revolts in isauria during the hellenistic … mustafa arslan...hellenistic period isaurian revolts...

Abstract

Isauria region starts from northern slopes of Taurus Mountains where Konya Plateau lays above.

The boundary of region goes around from Mount Geyik in the south through Seydişehir, Lake Suğla in

the west and Hadim-Göksu River in the east. The geography of the region provides an ultimate

protection for Isaurians and it gave great difficulties for the powers who wanted to conquest the land.

Isauria was free during the Persian period and Alexander the Great did not make difficulties for the

local people there until Balakros was killed by Isaurians who was appointed by Alexander the Great.

Thus, Perdikkas marched on Isauria to punish the public after the death of Balacros. In the period of

Rome, the name of Isauria was frequently mentioned with riots, as well. The General, Servilius Vatia

who fought with the pirates in the eastern Mediterranean made a campaign against Isauria. In the years

ahead, the general of Mithridates, Eumakhos marched into there region and Galatian Deiotaros

responded this action. All the seturm oils show us how the touchy and important theare awas. On the

other hand, the other examples such as the death of Amyntas on the way to build a city in this region

and Cicero’s efforts and demanding in Isauria areal son oticeable. The chaos and the external

interference went on in the following periods. It can be stated that there appeared a peace when Turks

finaly arrived the region. There are many ancient writers who cited about Isaurian revolts of Isaurians

such as: Strabo, Diodorus, Appianus, Plutarkhos, Tacitus, Cicero etc. They explained the revolts and

made comments on the reasons and results of them.

In this study, we aimed to focus the disordinance in Isauria in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

based on ancient sources.

•

Keywords

Isauria, Revolt, Hellenistic Period, Roman Period, Piracy

* Asst. Prof. Dr. Selcuk University Beyşehir Ali Akkanat Faculty of Tourism [email protected] ** Lecturer, Selcuk University School of Foreign Languages. Doctoral Student, Selcuk University Graduate School of Social Sciences.

REVOLTS IN ISAURIA DURING THE HELLENISTIC AND

ROMAN PERIODS IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT SOURCES

Mustafa ARSLAN *

Nuriye BAHÇE **

Esra BULUT

50 REVOLTS IN ISAURIA DURING THE HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN PERIODS IN THE LIGHT OF

ANCIENT SOURCES

ULUSLARARASI SEMPOZYUM: GEÇMİŞTEN GÜNÜMÜZE BOZKIR

INTRODUCTION

The Location of Isauria

The information about the geographical location of Isauria may be gained rom the

ancient writers. Strabo states that Isauria is in the north of Taurus Mountain1 and between

Lykaonia and Cilicia. In the region, there are two rivers called Göksu and Çarşamba.

Isauria region has two villages with the same name, “Isauria Palaia-Old Isauria and

Isauria Nova-New Isauria” and they were well-protected. With the other villages, these

ones were robber settlements2. However, there are nothern ancient writers except Strabo

who used both two names of Isauria. Thus, he started dissidence on this subject. The city

that Diodoros3 and Ammianus4 mentioned about must be Isauria Palaia. However,

Sallust5 mentioned only one city, “İsauria Nova”. This uncertainty in the Ancient Ages

is available among our modern-day scholars. The consensus related to the names and

locations of these two cities has not built yet6.

The People of Isauria

The people of Isauria caused a great deal of trouble to Romans in the period of

Rome; especially in the time of Servilius. In the ancient sources, different terms and titles

are used for the local people. However, it is possible to see that these terms find common

ground. Certain parts of ancient writers describe them as “robbers and pirates”7, the others

characterize them as “marauder, bandit and raider”8. There is a group of writers who

1 Strabo, XIV. 5.1. 2Strabo, XII. 6.2. 3Diodorus, XVIII, 22. 4Ammianus, XIV, 2.12; 8.2. 5Sallust. Hist. II, 69. 6City, Isaura Palaia, Hamilton, 1842:412; İsauria Nova, Ramsay, 1912: 220; Isauria Vetus and Isauria Nova,

Sterret, 1888: 149 et al.; Isauria Nova, Cramer, 1972: 73-74; Isauria Vetus, Isauria Nova Bahar, 1996: 55-

56. 7Strabo X11. 6.2; Livy, Perioch.-93; Festus. XII.3. 8 Appian, XII 14; Festus, XII.3; Livy, Perioch 93.


ANCIENT SOURCES


prefer more innocent terms in their works. For instance, these rebels may be called as

“Isaurian Warriors”9 and “enemies”10.

Hellenistic Period Isaurian Revolts

In the Hellenistic period that started with the dominance of Alexander the Great

over Greece (330-146 BC), Macedonian army entered into Anatolia after defeating

Persians and in a short time they captured Cilicia Region11. In this period, one can see

that the Greek launched expeditions against the Greece chieftains and rebels as a

punishment. It seems that the aims of the Greek were not to dominate over Isauria but to

take revenge on Isaurians. As Diodoros stated, Isaurian warriors who killed Balacros, the

Cilicia satrap of Alexander the Great, were attacked by Perdiccas in 322 BC; faced a

savage resistance and finally were forced to commit mass suicide. Rather than surrender,

the warriors set their houses on fire and chose to burn to death with all the family

members12.

From this date to the Rome Period, there has been no clear data related to the

Isaurian revolts. As far as we learn from the current sources, owing to the imperial conflict

after the death of Alexander the Great, there was a domestic unrest in the region, the

severe resistance of Isaurians was going on and the Greek could not get any victories after

the last success. Even though the Isaurian region was an enduring arena of dissidence, it

might be stated that the Isurians provided benefit to the Greek in severe wars in the sense

that they were a neutral zone and the constant presence of armed captives. Thus, the

resistance of Isaurians was accepted with tolerance. In 280-260 BC, this perception did

not change and any Hellen states could not entirely provide the control of the region13.

9Diodorus, XVIII. 22. 10Sallust, Hist. II, 69. 11Arrianus. Anabasis, I 11-26. 12Diodorus. XVIII. 22. 13Bevan, I, 1902: 100; Shaw, 1990: 218.


ANCIENT SOURCES


After the Greek, the effects of Seleucids and Ptolemies were seen in the region.

Rome that began to dominate over the region increased its hegemony in order to prevent

the current problem, piracy. Yet, Rome had to seriously deal with the Isaurian revolts.

Roman Period Isaurian Revolts

In 188 BC, after Apemeia Treaty, Pergamon became the strongest province of

Anatolia and a buffer state between Rome and the Seleucids. It also entirely came under

the Roman domination. Seleucids had to leave nearly all the fleets to Rome and thus the

navigation regressed or passed to just Anatolian coastal cities and this led to the priracy

on those cites. The fastest area that the piracy spread was the South Anatolian coastline.

Especially the coastal cities of Cilicia Trachea were preferred as suitable places for piracy

activities14.

The fact that this territory is not sufficient for agricultural product may have led

the local people to find alternative means of living. Thus, some were in the activities of

piracy, the others joined the Roman military service15. At first, Rome not only overlooked

the piracy but also utilised them by making them employ as slaves. However, against the

increased piracy power in the last quarter of the 1st century B.C, Rome had to change its

tactics and finally started to struggle with the pirates that were active along the coastline

of Pamphylia, East Lycia and Cilicia Trachea16.

As Strabo mentions, the Province of Asia suffered from the domestic disturbance.

The pirates here gradually gained strength by affecting the people with bad status among

the public and they started to engage in the refugee17 trade activities18.

Marcus Antonius charged with stopping the pirates that were giving harm to

Provincia Asia19 but he could not get a victory against the pirates in 102 B. C. and the

14 Kurt, 2009:117-118. About the emergence of piracy and its activities in Pamphylia and Cilicia see

Appian, The Mithridatic Wars XII. 14 (92); Cassius Dio, XXXVI 20-23; Strabo, XIV 3,2. 15Kurt, 2009: 118-119. For the information about the suitable conditions for piracy activities of Cilicia

Trachea, see Mitford and Andrews 1980, 1237. 16Arslan, 2003: 94; Kurt, 2009:119. 17 Cilicia, first became as a Roman province in 92 B.C. It was founded to control the pirates and the first

proconsul of the province was Sulla. Sulla was known as a dictator Kaya, 2005b: 17; Kurt, 2009:119. 18 Strabo, XIV 5.2. 19 Tacitus XII 62


ANCIENT SOURCES


piracy gradually continued to increase20. Due to the Civil Wars in Rome21 and the 1st

Mithridatic War in 90 B.C, Rome had to give up the struggle with the pirates. The people

who ran away from the tyranny of Dolabella and Verres during 80 B.C took refuge in

pirates and muggers and so this situation resulted in the pirates favor. The pirates whose

force went up on the southern coasts became a political power before long. They started

to build up ships on the coastal shipyards22 and forced coastal cities to pay money.

Moreover, a pirate who declared himself a king called Zeniketes captured Korykos,

Phaselis and a large deal of Pamphylia23.

Because of the increased danger in the region, the senate charged Publius Servilius

Vatia as a Cilicia governor in 74-78 B.C. The governor who was sent to Isauria Vetus in

order to stop the piracy and hijacking in the Southern Anatolia surrendered the city after

a long siege that covered Çarşamba River. There is extensive information in the ancient

sources about this uprising. Strabo described both the location of Isauria Region and its

two important villages and claimed that Isaurians were “robbers and pirates” and that

Romans had a great deal of trouble because of these revolts. He also stated that especially

Servilius dealt with these revolts and he also included the cities in Rome and destroyed

most of the castles of these pirates (including the dominance of Zenicetes). Based on

Strabo’s explanations, one can understand that he knew Servilius and Servilius had a

nickname, “İsauricus”24. Ammianus pointed out that he surpassed in the naval warfares

with the piratesand dismissed them from the coasts of Cilicia25. For the same revolt, Livy

called Isaurians “pirates” and stated that Servilius captured them and some of their

cities26. Julius Frontinus mentioned about this revolt as follows: “Publius Servilius

diverted the stream from which the inhabitants of Isauria drew their water, and thus

forced them to surrender in consequence of thirst”27. Festus used the terms “bandit war”

for this revolt, “pirates and sea going marauders” for Isaurians, and claimed that they

20Kurt, 2009: 120. 21For the battles see Diodorus, XXXVII, I, 6-11; Plutarch, Sulla, VI, 1-2. 22For the importance of the coasts for pirates, see Strabo. XIV 5, 6. 23Arslan, 2003: 101; Kurt, 2009: 121-122. 24 Strabo, XII 6.2. 25Ammianus, XIV 8, 4. 26Livius, Perioch. 93. 27Frontinus, Strat. III.7.1.


ANCIENT SOURCES


were the first people who constructed the road through the Mount Taurus and Servilius

received the nickname "Isauricus" after the victory over the Cilicians and Isaurians28.

Related to this victory and nickname, Eutropius gives more detailed information:

“Publius Servilius, an energetic man, was sent, after his consulate, into Cilicia and

Pamphilia. He reduced Cilicia, besieged and took the most eminent cities of Lycia, amongst them

Phaselis, Olympus, and Corycus. The Isauri he also attacked, and compelled to surrender, and,

within three years, put an end to the war. He was the first of the Romans that marched over Mount

Taurus. On his return, he was granted a triumph, and acquired the surname of Isauricus”29.

According to Sallust, at the beginning of the revolt in 75 B.C, that Romans did not

deliberately respond with either weapons or shouting was misinterpreted by Isaurians and

they thought that Romans abandoned their fortifications. However, it was not the case as

Isaurians hoped. Romans made use of their weapons from their more favourable positions

and prevented them to reach the target zone. After a short while, nearly half of the ditches

were filled by dead Isaurians, but the rest escaped safely. Sallust explained the reason for

this as follows: “because it was difficult for Romans to pursue them by night and they

were afraid of ambushes.” At the end of the revolt, we can see that they were forced to

surrender owing to the lack of water. Their town was destroyed by fire and their people

were made slaves. Since they were afraid of sharing the same destiny representatives from

Isaura Nova came for peace30.

Pompey the Great and Eumachus, the general of Mithridates, were in charge of

the other revolt in 73 B.C. As Strabo points out that after Servilius, Pompey the Great –

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus set more than 300 ships of Isaurians on fire and destroyed their

houses. The ones who survived were brought down to Soli, which he named Pompeiopolis

and the others to Dyme, where there was a dearth of population31. For this revolt, Appian

gives more detailed information. As he stated that the uprising of pirates was first thought

to be difficult to quash, but it was repressed in a few days by Pompey the Great, who went

to Cilicia Trachea. “He took 71 ships by capture and 306 by surrender from the pirates,

28Festus, Breviarium XII.3; Strabo XII. 6.2. 29Eutropius, VI. 3. 30Sall: Hist. II. 69. 31 Strabo, XIV 3.3.


ANCIENT SOURCES


and 120 of their towns, castles, and other places of rendezvous. About 10,000 of the

pirates were slain in battles32”.

In 67 B.C with the increased uprisings Pompey with a broad authority33 was in

charged of punishing the pirates in Cilicia. Plutarchos clearly stated that Pompey mostly

drove the pirates away in the west regions of Rome hegemony and stopped the activities

of pirates in the eastern regions. He broke in Cilicia with a fleet of good ships34. Appian

indicated that Pompey hastened to Cilicia with his forces of various kinds and many

engines.The terror of his name and the greatness of his preparations had produced a panic

among “the robbers” and surrendered without any resistance. First those who held Cragus

and Anticragus, their largest citadels, surrendered themselves, and then the mountaineers

of Cilicia, finally, all, one after another. It was such surrender that they gave up a great

quantity of arms, their ships, also brass and iron collected for building them, and sailcloth,

rope, and various kinds of materials; and finally the captives either held for ransom or

chained to their tasks. Pompey burned the materials, carried away the ships, and sent the

captives back to their respective countries. As Appian asserted that Romans perceived the

end of the revolt as a victory since it was so swiftly and unexpectedly gained and Pompey

was extolled by the Romans beyond measure35. Having looked at his preparations and

expectations, Pompey was likely to have been afraid of this revolt. Likewise, the power,

authority and exaggrated praise the Romans gave him considered; one can understand

that Isaurian revolts created a fear in the period of Rome. Ancient writers indicated that

Pompey placed a majority of pirates in Soli and gave the city its own name,

Pompeiopolis36.

32Appian, The Mithridatic Wars XIV. 96. 33For the which was the source of this power, see Plutarch, Pompeius, XXV 2; XXVI 1-4; Cassius Dio,

XXXVI 23, 4. 34Plutarch, Pompey, XXVIII, XXIX. 35While he was still in Cilician ote they chose him the commander of the war against Mithridates, giving

him the same unlimited powers as before, to make war and peace as he liked, and to proclaimnations friends

or enemies according to his own judgment. They gave him command of all the forces beyond the borders

of Italy. All these powers had never been given to any one general before. Appian, Mithridatic Wars XIV.

96. 36Strabo, XIV 3, 3; Cassius Dio, XXXVI 37, 6.


ANCIENT SOURCES


In 64 B.C. the fact that the Isaurians made a trouble in the region can be

understood by the explanations of Cicero. In one of the letters he wrote in the battlefield

to the authorities and senate, he informed about the occupation of Syrian city by Parths

and explained his own goals. He stated that he was first in Lycaonia, Isauria and

Cappadocia and the Roman army was also in Cappadocia in order to protect the region37.

Cicero also indicates that he was going to hasten the Taurus with a gang lord for the battle,

Moeragenes, who ran away as a slave from Atticus38.

Up to this period, one can see that Roman government could not apply a severe

and certain solution in relation to Isaurian revolts. It preferred to find temporary solutions

not a permanent hegemony in Cilicia and the authorities seem not to have been so

interested in the region. Strabo explained this policy related to the structure of the region

as follows:

“The region was naturally well adapted to the business of piracy both by land and by

sea—by land, because of the height of the mountains and the large tribes that live beyond them,

tribes which have plains and farm-lands that are large and easily overrun, and by sea, because

of the good supply, not only of shipbuilding timber, but also of harbors and fortresses and secret

recesses—with all this in view, I say, the Romans thought that it was better for the region to be

ruled by kings than to be under the Roman prefects sent to administer justice, who were not likely

always to be present or to have armed forces with them”39.

In 44 B.C, after the assassination of Julius Caesar by the Republicans M. Brutus,

G. Cassius and their friends, a civil war broke out in Rome. In 39 B.C Antonius was sent

to Anatolia with a great deal of power in order to restore the east as Octavianus had in the

west. He had good relationships with Cleopatra the VII. the queen of Ptolemaios, about

the safety of Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean40. According to the ancient sources,

most of Cilicia was given to Cleopatra41 to supply timber for her navy. After the War of

Actium (31 B.C.) Octavianus (Augustus) governed the region by means of Antonius’

vassal administration. As Strabo stated, Octavianus resigned the region to the King of

37Cicero, Fam. 15.2.1. 38Cicero, Att. 5.15.3. 39 Strabo, XIV 5.6. 40Kurt, 2009: 127; Cassius Dio, XLVII I 24. 41Strabo XIV 5.3; Plutarch. The Life of Antony. 36.2.


ANCIENT SOURCES


Galatia42, Amyntas. Strabo points out that Derbe, Laranda and two Isaurian cities were

among the places that Amyntas governed. Amyntas, who killed the tyrant Derbetes, took

Isauria from the Romans. He destroyed Isauria Vetus, and rebuilt it for himself and royal

family. However, he was fallen into an ambush when Homonadeis attacked his country

and killed by Cilicians. Thus, he could not live to see completed Isauria Nova43.

In 25 B.C., after the death of Amnytas the control of Isauria passed to Archelaus.

Strabo claimed that this area was the place where piracy was organized44. The people here

had right reasons to protect the region both by land and sea. The tribes that had plains and

farms here could live thanks to the height of the mountains so they always tried to protect

the region by land. The reasons to preserve by sea were to supply the goods such as timber

that were necessary for navigation, and the fear of losing the ports, fortresses and secret

shelters45. Pliny explained the power that Isaurians had and stated that the authorities

involved Pamphylia to Cilicia without disturbing Isaurian public. He also claimed that

Isauria region had three cities named Isaura, Clibanus and Lalasis, Homonadeis

overlooked by the authorities were in the border of Isauria and they had 44 fortresses

between the rocky valleys46.Tacitus indicated that the hegemony of the region was in a

brave and divinised consul general of Agustus, Quirinus’ power. As Tacitus asserted that

his increasing power made Cilicia people felt uncomfortable47.

In 6 A.D. Isaurians started to reattack and made a fierce battle but Romans

succeeded in controlling the region again48. Cietae tribe bounded to Capadocia was

displeased with the heavy taxes of Archelaus I and thus in 36 A.D. they defied against the

current order. These people immigrated to the Mount Taurus but when they returned, they

had to pay tax to Rome in order to use their goods. Having the advantages of their

geography, they made variety of arrangements in the region against the forces of emperor.

42Within the borders of Provincia Galatia, which was the first empire state of Rome in Anatolia, here were

Pisidia, Lykaonia, Cilicia Trakheia and Attaleia and Side (Pamphilia) as well as Galatia. However, the

borders of Galatia were expanded by adding the new regions, Kaya, 2005a: 159. 43 Strabo, XII 6.3. 44 Strabo, XII 1.4; XIV 5.6. 45Strabo, XIV 5.6. 46Pliny.V: XXIII. 47Tacitus, Annales. III. 48. 48Cassius Dio, LV 28.3.


ANCIENT SOURCES


Tacitus stated that on the two hills, Cadra and Davara named by these “barbarians”, 4000

legioners sent by Vitelliusas a subsidiary powers set a line along the hills and killed off

some rebels and forced the others to surrender due to thirst49.

In 51 A.D in the leadership of Troxoborus a new uprising was arranged. Ciatae

people that had an extremely wild structure set camps on the cliffs under the Troxoborus

directorship. They attacked the coasts, the cities, the merchants and the ship captains.

They surrounded Anemuirum city and the proconsul Curtius Severus sent a horseman

troop however, the rough country did not let the warriors to fight. Finally, Antiokhos

gently fought the rebel troops off, executed the chief Troxoborus and some rioters, the

others were quelled in a tolerant way50.

At the end of 270s A.D within the Probus era, it was stated that a group of bandits

led by an Isaurian called Lydius caused chaos. Lydius and his rebellian companions were

engaged in banditry in especially Pamphylia and Lycia but in a short while they faced the

intervention of Roman soldiers. In the rebelliance told by Zosimus in detail, Lydius took

shelter in a place situated in a steep field called Kremna as he thought he couldn’t fight

against such a big number of Roman soldiers. Lydius saw Romans were quite decisive

but exhausted for the blockage stayed at their houses and started to grow grains in order

to meet their own men’s needs. However, as the number of them was high, this solution

was not enough to meet their needs and Lydius killed both men and women who had no

mission in the gang and then made his men to build a tunnel in the town to meet the food

needs. However, when all the supplies ran out of, he slaughtered all the people in the

town. Zozimus claimed that Lydius behaved like this as a kind of defence method. Then

he trained a man to use a gun but he did not shoot one of the enemies so Lydius took his

clothes off and whipped him. Since he got rid of stabs and was always under threat, he

ran away from the town and fell in the hands of the Roman soldiers. Finally, this man

who attacked Lydius with the help of Roman soldiers caused a fatal wound with a spear,

nonetheless Lydiusdied fighting because he had an oath not to leave his own place51.

49Tacitus, Annales. VI 41. 50Tacitus, Annales. XII 55. 51Zosimus, I.


ANCIENT SOURCES


According to the data gathered from the sources, between 260-343 A.D, there

were four separate Isaurian revolts52. In 353-354 A.D. upon the execution of some

Isaurians in the amphitheatre of Iconium the Isuarians started to revolt again. During the

revolt, Isaurians seized the grains carried by boatsin the river and a considerable amount

of decrease in the supplies of Roman soldiers occured. This situation spread everywhere

and also to Gallus Caesar. The emperor collected extremely strong soldiers from various

regions and prepared to attack to protect the city strategically important, against this

defense, “marauders” scattered into the mountains53.

According to data given by Ammianus between 353 and 368 A.D. there were three

big revolts. The first one happened in 359 A.D, as Ammiaunus stated that “Isaurian

marauders” attacked the northern and southern cities in the Taurus and surrounded the

Isaurian regions in Seleucia. This siege was as follows:

“During this term, after the processes we mentioned before, Isaurians stayed calm

for a while and attempted to take Seleucia city like snakes go out of their holes in the

spring time and freshen up gradually, they went down the cliffs and forests having no

way; took shape in the troops; tired therneighbours out by savage raids. Asit was easy to

move by the bushes on the cliffs, all the attempts of the soldierswere to capture the

mountaineers”. There upon, Constantius gave Lauricius a title of count and sent him to

the region as a proconsul in order to control the rioters not only in a fair way but also

with presure. Lauricius directed the region for a while behaving the citizens reasonably

and thus, the chaos was prevented before it went too far54.

The last one of these revolts happened in 367 A.D. During the Asia governorship

of Musonius who was the master of or a tory formerly in Athens, Isaurians attacked the

neighbour Cilicia and Pamphilia. Musonius heard that looting and evil spread everywhere

and then took his soldiers with him that lost their fighting abilities and he moved from

Sardes to Isauria. However, he was trapped while passing through a narrow and rough

gate and all his troops were killed. The rebels who gained a great deal of advantages

52Lensky, 1999:422. 53Ammianus, XIV 2.1-20. 54Ammianus, XIX 13.1.


ANCIENT SOURCES


wandered in the town for a while and then killed the people, and until any interference

rocks and mountains were their shelters. However, after a while, with the attack of Rome,

rebels demanded ceasefire and stayed silent for a long time after they handed in their

refugees55.

In 375 A.D, in a large number of letters written by Basil to Iconium bishop,

Amphilochius, it was mentioned that there was enough intervention of the empire to the

revolt and looting of Isaurians. At this time, the negative effects of Isaurians spread to the

north and in one of his letters, Basil stated that the road of Rome between Constantinople

and Caesarea was completely unsurpassable and full of enemies yet the season was

suitable for the sea voyage and he sent his best wishes to Gregory during the journey.

Morever, Basil claimed that too many men, after their barbarian attacks, swore in a

heathen way, were engaged in illegal activities in witchcraft temples and thus they cut off

the ties with God. They denied their misdeeds after they were tortured. Basil indicated

this event like this: “I feel tha tif great disasters had not happened, the God would not

have given us to the barbarians due to our sins”56.

By 395 A.D, there was not a severe chaos in the region. However, there has not

been any clear data on whichthe problems were totally solved. Emperor Dioclatian

separated Isauria state from Cilicia Campestris, he permanently placed three military

posts in Seleukia. Even though the rebels surrounded the military posts for three days and

nights, they could not succeed in the siege as the bad conditions in the land of fortress. In

addition to failure, hunger, despair and rage also arouse and they marched on Seleucia in

order to destroy it. During the march, reliable couts warrned the troops in the post and the

soldiers were given counter signs and taken out of the post for the war. However, they

were not allowed to fight. As for Ammianus, it was because the army of Rome was afraid

of the rebel groups. At last, the group of rebels attacked the army yet three legions in the

region defended Castricius, which was the metropolis of the region. In 395 A.D, in the

55Ammianus, XXVII 9.6-7. 56 Basil Epp. 215.


ANCIENT SOURCES


east when Notitia Dignitatum57 emerged, two of the military posts, Isauria I ve III

survived58.

CONCLUSION

There had been 16 revolts in region of Isauria from Hellenistic through the end of

Roman period. In Hellenistic period, there appeared an only revolt. There has been

noother information about any revolts in this period according to ancient sources. Due to

Balakros death, the general of Alexander, Perdikkas marched on the region, so the people

of Isauria decided to commit mass suicide ather than surrender.

Inthe Roman Period, due to the geographical conditions of Isaura, most of the

inhabitants were either pirate or soldiers of the Roman Army. Because there were limited

lands suitable for farming. In Roman period, there were two big revolts in Isauira (73 and

67 A.D). Pompeius was appointed to deal with the region and he gained extraordinary

power by suppressing there volts.

We learn so much about the region by ancient writers such as: Cicero, Strabo,

Appian, Diodorus, Ammianus, Sallust, Cassius Dio etc. According to Strabo: Octavianus

resigned this region to Amyntas, however Amyntas took Isauria from Roman control and

destroyed Isauria Vetus (Old Isauria) but he did not live long enough to destroy Isauria

Nova (Zengibar Castle).

According to ancient sources, from 51 A.D to 3rd century A.D it was a relatively

peace era in Isaura. Unfortunately, in 270 A.D the turmoil started again and marauders

attacked the big cities such as Seleucia and Anemurium. As a result of their revolts and

attacks, the marauders took over the control of the route between Constantinople and

Caesareia in 375 A.D according to Basil.

In 395 A.D, the situation of Isauria was not clearly documented. It has been

considered that there gion was not completely under control.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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revolts in isauria during the hellenistic … mustafa arslan...hellenistic period isaurian revolts...

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