Regional surveys in Ionia have also documented a number of fortified strongholds (Gezgin 2001: pp. 186–188).
Archeological evidence for the peaking prosperity during the fourth century BCE appears to have been demonstrated by the ambitious building activities in Ionia, Karia, and Lycia, some of which is generally attributed to the patronage of the Hekatomnids, viz. the initiation of the Temple of Athena at Priene in Ionia, designed by the architect Pytheos, which most likely took place before the arrival of Alexander. The urban development that has been observed in many of the Ionian cities likely owes its inception to the security and financial stability under Achaemenid hegemony.
Northwest
The land in the northwest consists of fertile plains cut by the rivers Rhyndakos, Enbeilos, Aisepos, and Granikos and two sizable lakes, Daskylitis and Apolloniatis. The rugged and wooded terrain of Mysian Olympos is to the east. This is an area predominantly settled by Greeks, Phrygians, Mysians, and Lydians. From the nineteenth century onward the region attracted the attention of researchers attempting to locate Daskyleion, the legendary satrapal capital mentioned in classical sources. Discovery of several relief blocks and relief stelai in the area, and surveys focusing on a settlement mound, Hisartepe, near Ergili, gradually led to its excavation as the most likely site of the satrapal center. The stream, Karadere, an outlet of the lake and a tributary of the Rhyndakos, flows by the western slope. To the north is the wetland and the shore of Lake Manyas, a registered wildlife reserve (Figure 21.2). Standing on the mound one catches an impressive glimpse of the lake and the farming land with several tumuli visible in the horizon. This is the view of the fertile plains where small villages and estates of the landowners and the local nobility of the Achaemenid period lay. The port city of Kyzikos, an old Milesian colony, is located about 30 km to the north. This is certainly a good location for communication and trade routes connecting to the Troad and Kyzikos and inland Anatolia.
Figure 21.2 View of Lake Manyas from Daskyleion (Deniz Kaptan).
Ergili/Daskyleion has been excavated since the mid‐1950s to the present, with a break from 1959 to 1988 (Akurgal 1961: pp. 170–171; Bakır 2001: pp. 169–180; İren 2010). With levels yielding rich finds from the earlier periods that include “orientalizing” east Greek and Corinthian, Attic, Lydian, and monochrome gray ware, and already surrounded by fortification walls before the Achaemenid period, the settlement mound stands out as a significant source for Iron Age studies. Continuity of spatial use throughout its history resulted in the recycling of building materials, a matter of fact in settlement archeology not isolated to this site only. The excavation team reports destruction debris from the third quarter of the sixth century BCE possibly associated with the capture of the town by the Persians.
The Achaemenid period settlement had a series of terrace walls built in varying quality and material, the portions of which rise along the southeastern side, one segment reaching a length of 120 m. The northern end of this massive wall, preserved up to 3.75 m high, was built of mudbrick set on a stone foundation of well‐worked rectangular limestone blocks. This wall also served as fortification and the upper terrace walls went through repairs and alterations over a stretch of time. The first excavation seasons in the 1950s in the southern sector of the mound revealed some direct evidence for the Achaemenid occupation: the discovery of several hundred bullae with seal impressions in a rectangular structure. It was re‐excavated in 2004 (Erdo
The finds reveal a prosperous and cosmopolitan center. The pottery sequence, in particular, shows a rich record: Attic pottery was imported in high quantity and regional imitations were also available. Local gray ware, some bearing graffiti, continued to be produced. Adaptations of lobed and plain Achaemenid bowls constitute a significant category in pottery. Fragments of polished stone plates, some similar to those from the Persepolis Treasury and the western Anatolian burials, are among the luxury tableware. There are fragments of ivory utensils carved in animal style, horse‐harness strap‐dividers in the shape of boars' tusks, and tripartite socketed arrowheads commonly associated with Iranian tribes, and slingshot bullets.
The bullae, largely used on written documents (Figure 21.3), testify to the presence of administrative and economic activity (Kaptan 2002). Similar to the practice known from the Persepolis Fortification and Treasury tablets and the papyri of Arshama from Egypt, the perished documents of Daskyleion most likely recorded economic and administrative operations in and around the satrapal territory, such as records of goods, incoming and outgoing, e.g. grain, livestock, timber, related to the local warehouse/treasury and their management, the ratios and organization of the workforce, and other related issues in the area within the imperial organization. On the satrapal level, the Arshama dossier from Egypt offers an illustrious model for the perished documents of Daskyleion (Kaptan 2020). The seal impressions on the bullae provide a wealth of information about sealing practices and artistic styles. They represent scenes that have direct links to the styles and subjects known from the center of the empire, their regional adaptations, and images in Greek styles and subjects (Figures 21.3–21.6). This is a good cross section of the artistic complexity in the empire, representing images that could be recognized stylistically as Neo‐Babylonian, Achaemenid, and Classical Greek, displaying an array of artists' hands at work (Kaptan 2013). The impressions of three discrete cylinders, making up more than half of the entire assemblage of bullae, carry royal names, Xerxes and Artaxerxes inscribed in Old Persian (Figure 21.6), and one bilingually in Old Persian and Babylonian (Schmitt 2002). The users of royal name seals in this regional center most probably followed a parallel practice documented by the royal archives in Iran, and carried out operations in office. There are also Aramaic inscriptions on the impressions of cylinders and stamps (Röllig 2002, Pl. 4). Overall, the inscriptions provide names of Anatolian, Greek, Babylonian, and Iranian origin, showing the seal owners/users who were involved in the transactions of the satrapal center and could belong to any ethnic background present in the empire. The variety of artistic styles on the inscribed seals also indicates that the selection of imagery and ethnicity were independent of one another.
Figure 21.3 Bulla and seal impression from Daskyleion.