The Hyrcanian plain ( el, Ὑρκάνιον πεδίον) was a plain near

Sardis Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...

, the provincial capital of the Achaemenid Persian

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

y (province) of

Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

. Located in the Hermos valley, in what is present-day western

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, according to the ancient geographer and historian

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, the plain derived its name from a colony of

Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspia ...

ns who were settled there by the Achaemenids. According to the modern historian and archaeologist Nicholas Victor Sekunda, the plain was either "confined to the valley of the Pidasos, or it extended in a broad band along the Phrygios from Thyateira to Magnesia-on-Sipylos to the west, and possibly even as far as Sardis to the southeast". The centre of worship for the

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

settlers in the Hyrcanian plain was likely the shrine at Hierakome, located almost at the plain's centre. The shrine was probably founded by the first Achaemenid King

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

(559–530 BC). Sekunda explains that the Hyrcanian cavalry, which fought at the Battle of Granicus against the invading Macedonians led by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

(336–323 BC) have often been seen as colonists from the Hyrcanian plain. However, he adds that it is "much more likely" that the cavalry contingent had actually been sent down by King

Darius III Darius III ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; c. 380 – 330 BC) was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Dar ...

(336–330 BC) to bolster the Achaemenid defenses in western Asia Minor. The name ''Hyrcanis'' survived into the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and Roman-era as a town's name, with its inhabitants being referred to as ''Makedones Hyrcanioi''. It is suggested that the original Hyrcanian colonists were therefore, at some point, dispossessed or made subject to Macedonian military settlers.

References

Sources

* * * {{Encyclopaedia Iranica , title = ASIA MINOR , last = Weiskopf , first = Michael , url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asia-minor-irano-anatolian-relations , volume = 2 , fascicle = 7 , pages = 757–764 Achaemenid Anatolia Plains Former populated places in Turkey Populated places in ancient Lydia Achaemenid Empire