Cebrene
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Cebrene (), also spelled Cebren (), was an
ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
city in the middle
Skamander Skamander was a Polish group of experimental poetry, poets founded in 1918 by Julian Tuwim, Antoni Słonimski, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Kazimierz Wierzyński and Jan Lechoń. Initially unnamed, in December 1919 it adopted the name ''Skamander'' ...
valley in the
Troad The Troad ( or ; , ''Troáda'') or Troas (; , ''Trōiás'' or , ''Trōïás'') is a historical region in northwestern Anatolia. It corresponds with the Biga Peninsula ( Turkish: ''Biga Yarımadası'') in the Çanakkale Province of modern Tur ...
region of
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. According to some scholars, the city's name was changed to Antiocheia in the Troad () for a period during the 3rd century BC (see below). Its archaeological remains have been located on Çal Dağ in the forested foothills of
Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida' ...
(modern Kaz Dağı), approximately 7 km to the south of the course of the Skamander. The site was first identified by the English amateur archaeologist
Frank Calvert Frank Calvert (1828–1908) was an English immigrant who was a consular official in the eastern Mediterranean region and an amateur archaeologist. He began exploratory excavations on the mound at Hisarlık (the site of the ancient city of Troy) ...
in 1860.


History


Foundation

The earliest Greek archaeological remains found at Cebren date to the mid-7th and early 6th century BC and were found together with indigenous pottery, suggesting that to begin with the city was a mixed Greco-Anatolian community. Writing in the early 4th century BC,
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...
implies that the population of Cebren ca. 400 BC still consisted of both Greek and Anatolian elements, indicating that the two ethnic groups co-existed long after the period of
Greek colonization Greek colonisation refers to the expansion of Archaic Greeks, particularly during the 8th–6th centuries BC, across the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. The Archaic expansion differed from the Iron Age migrations of the Greek Dark Ages ...
. Sources dating to the mid-4th century BC considered the city an Aeolian Greek foundation, and the historian
Ephorus Ephorus of Cyme (; , ''Ephoros ho Kymaios''; 330 BC) was an ancient Greek historian known for his universal history, now lost. Biography Information on his biography is limited. He was born in Cyme, Aeolia, and together with the historia ...
of Cyme claimed that its founders were in fact from his own city, although this statement needs to be treated with some caution, since Ephorus was notorious in antiquity for exaggerating his hometown's importance. While we cannot ascertain the truth of Ephorus' statement, we can be sure that the early settlers were Aeolians, since a grave inscription for a citizen of Kebren written in the Aeolic dialect has been found at nearby Gergis.


Classical antiquity

In the 5th century BC Cebren was a member of the
Delian League The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...
and is listed in the Hellespontine district paying a tribute to Athens of 3 Talents from 454/3 down to 425/4, except in 450/49 when it only paid 8,700
drachmas Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma, a modern Greek currency (1833...2002) * Cretan drachma, currency of the former Cretan State * Drachma proctocomys, moth species, the only species in the Genus '' ...
. Following the defeat of Athens at the end of the
Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...
in 404 BC, Cebren came under the control of Zenis, the tyrant of Dardanus, and his wife Mania who together controlled the Troad on behalf of the Persian
satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...
Pharnabazos. Cebren was captured by the
Spartan Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Pe ...
commander
Dercylidas Dercylidas (Greek: Δερκυλίδας) was a Spartan commander during the late 5th and early 4th century BCE. He was nicknamed Sisyphus for his cunning and inventiveness. In 411 BCE he was appointed harmost at Abydos in the Hellespont. In 399 ...
in 399 BC, but soon after returned to Persian control. In 360/59, the Greek mercenary commander
Charidemus Charidemus (or Kharidemos, ), of Oreus in Euboea, was an ancient Greek mercenary leader of the 4th century BC. He had a complicated relationship with Athens, sometimes aiding the city in its efforts to secure its interests in the northern Aegean, ...
briefly captured the city before being repelled by the Persian satrap Artabazos. At some point in the 4th century BC Cebren produced coinage depicting a satrap's head as the obverse type, indicating the city's close relationship with its Persian overlords. Cebren ceased to exist as an independent city ca. 310 when
Antigonus I Monophthalmus Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( , "Antigonus the One-Eyed"; 382 – 301 BC) was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general and Diadochi, successor of Alexander the Great. A prominent military leader in Alexander's army, he went on to control lar ...
founded Antigonia Troas (after 301 BC renamed Alexandria Troas) and included Cebren in the
synoecism Synoecism or synecism ( ; , ''sunoikismos'', ), also spelled synoikism ( ), was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Greece into ''poleis'', or city-states. Etymologically, the word means "dwelling together (''syn'') in the same h ...
.


Antiocheia in the Troad

A rare series of bronze coins display the obverse and reverse types of Cebren (ram's head/head of Apollo), but bear the legend (''Antiocheōn'', '(coin of the) Antiocheis'). On the basis of these coins it has been argued, most notably by the French epigrapher Louis Robert, that Cebren was refounded by
Antiochus I Soter Antiochus I Soter (, ''Antíochos Sōtér''; "Antiochus Soter, the Savior"; 2 June 261 BC) was a Ancient Greece, Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned during a period of instabi ...
as Antiocheia in the Troad following Antiochus' victory over
Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek language, Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessaly, Thessalian officer and Diadochi, successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became king of Thrace, Anatolia, Asia Minor and Mace ...
at the Battle of Corupedium in 281 BC, after which most of western
Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
came under his control. Moreover, Robert noted that some of these coins bore the letters B and K and included a club beside the ram's head: since the club is the typical symbol of the coinage of Birytis, an unlocated city in the Troad, Robert argued that these letters referred to Birytis and Kebren and were evidence of a
synoecism Synoecism or synecism ( ; , ''sunoikismos'', ), also spelled synoikism ( ), was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Greece into ''poleis'', or city-states. Etymologically, the word means "dwelling together (''syn'') in the same h ...
or ''
sympoliteia A ''sympoliteia'' (), anglicized as sympolity, was a type of treaty for political organization in ancient Greece. By the time of the Hellenistic period, it occurred in two forms. In mainland Greece, the term was often used for a federal state co ...
'' between the two communities which had produced the new foundation of Antiocheia in the Troad. Robert's arguments have been repeatedly criticized by the archaeologist John Manuel Cook, who could discern no archaeological or
numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...
evidence for occupation in the Hellenistic period at the site of Çal Dağ. Cook based these claims on only two days of surface survey at Çal Dağ, and as such definitive answers regarding the settlement history of the site in the 3rd century BC will have to await a full excavation.Cook (1973) 6, 339.


See also

*
List of ancient Greek cities This is an incomplete list of ancient Greek cities, including colonies outside Greece, and including settlements that were not sovereign '' poleis''. Many colonies outside Greece were soon assimilated to some other language but a city is included h ...


References


Bibliography

* A. Plassart, ‘Inscriptions de Delphes: la liste de théorodoques’ ''BCH'' 45 (1921) 1-85. * L. Robert, ''Études de Numismatique Grecque'' (Paris, 1951) 16–31. * J. M. Cook, ''The Troad: An Archaeological and Topographical Study'' (Oxford, 1973) 327–44. * R. Merkelbach, ''Die Inschriften von Assos'', Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien 4 (Bonn 1976). * J. M. Cook, 'Cities in and around the Troad' ''ABSA'' 83 (1988) 7-19. * S. Mitchell, 'Kebren' in M. H. Hansen and T. H. Nielsen (eds), ''An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis'' (Oxford, 2004) no. 780. {{Authority control Archaeological sites in the Marmara region Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Seleucid colonies in Anatolia Ruins in Turkey Cities in ancient Troad Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Çanakkale Province History of Çanakkale Province Tourist attractions in Çanakkale Province