The history of Anatolia could have been altered entirely if things had turned out differently in the seventh century BC. At that time, a nation known as the Cimmerians was raiding throughout Anatolia, nearly bringing it to its knees. What ultimately stopped them from completely conquering this vital territory?
How the Cimmerian conquest of Anatolia began
The Cimmerians were a nation closely related to the Scythians. In fact, Ancient Greek writers occasionally confused the two peoples. They were both from the region north of the Black Sea. At some point towards the end of the eighth century BC, the Cimmerians began migrating southwards.
The exact reason for this is uncertain. However, it is entirely possible that it was due to pressure from the expansion of the Scythians, but it was around this time that the Cimmerians began coming into conflict with the nations in and near Anatolia.
For instance, in the late eighth century BC, they attacked the kingdom of Urartu in Armenia. However, shortly afterwards, they were defeated and repulsed by the Assyrians. This drove them westwards, resulting in their raiding deep into Anatolia.
The devastating attacks of the Cimmerians
Once in Anatolia, the Cimmerians proved to be a force to reckon with. At the time, the most powerful kingdom in that region was the kingdom of Phrygia. The Cimmerians waged war against this powerful nation and had considerable success against it.
With extreme swiftness, the Cimmerians were able to overwhelm the Phrygians. They defeated them so crushingly that the King of Phrygia, Midas, committed suicide. This was the famous King Midas of Greek legend, with the famous golden touch. The Cimmerians then went on to sack Gordion, the capital of Phrygia.
After bringing about the fall of Phrygia and conquering their land, the Cimmerians became less nomadic and started focusing on establishing a fixed kingdom in the former territory of Phrygia.
How the Cimmerians almost subdued all of Anatolia
Although not primarily nomadic as they had once been, the Cimmerians continued trying to expand their territory into Anatolia in the following decades. For example, they attacked and plundered Greek colonies, including Sinope, on the coast of the Black Sea.
Furthermore, to the east, it appears that certain Neo-Hittite kingdoms in the region of northern Syria were subdued by the Cimmerians. The rule of the Cimmerians encompassed an enormous part of Anatolia, stretching from the Assyrian Empire in the east to the kingdom of Lydia in the west.
Cappadocia, above Syria, became their new capital. At this time, the king of the Cimmerians was a certain Dugdammi. The Greeks recorded him under the variant spelling “Lygdamis.” Seeing that the Assyrians to the east were a substantial threat, Dugdammi preferred to avoid engaging them in outright warfare. Instead, he focused his expansion efforts on the west.
The downfall of the Cimmerians
It was this attack against Lydia that ultimately triggered the downfall of the Cimmerians and prevented them from entirely conquering Anatolia. If they had succeeded in defeating Lydia, they may have become the overlords of the entire peninsula.
Initially, the Cimmerians had some success in their expansion further into western Anatolia. They put considerable pressure on King Gyges of Lydia, who felt compelled to request the assistance of the Assyrians. Scholars debate whether the Assyrians actually provided such assistance or not, but it would appear that they most likely had. As a result, Gyges managed to defeat the Cimmerians, and he sent two captured chieftains to Nineveh.
About two decades later, the Cimmerians attacked Gyges for a final time and successfully sacked Sardis, the capital of Lydia. This also resulted in the death of King Gyges. However, this did not result in the total defeat of the Lydians. While their situation was quite precarious, they persevered.
Some years later, in the latter half of the seventh century BC, the Cimmerians were finally defeated when they were attacked on two main fronts. In the east, they were attacked by the Scythians, with support from the Assyrian Empire. In the west, they were attacked by the Lydians.
Together, these nations were able to defeat the Cimmerians, but they then disappeared from historical record. However, many historians believe they settled in Cappadocia. The Armenian name for that region is Gamirk, which may well point to Cimmerian settlement in the area.
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