lycia. The Lycian League
resisted him, but was defeated, and Brutus proceeded to besiege Xanthos.
He demolished the Lycian acropolis and slaughtered its inhabitants.
Plutarch recorded that after the fall of the city, a woman was seen
hanging from a noose with her dead child slung from her neck, setting
fire to the house with a burning torch. Hearing this, Brutus was moved to
tears and proclaimed a reward for any of his soldiers who saved a Lycian
from death. A bare 150 Xanthians fell alive into Roman hands. The
following year, Marc Antony, hoping to heal the scars left by Brutus,
tended the hand of peace to the Xanthians by having their city rebuilt.
Emperor Vespasian seemed to have treated the city with care, for a