Gordion

Gordion (Phrygian: ; Γόρδιον; Gordion or Gordiyon; Gordium) was the capital city of ancient Phrygia. It was located at the site of modern Yassıhüyük, about southwest of Ankara (capital of Turkey), in the immediate vicinity of Polatlı district. Gordion's location at the confluence of the Sakarya and Porsuk rivers gave it a strategic location with control over fertile land. Gordion lies where the ancient road between Lydia and Assyria/Babylonia crossed the Sangarius river. Occupation at the site is attested from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2300 BCE) continuously until the 4th century CE and again in the 13th and 14th centuries CE. The Citadel Mound at Gordion is approximately 13.5 hectares in size, and at its height habitation extended beyond this in an area approximately 100 hectares in size. Gordion is the type site of Phrygian civilization, and its well-preserved destruction level of c. 800 BCE is a chronological linchpin in the region. The long tradition of tumuli at the site is an important record of elite monumentality and burial practice during the Iron Age. The English placename Gordion comes from Ancient Greek Górdion (Γόρδιον), itself from the Phrygian name Gordum, meaning "city". In antiquity, the Sakarya river flowed on the east side of the Citadel Mound, just beyond the Küçük Höyük fort. Its course changed several times, ultimately moving to the west side of the mound, where it is now. This was a relatively recent change, most likely occurring during the 19th century. Gordion was inhabited from at least the Early Bronze Age, c. 2300 BCE. By the end of this period it displayed ceramic commonalities with communities as far west as the Troad and as far east as Cilicia. During the Middle Bronze Age, Gordion came under the influence of the Hittites, with administrative seals evident at the site. There is an extensive necropolis attested on the Northeast Ridge, with burials of the MH III-IV periods. Late Bronze Age Gordion was part of the Hittite Empire and located at the western edge of its heartland.