Kelenderis

Kelenderis (Greek: Κελενδερίς, Latin: Celenderis) is an ancient city located in the Rocky Cilicia region. The ancient site, now in the district of Aydıncık belonging to Mersin, was first excavated in 1987.

History

According to the excavation director Levent Zoroğlu, Kelenderis belonged to the Pirindu region, whose capital was Kiršu and which is mentioned in a Babylonian text concerning a campaign in Rocky Cilicia.

However, ancient sources present different theories about the founding of the city:

Ionian Settlement Theory:

Pomponius Mela relates that the city was founded by Ionian settlers from Samos.

The East Greek-type vases found in the excavations at Kelenderis also support this theory.

Luvian/Phoenician Origin Theory:

In the Library of Apollodorus it is reported that the city was founded by the Sandokoi.

The Sandokoi have been identified with the Luvian god Šanta. This indicates a much earlier Luvian settlement extending to the 2nd millennium BC.

According to this narrative, the Sandokoi came from Syria, which also suggests the possibility of a Phoenician foundation.

According to ancient sources the city was founded by Sandon, one of the oldest ancient deities of Cilicia. The first inhabitants of the city were Luwians. Established on a sea route between the eastern and western Mediterranean and Cyprus, the city had one of the most favorable harbors of the region. Because of this important location, Phoenicians from the east first settled there in the 10th century BC, and in the late 8th century BC Ionian settlers from western Anatolia established a colony. In the 6th century BC, Kelenderis, the port of Kiršu, the oldest capital of the Kingdom of Pirindu founded in mountainous Cilicia, was occupied in the middle of the century first by the Babylonians and later by the Persians.

The city achieved its main development in the 5th century BC. Despite the Persian domination from 547 BC to 330 BC, the city maintained its commercial independence. After Alexander the Great, Kelenderis, which established close relations with the Ptolemaic Dynasty founded in Egypt, continued to exist as an independent city-state until 100 BC. In the 1st century AD, the city briefly fell under the rule of the Kingdom of Commagene and then became a semi‑independent city attached to the province of Cilicia during the reign of Vespasian when it was under the Roman Empire. In 275, the city came under the occupation of the Parthian Empire and began to develop again from the 4th century onward. As a result of Arab attacks in the 6th and 7th centuries, the city was confined within its walls and shrank. From the middle of the 13th century to the middle of the 15th century, Kelenderis was under the rule of the Seljuk Dynasty and the Karamanids, and by the late 15th century it came under the domination of the Ottoman Empire.

Remains

The continuous settlement of Kelenderis up to the present has led to a limited number of archaeological remains, because structures from earlier periods were constantly built over by later settlements. Bathhouse remains have been identified around the harbor. There is also a large but heavily damaged necropolis, an unexcavated theater, cisterns and remains of the city walls. All the remains visible today are dated to the Classical antiquity period, the Roman period or later phases. In the eastern necropolis, there is a well‑preserved tomb structure with a pyramidal roof and a baldachin type dating to the 2nd–3rd centuries AD (today known as the Dörtayak).

Dörtayak

A cenotaph (symbolic tomb) or monumental tomb from the Roman Empire period. Its original name is unknown. Because the building rises on four thick legs, it is called “Four Legs” by the local people.

Research history

Because the city is located on major sea transport routes, it has been visited and described by many European travelers since the 18th century. Among them are the English amateur archaeologist William Martin Leake, the English captain Francis Beaufort who drew a map of the ruins, the French traveler and orientalist Victor Langlois who later visited the city, and Louis Duchesne who compiled the inscriptions for the first time. In the 20th century, Freya Madeline Stark is among the researchers who visited Kelenderis. In 1986, Levent Zoroğlu from Selçuk University in Konya, in cooperation with the Anamur Museum, began archaeological excavations in the city. The finds uncovered in the excavations are exhibited at the Anamur Museum and the Karaman Museum.