Knidos, City-State of

Near East (909–766 BCE): Consolidation, Conflict, and Cultural Flourishing

Nubian Expansion and Egyptian Shifts

During the late ninth and early eighth centuries BCE, Egypt experiences significant geopolitical transformations. Kashta, a Kushite king based in Napata, expands his influence northward into Upper Egypt, notably installing his daughter Amenirdis I as the prospective God's Wife of Amun in Thebes. This effectively legitimizes Nubian dominance, paving the way for his son Piye to consolidate Kushite power across Egypt around 747 BCE. Under Piye's rule, Egyptian cultural and religious traditions experience revitalization, with an increasing adoption of Nubian elements.

Israel, Judah, and Regional Rivalries

This period sees Israel and Judah embroiled in frequent conflicts, both internally and with neighboring states. Notably, the Mesha Stele, or Moabite Stone, crafted by King Mesha of Moab around 850 BCE, provides critical historical insights. This stele details Mesha’s rebellion against Israelite domination under the "House of Omri," referencing the Israelite god Yahweh and potentially the earliest extrabiblical mention of the "House of David." The kingdoms of Edom and Moab also rise prominently, intensifying regional dynamics, with Edom gaining significance through increased trade and mining activities.

Israel under Omri (c. 876–869 BCE) and his son Ahab (c. 869–850 BCE) emerges as a significant regional power, marked by extensive military campaigns, construction projects, and an influential Phoenician alliance forged through Ahab’s marriage to Jezebel, daughter of Ithbaal of Tyre and Sidon. The internal religious turmoil intensifies with the clash between Phoenician Baal worship and Hebrew monotheism, particularly under the prophets Elijah and Elisha.

Assyrian Dominance and Local Autonomy

The Assyrian Empire, under rulers such as Shalmaneser III and later Tiglath-Pileser III, exerts considerable influence over the Near East, frequently subduing and extracting tribute from kingdoms such as Israel and the city-states of Phoenicia. Despite periodic revolts by city-states like Tyre and regional leaders, Assyria largely maintains its dominance through military might and political coercion, reshaping the political landscape significantly.

Sabaean Ascendancy and Arabian Trade

To the south, the Sabaean Kingdom in southern Arabia (biblical Sheba), beginning around the tenth century BCE, becomes a vital trade nexus connecting Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia. Controlling major caravan routes and flourishing economically, the Sabaeans significantly influence commerce and cultural exchanges across the Near East.

Greek Expansion in Anatolia and Cyprus

The collapse of Mycenaean civilization and the subsequent Dorian invasion in mainland Greece prompt waves of Ionian and Dorian refugees to establish new settlements in Asia Minor. The Ionian coast flourishes culturally and commercially with prominent cities such as Phocaea, Ephesus, and Miletus. Concurrently, the Dorians establish influential cities like Halicarnassus and Knidos, integrating into regional power dynamics through leagues like the Dorian Hexapolis. Cyprus also emerges as a significant cultural and commercial hub, with a Phoenician colony established at Citium around 800 BCE, contributing to the island's complex demographic and cultural landscape.

Cultural and Linguistic Developments

The Hebrew alphabet, evolving from Phoenician script, is reflected in early texts like the Gezer Calendar (tenth century BCE), demonstrating early literacy and agricultural traditions among the Israelites. Concurrently, the Elohist (E) textual source emerges, emphasizing Israel's northern kingdom perspectives, portraying a less anthropomorphic deity, Elohim, and competing religious practices.

Legacy of the Age

This age marks a profound consolidation and conflict across the Near East, with regional powers negotiating their positions amidst shifting alliances and rivalries. The cultural and political developments—ranging from Nubian expansion in Egypt, Hebrew religious struggles, Assyrian dominance, Greek colonization in Anatolia, to burgeoning Arabian trade—lay essential foundations for the complex historical trajectories that continue to shape the region's future.

The Aegean coast of Anatolia had been an integral part of a Minoan-Mycenean civilization (circa 2600-1200 BCE) that had drawn its cultural impulses from Crete.

Ionian Greek refugees during the Aegean region's so-called Dark Age (ca. 1050-800 BCE) flee across the sea to western Anatolia, at this time under Lydian rule, to escape the onslaught of the Dorians.

Dorians from Troezen in the Peloponnese are the traditional founders of Halicarnassus, situated on the Gulf of Cerameicus in Caria. (Herodotus, a Halicarnassian, relates that in early times the city participated in the Dorian festival of Apollo at Triopion, but its literature and culture appear thoroughly Ionic.)

Among the islands and coast of southwestern Anatolia, six (later five) Dorian cities—Kos, Halicarnassus, and Cnidus, along with the Rhodian cities of Lindus, Ialysus, and Camirus—belong to the Dorian Hexapolis (league of six cities) by which the Greeks protect themselves in Asia Minor.

Dorians settle Knidos (Cnidus) on the Carian Chersonese on the southern coast of the Resadiye peninsula on the southwest coast of Anatolia (later Cnidians will claim that they are of Spartan origin).

Knidos or Cnidus, a city of high antiquity and as a Hellenic city probably of Lacedaemonian colonization, is founded on the southern shore of the Gulf of Kos in the southwest corner of present Turkey, possibly as early as 900.

Along with Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum, Turkey) and Kos, and the Rhodian cities of Lindos, Kameiros and Ialysos, it forms the Dorian Hexapolis, which holds its confederate assemblies on the Triopian headland, and there celebrates games in honor of Apollo, Poseidon and the nymphs.

Near East (549–538 BCE): Persian Expansion and Greek Displacement

Croesus, Cyrus, and the Fall of Lydia

Lydia, under King Croesus, initially appears poised for continued prominence. Seeking to limit the expanding Persian influence and avenge the deposition of his Median brother-in-law, Astyages, Croesus consults the oracle of Delphi, which cryptically proclaims that attacking Cyrus the Great will result in "a great empire" falling. Mistaking this prophecy as favoring Lydia, Croesus crosses the Halys River to confront Cyrus in 547 BCE. After an inconclusive battle, Croesus retreats to Sardis, presuming the fighting season concluded. Cyrus, employing innovative tactics including skilled mounted archers, swiftly marches against Sardis and captures it within two weeks. Croesus's "great empire" collapses, and he is taken prisoner, his life reportedly spared by Cyrus who appoints him an advisor at the Persian court until his death around 546 BCE.

Revolt in Lydia and Persian Consolidation

Following Croesus’s defeat, Pactyes, a Lydian entrusted with transferring the royal treasury to Persia, instigates an uprising in Sardis. Cyrus dispatches the commander Mazares, who swiftly subdues the revolting cities, including Magnesia and Priene, and captures Pactyas—who likely faces execution after extradition. Upon Mazares’s sudden death, Cyrus sends his general Harpagus to complete the conquest of Asia Minor. Harpagus extends Persian control over Lycia, Cilicia, and Phoenicia, notably capturing the Lycian stronghold of Xanthos around 540 BCE. Facing inevitable defeat, the Xanthians resort to mass suicide, destroying their city rather than submitting.

Phocaean Exodus and Greek Colonization

The Ionian city of Phocaea, renowned for its extensive maritime voyages, particularly in the Adriatic, Spain, and the western Mediterranean, faces Persian siege around 545 BCE. Rather than submit, most Phocaeans abandon their homeland, scattering to colonies such as Alalia in Corsica and Massalia (modern-day Marseille) in France, with some eventually founding Elea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy) around 540 BCE. This exodus highlights the significant displacement caused by Persian expansion into Ionian territories.

Persian Domination of Ionia and Caria

The Persian conquest dramatically reshapes the political landscape of Anatolia. While Miletus strategically aligns with Persia, other Ionian cities, including Ephesus, fiercely resist but ultimately succumb around 546 BCE. Cyrus imposes Persian-friendly tyrants to maintain order and swiftly incorporates Ionia into his expanding empire. Similarly, Caria, a culturally mixed region comprising Ionian cities such as Myus and Priene, falls under Persian rule, reflecting the broader consolidation of Persian authority over Anatolia.

Submission of Cnidus, Halicarnassus, and Chios

In southwestern Anatolia, the city of Cnidus unsuccessfully attempts to resist Persian advances by transforming its peninsula into an island. Unable to achieve this, Cnidus submits shortly after 546 BCE. Likewise, Halicarnassus, previously a member of the Doric Hexapolis, comes under Persian control around 540 BCE, as does the strategically significant island of Chios. These submissions further solidify Persian dominance across the Aegean region.

Cultural Displacement and Xenophanes of Colophon

The Persian conquest prompts significant cultural and intellectual displacement. Xenophanes of Colophon, a prominent poet and philosopher, becomes a wandering minstrel in response to the Persian takeover of Ionia, exemplifying the broader disruptions caused by Persian hegemony.

Legacy of the Era

The decade between 549 and 538 BCE is characterized by rapid Persian territorial expansion and profound geopolitical shifts. The fall of Lydia and subjugation of Ionia under Persian rule displaces Greek populations and reshapes cultural dynamics across the region. This period lays crucial groundwork for subsequent Greek-Persian conflicts, significantly influencing the historical trajectory of the Near East.

The Cnidians, after a vain attempt to convert their peninsula into an island, submit soon after 546 BCE to the Persians.

Harpagus in 542 BCE ends his conquest of the area and returns to Persia.