a. Geography

II. Ancient and Classical Periods, 3500 B.C.E.–500 C.E.> B. Kingdoms of Western Asia and Africa, to 323 B.C.E.> 7. Asia Minor, c. 3000–333 B.C.E.

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  The Encyclopedia of World History.  2001.

7. Asia Minor, c. 3000–333 B.C.E.
a. Geography
Asia Minor, or Anatolia, is a peninsula stretching westward from the Armenian mountains to the Aegean Sea, with the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. Western Anatolia contained four fertile river valleys, was called Arzawa and Assuwa in Hittite times, and later contained Troas, Mysia, and Lydia. In the southern part of the peninsula lay the Lukka Lands (Lycia) and to the east Kizzuwatna, later Cilicia. The northern Pontic coast was home of the warlike Kaska peoples. Most of Asia Minor is dominated by the central plateau. In its western part was Phrygia; in the center, south of the great Salt Lake (Tuz Göl), was the fertile Konya plain; and to the east of the Halys river was Hatti, the center of the Hittite Empire. In the southeast of the peninsula, Cappadocia was located in the Anti-Taurus range. In easternmost Anatolia, the mountains rise to the high peaks of Armenia. It was the most populous region of ancient western Asia, with a population of some 3 million through the Bronze Age.	1

The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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