Status and territories of the settlements in antiquity: The example of Stadiasmus Patarensis and Lycia

The monument of Stadiasmus Patarensis, which was found at Patara after a fire in 1993 and is dated to Claudian period (46 A.D.), contains important information concerning the road network in Lycia and illuminates the ancient Lycian geography, which covers today Teke peninsula and preserves its characteristic features with its quite mountainous structure in ancient times. This ancient geography contains its own culturel, economical and politics elements as is the case for the other regions. In this context the roads made a major contribution of a lively economical environment to the cities and other settlements for their politics and economic developments. The primary material, Stadiasmus Patarensis, provide hints concerning the status of the settlements and their teritorial relations in Early Empire. In the monument there are 52 settlement names and 65 roads were recorded, basically given as from (ἀπό) one city to (εἰς) another one. And the roads given in the monument lead from one city to another through the territories of the settlements that are associated with relevant road entry. If the road passed through the land of another settlement other than the destination and origin, SP gives the name of this settlement by employing the preposition διά. In the field surveys, conducted until 2015, this territorial subject matter and connection with the roads were not taken into consideration. Thereafter, the surveys have been conducted within the frame of this perspective and the results of earlier investigations have been revised on occasion. This dissertation study aims to understand the status and the politic organizations of the settelements in the region of Lycia and to determine the possible boundaries of the settlement territories and changes in these boundaries in the course of time in antiquity, examining the western part of the region, which contains Patara, Xanthos, Sidyma, Tlos, Pinara, Telmessus, Cadyanda and Araxa, as a case study. Except for SP, the other epigraphical materials, like milestones and epitaphs have been employed as the sources of this work. Amongst these sources, the epitaphs, which bear information concerning a fine to be paid to official institutions in return of a violation against the tomb, have been of importance in the pursuit of determining the territorial areas of the settlements. Keywords: Stadiasmus Patarensis, Lycia, territory, settlement status