Anatolian peoples

The Anatolian peoples, also known as the Anatolians, were the ancient peoples who spoke the now-extinct Anatolian languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. They lived principally in Anatolia and, during some periods, in adjoining parts of northern Syria. The best-attested groups included the Hittites, Luwians, Palaic peoples, Lydians, Carians, Lycians and Pisidians.

The term is primarily linguistic and historical. It does not describe a single unified state or a single homogeneous ethnic community. Anatolian-speaking societies formed numerous kingdoms, principalities, cities and regional cultures over more than two millennia. Their languages are generally regarded as the earliest-attested branch of Indo-European and among the first to have separated from the language ancestral to the other Indo-European branches.

The separate Anatolian languages and identities did not disappear at one moment. Hittite and Palaic ceased to be written after the collapse of the Bronze Age political and scribal systems, while Luwian and several western Anatolian languages survived into the first millennium BC. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, most of these languages were gradually replaced by Koine Greek. The poorly attested Isaurian language may nevertheless have survived in the Taurus highlands into the sixth century AD, making it a possible final survivor of the Anatolian branch. This was a long process of language shift and cultural integration rather than the physical disappearance of the population.