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Lycia

Lycia (Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 Trm̃mis; Λυκία, Lykia; Likya) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğla in Turkey as well some inland parts of Burdur Province. The region was known to history from the Late Bronze Age records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire.

Lycia was populated by speakers of Luwic languages. Written records began to be inscribed in stone in the Lycian language after Lycia's involuntary incorporation into the Achaemenid Empire in the Iron Age. At that time (546 BC) the Luwian speakers were displaced as Lycia received an influx of Persian speakers.

The many cities in Lycia were wealthy as shown by their elaborate architecture starting at least from the 5th century BC and extending to the Roman period.

Lycia fought for the Persians in the Persian Wars, but on the defeat of the Achaemenid Empire by the Greeks, it became intermittently a free agent. After a brief membership in the Athenian Empire, it seceded and became independent (its treaty with Athens had omitted the usual non-secession clause), was under the Persians again, revolted again, was conquered by Mausolus of Caria, returned to the Persians, and finally fell under Macedonian hegemony upon the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great. Due to the influx of Greek speakers and the sparsity of the remaining Lycian speakers, Lycia was rapidly Hellenized under the Macedonians, and the Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage.

On defeating Antiochus III the Great in 188 BC, the Roman Republic gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 BC. In these latter stages of the Roman Republic, Lycia came to enjoy freedom as a Roman protectorate. The Romans validated home rule officially under the Lycian League in 168 BC. This native government was an early federation with republican principles; these later came to the attention of the framers of the United States Constitution, influencing their thoughts.

Despite home rule, Lycia was not a sovereign state and had not been since its defeat by the Carians. In 43 AD the Roman emperor Claudius dissolved the league, and Lycia was incorporated into the Roman Empire with provincial status. It became an eparchy of the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire, continuing to speak Greek even after being joined by communities of Turkish language speakers in the early 2nd millennium. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, Lycia was under the Ottoman Empire, and was inherited by the Turkish Republic on the Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

Geography

The borders of Lycia varied over time, but at its centre was the Teke peninsula of southwestern Turkey, which juts southward into the Mediterranean Sea, bounded on the west by the Gulf of Fethiye, and on the east by the Gulf of Antalya. Lycia comprised what is now the westernmost portion of Antalya Province, the easternmost portion of Muğla Province, and the southernmost portion of Burdur Province. In ancient times the surrounding districts were, from west to east, Caria, Pisidia, and Pamphylia, all equally as ancient, and each speaking its own Anatolian language.

The name of the Teke Peninsula comes from the former name of Antalya Province, which was Teke Province, named from the Turkish tribe that settled in the region.

Physical geography
Four ridges extend from northeast to southwest, roughly, forming the western extremity of the Taurus Mountains. Furthest west of the four are Boncuk Dağlari, or 'the Boncuk Mountains', extending from about Altinyayla, Burdur, southwest to about Oren north of Fethiye. This is a fairly low range peaking at about 2340 m. To the west of it the steep gorges of Dalaman Çayi ('the Dalaman River'), the ancient Indus, formed the traditional border between Caria and Lycia. The stream, 229 km long, enters the Mediterranean to the west of modern-day Dalaman. Upstream it is dammed in four places, after an origin in the vicinity of Sarikavak in Denizli Province.

The next ridge to the east is Akdağlari, 'the White Mountains', about 150 km long, with a high point at Uyluktepe, "Uyluk Peak", of 3024 m. This massif may have been ancient Mount Cragus. Along its western side flows Eşen Çayi, "the Esen River", anciently the Xanthos, Lycian Arñna, originating in the Boncuk Mountains, flowing south, and transecting the several-mile-long beach at Patara. The Xanthos Valley was the country called Tŗmmis in dynastic Lycia, from which the people were the Termilae or Tremilae, or Kragos in the coin inscriptions of Greek Lycia: Kr or Ksan Kr. The name of western Lycia was given by Charles Fellows to it and points of Lycia west of it.

The next ridge to the east, Beydağlari, 'the Bey Mountains', peaks at Kizlarsevrisi, 3086 m, the highest point of the Teke Peninsula. It is most likely the ancient Masicytus range. Between Beydağlari and Akdağlari is an upland plateau, Elmali, where ancient Milyas was located. The elevation of the town of Elmali, which means 'Apple Town,' from the density of fruit-bearing groves in the region, is 1100 m, which is the highest part of the valley below it. Fellows considered the valley to be central Lycia.

The Akçay, or 'White River', the ancient Aedesa, brought water from the slopes to the plain, where it pooled in two lakes below the town, Karagöl and Avlangöl. Currently the two lakes are dry, the waters being captured on an ongoing basis by irrigation systems for the trees. The Aedesa once drained the plain through a chasm to the east, but now flows entirely through pipelines covering the same route, but emptying into the water supplies of Arycanda and Arif. An effort has been made to restore some of the cedar forests cleared in antiquity.

The easternmost ridge extends along the east coast of the Teke Peninsula, and is called, generally, Tahtali Dağlari, "The Tahtali Mountains." The high point within them is Tahtali Dağ, elevation 2366 m, dubbed "Mount Olympus" in antiquity by the Greeks, remembering Mount Olympus in Greece. These mountains create a rugged coastline called by Fellows eastern Lycia. Much of it has been reserved as Olimpos Beydağlari Parki. Within the park on the slopes of Mount Olympus is a U-shaped outcrop, Yanartaş, above Cirali, from which methane gas, naturally perpetually escaping from below through the rocks, feeds eternal flames. This is the location of ancient Mount Chimaera.

Through the cul-de-sac between Baydağlari and Tahtalidağlari, the Alakir Çay ('Alakir River'), the ancient Limyra, flows to the south trickling from the broad valley under superhighway D400 near downtown Kumluca across a barrier beach into the Mediterranean. This configuration is entirely modern. Upstream the river is impounded behind Alakir Dam to form an urban-size reservoir. Below the reservoir a braided stream alternates with a single, small channel flowing through irrigated land. The wide bed gives an indication of the former size of the river. Upstream from the reservoir the stream lies in an unaltered gorge, flowing from the slopes of Baydağlari. The ancient route to Antalya goes up the valley and over the cul-de-sac, as the coast itself is impassible except by boat. The valley was the seat of ancient Solymus, home of the Solymi.

Demography
There are at least 381 ancient settlements in the broader region of Lycia-Pamphylia, with the vast majority of these in Lycia. These are situated either along the coastal strip in the protecting coves or on the slopes and hills of the mountain ranges. They are often difficult to access, which in ancient times was a defensive feature. The rugged coastline favored well-defended ports from which, in troubled times, Lycian pirate fleets sallied forth.

The principal cities of ancient Lycia were Xanthos, Patara, Myra, Pinara, Tlos and Olympos (each entitled to three votes in the Lycian League) and Phaselis. Cities such as Telmessos and Krya were sometimes listed by Classical authors as Carian and sometimes as Lycian.

Features and sights of interest
Although the 2nd-century BC dialogue Erōtes found the cities of Lycia "interesting more for their history than for their monuments, since they have retained none of their former splendor," many relics of the Lycians remain visible today. These relics include the distinctive rock-cut tombs in the sides of cliffs. The British Museum in London contains one of the best collections of Lycian artifacts. Letoon, an important center in Hellenic times of worship for the goddess Leto and her twin children, Apollo and Artemis, and nearby Xanthos, ancient capital of Lycia, constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Turkey's first waymarked long-distance footpath, the Lycian Way, follows part of the coast of the region. The establishment of the path was a private initiative by a British/Turkish woman called Kate Clow. It is intended to support sustainable tourism in smaller mountain villages which are in the process of depopulation. Since it is mainly walked in March – June and Sept–Nov, it also has lengthened the tourism season. The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry promotes the Lycian coast as part of the Turkish Riviera or the Turquoise Coast, but the most important part of this is further west near Bodrum. This coast features rocky or sandy beaches at the bases of cliffs and settlements in protected coves that cater to the yachting industry.

Ancient language
The eponymous inhabitants of Lycia, the Lycians, spoke Lycian, a member of the Luwian branch of the Anatolian languages, a subfamily of the Indo-European family. Lycian has been attested only between about 500 BC and no later than 300 BC, in a unique alphabet devised for the purpose from the Greek alphabet of Rhodes. However, the Luwian languages originated in Anatolia during the 2nd millennium BC. The country was known by the name of Lukka then, and was sometimes under Hittite rule.

At about 535 BC, before the first appearance of attested Lycian, the Achaemenid Empire overran Lycia. Despite its resistance, because of which the population of Xanthos was decimated, Lycia became part of the Persian Empire. The first coins with Lycian letters on them appeared not long before 500 BC. Lycia prospered under a monarchy set up by the Persians. Subsequently, the Lycians were verbose in stone, carving memorial, historical and governmental inscriptions. Not all of these can yet be entirely understood, due to remaining ignorance of the language. The term "dynastic period" is used. If the government was any sort of federal democracy, there is no evidence of it, as the term "dynastic" suggests.

Lycia hosted a small enclave of Dorian Greeks for some centuries and Rhodes was mainly inhabited by Dorians at the time. After the defeat of the Persians by the Greeks, Lycia became open to further Greek settlement. During this period, inscriptions in Lycian diminished, while those in Greek multiplied. Complete assimilation to Greek occurred sometime in the 4th century, after Lycia had come under the control of Alexander the Great and his fellow Macedonians. There is no agreement yet on which inscription in the Lycian language is the very last, but nothing dated after the year 300 BC has yet been found.

Subsequently, the Lycians were vassalized by the Roman Republic, which allowed the Lycians home rule under their own language, which at that point was Greek. Lycia continued to exist as a vassal state under the Roman Empire until its final division after the death of Theodosius I at which point it became a part of the Byzantine Empire under Arcadius. After the fall of the Byzantines in the 15th century, Lycia fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire; Turkish colonization of the area soon followed. Turkish and Greek settlements existed side-by-side, each speaking their own language.

All Greek-speaking enclaves in Anatolia were exchanged for Turkish speakers in Greece during the final settlement of the border with Greece at the beginning of the Turkish Republic in 1923. The Turks had won wars against both Greece and Armenia in the preceding few years, settling the issue of whether the coast of Anatolia was going to be Greek or Turkish. The intent of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) was to define borders that would not leave substantial populations of one country in another. Some population transfers were enforced. Former Greek villages still stand as ghost towns in Lycia.

Bronze Age
During the Late Bronze Age, Lycia was part of the Lukka lands known from Hittite and ancient Egyptian records. The toponyms Lukka and Lycia are believed to be cognate, as are the names of numerous Lukkan and Lycian settlements.

The Lukka lands were never a unified kingdom, instead having a decentralized political structure. Archaeological remains of the Lukka people are sparse. The Lukka people were famously fractious, with Hittite and Egyptian records describing them as raiders, rebels, and pirates. Lukka people fought against the Hittites as part of the Assuwa confederation, later fought for the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh, and are listed among the groups known to modern scholars as the Sea People.

Acquisition by Cyrus the Great (circa 540 BC)
Herodotus writes more credibly of contemporaneous events, especially where they concerned his native land. Asia Minor had been partly conquered by Iranian peoples, first the Scythians, later the Medes. The latter were defeated by the Persians, who incorporated them and their lands into the new Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, resolved to complete the conquest of Anatolia as a prelude to operations further west, to be carried out by his successors. He assigned the task to Harpagus, a Median general, who proceeded to subdue the various states of Anatolia, one by one, some by convincing them to submit, others through military action.

Arriving at the southern coast of Anatolia in 546 BC, the army of Harpagus encountered no problem with the Carians and their immediate Greek neighbors and alien populations, who submitted peacefully. In the Xanthos Valley an army of Xanthian Greeks sallied out to meet them, fighting determinedly, although vastly outnumbered. Driven into the citadel, they collected all their property, dependents and slaves into a central building, and burned them up. Then, after taking an oath not to surrender, they died to a man fighting the Persians, foreshadowing and perhaps setting an example for Spartan conduct at the Battle of Thermopylae a few generations later.

Archaeological evidence indicates there was a major fire on the acropolis of Xanthos in the mid-6th century BC but, as Antony Keen points out, there is no way to connect that fire with the event presented by Herodotus. It might have been another fire. The Caunians, says Herodotus, followed a similar example immediately after. If there was an attempt by any of the states of Lycia to join forces, as happened in Greece 50 years later, there is no record of it, suggesting that no central government existed. Each country awaited its own fate alone.

Herodotus also says or implies that 80 Xanthian families were away at the time, perhaps with the herd animals in alpine summer pastures (pure speculation), but helped repopulate the place. However, he reports, the Xanthians of his time were mainly descended from non-Xanthians. Looking for any nuance that might shed light on the repopulation of Xanthos, Keen interprets Herodotus' "those Lycians who now say that they are Xanthians" to mean that Xanthos was repopulated by other Lycians (and not by Iranians or other foreigners). Herodotus said nothing of the remainder of Lycia; presumably, that is true because they submitted without further incident. Lycia was well populated and flourished as a Persian satrapy; moreover, they spoke mainly Lycian.

The Harpagid theory
The Harpagid Theory was initiated by Charles Fellows, discoverer of the Xanthian Obelisk, and person responsible for the transportation of the Xanthian Marbles from Lycia to the British Museum. Fellows could not read the Lycian inscription, except for one line identifying a person of illegible name, to whom the monument was erected, termed the son of Arppakhu in Lycian, equivalent to Greek Harpagos. Concluding that this person was the conqueror of Lycia in 546, Fellows conjectured that Harpagos had been made permanent satrap of Lycia for his services; moreover, the position was hereditary, creating a Harpagid Dynasty. This theory prevailed nearly without question for several generations.

To the inscriptions of the Xanthian Obelisk were added those of the Letoon trilingual, which gave a sequel, as it were, to the names on the obelisk. Studies of coin legends, initiated by Fellows, went on. Currently, most (but not all) of the Harpagid Theory has been rejected. The Achaemenids utilized no permanent satrapies; the political circumstances changed too often. The conqueror of new lands was seldom made their satrap; he went on to other conquests. It was not the Persian custom to grant hereditary satrapies; satrap was only a step in the cursus honorum. And finally, a destitute mountain country would have been a poor reward for Cyrus' best general. The main evidence against the Harpagid Theory (as Keen calls it) is the reconstruction of the name of the Xanthian Obelisk's deceased as Lycian Kheriga, Greek Gergis (Nereid Monument), a king reigning approximately 440–410 BC, over a century later than the conqueror of Lycia.

The next logical possibility is that Kheriga's father, Arppakhu, was a descendant of the conqueror. In opposition, Keen reconstructs the dynastic sequence from coin inscriptions as follows. Kheriga had two grandfathers, Kuprlli and Kheriga. The younger Kheriga was the successor of Kuprlli. The latter's son, therefore, Kheziga, who was Kheriga's uncle, must have predeceased Kuprlli. Arppakhu is listed as regnant on two other inscriptions, but he did not succeed Kuprlli. He must therefore have married a daughter of Kuprlli, and have also predeceased the long-lived Kuprlli. The latter then was too old to reign de facto. On the contemporaneous deaths of both him and his son-in-law, Kheriga, named after his paternal grandfather, acquired the throne.

Kuprlli was the first king recorded for certain (there was an earlier possible) in the coin legends. He reigned approximately 480–440. Harpagos was not related by blood. The conqueror, therefore, was not the founder of the line, which was not Harpagid. An Iranian family, however, producing some other Harpagids, did live in Lycia and was of sufficient rank to marry the king's daughter. As to whether the Iranian family were related to any satrap, probably not. Herodotus said that Satrapy 1 (the satrapies were numbered) consisted of Ionia, Magnesia, Aeolia, Caria, Lycia, Milya, and Pamphylia, who together paid a tax of 400 silver talents. This satrapy was later broken up and recombined. Keen hypothesizes that since Caria had responsibility for the King's Highway through Lycia, Lycia and Caria were a satrapy.

The Lycian monarchy
The Achaemenid Persian policy toward Lycia was hands-off. There was not even a satrap stationed in the country. The reason for this tolerance after such a determined initial resistance is that the Iranians were utilizing another method of control: the placement of aristocratic Persian families in a region to exercise putative home rule. There is some evidence that the Lycian population was not as docile as the Persian hand-off policy would suggest. A section of the Persepolis Administrative Archives called the Persepolis Fortification Tablets, regarding the redistribution of goods and services in the Persepolis palace economy, mentions some redistributed prisoners of war, among whom were the Turmirla or Turmirliya, Lycian Trm̃mili, "Lycians." They lived during the reign of Darius I (522–486), the tablets dating from 509.

For closer attention to their conquered, the Persian government preferred to establish a client state, setting up a monarchy under their control. The term "dynast" has come into use among English-speaking scholars, but that is not a native term. The Lycian inscriptions indicate the monarch was titled xñtawati, more phonetically khñtawati. The holders of this title can be traced in coin legends, having been given the right to coin. Lycia had a single monarch, who ruled the entire country from a palace at Xanthos. The monarchy was hereditary, hence the term "dynast." It was utilized by Persia as a means of transmitting Persian policy. It must have been they who put down local resistance and transported the prisoners to Persepolis, or ordered them transported. Some members of the dynasty were Iranian, but mainly it was native Lycian. If the survivors of 546 were in fact herdsmen (speculation), then all the Xanthian nobility had perished, and the Persians must have designated some other Lycian noble, whom they could trust.

The first dynast is believed to be the person mentioned in the last line of the Greek epigram inscribed on the Xanthian Obelisk, which says "this monument has brought glory to the family (genos) of ka[]ika," which has a letter missing. It is probably not *karikas, for Kherika, as the latter is translated in the Letoon trilingual as Gergis. A more likely possibility is *kasikas for Kheziga, the same as Kheriga's uncle, the successor to Kuprlli, who predeceased him.

Herodotus mentioned that the leader of the Lycian fleet under Xerxes in the Second Persian War of 480 BC was Kuberniskos Sika, previously interpreted as "Cyberniscus, the son of Sicas," two non-Lycian names. A slight regrouping of the letters obtains kubernis kosika, "Cybernis, son of Cosicas," where Cosicas is for Kheziga. Cybernis went to the bottom of the Straits of Salamis with the entire Lycian fleet in the Battle of Salamis, but he may be commemorated by the Harpy Tomb. According to this theory, Cybernis was the KUB of the first coin legends, dated to the window, 520–500. The date would have been more towards 500.

There is a gap, however, between him and Kuprlli, who should have had a father named the same as his son, Kheziga. The name Kubernis does not appear again. Keen suggests that Darius I created the kingship on reorganizing the satrapies in 525, and that on the intestate death of Kubernis in battle, the Persians chose another relative named Kheziga, who was the father of Kuprlli. The Lycian dynasty may therefore be summarized as follows:

Ally of Athens in the Delian League (c. 470–430 BC)
Following the Achaemenid defeat in the Greco-Persian War (479 BC), the Lycians may have temporarily joined the Greek side during the counter-attacks of the Spartan Pausanias in the Eastern Mediterranean circa 478 BC. However, the Lycian were still on the Persian side during the expeditions of Kimon circa 470 BC, who finally persuaded the Lycian to join the Athenian alliance, the Delian League: Diodorus relates that Kimon "persuaded those of Lycia and took them into his allegiance".

As the power of Athens weakened and Athens and Sparta fought the Peloponnesian wars (431–404 BC), the majority of Lycian cities defaulted from the Delian League, with the exception of Telmessos and Phaselis. In 429 BC, Athens sent an expedition against Lycia to try to force it to rejoin the League. This failed when Lycia's leader Gergis/Kheriga of Xanthos defeated Athenian General Melesander.

Renewed Achaemenid control (c. 430–333 BC)
The Lycians once again fell under Persian domination, and by 412 BC, Lycia is documented as fighting on the winning side of Persia. The Persian satraps were re-installed, but (as the coinage of the time attests) they allowed local dynasts the freedom to rule.

The last known dynast of Lycia was Perikles. He ruled 380–360 BC over eastern Lycia from Limyra, at a time when Western Lycia was directly under Persian domination. Pericles took an active part in the Revolt of the Satraps against Achaemenid power, but lost his territory when defeated.

After Perikles, Persian rule was reestablished firmly in Lycia in 366 or 362 BC. Control was taken by Mausolus, the satrap of nearby Caria, who moved the satrap's residence to Halicarnassus. Lycia was also ruled directly by the Carian dynast Pixodarus, son of Hecatomnus, as shown in the Xanthos trilingual inscription.

Lycia was also ruled by men such as Mithrapata (late 4th century BC), whose name was Persian. Persia held Lycia until it was conquered by Alexander III (the Great) of Macedon during 334–333 BC.

During the Alexander the Great period, Nearchus was appointed viceroy of Lycia and of the land adjacent to it as far as mount Taurus.

 * Dynastic portraiture on coinage

Although many of the first coins in Antiquity illustrated the images of various gods, the first portraiture of actual rulers appears with the coinage of Lycia in the late 5th century BC. No ruler had dared to illustrate his own portrait on coinage until that time. The Achaemenids had been the first to illustrate the person of their king or a hero in a stereotypical undifferentiated manner, showing a bust or the full body, but never an actual portrait, on their Sigloi and Daric coinage from circa 500 BC. From the time of Alexander the Great, portraiture of the issuing ruler would then become a standard, generalized, feature of coinage.

Hellenistic period (333–168 BC)
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his generals fought amongst themselves over the succession. Lycia fell into the hands of the general Antigonus by 304 BC. In 301 BC Antigonus was killed by an alliance of the other successors of Alexander, and Lycia became a part of the kingdom of Lysimachus, who ruled until he was killed in battle in 281 BC.

Control then passed to the Ptolemaic Kingdom, centre on Egypt. Ptolemy II Philadelphos (ruled 285–246 BC), who supported the Limyrans of Lycia when they were threatened by the Galatians (a Celtic tribe that had invaded Asia Minor). The citizens of Limyra in return dedicated a monument to Ptolemy, called the Ptolemaion circa 270 BC. By 240 BC Lycia was firmly part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, centred on Egypt, and remained in their control through 200 BC.

It had apparently come under Seleucid control by 190 BC, when the Seleucids' defeat in the Battle of Magnesia resulted in Lycia being awarded to Rhodes in the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC.

In 181 BC, at the end of the Roman-Seleucid War, the consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso decided to fight the Galatian War (189 BC) against the Galatians. He was supported by Attalus II, the king of Pergamon. The two leaders marched inland and reached Pamphylia levying soldiers from local rulers. They then got to the territory of Cibyra, ruled by another tyrant called Moagetes. When Roman envoys went to the city he begged them not to ravage his lands as he was a friend of Rome and promised a paltry sum of money, fifteen talents. Moagetes sent his envoys to Manlius' camp. Polybius had Manlius say that he was the worst enemy of Rome and that he deserved punishment rather than friendship. Moagetes and his friends went to meet Manlius dressed in humble clothing, bewailing the weakness of his town and begging to accept the fifteen talents. Manlius was 'amazed at his impudence' and said that if he did not pay 500 talents, he would lay his lands to waste and sack the city. Moagetes successfully persuaded him to reduce the sum to 100 talents and promised an amount of grain, and Manlius moved on. Polybius described Moagetes as "cruel and treacherous man and worthy of more than a passing notice."

Lycian League
The Lycian league of independent city-states was the first such democratic union in history and the league remained strong in spite of the mountainous terrain, invasions of foreign powers and attempts of tyrants to take power.

Formation
The Lycian League (Lykiakon systema in Strabo's Greek transliterated, a "standing together") is first known from two inscriptions of the early 2nd century BC in which it honors two citizens. Bryce hypothesizes that it was formed as an agent to convince Rome to rescind the annexation of Lycia to Rhodes. It is not known for certain whether it was formed before or after Lycia was removed from Rhodian control. According to Livy, the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus put Lycia under Rhodian control in 190 BC. He wrote that a Lycian embassy complained about the cruel tyranny of the Rhodians and that when they were under king Antiochus III the Great they had been in liberty in comparison. It was slavery, rather that just political oppression: "they, their wives and children were the victims of violence; their oppressors vented their rage on their persons and their backs, their good name was besmirched and dishonoured, their condition rendered detestable in order that their tyrants might openly assert a legal right over them and reduce them to the status of slaves bought with money.. the senate gave them a letter to and to the Rhodians that ...it was not the pleasure of the senate that either the Lycians or any other men born free should be handed over as slaves to the Rhodians or any one else. The Lycians possessed the same rights under the suzerainty and protection of Rhodes that friendly states possessed under the suzerainty of Rome."

Polybius wrote that the Romans sent envoys to Rhodes to say that "the Lycians had not been handed over to Rhodes as a gift, but to be treated like friends and allies." The Rhodians claimed that king Eumenes of Pergamon had stirred up the Lycians against them. In 169 BC, during the Third Macedonian War, the relationship between Rome and Rhodes became strained and the Roman senate issued a decree which gave the Carians and the Lycians their freedom. Polybius recorded a decree “freeing” the Carians and Lycians in 168–7 BC.

Strabo wrote that there were twenty-three cities which came together for a general assembly and had a share in its votes "after choosing whatever city they approve of". The last statement is unclear. The largest cities had three votes, the medium-sized ones two, and the rest one. He noted that the League did not have freedom over matters of war and peace: "Formerly they deliberated about war and peace, and alliances, but this is not now permitted, as these things are under the control of the Romans. It is only done by their consent, or when it may be for their own advantage." However, they had the freedom to choose a Lyciarch as the head of the league and to designate general courts. He also noted "since they lived under such a good government, they remained ever free under the Romans, thus retaining their ancestral usages [i.e ancestral laws and customs]."

Composition
Strabo wrote that according to a source the six largest were Xanthos, Patara, Pinara, Olympos, Myra, and Tlos. Tlos was near the pass that leads over into Cibyra. The names of the other cities has been identified by a study of the coins and mention in other texts. The coins recognize two districts, termed, for want of a better term, "monetary districts:" Masicytus and Cragus, both named after mountain ranges, in the shadow of which, presumably, the communities lived and conducted business. Where coinage before the Lycian League had often been stamped LY for Lycia, it was now stamped KP (kr) or MA.

In 81 BC Lucius Licinius Murena, the Roman commander who fought the Second Mithridatic War (83–81 BC) in Anatolia deposed Moagetes, a tyrant of the tetrapolis (four towns) in the Cibyratis (northern Lycia). It had been formed by the city of Cibyra Megale, (Greater Cibyra, as opposed to Cibyra Mikra, Little Cibyra, of the coast, not too far from modern Side). It was in the Cibyratis region, in today's Turkish Lake Region. According to Strabo, Cibyra had two votes, while the other three cities had one and the tetrarchy was ruled by a benign tyrant. When Murena ended the tyranny he included the cities of Balbura and Bubon within the territory of the Lycians.

Roman period
Lycia was granted autonomy as a protectorate of Rome in 168 BC and remained so until becoming a Roman province in 43 AD under Claudius.

When Rome got involved in the eastern Mediterranean the Lycians allied with Rome. An inscription found in Tyberissos provides the first record of such an alliance treaty (foedus). The dating is uncertain. It precedes the treaty of 46 BC (see below) and could go back to the second or first century BC. The context in which this treaty was made in unknown. It could have been concluded during the expansionist moves by Antiochus III the Great, the Seleucid king, in Anatolia prior to the Roman-Seleucid War (192–188 BC), or during or after this war. Alternatively, it could have been concluded in the context of the Mithridatic Wars in Anatolia in the first century BC. The preamble stated: "There will be peace and loyal alliance between the People of the Romans and the cities of Lycia and the assembly of the Lycians by land and sea for all time.” There were four clauses which stipulated that: 1) the Lycian League was not to allow enemies of Rome to cross all territory over which they had authority so that they could bring war on Rome or her subjects and was not to give them aid; 2) Rome was not to allow enemies of the Lycians to pass through territory they controlled or had authority over so that they might bring war on the Lycian League or the people subject to them and was not to give them aid; 3) if anyone started a war against the Lycian people first, Rome was to come to her aid as soon as possible and if anyone started a war against Rome, the Lycian league was to aid Rome as soon as possible provided that this was allowed to Rome and the Lycian League in accordance with the agreements and oath; 4) Additions and subtractions to the agreements were possible if each side agreed though a joint decision.

An inscription found on a statue-base found in Thespiae attests that in 46 BC Julius Caesar signed a treaty with the Lycian league. It had nine articles. The first article stipulated "Friendship, alliance and peace both by land and sea in perpetuity "Let the Lycians observe the power and preeminence of the Romans as is proper in all circumstances." The other articles stipulated: 2) Neutrality of each party to the other's enemy; 3) mutual help in case of an attack on either party; 4) anyone charged with import or export of contraband goods was to be charged by the highest official of the two parties; 5) Romans accused of a capital crime in Lycia were to be judged in Rome by her own laws and Lycians accused of these crimes were to be judged in Lycia by her own laws; 6) Romans in a dispute with Lycians were to be judged in Lycia according to her own laws, if Lycians were brought to court by Romans the case was to be heard by whatever official the disputants chose for the case to be dealt with justly; 7) No person was to be taken as a surety,  Roman and Lycian war prisoners were to be returned to their own countries, captured horses, slaves or ships were to be restored; 8) named cities, ports and territories which were restored to the Lycians were to belong to them; 9) both parties agreed to abide by the terms of this oath and the treaty. Details could be amended if both parties agreed.

In 43 AD the emperor Claudius annexed Lycia. Cassius Dio wrote that Claudius ‘reduced the Lycians to servitude because they had revolted and slain some Romans and he incorporated them in the prefecture of Pamphylia." He also provided some details of the investigation of this affair conducted in the senate. Suetonius wrote that Claudius "deprived the Lycians of their independence because of deadly intestine feuds." In an inscription found at Perge which has been dated to late 46/early 45 BC the Lycians, who described themselves as 'faithful allies’, praised Claudius for freeing them from disturbances, lawlessness and brigandage and for the restoration of the ancestral laws. It makes a reference to the transfer of power from the multitude to the councillors, selected from among the best. Therefore, it seems that there might have been a revolutionary popular uprising which could have overturned the established order. The annexation of Lycia seems to fit the common reason for annexing Roman client states or allies in this period: the loss on stability due to internal strife or, in some cases, the weakening or end of a ruling dynasty. The restoration of ancestral law was probably linked to the Roman practice of respecting and guaranteeing the ancestral laws, customs and privileges of city-states or leagues of city-states it made alliance agreements with in the eastern Mediterranean. Lycia was annexed, but the Lycian League was retained as so were self-governance regarding most local matters according to local traditional laws and the League's authority over local courts. The treaty concluded by Caesar in 46 BC had already established a framework for the distinction of judicial areas under the competence of the Lycian League and those under the Roman praetor peregrino (chief justice for foreigners) and could be used to define the assignment of legal areas between the Roman provincial governor and the League. The Romans re-established stability in Lycia and retained friendly relations with the Lycians and Lycian rights to their traditional laws, customs and privileges.

In 74 AD the emperor Vespasian joined the Roman provinces of Lycia and Pamphylia into the province of Lycia et Pamphylia. Cassius Dio's statement that Claudius incorporated Lycia into Phampylia (which he had as governed by a prefect, rather than a propraetor, see above) is refuted by the existence of legati Augusti pro praetore Lyciae (imperial provincial governors of Lycia with propraetorial rank). The adoptive son and heir of Augustus, Gaius Caesar, died in Lycia in 4 AD after being wounded during a campaign in Artagira, Armenia.

Byzantine era
During the Byzantine period Lycia and Pamphylia came under the command of the Karabisianoi (the mainstay of the Byzantine navy from the mid-7th century until the early 8th century). After the Karabisianoi were disbanded (between c. 719/720 and c. 727) they became the Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots.

Turkish era
Lycia was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and eventually became part of Turkey. After World War I, Lycia was assigned to the kingdom of Italy according to the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres and occupied for a few years, but in 1923 was assigned to Turkey.

During this period, Lycia hosted both Turkish and Greek communities. The substantial Christian community of Greeks lived in Lycia until the 1920s, when they were forced to migrate to Greece after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey following the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The abandoned Greek villages in the region are a striking reminder of this exodus. Abandoned Greek houses can still be seen in the region, and Kaya is a Greek ghost town. A small population of Turkish farmers moved into the region when the Lycian Greeks migrated. The region is now one of the key centres of domestic and foreign tourism in Turkey.

In Greek mythology
According to Herodotus, the earliest known name for the area was Milyas, and its original inhabitants, who spoke the Milyan language, were the Milyae (Μιλύαι), or Milyans, also known by the exonyms Sólymoi (Σόλυμοι), Solymi, and Solymians.

In Greek mythology, Solymus or Solymos was the ancestral hero and eponym of the Solymi. He was a son of either Zeus or Ares; his mother's name is variously given as Chaldene, Caldene ("daughter of Pisidus"), Calchedonia, or Chalcea "the nymph". Meanwhile, Europa had (at least) two sons, Sarpedon and Minos, who vied for the kingship of their native land, Crete. Minos drove Sarpedon and his people, the Termilae, into exile and they settled in Milyas. Subsequently, Lycus of Athens (son of Pandion II), who was driven into exile by his brother, King Aegeus, settled in Milyas among the Termilae. The name Lycia was adopted subsequently in honor of Lycus. (It had in fact been around much longer under the name Lukka, probably derived from the same root as Latin lucus (grove, bright space)). Herodotus ends his tale with the observation that the Lycians were matrilineal.

Lycia appears elsewhere in Greek myth, such as in the story of Bellerophon, who eventually succeeded to the throne of the Lycian king Iobates (or Amphianax). Lycia was frequently mentioned by Homer as an ally of Troy. In Homer's Iliad, the Lycian contingent was said to have been led by two esteemed warriors: Sarpedon (son of Zeus and Laodamia) and Glaucus (son of Hippolochus).

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Lycia


text:
340

Year 340 (CCCXL) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Acindynus and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1093 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 340 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Constantinople, capital of Emperor Constantius II, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Rome, capital of his brother Constans I.
 * Constantine II, emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire (Britain, Gaul, the Rhine provinces and Iberia), crosses the Alps and attacks the army of his brother Constans I, emperor of the central part of the Roman Empire (Upper Danube, Italy and middle Africa). They clash at Aquileia in northern Italy. Constantine is killed in a skirmish by an ambush of Constans' troops.
 * Constans is left sole ruler of the Western part of the Roman Empire, with his other brother, Constantius II, emperor of the Eastern portion.

Religion

 * Acacius succeeds Eusebius as bishop in the see of Caesarea.
 * Wulfila evangelizes among the Goths for 7 years.

Births

 * Aurelius Ambrose, bishop of Milan (approximate date)
 * Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium (approximate date)
 * Jerome, priest and Bible translator (approximate date)
 * Justina, Roman empress and regent (approximate date)
 * Peter of Sebaste, bishop of Armenia (approximate date)
 * Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, Roman consul (d. 402)

Deaths

 * October 28 – Cunera (or Kunera), Christian martyr
 * Constantine II, Roman consul and emperor (b. 316)
 * Kui An, Indian general and minister of Later Zhao
 * Macrina the Elder, Christian saint (approximate date)
 * Tao Bao (or Anbu), Chinese general of Later Zhao
 * Yu Liang (or Yuangui), Chinese general (b. 279)

title: 340


text:
Myra

Myra (Μύρα, Mýra) was a Lycian city, then captured by Ancient Greece and lived under their rule, then the Roman Empire and then the Ottoman in Lycia, which became the small Turkish town of Kale, renamed Demre in 2005, in the present-day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was founded on the river Myros (Μύρος; Turkish: Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.

History
Although some scholars equate Myra with the town, of Mira, in Arzawa, there is no proof for the connection. There is no substantiated written reference for Myra before it was listed as a member of the Lycian League (168 BC–AD 43); according to Strabo (14:665), it was one of the largest towns of the alliance.

The ancient Lycian citizens worshiped Artemis Eleutheria, who was the protective goddess of the town. Zeus, Athena and Tyche were venerated as well. Although they have their own god names in Lycian. Pliny the Elder writes that in Myra there was the spring of Apollo called Curium and when summoned three times by the pipe the fishes come to give oracular responses. In the Roman period, Myra formed a part of the Koine Greek speaking(?) world that rapidly embraced Christianity. One of its early Lycian bishops was Saint Nicholas.

Alluvial silts mostly cover the ruins of the Lycian and Roman towns. The acropolis on the Demre-plateau, the Roman theatre and the Roman baths (eski hamam) have been partly excavated. The semi-circular theatre was destroyed in an earthquake in 141, but rebuilt afterward.

There are two necropoleis of Lycian rock-cut tombs in the form of temple fronts carved into the vertical faces of cliffs at Myra: the river necropolis and the ocean necropolis. The ocean necropolis is just northwest of the theatre. The best-known tomb in the river necropolis, 1.5 km up the Demre Cayi from the theatre, is the "Lion's tomb", also called the "Painted Tomb". When the traveler Charles Fellows saw the tombs in 1840 he found them still colorfully painted red, yellow and blue.

Andriake was the harbor of Myra in ancient times, but silted up later on. The main structure there surviving to the present day is a granary (horrea) built during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian (117–138 AD). Beside this granary is a large heap of Murex shells, evidence that Andriake had an ongoing operation to produce purple dye.

Excavations have been carried out at Andriake since 2009. The granary was turned into the Museum of Lycian Civilizations. The granary has seven rooms and measures 56 meters long and 32 meters wide. Artifacts found during the excavations in the Lycian League were placed in the museum. The structures in the harbor market as well as the agora, synagogue, and a six-meter deep, 24-meter long and 12-meter wide cistern were restored. A 16-meter-long Roman-era boat, a crane, and a cargo car were placed in front of the museum.

In 1923, its Greek inhabitants was required to leave by the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, at which time its church was finally abandoned.

New Testament
The author of the Acts of the Apostles (probably Luke the Evangelist) and Paul the Apostle changed ships here during their journey from Caesarea to Rome for Paul's trial, arriving in a coastal trading vessel and changing to a sea-faring skiff secured by the Roman centurion responsible for Paul's transportation to Rome.

Bishopric
The Acta Pauli probably testify to the existence of a Christian community at Myra in the 2nd century. Le Quien opens his list of the bishops of this city with St. Nicander, martyred under Domitian in 95, who, according to the Greek Menologion, was ordained bishop by Saint Titus. In 325, Lycia again became a Roman province distinct from that of Pamphylia, with Myra as its capital. Ecclesiastically, it thus became the metropolitan see of the province. The bishop of Myra at that time was Saint Nicholas. The 6th-century Index of Theodorus Lector is the first document that lists him among the fathers of the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Many other bishops of Myra are named in extant documents, including Petrus, the author of theological works in defence of the Council of Chalcedon quoted by Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem and by Photius (Bibliotheca, Codex 23). Theodorus and Nicolaus were both at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, the former recanting his previous iconoclast position, the latter being the Catholic bishop whom the iconoclasts had expelled. The Notitia Episcopatuum of Pseudo-Epiphanius, composed in about 640 under the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, reports that Myra at that time had 36 suffragan sees. The early 10th-century Notitia attributed to Emperor Leo VI the Wise lists only 33.

Myra is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see both in general and as a bishopric of the Melkite Catholic Church in particular. While Latin bishops are no longer appointed to this Eastern titular see, Melkite bishops are.

Siege of 809

After a siege in 809, Myra fell to Abbasid troops under Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Early in the reign of Alexius I Comnenus (ruled between 1081 and 1118), Myra was again overtaken by Islamic invaders, this time the Seljuk Turks. In the confusion, sailors from Bari in Italy seized the relics of Saint Nicholas, over the objections of the monks caring for them, and spirited the remains away to Bari, where they arrived on May 9, 1087, and soon brought that city visitors making pilgrimage to Saint Nicholas.

Church of St. Nicholas at Myra

The earliest church of St. Nicholas at Myra was built at the time of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 6th century by Lycians. The present-day church was constructed mainly from the 8th century onward for the city's Byzantine Lycian inhabitants; a Lycian Orthodox monastery was added in the second half of the 11th century.

In 1863, Emperor Alexander II of Russia purchased the building and began restoration, but the work was never completed. In 1923 the church was abandoned when the city's Christian inhabitants were forced to leave for Greece by the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. In 1963 the eastern and southern sides of the church were excavated. In 1968 the former confessio (tomb) of St. Nicholas was roofed over.

The floor of the church is made of opus sectile, a mosaic of coloured marble, and there are some remains of frescoes on the walls. An ancient Lycian marble sarcophagus had been reused to bury the Saint; but his bones were stolen in 1087 by merchants from Bari, and are now held in that city, in the Basilica of Saint Nicholas.

The church is currently undergoing restoration. In 2007 the Turkish Ministry of Culture gave permission for the Divine Liturgy to be celebrated in the church for the first time in centuries. On 6 December 2011 Metropolitan Chrysostomos, who has the title of Myra, accordingly officiated.

Archaeology

Archaeologists first detected the ancient city in 2009 using ground-penetrating radar that revealed anomalies whose shape and size suggested walls and buildings. Over the next two years they excavated a small, stunning 13th-century chapel sealed in an uncanny state of preservation. Carved out of one wall is a cross that, when sunlit, beams its shape onto the altar. In February 2021, Akdeniz University researchers led by Nevzat Çevik announced the discovery of dozens of 2,200-year-old terracotta sculptures with inscriptions. Archaeologists also revealed some material remains of the Hellenistic theater made of ceramic, bronze, lead, and silver. The figurines with partly preserved paint contained the appearances of men, women, cavalry, animals, some Lycian deities and the names of artists.

Notable people

 * Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra.
 * Saint Themistocles, a Christian martyr.
 * Dioskorios (Διοσκόριος) of Myra, a grammarian and prefect of the city. He was tutor of the daughters of the emperor Leon. Brother of Nicolaus of Myra.
 * Nicolaus (Νικόλαος) of Myra, a rhetor and sophist who wrote an Art of Rhetoric and declamations, pupil of Lachares. Brother of Dioskorios of Myra.

Photos and videos

 * QTVR fullscreen panoramas of the Church of St. Nicholas and the Roman theatre
 * Myra Guide and Photo Album
 * Demre Guide and Photo Album
 * Virtual tour of the ancient city
 * Livius.org: Myra
 * 70 pictures of the classical city, with link to 130 pictures of Saint Nicholas church

title: Myra


text:
339

Year 339 (CCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Claudius (or, less frequently, year 1092 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 339 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Constantius II hastens to his territory in the East, where a revived Persia under King Shapur II is attacking Mesopotamia. For the next 11 years, the two powers engage in a war of border skirmishing, with no real victor.

Religion

 * Pope Julius I gives refuge in Rome to the Alexandrian patriarch Athanasius, who is deposed and expelled during the First Synod of Tyre (see 335).
 * Eusebius of Nicomedia is made bishop of Constantinople, while another Arian succeeds Athanasius as bishop of Alexandria, under the name Gregory.

Births

 * Aurelius Ambrosius, Italian bishop and theologian (d. 397)
 * He Fani, Chinese empress of the Jin Dynasty (d. 404)
 * Shi Shi, Chinese emperor of Later Zhao (d. 349)

Deaths

 * Abaye, Babylonian rabbi of the Jewish Talmud
 * Xi Jian (or Daohui), Chinese general (b. 269)
 * Duan Liao, Chinese chieftain of the Duan state (Xianbei)
 * Eusebius of Caesarea, Greek bishop (approximate date).
 * Khosrov III (the Small), Roman client king (approximate date)
 * Wang Dao (or Maohong), Chinese politician (b. 276)

title: 339


text:
338

Year 338 (CCCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ursus and Polemius (or, less frequently, year 1091 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 338 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * The Romans, allied with the Goths, arrive in the north of the Roman Empire to protect the Danube frontier.
 * Emperor Constantius II intervenes against the Persians in Armenia.

Persia

 * Shapur II, king of the Persian Empire, begins a widespread persecution of Christians. He orders forcible conversions to the state religion, Zoroastrianism, lest the Christians disrupt his realm while he is away fighting the Romans in Armenia and Mesopotamia.

Asia

 * Tuoba Yihuai, ruler of the Tuoba Dai clan, dies and is succeeded by his brother Tuoba Shiyijian.

Art

 * The Church of Santa Costanza, Rome, starts to be built (approximate date).

Religion

 * Eusebius of Nicomedia becomes Patriarch of Constantinople, after Paul I is banished.
 * Non-Christians are persecuted by the Roman Empire as pagans.

Births

 * Isaac the Great, Armenian catholicos (d. 439)

Deaths

 * Flavius Ablabius, Roman consul and politician
 * Li Qi, Chinese emperor of Cheng Han (b. 314)
 * Tuoba Yihuai, prince of the Tuoba Dai clan

title: 338


text:
337

Year 337 (CCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Felicianus and Titianus (or, less frequently, year 1090 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 337 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * May 22 – Constantine the Great, first Christian Roman emperor of the Western Empire (312–324), and of the Roman Empire (324–337), dies in Achyron, near Nicomedia, at age 65, after he is baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia.
 * September – A number of descendants of Constantius Chlorus, and officials of the Roman Empire, are executed for a purge against the sons of Constantine I.
 * September 9 – Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti (see map).

Persia

 * King Shapur II of Persia begins a war against the Roman Empire. He sends his troops across the Tigris to recover Armenia and Mesopotamia.
 * Shapur II besieges the Roman fortress of Nisibis (Syria), but is repulsed by forces under Lucilianus.

China

 * Murong Huang claims the title of Prince of Yan, effectively beginning the kingdom of Former Yan.

Religion

 * February 6 – A 4-month papal vacancy ends; Pope Julius I succeeds Pope Mark, as the 35th pope.
 * June 17 – Constantius II announces the restoration of Athanasius, as Patriarch of Alexandria.
 * Paul I becomes Patriarch of Constantinople.
 * Christianity is declared an official religion in Caucasian Iberia, marking the rise of Christianity in Georgia.

Births

 * Faxian, Chinese Buddhist monk, traveler (approximate date)
 * Fú Jiān, emperor of the Chinese Di state Former Qin (d. 385)
 * Lü Guang, founding emperor of the Di state Later Liang (d. 400)
 * Zenobius of Florence, Italian bishop and wonderworker (d. 417)

Deaths

 * January 13 – Leontius of Caesarea, Roman Catholic bishop and saint
 * February 21 – Eustathius the Great, patriarch of Antioch (approximate date)
 * May 22 – Constantine the Great, emperor of the Roman Empire, Orthodox priest and saint
 * May 27 – Flavius Dalmatius, father of Dalmatius and Hannibalianus (executed)
 * August 30 – Alexander of Constantinople, bishop of Byzantium (approximate date)
 * September 11 – Julius Constantius, son of Constantius Chlorus (executed)
 * September 24 – Hannibalianus, king of the Pontus and nephew of Constantine I (executed)
 * September 27 – Dalmatius, Caesar and nephew of Constantine I (executed)

title: 337


text:
336

Year 336 (CCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Nepotianus and Facundus (or, less frequently, year 1089 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 336 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * The military successes of Emperor Constantine I result in most of Dacia being reconquered by the Roman Empire.
 * The first recorded customs tariff is in use in Palmyra.

Religion

 * January 18 – Pope Mark succeeds Pope Sylvester I as the 34th pope of the Catholic Church.
 * Pope Mark begins to build the basilica of San Marco; the church is devoted to St. Mark.
 * Arius, Alexandrian priest, collapses in the street in Constantinople (approximate date).
 * Pope Mark dies at Rome, after an 11-month reign. No successor is immediately found.
 * December 25 – The first celebration of Christmas is recorded.

Births

 * Chi Chao (or Jingyu), Chinese advisor and politician (d. 377)
 * Murong De, Chinese emperor of the Xianbei state (d. 405)
 * Richū, emperor of Japan (approximate date)

Deaths

 * October 7 – Mark, pope of the Catholic Church
 * Arius, Cyrenaic presbyter and priest (b. 256)
 * Gan Bao (or Kan Pao), Chinese historian
 * Murong Ren (or Qiannian), Chinese general

title: 336


text:
335

Year 335 (CCCXXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Albinus (or, less frequently, year 1088 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 335 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * September 14 – Emperor Constantine I consecrates the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
 * September 19 – Flavius Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar, with control of Thracia, Achaia, and Macedonia.
 * Hannibalianus, nephew of Constantine I, is made Rex Regum ("King of Kings of the Pontic people").
 * November 7 – Athanasius is banished to Trier, on the charge that he prevented the corn fleet from sailing to Constantinople.

Asia

 * Samudragupta succeeds Chandragupta I as king of the Gupta Empire.
 * Tuoba Hena ousts Tuoba Yihuai as chieftain of the Tuoba Clan.
 * Emperor Shi Hu moves the capital of the Later Zhao state to Yecheng.

Religion

 * First Synod of Tyre: Constantine I convenes a gathering of bishops at Tyre to depose and exile Patriarch Athanasius of Alexandria.
 * Constantine I reinstates the Alexandrian priest Arius (declared a heretic at the First Council of Nicaea in 325) in a synod at Jerusalem about a year before Arius' death.
 * September 13 – The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is consecrated.
 * December 31 – Pope Sylvester I dies at Rome after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by Mark as the 34th pope.

Births

 * Fu Sheng, Chinese emperor of the Di state Former Qin (d. 357)
 * Gregory of Nyssa, Christian bishop and saint (approximate date)
 * Magnus Maximus, Western Roman emperor (approximate date)
 * Theon of Alexandria, director of the Library of Alexandria (approximate date)

Deaths

 * December 31 – Sylvester I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 285)
 * Chandragupta I, Indian king of the Gupta Empire
 * Cheng, Chinese empress dowager of the Later Zhao state
 * Lady Xun (or Yuzhang), Chinese concubine of Yuan of Jin

title: 335


text:
334

Year 334 (CCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Optatus and Caesonius (or, less frequently, year 1087 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 334 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Flavius Dalmatius puts down a revolt in Cyprus, led by Calocaerus. Calocaerus is brought to Tarsus (Cilicia), and executed.
 * The Goths protect the Danube frontier against an invasion by the Vandals.
 * Emperor Constantine the Great reauthorises gladiatorial combat.

Births

 * Huiyuan, Chinese Buddhist teacher and founder of Donglin Temple (d. 416)
 * Sabbas the Goth, Christian reader and saint (d. 372)
 * Virius Nicomachus Flavianus, Roman historian and politician (d. 394)

Deaths

 * December 5 – Li Ban, Chinese emperor of Cheng-Han (b. 288)
 * Calocaerus, Roman usurper
 * Li Xiong, Chinese emperor of Cheng-Han (b. 274)
 * Shi Hong, Chinese emperor of the Jie state (b. 313)
 * Tao Kan (or Shixing), Chinese general and politician (b. 259)
 * Wei Huacun (or Xianan), Chinese religious leader (b. 252)
 * Yang Nandi, Chinese general and ruler of Chouchi

title: 334


text:
333

Year 333 (CCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dalmatius and Zenophilus (or, less frequently, year 1086 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 333 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Flavius Dalmatius and Domitius Zenofilus are appointed consuls.
 * Emperor Constantine the Great pulls Roman troops out of Britain, and abandons work on Hadrian's Wall.
 * Calocaerus revolts against Constantine I and proclaims himself emperor. Flavius Dalmatius, responsible for the security of the eastern frontier, is sent to Cyprus to suppress the rebellion.
 * December 25 – Constantine I elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar at Constantinople.

China

 * Shi Hong succeeds his father Shi Le as Emperor of the Later Zhao Empire, in the Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, but Shi Hong's third cousin Shi Hu holds the real power. Empress Dowager Liu (widow of Shi Le) fails to get rid of Shi Hu, and Shi Hu has her deposed and killed.

Births

 * Saint Monica, Christian saint and mother of Augustine of Hippo (approximate date)

Deaths

 * Cheng Xia, Chinese official and politician
 * Liu, Chinese empress of the Jie State (or Later Zhao)
 * Murong Hui, Chinese chieftain and duke of Liaodong (b. 269)
 * Shi Le, Chinese founder and emperor of the Jie State (b. 274)
 * Xu Guang (or Jiwu), Chinese official, politician and adviser

title: 333


text:
332

Year 332 (CCCXXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pacatianus and Hilarianus (or, less frequently, year 1085 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 332 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Constantine I and his son Constantine II, aged 16, defeat the Goths in Moesia. The Goths become Roman allies and protect the Danube frontier.
 * Constantine I continues construction of a bridge (in imitation of Trajan and his architect Apollodorus of Damascus) across the Danube, for forward-staging grounds for planned campaigns against local tribes.
 * May 18 – Constantine I announces a free distribution of food to the citizens in Constantinople, similar to the food given out in the city of Rome. The amount is approximately 80,000 rations a day, doled out from 117 distribution points around the city.

Births

 * Saint Monica, Christian saint and mother of Augustine of Hippo (d. 387)

Deaths

 * Basilina, wife of Julius Constantius and the mother of Roman Emperor Julian

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Sucralose

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. As the majority of ingested sucralose is not metabolized by the body, it adds minimal calories (3 per gram). In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of sucrose, selectively replacing three of the hydroxy groups—in the C1 and C6 positions of the fructose portion and the C4 position of the glucose portion—to give a 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxyfructose–4-chloro-4-deoxygalactose disaccharide. Sucralose is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), three times as sweet as both aspartame and acesulfame potassium, and twice as sweet as sodium saccharin.

The commercial success of sucralose-based products stems from its favorable comparison to other low-calorie sweeteners in terms of taste, stability, and safety. It is commonly sold under the Splenda brand name.

Uses
Sucralose is used in many food and beverage products because it is a no-calorie sweetener (3 calories per typical one gram serving), does not promote dental cavities, is safe for consumption by diabetics and nondiabetics, and does not affect insulin levels, although the powdered form of sucralose-based sweetener product Splenda (as most other powdered sucralose products) contains 95% (by volume) bulking agents dextrose and maltodextrin that do affect insulin levels.

Sucralose is used as a replacement for (or in combination with) other artificial or natural sweeteners such as aspartame, acesulfame potassium or high-fructose corn syrup. It is used in products such as candy, breakfast bars, coffee pods, and soft drinks. It is also used in canned fruits wherein water and sucralose take the place of much higher calorie corn syrup-based additives. Sucralose mixed with dextrose or maltodextrin (both made from corn) as bulking agents is sold internationally by McNeil Nutritionals under the Splenda brand name. In the United States and Canada, this blend is increasingly found in restaurants in yellow packets.

Cooking
Sucralose is available in a granulated form that allows same-volume substitution with sugar. This mix of granulated sucralose includes fillers, all of which rapidly dissolve in water. Sucralose is not hygroscopic when humidity is below 80%, which can lead to baked goods that are noticeably drier and manifest a less dense texture than those made with sucrose.

Unlike sucrose, which melts when baked at high temperatures, sucralose maintains its granular structure when subjected to dry, high heat (e.g., in a 180 °C or 350 °F oven). Furthermore, in its pure state, sucralose begins to decompose at 119 C. In some recipes, such as crème brûlée, which require sugar sprinkled on top to partially or fully melt and crystallize, substituting sucralose does not result in the same surface texture, crispness, or crystalline structure.

Safety evaluation
Sucralose has been accepted as safe by several food safety regulatory bodies worldwide, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee Report on Food Additives, the European Union's Scientific Committee on Food, Health Protection Branch of Health and Welfare Canada, and Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

Maximum acceptable daily intake
Various assessments have reported different amounts of maximum acceptable daily intake (ADI), usually measured as mg per kg of body weight. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, the amount of sucralose that can be consumed over a person's lifetime without any adverse effects is 9 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. The FDA approval process indicated that consuming sucralose in typical amounts as a sweetener was safe. The intake at which adverse effects are seen is 1500 mg/kg BW/day, providing a large margin of safety compared to the estimated daily intake. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) proposed an ADI of 5 mg per kg (body weight) while the FDA established it as 15 mg per kg body weight, that is, 350–1050 mg per day for a person of 70 kg.

Metabolism
Most ingested sucralose is directly excreted in the feces, while about 11–27% is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract (gut). The amount absorbed from the gut is largely removed from the blood by the kidneys and eliminated via urine, with 20–30% of absorbed sucralose being metabolized.

Possible health effects
In reviewing a 1987 food additive petition by McNeil Nutritionals, the FDA stated that "in the 2-year rodent bioassays... there was no evidence of carcinogenic activity for either sucralose or its hydrolysis products".

As of 2020, reviews of numerous safety and toxicology studies on sucralose concluded that it is not toxic or carcinogenic, even at levels of daily consumption much larger than those typically used. A 2023 FDA summary declared that there were no concerns of sucralose toxicity on cancer risk, metabolism, the reproductive system or the nervous system, and no concern for people with diabetes.

Baking
At normal baking temperatures, sucralose is heat stable, indicating that it retains its sweetness and is suitable as a sugar substitute for use in baked goods.

History
Sucralose was discovered in 1976 by scientists from Tate & Lyle, working with researchers Leslie Hough and Shashikant Phadnis at Queen Elizabeth College (now part of King's College London). While researching novel uses of sucrose and its synthetic derivatives, Phadnis was told to "test" a chlorinated sugar compound. According to an anecdotal account, Phadnis thought Hough asked him to "taste" it, so he did and found the compound to be exceptionally sweet.

Tate & Lyle patented the substance in 1976; as of 2008, the only remaining patents concerned specific manufacturing processes.

A Duke University animal study funded by the Sugar Association found evidence that doses of Splenda (containing ~1% sucralose and ~99% maltodextrin by weight) between 100 and 1000 mg/kg BW/day, containing sucralose at 1.1 to 11 mg/kg BW/day, fed to rats reduced gut microbiota, increased the pH level in the intestines, contributed to increases in body weight, and increased levels of P-glycoprotein (P-gp). These effects have not been reported in humans. An expert panel, including scientists from Duke University, Rutgers University, New York Medical College, Harvard School of Public Health, and Columbia University reported in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology that the Duke study was "not scientifically rigorous and is deficient in several critical areas that preclude reliable interpretation of the study results".

Sucralose was first approved for use in Canada in 1991. Subsequent approvals came in Australia in 1993, in New Zealand in 1996, in the United States in 1998, and in the European Union in 2004. By 2008, it had been approved in over 80 countries, including Mexico, Brazil, China, India, and Japan. In 2006, the FDA amended the regulations for foods to include sucralose as a "non-nutritive sweetener" in food. In May 2008, Fusion Nutraceuticals launched a generic product to the market, using Tate & Lyle patents.

In April 2015, PepsiCo announced that it would be moving from aspartame to sucralose for most of its diet drinks in the U.S. due to sales of Diet Pepsi falling by more than 5% in the U.S. The company stated that its decision was a commercial one, responding to consumer preferences.

In February 2018, PepsiCo went back to using aspartame in Diet Pepsi because of an 8% drop in sales for the previous year.

Chemistry and production
Sucralose is a disaccharide composed of 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxyfructose and 4-chloro-4-deoxygalactose. It is synthesized by the selective chlorination of sucrose in a multistep route that substitutes three specific hydroxyl groups with chlorine atoms. This chlorination is achieved by selective protection of one of the primary alcohols as an ester (acetate or benzoate), followed by chlorination with an excess of any of several chlorinating agent to replace the two remaining primary alcohols and one of the secondary alcohols, and then by hydrolysis of the ester.

Storage
Sucralose is stable when stored under normal conditions of temperature, pressure and humidity. Upon prolonged heating during storage at elevated temperatures (38 °C, 100 °F), sucralose may break down, releasing carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and minor amounts of hydrogen chloride.

Effect on caloric content
Though sucralose contains minimal calories (3 per gram), products that contain fillers such as dextrose and/or maltodextrin add about 2–4 calories per teaspoon or individual packet, depending on the product, the fillers used, brand, and the intended use of the product. The FDA allows for any product containing fewer than 5 calories per serving to be labeled as "zero calories"; a typical one gram serving packet of sucralose supplies 3 calories derived from its composition as 0.9 gram of carbohydrates and 0.1 gram of water.

Research
There is no evidence of an effect of sucralose on long-term weight loss or body mass index, with cohort studies showing a minor effect on weight gain and heart disease risks.

Environmental effects
According to one study, sucralose is digestible by a number of microorganisms and is broken down once released into the environment. However, measurements by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute have shown sewage treatment has little effect on sucralose, which is present in wastewater effluents at levels of several μg/L (ppb). No ecotoxicological effects are known at such levels, but the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency warns a continuous increase in levels may occur if the compound is only slowly degraded in nature. When heated to very high temperatures (over 350 °C or 662 °F) in metal containers, sucralose can produce polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and other persistent organic pollutants in the resulting smoke.

Sucralose has been detected in natural waters, but research indicates that the levels found in the environment are far below those required to cause adverse effects to certain kinds of aquatic life.

title: Sucralose


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Frederick Augustus I of Saxony

Frederick Augustus I (Friedrich August I.; Fryderyk August I; Frédéric-Auguste Ier; 23 December 1750 – 5 May 1827) was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 (as Frederick Augustus III) and as the first King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827. He was also Duke of Warsaw from 1807 to 1815, and a legitimate candidate to the Polish throne.

Throughout his political career Frederick Augustus tried to rehabilitate and recreate the Polish state that was torn apart and ceased to exist after the final partition of Poland in 1795. However he did not succeed, for which he blamed himself for the rest of his life. Nevertheless, his efforts at reestablishing an independent Polish nation did endear him to the Polish people.

The Augustusplatz in Leipzig is named after him.

Family background
Frederick Augustus was the second (but eldest surviving) son of Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony and Maria Antonia Walpurgis, Princess of Bavaria. Because he was underage at the time of his father's death of smallpox in 1763, his mother served as Regent until 1768. His uncle, Prince Francis Xavier, functioned as his representative. Through his father's side, he was descended from two kings of Poland, and through his mother's side Siemowit, the first confirmed duke of Poland.

Renunciation of the Polish throne
Frederick Augustus' three predecessors as Elector of Saxony had been kings of Poland, but due to his young age he was not considered eligible during the 1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election. However, when a constitution was ratified by the Polish Sejm, Frederick Augustus was named successor to King Stanisław II August. At the same time, the head of the Saxon Royal House was established as heir to the Polish throne through Article VII of that very constitution. Frederick Augustus declined to accept the crown upon Stanisław's death in 1798 because he feared becoming entangled in disputes with Austria, Prussia and Russia, which had begun to partition Poland in 1772. In fact, by then the title would have been in name only - a full partition of Poland among those neighboring powers had already taken place in 1795.

Foreign policy up to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
In August 1791, Frederick Augustus arranged a meeting with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and King Frederick William II of Prussia at Pillnitz Castle. The move was intended partly to offer support for the French monarchy in the face of revolutionary agitation in France. The Declaration of Pillnitz warned of the possibility of military action against the French revolutionary government, a provocation that provided the latter with grounds to declare war on Austria in April 1792. Frederick Augustus himself did not sign the Declaration.

Saxony wanted nothing to do with the defensive alliance against France formed between Austria and Prussia. Nonetheless, a declaration of a Reichskrieg by the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire issued in March 1793, obliged Frederick Augustus to take part. There was great concern in Saxony in April 1795 when Prussia suddenly concluded a separate peace with France in order to facilitate the Third Partition of Poland. Saxony dropped out of the coalition against France in August 1796 after France had advanced east into the German lands and additional conditions for the Holy Roman Empire to conclude a separate peace were agreed.

Both the peace agreement with France and Saxony's participation in the Congress of Rastatt in 1797 served to demonstrate Frederick Augustus' loyalty to the conventional constitutional principles of the Holy Roman Empire. The Congress of Rastatt was supposed to authorize the surrender to France of the territories on the left bank of the Rhine in return for compensation for the rulers relinquishing territory. However, at Rastatt and again in 1803 at the issuance of the Final Report of the Empire Delegation, the law of the Holy Roman Empire that laid out the new order of the Empire, Saxony refused to agree to territorial adjustments, since these were designed to benefit Bavaria, Prussia, Württemberg, and Baden.

Foreign policy until the peace with Napoleon
Frederick Augustus also did not participate in the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, which led to the final dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. With respect to the Prussian idea of a north German empire, within which Saxony was supposed to be raised to a kingdom, he appeared reserved. However, after September 1806, in response to the Berlin Ultimatum, which demanded the withdrawal of French troops from the left bank of the Rhine, Napoleon advanced as far as Thuringia. At that point, Frederick Augustus joined with Prussia. However, at the twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt in 1806 Napoleon inflicted a crushing defeat on the Prusso–Saxon troops. The Prussian government and army then withdrew headlong to the east. Frederick Augustus, left without any information concerning Prussian intentions, and with Napoleon's troops about to occupy Saxony, was forced to conclude peace. On 11 December 1806 in Poznań a treaty was signed by authorized representatives of both sides. According to its terms, Saxony was forced to join the Confederation of the Rhine and to surrender parts of Thuringia to the recently organized Kingdom of Westphalia. As compensation, Saxony was given the area around Cottbus and was raised to the status of a kingdom alongside the Confederation states of Bavaria and Württemberg.

Elevation to Saxon-Polish ruler
Frederick Augustus was proclaimed King of Saxony on 20 December 1806. After the Treaty of Tilsit, which Frederick William III of Prussia and Tsar Alexander I of Russia concluded with Napoleon in July 1807, Frederick Augustus was also named Grand Duke of Warsaw. Although he had rejected the offer of the throne of Poland in 1795 by the Sejm, he could not refuse a Polish title a second time.

Article V of the Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw, which Napoleon dictated to Saxony, was linked to the Polish Constitution of 1791 and joined the Duchy of Warsaw hereditarily to the Royal House of Saxony. Geopolitically the Duchy of Warsaw comprised the areas of the 2nd and 3rd Prussian partitions (1795), with the exception of Danzig, which was made into the Free City of Danzig under joint French and Saxon "protection", and the district around Białystok, which was given to Russia. The area under Prussian control was made up of territory from the former Prussian provinces of New East Prussia, Southern Prussia, New Silesia, and West Prussia. In addition, the new state was given the area along the Noteć river and the "Land of Chełmno".

Altogether, the Duchy had an initial area of around 104,000 km2, with a population of approximately 2,600,000. The bulk of its inhabitants were Poles.

In 1809, Austria was successfully defeated by Polish–Saxon troops when it attempted to take possession of the Duchy and for its part had to cede to the Duchy of Warsaw Polish regions absorbed up to 1795, among them the old Polish royal city of Kraków. In July 1812 Frederick Augustus ratified a proclamation of the Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw that restored the Kingdom of Poland. Napoleon lodged a protest against this action.

Events during the War of Liberation
In 1813 during the German Campaign of 1813, Saxony found itself in a more difficult situation than many other warring states. The country was still solidly in Napoleon's grip and at the same time had become the central arena of the war. In the autumn of 1813 at the start of the Battle of Leipzig (Battle of Nations) the local population of Saxony, which tallied about 2 million, saw almost a million soldiers brought to its territories. Napoleon openly threatened to consider Saxony as enemy territory and treat it accordingly should Frederick Augustus change sides. Frederick Augustus' room for maneuver was consequently greatly limited. He did not want to put the country's well-being into play frivolously. At the same time, he still remembered vividly the way in which Prussia had simply abandoned him in 1806.

In this difficult situation the King attempted to enter cautiously into an alliance with the Sixth Coalition in 1813 without risking a public break with Napoleon and a declaration of war. As the Prussian and Russian troops entered Saxony in the spring, the King first moved to the south in order to avoid a direct encounter and pursued an alliance with Austria secretly from Regensburg. The Saxon-Austrian Pact was concluded on 20 April and the King made the Prussian and Russian allies aware of it at the same time. Napoleon, from whom Frederick Augustus was not able to keep the diplomatic maneuvers concealed, summoned the King urgently to Saxony after he had defeated the Prusso-Russian troops at Lützen on 2 May. Frederick Augustus decided to comply with the ultimatum presented to him. With no prospect of concrete assistance from Austria, and in view of the defeat of the Prussian – Russian coalition, which now sent peace signals to France, he felt he had no choice.

Frederick Augustus' decision brought the country scarcely any relief. Napoleon, angered at the near defection of the King and at the same time dependent upon the full mobilization of all available forces against the Coalition troops, harshly demanded the full resources of Saxony. In addition, the country suffered under the changing fortunes of war and associated movements and quartering. At the end of August the Allies failed again to defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Dresden. Meanwhile, Saxony became the principal arena of war and Dresden the midpoint of the French army movements. Not until 9 September in Teplitz did Austria conclude its alliance with Prussia and Russia. In September, as Napoleon's troops in Saxony formed up to retreat before the expanded Coalition, there came the first defections to the Allies within the Royal Saxon Army.

Frederick Augustus was mistrustful of Prussia in view of the experiences of the spring and arguably disappointed as well by Austria's decision not to join the Coalition immediately, especially while the country was exposed as before to French domination. Thus he chose not to break with Napoleon. At the Battle of Leipzig [Battle of Nations] the Saxon as well as the Polish troops fought on the side of Napoleon. In view of the apparent defeat of the French, even larger Saxon troop formations went over to the Coalition during the battle, whereas the Polish troops were largely annihilated.

Settlement of Saxon affairs at the Congress of Vienna
At the deliberations of the Congress of Vienna in 1814 and 1815, Frederick Augustus' position was doomed by his country's difficult geographic position, the changing fortunes of war, a lack of assistance from Austria, and his own vacillations. The Prussian-Russian alliance had never had honorable intentions in bringing Saxony into the anti-Napoleon alliance in the first place. Even before Prussia declared war on France on 17 March 1813, it had agreed to an alliance with Russia to the detriment of Saxony and Poland in the Treaty of Kalisz on 22 February: the Duchy of Warsaw would predominantly come under Russian rule, whereas Prussia would be compensated for relinquished Polish territories with the annexation of Saxon territory. Prussia's appetite for the economically and culturally more developed territories of Saxony originated in the old dream of annexation that Frederick II had developed in his political testament of 1752 and had already tried to realize in the Seven Years' War. It did not originate from any necessity to overcome Napoleonic rule in central Europe.

After the Battle of Leipzig the Prussian-Russian alliance showed no interest in an alliance with the Saxon king in the wider struggle against Napoleon irrespective of offers of support from Frederick Augustus. Rather, the King was made captive and taken to Friedrichsfelde near Berlin and placed under Russian-Prussian custody in the name of a "General Government of High Allied Powers."

It was the forceful manner of Prussian minister Baron von Stein rather than the government administered by Russian Prince Repnin until November 1814 or the subsequent Prussian force of occupation (lasting to June 1815), which were responsible for the low morale in Saxony at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. In contrast to the representatives of France, Frederick Augustus was denied participation at the Congress of Vienna as punishment for his supposed role as the quasi-deputy of his former ally Napoleon. Certainly this treatment of the Saxon king was owing to nothing other than the intention of Prussia and Russia to carry out the annexation plans agreed to in Kalisz. That Saxony was not completely abandoned can be attributed to the fear of Austria and France of an overly-strengthened Prussia. Because the Saxon question threatened to break up the Congress, the allies finally agreed to divide Saxony (7 January 1815) with the mediation of the Tsar.

Acceptance of the post-war order of the Congress of Vienna
After his release from a Prussian prison in February 1815, at first Frederick Augustus delayed his agreement to the division of his country. However, having no other option, he finally gave in, and on 18 May consented to the peace treaty laid before him by Prussia and Russia. With the signing of the treaty on 21 May 1815, 57% of Saxon territory and 42% of the Saxon population was turned over to Prussia.

Places and areas that had been connected to the Saxon landscape for hundreds of years became completely foreign, absorbed in part into artificially created administrative regions. Examples include Wittenberg, the old capital of the Saxon Electoral State during the Holy Roman Empire, and seat of the National University made famous by Martin Luther and Melanchthon (which was already done away with in 1817 by means of a merger with the Prussian University of Halle), and Torgau, birthplace and place of residence of the Elector Frederick the Wise, which was incorporated into one of the new hybrids created by Prussia under the name Province of Saxony. Lower Lusatia, which like Upper Lusatia had preserved its constitutional autonomy under Saxon rule, was incorporated into the Province of Brandenburg and ceased to exist as a state. Upper Lusatia was arbitrarily divided: the area assigned to Prussia, including Görlitz, was added to the Province of Silesia; these areas also lost their constitutional autonomy.

On 22 May 1815 Frederick Augustus abdicated as ruler of the Duchy of Warsaw, whose territory was annexed mainly to Russia, but also partly to Prussia and Austria. In the area assigned to Russia, a Kingdom of Poland was created to join in a hereditary union with the Russian throne. The old royal city of Kraków no longer belonged to the new kingdom, and became a separate republic. The internal autonomy that it enjoyed at first was abolished in 1831 after the Polish Uprising.

Standing among the Saxon people upon his return
When Frederick returned home to Saxony in July 1815 he was greeted enthusiastically throughout the land. Numerous expressions of loyalty also reached the king from the ceded territories, where the populace regarded the new rulers coolly; shortly thereafter the notion of being "mandatory-Prussian" began to circulate. In Liège Province, where the majority of the regiments of the Saxon Army had been stationed since the beginning of 1815, there was a revolt at the end of April. At the behest of the Prussian king, Generalfeldmarschall Blücher was to discharge the soldiers who came from the annexed territories, but Frederick Augustus' men had not yet made their departure, and the Saxon soldiers rioted over it. Blücher had to flee the city and was able to put down the revolt only by calling up additional Prussian troops.

Public opinion in Saxony lay decisively on Frederick Augustus' side at the time of his return. There was a feeling that Prussian policies were too ruthless both against the country and the king. The avarice of special interests in Berlin came across all too clearly as the rewards of the War of Liberation were distributed.

Final years
The last twelve years of Frederick Augustus' government passed for the most part quietly. The king's conservative character, which in foreign policy up to 1806 had manifested itself in unconditional loyalty to Saxon interests, hardened even more after the experience of Napoleonic hegemony. With respect to political reform the King achieved little. Until his death in 1827, which fell on the anniversary of Napoleon's death, little was altered in the constitutional configuration of the Saxon state. Undoubtedly, the king avoided making such a move out of respect for the rights of the remaining Lusatian upper classes. Just as little came of the desire of many people to transform the existing political system to accommodate a genuine legislature. There was scarcely any lessening of admiration for the old king who had overseen the destiny of Saxony for more than half a century. During his lifetime he gained the epithet "The Just". Resentment over the delayed economic and social rebuilding of the country was to be felt by his brother, King Anthony.

Frederick Augustus was entombed in the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Dresden.

Marriage and issue
In Mannheim on 17 January 1769 (by proxy) and again in Dresden on 29 January 1769 (in person), Frederick Augustus married the Countess Palatine (Pfalzgräfin) Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, sister of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. During their marriage, Amalia gave birth to four children, but only one daughter survived to adulthood:

 * 1) Stillborn child (1771)
 * 2) Stillborn child (1775)
 * 3) Maria Augusta Nepomucena Antonia Franziska Xaveria Aloysia (b. Dresden, 21 June 1782 – d. Dresden, 14 March 1863)
 * 4) Stillborn child (1797)

Frederick Augustus had an illegitimate daughter, born out of an affair with the daughter of a Jewish court financier in Dresden.

Without surviving male issue, Frederick Augustus was succeeded as King of Saxony by his younger brother Anthony.

title: Frederick Augustus I of Saxony