View source for Troad

{{Short description|Historical name of the Turkish Biga Peninsula}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2010}}
{{Infobox
| bodyclass   = geography
| abovestyle  = background:#DEB887;
| subheader   = Ancient region of Anatolia
| above       = Troad
| image       = [[File:Walls of Troy (1).jpg|300px|Part of the walls of Troy]]
| caption     = Part of the walls of Troy
| label1      = Location
| data1       = Northwestern [[Anatolia]], [[Turkey]]
| label2      = Historical capital
| data2       = [[Troy]]<br />(modern-day [[Tevfikiye, Çanakkale|Tevfikiye]], [[Çanakkale Province]], Turkey)
| label3      = [[Roman province]]
| data3       = [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]]
}}
[[File:Troas.png|thumb|340px|A map of the Troad (Troas)]]
[[File:Asia Minor in the Greco-Roman period - general map - regions and main settlements.jpg|thumb|350px|Troas among the classical regions of Anatolia. Troas is at upper left, south of Thracia, west of Mysia.]]

The '''Troad''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|r|oʊ|ˌ|æ|d}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|r|oʊ|ə|d}}; {{langx|el|Τρωάδα}}, ''Troáda'') or '''Troas''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|r|oʊ|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Τρῳάς}}, ''Trōiás'' or {{lang|grc|Τρωϊάς}}, ''Trōïás'') is a historical region in northwestern [[Anatolia]]. It corresponds with the [[Biga Peninsula]] ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Biga Yarımadası'') in the [[Çanakkale Province]] of modern [[Turkey]]. Bounded by the [[Dardanelles]] to the northwest, by the [[Aegean Sea]] to the west and separated from the rest of Anatolia by the [[massif]] that forms [[Mount Ida (Turkey)|Mount Ida]], the Troad is drained by two main rivers, the [[Scamander]] ([[Karamenderes River|Karamenderes]]) and the [[Simoeis]], which join at the area containing the ruins of [[Troy]].

==History==
The Troad is first mentioned by that name in [[Hittites|Hittite]] records as ''Taruiša''.<ref>[[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]], ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', [[Brill Publishers|Brill]], 2009, p. 1511.</ref> This identification was first put forth by [[Emil Forrer]], but largely disputed by most Hittite experts until 1983 when Houwink ten Cate showed that two fragments were from the same original [[cuneiform]] tablet and in his discussion of the restored letter showed that ''Taruiša'' and ''[[Wiluša]]'' (Troy) were correctly placed in northwestern Anatolia.<ref>{{Cite journal| last= Bryce| first= Trevor| author-link= Trevor Bryce| title= AHHIYAWANS AND MYCENAEANS &ndash; AN ANATOLIAN VIEWPOINT| journal= Oxford Journal of Archaeology| volume= 8| issue= 3| pages= 297–310| date= November 1989| url= http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120006127/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0| archive-url= https://archive.today/20130105152354/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120006127/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0| url-status= dead| archive-date= 2013-01-05| doi= 10.1111/j.1468-0092.1989.tb00207.x| access-date= 12 July 2010| url-access= subscription}}</ref>

Greek settlements flourished in Troas during the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] and [[Classical Greece|Classical]] ages, as evidenced by the number of Greek ''[[polis|poleis]]'' that coined money in their own names.<ref>[http://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/index.php?cat=4 asiaminorcoins.com - Troas]</ref>

The region was part of the [[satrapy]] (province) of [[Hellespontine Phrygia]] of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] until its conquest by [[Alexander the Great]]. After this it fell to the Diadoch [[Seleucid Empire]], and then passed to Rome's ally, the kingdom of Pergamon. The [[Attalid dynasty|Attalid kings]] of [[Pergamon]] (now [[Bergama]]) later ceded [[Mysia]], including the territory of the Troad, to the [[Roman Republic]], on the death of King [[Attalus III]] in 133 BC.
 
Under the [[Roman Empire]], the territory of the Troad became part of the [[Asia (Roman province)|province of Asia]], and later of the smaller Mysian province Hellespontus; it was important enough to have [[suffragan]] bishoprics, including [[Pionia, Mysia|Pionia]] (now Avcılar).

Under the later [[Byzantine Empire]], it was included in the ''[[Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)|thema]]'' of the Aegean Islands.
 
Following its conquest by the [[Ottoman Empire]], the Troad formed part of the [[sanjak of Biga]].

==New Testament==
The apostles [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] and [[Silas]] first visited Troas during their journey from [[Galatia]] to [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|16:8}} and {{bibleverse|2 Corinthians|2:12}}</ref> Paul also referred to Troas when he asked his fellow evangelist [[Saint Timothy|Timothy]] out of [[Ephesus]], to bring the cloak he had left there,<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Timothy|4:13}}.</ref> a journey of about {{convert|500|km|sigfig=1}}. The changes from the story, being recounted as "they" to "we" in [[Acts 16]] and [[Acts 20]], imply that Paul was joined by [[Luke the Evangelist|Luke]] when he went through Troas.<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|20:5}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Acts of Apostles]]
* [[Alexandria Troas]]
* [[Ancient regions of Anatolia]]
* [[List of traditional Greek place names]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===General and cited references===
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Troy and Troad|volume=27|pages=314–318}}
* {{cite journal |last1=van Rookhuijzen |first1=Jan Zacharias |title=How not to Appease Athena: A Reconsideration of Xerxes' Purported Visit to the Troad (Hdt. 7.42–43) |journal=Klio |date=2017 |volume=99 |issue=2 |pages=464–484 |doi=10.1515/klio-2017-0033}}
* [[Trevor R. Bryce]]. Chapter 14, "The Trojan War: Myth or Reality" in ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-19-924010-8}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|Troas}}
* {{Wikivoyage-inline|Along the Troad Coast}}

{{Historical regions of Anatolia}}
{{Peninsulas of Turkey}}
{{Third Journey of Paul of Tarsus}}
{{coord|39.8|26.5|dim:150km_region:|display=title,inline}}

[[Category:Troad| ]]
[[Category:Geography of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Anatolia]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of Turkey]]
[[Category:Trojans]]