e are not in possesion of sufficient information about the prehistoric stages of Alanya. The researches and investigations carried out by Professor Dr. Kılıç Kökten, in 1957 at the Kadıini Cave, situated 12 km from the centre of the city, give us some, even if inadequate knowledge about the prehistoric ages of the district. At the end of short explorations in the district, it has been discovered that Alanya’s history goes back to the upper Paleothic period ( 20.000 –
cylax, a geographer of ancient times, first mentiioned Coracesium in the 4th century B.C. At that time, the region was under the rule of the Persians who invaded an important part of Anatolia. No knowledge of significance about the region has reaches s so far. Later on, Strabon, one ot the most important histocians and writers of ancient times, who lived between 63-25 B.C. mentions Alanya in his writings and discribes it as a very difficult and steep city to conqueur. The historian Strabon, while localizing Coracesium in his imprtant work “Geographica”, indicates that on approaching Cilicia from the west, Coracesium was the first city to be encountered. In history, accourding to political standards, Alanya has sometimes been annexed to Cilicia and sometimes to Pamphylia. On examining findings discovered during excavations, it has been definitely established that Alanya was influenced by the civilizations and cultures of both regions.
ts strategic location, due to its geographical position and its naturally protected safe harbour made impossible for Alanya to be defendet by a small military force. These features turned Alanya into a favourite resort for pirates and rebels. What is more, the timber favourable for shipbuilding to found abundantly in the forest surrounding Alanya, made the city an outstanding port of vital importance in sea-trade.
n 1999 B.C., the Cilicia region fell into the hands of the great Antionchus III, ruler of the Seleucos kingdom in Syria. Coracesium which was within the boundaries of Cilicia at the time, resisted successfully against the invader and protected its independence with confidence due to its strategic location. After a time, Antionchus III. Was defeated by the Romans at the end of the War of Magnesia and with the Apameia Peace Treaty, lost a large section of Asia Minor. Only the Cilician coast was left to him. The unending conflicts between the Seleucoses and the Ptolemaioses of Egypt, with Rome not interfering, caused a political vacuum in Cilicia, so that in the end, together with Coracesium, all the other Mediterranean cities in Cilicia and Pamphylia became, one after the other, ideal hideouts for Pirates.
oracesium with its naturally protected perfect harbour was the main shelter of these pirates. In the middle of the 2nd century B.C., a ferocious pirate by the name of Diototos Tryphon, used the region as his base and played a role in the international politics of the kingdom of Seleucos in Syria, after a while he declared himself King and ruled the Seleucoses between 142-139 B.C. In 139 B.C. Antionchus VII put an end to Tryphon and thus avenged his family.
n 75-74 B.C., Publius Servilius Vatia, Governor General of Rome went into action against the pirates, but it was General Pompeius Magnus, who was given full authority by Rome, was able to eradicate the pirates, once and for all
in the Mediterranean Area. Equipped with a strong army and fleet he chased the pirates all the ay to Cilicia and struck them a final blow in Coracesium harbour. Pompeius completely destroyed the walls of this Pirate city. Thus, all the illegal activities came to an end. With assasination of Ceasar in 44 B.C., the eastern Roman empire came under the rule of Marcus Antonius by Octavianus in 30 B.C., after the Actium War, this region came under Roman rule.
e know that the coins honouring the city of Coracesium were minted beginning from the time of Emperor Trajan (98-116 A.D. ) until the time of Salonius (259 A.D.) Not much is known about the history of Alanya during
early Christianity and
raid starting in the 7th
gained importance
the Byzantine era
century A.D., the
and priority was
During the Arab
defence of the city
given to the building
of churches and fortresses. Many of the fortresses and churches are dated to the VI-VII the centuries. Coracesium and other Pamphylian cities accepted christianity in its earliest stages. After that, the city was named “ Kalonoros” which means “Beatiful Mountain”. This greek name was pronounced Candelore. The prosperous area of Kalonoros started with the conquest of the Seljouks. The Seljouks established a stable and powerful state in the middle of the 12th century and made Konya to their capital. After settling in their capital city Konya, and estalishing a powerful state in central Anatolia, they felt the neccesity of controlling the seas, in order to secure a command over the trade routes. Under the command of Sultan Giyaseddin Keyhusrev I, they conquered Antalya in 1207 and thus established their first base along the Mediterranean coast. The Seljouks conquest of the Black Sea region was only achieved through the victory of Izzettin Keykavus, son of Giyaseddin Keyhusrev I, over the Byzantines and his conquest of Sinop.
laddin Keykubad I, who ascended the throne after the death of Keykavus (1220- 1237), was one of the greatest rulers of the Anatolian Seljouks State during the time. After ascending the throne, he, whose birth date is not mentioned by the historians, decided to fortify Anatolia’s defence and to construct contemporary modern cities, embellished with medresses ( theological Schols ), caravanserails and palaces. For that purpose, he ordered 19 cities
Alaeddin
married Kyr Vart’s daughter who was renowed as “Huand Hatun” in the Seljouks palace; she changed her to Mah-Peri and became a Moslem afterwards. The city whicgh was named Alaiye after the Sultan, reached its peak of glory
during his reign and became the scene of great cultural activities and the second capital and winter residence of the Seljouks. Alaeddin himself spent his winters in Alaiye. He had artists and scientists settle in the city and in no
time he converted Alaiye into a centre of culture and trade.
fter Alaeddin Keykubad, the gloden age of Alaiye came to an end. The Mongol raids in 1243 and the invasion of the Mameluks of
Egypt exhausted the Seljouks and in 1300, the Seljouks state was devided and Alaiye, together with Konya came under the rule of the Karamonaoğulları dynasty. The XIVth century proved to be a rather confused period in the history
of Alaiye. The fact that Kız kalesi served as a base for Cyprus, caused the Karamonoğulları and the tekelioğulları to join forces. In 1361, the Cypriot king Pierre, organized a campaign against Antalya, seized the
city and annexed Alaiye to his Kingdom; but agter a short period, the Cypriots, together with the help of Alaiye, retreated from Antalya and gave Alaiye back to Teke bey.
n 1427 Alaiye was sold to the Mameluks of Egypt for 5000 gold pieces by the Karamonaoğlu dynasty. In 1471, during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, ( Fatih the Conqueror ), the Ottoman army under the command of Gedik Ahmed Paşa, included the city within the borders of the Ottoman State. Under Ottoman rule, Alaiye was annexed to the Anatolia Province, as
an administrative district governed by a Bey. In 1935, when Atatürk visitad the district, during the Republican period, the name of Alaiye was changed to Alanya, according to his wish.
lanya was shown on a map for the first time in 1521. It was a map of the Mediterranean, prepared by the great Turkish seaman, Piri Reis, who completed it in 1523 and dedicated it to Sultan Süleyman ( Süleyman the Magnificent ). Alanya was visited in the 19th century by many other explorers. The most important amongh them are Francis Beauford, O. Van Richter, Lanchronosky, Wilhem and Heberdey.
All of whom documented the monuments and inscriptions of the region. In recent years, scientific researches and excavations have been undertaken again in Alanya and its environs. Turkish archeologists and art history experts have been continuing their work on the fortress and in the villas. Their work will open new horizons in the history of Alanya.
yet proceeded to live in villages and were nourishing themselves by hunthing and gathering fruits. The date of its foundation and the founders of Alanya are unknown. The oldest name given to this ancient city was “Coracesium”. The name does not have a specific meaning in Greek. In Latin Corax means rock and Caesium sky. Some explorers claim that by joining these two words, the name of the town would come to mean Sky rock or Sky crow.
17.000 B.C. ) and that the fossilized human skeletons belong to the evolutionary history. During this period, men were still living in caves, they had not
during Alaeddin’s reign. After ascending the throne, Alaeddin Keykubad organized his first campaign to Calonoros, a location of utmost military an commercial importance, and the harbour and only landing place for the Seljouk capital of Konya. He besieged the city by land and sea. At the time, Calonoros was in the hands of a certain Kyr Vart, a member of an independent Christian dynasty. On realizing that defeat was inevitable, Vart did not resist and surrended in 1221.
including Antalya to be reconstructed. He even took part in the planning and building some of them. Keykubad was, in the true sense of the word, an efficiend urbanist and organizer not only a commander but a builder aswell. The military power aswell as cultural level of the Seljouks population reaches its peak
