The Crusader Castle form the 12th Century of top of Selinus Cliff
Another beautiful morning on Cilicia’s coast. We started with climbing the Selinus Cliff, where ruins of a crusader castle are the last remains of a once large Roman town. Emperor Trajan died here on his way back to Rome. He had just finished his campaign in Meso-potamia. Standing on the shores of the Persian Gulf, he apparently muttered “If I were only younger”, dreaming of being Alexander the Great and conquering India. But his gains were unsustainable. Once the bulk of his army had left, the Persians counterattacked and took back important cities. Trajan’s successor Hadrian pulled out of Mesopotamia for good.
Selinus at 6 am in the Morning just before Sunrise - the Land Breeze had just set in
At 8 am, during our climb, the sun was already strong. The heat was made tolerable by a cool breeze from the mountains. The wind that powered 2’000 years ago ships sailing from Egypt to Rome kept us fresh. But these days the sea iss empty with the exception of two fishing boats. Looking downhill we also noticed how much land was sedimented by the Inceağri River since Roman time. Must be more than one square kilometer. Where Gazipasa and banana plantations now spread was once a big bay.
The Gazipasa Delta now fills the former big Port of Selinus
At the foot of the Selinus hill stands Trajan's small mausoleum. He was cremated here. His ashes did not stay for long. After a few days they were placed in a golden urn and brought to Rome. His successor, Hadrian, was in a hurry to get his position confirmed before any rivals could emerge. His claim on the throne was shaky. It was based on Trajan’s will – but many people said that his wife had altered it. The circumstances of the mausoleum’s construction are unclear. The two-story building is built in imperial style with concrete as skeleton and large limestones as decoration. A 1’000 years later, the Seljuks’ used it as hunting lodge. It is not in the best shape. It is a pitty for such an important building.
Trajan's Mausoleum in Gazipasa (Selinus) - the pointed Arches which became Gothic Style
At the time of Trajan’s return to Rome, the Straits of Cyprus were safe. Rome’s naval presence was minimal despite the sea being full of commercial sails heading west with their cargo. From 200 – 66 BC, a good 150 years earlier, it was quite different. Cilician pirates dominated the sea and brought long-distance trading to a stand-still. The permanent wars between Seleucid and Ptolemy Kings, both dynasties founded by Alexander’s generals, created a large no-man’s land where nobody was safe. Plunder, rape, killing and enslaving happened every day. No wonder the civil population started to fight back. First in small groups, then in larger and larger unites. Neither the Seleucid nor the Ptolemy had the power to subdue the pirates thus tried to instrumentalize them. Cilicia from Mersin to Side became a place ruled by loosely coordinated pirate communities.
The Seleucid (Yellow) and Ptolemy Empire (Blue) were at War for almost 200 Years
But there was only so much to plunder in the eastern Mediterranean. The pirates who also operated from Crete expanded their activities to the west and started to operate in the waters of Sicily and North Africa. Carthage, the natural local power to keep them in check was gone. The Romans had decommissioned their fleets and could not fight on sea. Nobody took on the pirates whose influence and power grew by the day.
Pirate Ships found ideal hide-outs on the rugged Cilician Coast
Something sinister explains Rome’s passivity. With the three Punic wars, Rome had not only won Calabria, Apulia, Sicily, Sardinia and Northern Africa, it also got their large latifundia. They were sold to wealthy Roman citizens. Rome’s agriculture was originally based on free farmers who owned their own land, fought as solders in the Roman Legions and participated in the governing of the State. But Latifundia were different. They were larger and in thinly populated areas. They were run by slaves. Roman agriculture changed forever.
A good Third of Roman Slaves worked on the large Estates (Latifundia)
Within a few decades, Rome morphed from a society where slavery was the exception to a state where it was the norm. Under Emperor Augustus, 5 million slaves lived in the Roman Empire – 10% of the total population. The share of slaves in Italy was far higher though. It is estimated that 40% of Italy’s inhabitants were slaves. First, slaves were mostly prisoners of war from Rome’s campaigns. After the conquest of Gaul by Caesar though, this source dried up. Rome needed more slaves than wars could supply. The Cilician pirates were happy to step in. As there was little left to loot, they started to steal people. The Romans were happy takers. People with money, like Caesar - taken prisoner when travelling to Rhodes for studying – could pay ransom. Less wealthy individuals ended up in Side’s large slave market.
Modern Illustration of the Ancient Slave Trade in the Mediterranean
With a slave population of 5 million, Rome needed about 250’000 replacement slaves every year – assuming slaves in mining had a life expectancy of 4 years, in agriculture of 20 and as domestic servants of 30 years. Since slaves had to be shipped to far away locations, slave trading was limited to the months of June to September. Makes 60’000 slaves a month or 15’000 a week. It is said that in Delos, another slave trading center in the Aegean, 10’000 slaves a day were sold. Whilst exaggerated, the magnitude of the number sounds right. There are no estimates for the number of slaves sold in Side. But I assume it was higher than in Delos giving Side’s proximity to Alanya, the pirates informal capital.
Pompey's Campaign agains the Cilician Pirates from 67 - 66 BC (Coracaesium = Alanya)
Over time the success made the pirates big headed. They went so far as to attack Ostia, Rome’s harbor and woke up a sleeping, complacent giant. The Senate gave Pompey full power to deal with the pirates once and for all. It took him a while to prepare. But in 67 the “cleaned-up” the western Med, a year later the eastern Med followed. There was a great battle in Alanya where Pompey’s forces made short thrift with the pirates. The male pirates were decapitated, their ships burnt, women and children sold off as slaves. No life was left in the smouldering ruins of Alanya and Side.
Plan of Roman Side which had about 50'000 inhabitants - it reinvented itself as agricultural center after Pompey terminated the Slave Trade with brute Force
Both Side and Alanya are today busy with tourists during summer who create lots of jobs and income. That 2’100 years ago the same was true for slavery makes one shudder. Am glad mankind evolved.
Built in 175 AD, Side's Theatre sat 15'000 Spectators
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