Lycaonia

Province Description

Lycaonia was part of the central interior region of Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains and the province of Cilicia, and between the areas of Phrygia to the west and Cappadocia to the east. Although to date little is known about the emergence of the Lycaonians, this population does not appear to have been a subject of the Achaemenid empire, but they were included in the later Seleucid and Pergamene dynastic holdings. The region’s administrative borders shifted after 160 BCE, when the Romans split them between Galatia to the north and Cappadocia to the east, after acquiring Lycaonia from the Pergamene kingdom. It was not until the 4th century CE that Lycaonia became a separate province. One of the main routes across the Anatolian plateau, from Sardis and Ephesus to the Cilician Gates, cut through Lycaonia. According to Strabo (12.6.1), the region was known as a cold expanse lacking water and trees and grazed by wild asses. Large towns such as Laranda, Laodiceia-Combusta, and Iconium, considered a principal Lycaonian city, struggled to provide water for the inhabitants and possessed very deep wells. There is archaeological evidence of hilltop settlements with Roman ceramics around the mountain Boz Dāgh in modern Iran. Shepherding was one of the main aspects of the regional economy, and the steppe-like plateaus provided suitable pastures. The soil that could be cultivated was used for a diversity of crops and products, but no ancient gardens have yet been investigated in this region.

Bibliography

• “Lycaonia,” Brill’s New Pauly, eds. H. Cancik and H. Schneider, Brill Online, 2012. (worldcat)
• M.H. Ballance, “Roman Roads in Lycaonia” Anatolian Studies, 8, 1958: 223-34. (worldcat)
• A.N. Sherwin-White, “Rome, Pamphylia and Cilicia, 133-70 B.C.” Journal of Roman Studies, 66, 1976: 1-14. (worldcat)

Places

• Lycaonia (Pleiades:982262)