Anatolia Land, Men, and Gods in Asia Minor The Celts in Anatolia and the Impact of Roman Rule

9780198150299

0198150296

This is the first comprehensive study of the history of Asia Minor in antiquity to be written for nearly fifty years and the first attempt to treat Anatolian history as a whole over the millennium from the time of Alexander the Great to the hey day of the Byzantine Empire. The first volume is in two parts. The first examines the region in the Hellenistic period, when it was dominated by Celtic tribes who settled in the interior of Asia Minor in the first half of the third century BC. The second covers the period of the Roman Empire and looks in detail at the changes brought about by imperial rule. Two relationships dominated every aspect of Asia Minor's history throughout the period: that of the people to the land and that of men to the gods. An enormous quantity of information derived from written sources, archaeological remains, inscriptions, and coins make it possible to explore these relationships at a level of detail which is hardly possible for any other part of the ancient world. Both themes have a significance which reached far beyond the boundaries of Anatolia.