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Cimmerian Invasion of Anatolia

Type Event Region Anatolia Time c. -720–-650

Around the 8th to 7th centuries BCE, the Cimmerians invaded Anatolia from the northern Black Sea coast, devastating Phrygia and Lydia and briefly thr…

Timeline

  1. c. -700–-690Northern Anatolian frontier · AnatoliaCimmerian nomadic groups entered Anatolia from the north, using their mobile cavalry advantage to raid the borders of settled kingdoms; both Herodotus and Assyrian inscriptions record their existence and destructive power.
  2. c. -695–-680Phrygia and Lydia · AnatoliaThe invasion wave devastated the Kingdom of Phrygia, with places like Gordium suffering destruction; Lydia was also hit, but under rulers such as Gyges it gradually recovered and counterattacked, ultimately forcing Cimmerian power into decline.
  3. c. -670–-650Anatolia · AnatoliaAfter joint counterattacks by Lydia and other states, Cimmerian power gradually withdrew from Anatolia's core regions, but the invasion had profoundly altered the regional balance of power, creating opportunities for Lydia's rise and the reorganization of the various kingdoms.

Sources