Phrygian cultural effects in Western Anatolia during the Anatolian Iron Age and After

End of the 2nd Millenium BC was a period in which radical changes took place in Anatolia and close surroundings. In this period powerful states of the Near East began to decline as a result of mass migration moves which were resulted from various reasons and many great civilizations especially Hittites were collapsed. Phrygians were among the civilizations that emerged as a new power as a result of the mass migration movements which were escalated at the end of the 1200's BC. Phrygians dominated Anatolia in a period, which was considered as "the Dark Age" for a long time in terms of Anatolian Archaeology though as a result of the recent studies revealed that it was not a real dark age except for some literary gaps. They formed a powerful kingdom with the effect of deep-rooted Anatolian treaditions and contributions of their own cultures in this period. Establishing Gordion/Yassıhöyük which was located in modern Ankara/Polatlı, Phrygians formed a transitional element between Anatolian peoples especially with their cultural assets like wood and metal working and with their religious contributions. By reshaping the knowledge they gained from their predecessors with their own cultures and distributting it to surrounding cultures, Phrygians for a period became an active political power also in the regions which were located out of their heartlands, Ankara and Halys bend. Recent archaeological studies which were conducted in Phrygian capital Gordion, together with the contributions of auxilary disciplines, provided new results that greatly changed the Central Anatolian Iron Age chronology. By this token, date of the Gordion Destruction Layer which was thought to be related with Cimmerian invasions so far was revised to one century earlier and a result of this Anatolian origin of the many Phrygian cultural assets which were previously thought to be composed by the influence of Greek culture was introduced. In this study, findings that illustrated Phrygian existence in Western Anatolia but so far handled in scattered form and for this reason produced very little outcome, will be evaluated as a whole. As a result of this it is concluded that the Phrygian civilization transmitted the elements of of its culture to the Iron Age communities of Western Anatolia through mainly religion and materials related to religion. This study proposes that the transmissions started in 8th century BC, accelerated in 7th and 6th centuries, by the end of the 6th century process changed its direction, shaken by the effects of Cimmerian Invasions Phrygians lost their authonomy and some of the communities at least that were previously living in this region migrated and settled to Western Anatolia through various routes.