ROUTES AND COMMUNICATIONS IN LATE ROMAN AND BYZANTINE ANATOLIA (ca. 4TH-9TH CENTURIES A.D.) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY TÜLİN KAYA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SETTLEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY JULY 2020 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Yaşar KONDAKÇI Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. D. Burcu ERCİYAS Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale ÖZGENEL Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Suna GÜVEN (METU, ARCH) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale ÖZGENEL (METU, ARCH) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ufuk SERİN (METU, ARCH) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe F. EROL (Hacı Bayram Veli Uni., Arkeoloji) Assist. Prof. Dr. Emine SÖKMEN (Hitit Uni., Arkeoloji) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Tülin Kaya Signature : iii ABSTRACT ROUTES AND COMMUNICATIONS IN LATE ROMAN AND BYZANTINE ANATOLIA (ca. 4TH-9TH CENTURIES A.D.) Kaya, Tülin Ph.D., Department of Settlement Archaeology Supervisor : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale Özgenel July 2020, 474 pages This study presents a framework to evaluate the impacts of administrative/political and economic structures of the late Roman and Byzantine period on the use of routes and status of cities in Asia Minor. The studies that looked at the dynamics of the era between the 4th-9th centuries argued the state of urbanism, via both literary and archaeological sources, and suggested ‘decline’, ‘transformation’ and ‘continuity’ or ‘discontinuity’ of the classical city. The period considered was dominated by military and political circumstances that influenced both the use of routes and urbanization dynamics. By combining the historical evidence gathered from textual studies and archaeological data collected from excavation reports, the thesis aims to discuss how and in which ways these changes were influential on the use of routes and hence the status of urban centres located along these routes between the fourth and ninth centuries. The discussion is illustrated in reference to two main diagonal routes between Constantinople and the Cilician Gates, which used by the Roman armies, pilgrims, and Arab raiders. The main iv cities known archaeologically and textually along these routes are used to draw a picture of Anatolia and thus to evaluate the nature of change in the urban status of Roman cities. Keywords: Routes, Communications, Urbanization, Change, Late Roman and Byzantine Anatolia. v ÖZ GEÇ ROMA VE BİZANS ANADOLUSU’NDA ROTALAR VE İLETİŞİM (M.S. 4.-9. YÜZYILLAR) Kaya, Tülin Doktora, Yerleşim Arkeolojisi Ana Bilim Dalı Tez Yöneticisi : Doç. Dr. Lale Özgenel Temmuz 2020, 474 sayfa Bu çalışma, Geç Roma ve Bizans döneminde idari/siyasi ve ekonomik yapıdaki değişimlerin Anadolu’daki şehirlerin statüsüne ve rotaların kullanımına etkilerini değerlendiren bir çerçeve sunmaktadır. 4. ve 9. yüzyıllar arasındaki dönemin dinamiklerine bakan çalışmalar, kentleşme durumunu, klasik şehrin ‘sürekliliği’ veya ‘süreksizliği’, ‘dönüşümü’ veya ‘çöküşü’ üzerinde durarak, yazılı kaynaklar ve arkeolojik veriler yoluyla tartışmışlardır. Söz konusu dönem, hem rotaların kullanımı ve hem de kentleşme dinamiklerine etki eden, askeri ve siyasi koşulların egemen olduğu bir süreçtir. Kazı raporlarından ve tarihi belgelerden elde edilen verileri birleştirerek, bu tez, söz konusu değişimlerin, 4. ve 9. yüzyıllar arasında, rotaların kullanımına ve bu yüzden bu rotalar üzerinde kurulmuş kentlerin durumuna nasıl ve ne şekilde etki ettiğini tartışmaktadır. Bu tartışma, Arap akıncıları, hacılar ve Roma orduları tarafından kullanılan iki ana diyagonal rotayı referans alarak açıklanmaktadır. Bu rotalar üzerinde, arkeolojik ve tarihi olarak bilinen ana kentler, Anadolu’nun genel görünümünü ortaya koymak ve Roma kentlerinin durumundaki değişimi değerlendirmek için kullanılmıştır. vi Anahtar Kelimeler: Rotalar, İletişim, Kentleşme, Değişim, Geç Roma ve Bizans Anadolusu. vii To My Mother Gönül Kaya & My Father Ali Kaya viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale Özgenel. Without her guidance and persistent help this dissertation would not have been possible. I would also like to express my gratitude and appreciation to Prof. Dr. John F. Haldon for his kind help, generous advice and support during the early stages of the study. I would like to thank my committee members, Prof. Dr. Suna Güven, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ufuk Serin, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe F. Erol, and Dr. Emine Sökmen, and also Prof. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas, for their kind suggestions and support. For their support I would also like to thank German Language Instructor Mümin Yılmaz and Modern Greek Language Instructor Gizem Güzel at METU. I am grateful to my mother Gönül Kaya, who translated all French texts, and thankful for her help, support, and patience. I am thankful to my friend Dr. İlham Sakarya for her support during the study. Also I thank my friends Burçak Delikan and Nihal Uzun for their friendship and kind help at the British Institute at Ankara. Finally, I would like to acknowledge gratitude, support and love of my family – my parents, Gönül and Ali; my sisters, Derya and Yasemin; and my brother Fatih Mehmet. They all kept me going, and this thesis would not have been possible without them. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM...........................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iv ÖZ .............................................................................................................................. vi DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................ ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................. xviii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 1.1. Aim of the Study ..................................................................................... 4 1.2. Scope of the Study ................................................................................... 5 1.3. Method of the Study ................................................................................ 6 2. LATE ROMAN AND BYZANTINE ROUTES IN ASIA MINOR: QUESTIONING URBANIZATION AND STATUS OF CITY .................... 9 2.1. On Roads and Routes in Asia Minor ..................................................... 11 2.2. Contextualizing Post 4th Century Roman Urbanization: 18th Century- Early 20th Century Approaches .................................................................... 12 2.3. Contextualizing Post 4th Century Roman Urbanization: Mid-20th Century to Present ........................................................................................ 14 3. CONTEXTUALIZING ‘ROUTES’ AND ‘ROADS’: TERMINOLOGY, SOURCES AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATION NETWORK IN ASIA MINOR ................................ 38 3.1. ‘Route’ and ‘Road’ ................................................................................ 38 x 3.2. Archaeological Evidence ...................................................................... 45 3.3. Ancient Textual Evidence .................................................................... 46 3.4. Pre-Roman Routes (c. 2nd millennium B.C. – 2nd century B.C.) .......... 55 3.5. Roman Routes (c. 2nd century B.C. – 3rd century A.D)......................... 60 4. ROUTES IN LATE ROMAN ANATOLIA ON THE EVE OF THE ARAB RAIDS (CA. 4TH-6TH CENTURIES) ........................................................... 83 4.1. Rise of Religion as an Apparatus of Power .......................................... 88 4.2. Building Activity................................................................................... 91 4.3. Economic Vitality, Urbanization and Use of Main Routes ................ 107 4.4. Impact of Administrative/Political Change on Use of Main Routes 116 4.5. State of Roads ..................................................................................... 119 4.6. New Use of Late Roman Routes ......................................................... 131 4.6.1. Northwest-Southeast Diagonal Route1 (NW-SE DR 1) ............... 132 4.6.2. The Urban Centres along the NW-SE DR 1 ................................. 134 5. ROUTES, URBANIZATION AND THE CHANGING DYNAMICS: ARAB PRESENCE IN ASIA MINOR (ca. 7TH-9TH CENTURIES) .......... 187 5.1.