Cyinda ( el, Κὐινδα) was an ancient
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
n city, situated in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
in modern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
Cyinda in western Cilicia was famous as a treasure city in the wars of
Eumenes of Cardia
Eumenes (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης; c. 362316 BC) was a Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as both Alexander's personal secretary and as a battlefield commander. He later was a participant in th ...
. It apparently served as a collection point where booty from the Asian interior was stored for shipment to
Macedonia. "Despite the removal of great quantities of wealth from Cyinda at various times by
Antigonus and his son,
Demetrius
Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter".
Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumi ...
, this fortress continued to possess large amounts of treasure, and for years during the fourth and third centuries 'the gold of Cyinda' was world famous." Its exact location is unknown; it is possible that it is to be identified with the fortress known in Assyrian as Kundi, which played a similar role in the
Assyrian Empire
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyr ...
in the time of
Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon, also spelled Essarhaddon, Assarhaddon and Ashurhaddon ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , also , meaning " Ashur has given me a brother"; Biblical Hebrew: ''ʾĒsar-Ḥaddōn'') was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of hi ...
.
[Bing, "A Further Note on Cyinda/''Kundi''," p. 346.]
It was formerly wrongly identified with
Anazarba
Anazarbus ( grc, Ἀναζαρβός, medieval Ain Zarba; modern Anavarza; ar, عَيْنُ زَرْبَة) was an ancient Cilician city. Under the late Roman Empire, it was the capital of Cilicia Secunda. Roman emperor Justinian I rebuilt t ...
.
Bibliography
*R.H. Simpson, "A Note on Cyinda,
''Historia'' 6 (1957): 503-04
*J.D. Bing, "A Further Note on Cyinda/''Kundi'',
''Historia'' 22 (1973): 346-350
References
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey
Former populated places in Cilicia
{{AncientCilicia-geo-stub