Jews in Phrygia in Hellenistic and Roman Times (III. century BC. - III. century AD.)

Starting from the XIXth century, researchers of the subject have endeavoured intensively to identify the first traces of the Jewish presence in Anatolia. Their efforts have led to the formation of a unique corpus on the Jewish and Christian presence in Anatolia in languages other than Turkish. Despite this corpus formed abroad, studies in this field are almost non-existent in Turkey. This gap in Turkish on the subject, which concerns the history of Anatolian geography and is important in understanding the cultural development of the region, constitutes one of the main reasons for our study. The identification and study of the Jewish presence in Phrygia provides unique information not only in terms of theological studies, but also in the field of ancient history in terms of understanding the administration of Anatolia in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. To be able to read history through the groups seen as "other", to be able to identify the details, to approach these details by accepting that these details are the missing element of the puzzle, is the key to making more robust interpretations about the whole. The family, occupation, religion, language, life and political status of the Jewish community in the Phrygia region were evaluated by examining epigraphic, philological and numismatic remains. In our thesis, primary sources were mainly used and new theories about the existence of Jewish groups in Phrygia were tried to be put forward.