Gordion (Yassihöyük in Turkish) was the capital of the Phrygian Kingdom during the eighth century BC. Gordion is located on the Sakarya River near its confluence with the Tembris, 70 miles southwest of Ankara, Turkey. The site includes a 16 meter high tell, called Citadel Mound, a 7 hectare area tower and wall complex called Kuçukhöyük, and a smaller tower called Kustepe, as well as smaller occupation areas within a 72 hectare area of settlement.
The earliest occupation at Gordion occurred during the Middle Bronze Age (1500-1600 BC). Archaeological evidence of the Phrygian occupation dates between 950 and 350 BC, with the heyday of the settlement during the 6th century. Gordion was on the Achaemenid Royal Road, and was conquered by Cyrus the Great during his conquest of most of Anatolia between 547-546 BC.
Gordion is said to be the site where Alexander the Great is said to have cut 'the Gordion knot'. Settlement continued sporadically up through the Middle Ages.
The site was first excavated in 1900 by Gustav and Alfred Körte; other researchers associated with Gordion include Rodney S. Young, K. DeVries, and G.K. Sams at the University of Pennsylvania. Mary M. Voigt at the College of William and Mary has been conducting work at Gordion since the late 1980s. Additional investigations have included ethnoarchaeological work in the nearby town of Yassihüyük, and a regional survey.
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the About.com Guide to Anatolia and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
Marsh, Ben 1999 Alluvial Burial of Gordion, an Iron-Age City in Anatolia. Journal of Field Archaeology 26(2):163-175.
Young, Rodney S. 1963 Gordion on the Royal Road. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 107(4):348-364.
