Lycian

people

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June 30, 2026

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Myra: tombs Lycian tombs in Myra, Turkey.

The Lycians were an ancient maritime people from southwestern Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. They inhabited the Mediterranean coast between Caria and Pamphylia, extending inland to the Taurus Mountains.1

In the 14th and 13th centuries BCE, they were known as Luka and participated in the Sea Peoples' attempt to invade Egypt. By the 8th century BCE, they had formed a confederation of cities known as the Lycian League.1

The Lycian language is an Indo-European language closely related to Hittite and Luwian. Evidence of their language comes from over 150 inscriptions on stone, primarily tomb inscriptions dating from the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Archaeological discoveries at sites like Xanthus have revealed a distinctive funerary architecture. Lycia eventually fell under Persian and later Roman rule, maintaining federal institutions until AD 43.21

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Anatolia
Greek colonies on the Anatolian coasts, c. 1180–547 bce
Of the Lycians, to the east of Caria, nothing definite is known before the 6th century, though archaeological evidence shows that the Greeks had commercial contacts with Lycia as early as about 700. Curiously, it was under the aegis of Persian rule that Greek civilization penetrated into…
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Of the Lycians, to the east of Caria, nothing definite is known before the 6th century, though archaeological evidence shows that the Greeks had commercial contacts with Lycia as early as about 700. Curiously, it was under the aegis of Persian rule that Greek civilization penetrated into…
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Anatolian religion
Religions of successor states
…who became known as the Lycians and maintained their reverence for the Luwian gods Tarhun, Runda, Arma, and Santa into classical times.
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…who became known as the Lycians and maintained their reverence for the Luwian gods Tarhun, Runda, Arma, and Santa into classical times.
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