Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:52 AM Sayfa
Side
Side is situated on a peninsula that is almost a kilometer long and four
hundred meters wide.
Although the geographer Strabo tells us that Side was founded by the
inhabitants of Kyme, a city located near present day ‹zmir, in the
7 th century BC, the word 'side' in the indigenous Anatolian language
means 'pomegranate', from which we may conclude that the city's
origins are much older.
Though Side became a Lydian possession in the 6 th century BC, the
Persians captured it in 546 BC and it remained in their hands until
taken by Alexander the Great in 334 BC.
Although the Kingdom of Pergamon founded Antalya in the 2 nd
century BC, Side never came under Pergamon rule and enjoyed its
greatest period of prosperity in the 2 nd century. However, it fell under
the control of pirates at the end of that century, and was not freed
from their control until they were defeated in 72 BC by Servilius
Isauricus, a Roman consul, who duly added Side to the Roman
Empire.
As Roman authority in Asia Minor waned, Side became the target of
raids and attacks by tribes coming from the mountainous region to the
north around the mid-4 th century. For this reason, a fortifying wall
was built across the peninsula, dividing the city in two and the north
eastern half of the city was abondoned. Side suffered steady
impoverishment and decline. It became the center of a diocese in the
5 th -6 th centuries.
Following the Arab attacks in the 10 th century and the later influx of
pirates to Side, most of its inhabitants moved to Antalya, leaving the
city en masse. The present village was founded in the 20 th century on
the site of its ruins.
After leaving the main road, Side may be entered through the main
gate in the city walls, built in the 2 nd century BC. This gate resembles
the Hellenistic Period gate in Perge. It is protected by towers set on
Temple of Apollo, Side.
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