Moving in Together?Synoikismosand Polis Formation at Sagalassos and in Southwest Anatolia

Abstract

Topics such as polis formation and synoikismos have a rich background in classical studies, history and archaeology. Such studies have mainly focused on the attestations of synoikismos events in literary sources and inscriptions. The archaeological side of such processes has not always been given equal weight. This paper presents a more encompassing view on patterns of synoikismos and polis formation by incorporating and assessing archaeological evidence in a model of push-pull interactions between local communities and the Hellenistic kingdoms in southwest Anatolia. This model will be applied on a case study of the origin of polis at Sagalassos and its relation with the nearby settlement at Düzen Tepe during its formative years in the early to middle Hellenistic period (third -second centuries B.C.). It will then situate this case in its wider context of settlement patterns and community formation in southwest Anatolia, focusing on the ancient regions of Pisidia, Lycia and Pamphylia. The paper suggests that interactions between local communities and overarching central administrations offered suitable stimuli that resulted in local communities starting to participate in wider dynamics of economic and political importance. This ultimately resulted in observed patterns of polis formation and a potential synoikismos.

SAGAscape: Simulating Resource Exploitation Strategies in Iron Age to Hellenistic Communities in Southwest Anatolia

“…Yet, this finding actually corresponds with earlier hypotheses that part of the underlying drivers behind the urbanisation of Sagalassos must be found outside of local endogenous processes. More specifically, it might be related to a stronger participation by Sagalassos in wider regional and inter-regional networks of exchange (Monsieur, Daems & Poblome 2017) and a more proactive response to the political and economic policies of the Seleucid kingdom in the 2 nd century BCE, stimulating urbanism and market formation across southwestern Anatolia (Daems & Poblome 2016;Daems 2019;Daems & Talloen 2022). While it is too early to say that this model corroborates these hypotheses based on archaeological and epigraphical data, it does provide an excellent example of the great potential of computational modelling for providing alternative perspectives and novel avenues in exploring archaeological research questions.…”