Asia Minor Books
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Thames & Hudson (01 November 1996)Currently unavailable -
Society of Biblical Literature (12 March 1997)Price: $14.95 -
Osprey Publishing (24 November 2009)Price: $12.89 -
The University of North Carolina Press (31 August 1998)Price: $18.00 -
Oxford University Press, USA (24 August 1995)Price: $85.00
Definition
In the ancient world, Asia Minor was the seat of the kingdoms and cities of Thrace, Bythinia, Paphlagonia, Aeloia, Phrygia, Galicia, Pontus, Armenia, Urartu, Assyria, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia, Pisidia, Lycanoia, Caria, Mysia, Ionia, Lydia and, most famously, Troy.
According to the historian Philo of Byzantium (writing in 225 BCE) and later writers, Asia Minor was the site of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (in the region of Ionia) and the Tomb of Mauslos at Halicarnassus (also known as The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, in Caria). The city of Miletus, the birthplace of the philosopher Thales, regarded as the first Western Philosopher, was also in Ionia. Cilicia included the city of Tarsus where the Apostle Paul was born, a region known for its expertise in tent making, which was Paul’s vocation. Lydia was the kingdom of the great King Croesus who defied the Persian Empire under Cyrus and claimed to be the happiest man in the world until his defeat and capture by the Persians. Phrygia was the mythological birthplace of Rhea, the Greek Mother of the Gods and the City of Troy was made famous in Homer’s 8th century works The Illiad and The Odyssey. The region of Asia Minor is regarded as the birthplace of coinage and the first to use coined money in trade; which of the kingdoms were the first to do this, however, is much disputed.
Articles
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The term mausoleum, since the Roman era, has meant any large-scale tomb. It is what we think of today as a big marble building that houses the remains of the deceased. The term mausoleum, though, has very specific origins that can be traced back to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. This monument was the grandiose tomb of Maussollos, the king of Caria (a province in the Persian Empire) and a Governor for the king of Persia in the mid fourth century B.C. Completed in 350 BC, it was likely built by Maussollos' wife/sister Artemisia on the coast of Halicarnassus, the capital city of his territory. Hailed for its opulence and architectural splendor, the tomb was a dedication from a grieving widow to her beloved husband.
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I:93. Of marvels to be recorded the land of Lydia has no great store as compared with other lands, excepting the gold-dust which is carried down from Tmolos; but one work it has to show which is larger far than any other except only those in Egypt and Babylon: for there is there the sepulchral monument of Alyattes the father of Croesus, of which the base is made of larger stones and the rest of the monument is of earth piled up. And this was built by contributions of those who practised trade and of the artisans and the girls who plied their traffic there; and still there existed to my own time boundary-stones five in number erected upon the monument above, on which were carved inscriptions telling how much of the work was done by each class; and upon measurement it was found that the work of the girls was the greatest in amount. For the daughters of the common people in Lydia practice prostitution one and all, to gather for themselves dowries, continuing this until the time when they marry; and the girls give themselves away in marriage. Now the circuit of the monument is six furlongs and two hundred feet, and the breadth is thirteen hundred feet. And adjoining the monument is a great lake, which the Lydians say has a never-failing supply of water, and it is called the lake of Gyges. Such is the nature of this monument.
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Illustrations
