Troy

Troy (Ancient Greek Τροία Troia or Τροίη Troiē; also ἡ Ἴλιος hē Ílios, "the Ilios" or τὸ Ἴλιον tó Ílion, "the Ilion"; Latin Troia or Ilium; Turkish Truva) was a city in ancient times. According to modern doctrine, it was located in the landscape of Troas in northwestern modern Turkey. In ancient studies, the Latin spelling Troia is used, which corresponds to the ancient Greek spelling.

The historicity and localization of Troy is controversial (see Troy debate). A widespread research opinion locates Troy on Hisarlık Tepe in the province of Çanakkale (Turkey). The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geography

39.9572222226.2386111111Coordinates: 39° 57′ 26″ N, 26° 14′ 19″ E

Troy was very probably located on the 15-meter-high settlement mound Hisarlık (Turkish for "castle mound") at the Dardanelles. It is possible that the settlement controlled access to the Black Sea since the Bronze Age. Ships could not cross against the wind at that time. According to Manfred Korfmann, they therefore waited in the harbour of the fortress for favourable winds, and the tolls and pilotage and protection fees which the ships had to pay to Troy brought wealth to the city. This view is, however, controversial: both the existence of substantial shipping from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea during the Late Bronze Age and the fact that the port of the fortress would have been used for this purpose are doubted.

The place gained fame in antiquity through the poem Iliad by Homer and the legendary Trojan War described there. Even in late antiquity, the place and its legendary heroes were highly revered in the Roman Empire (see Aeneid), and the hill Ilium was widely known. With the onset of the Christian Middle Ages, Troy (and with it the location of the city) fell into oblivion.

The existence and location of Troy have been among the most controversial topics in archaeology for two centuries. The divergent opinions eventually led to the Troy debate. Today, the majority of ancient scholars believe that a settlement layer on the Hisarlık is the Troy described by Homer. In Homer, the site is primarily called Ilios (Greek Ἴλιος) and at one point Ilion (Ἴλιον). It remains unclear to what extent Homer's description of a war is accurate.

Aftermath

Based on the name of the former Colonia Ulpia Traiana, the terms Troia Minor ("Little Troy") and Troia Francorum ("Frankish Troy") were also established for Xanten until the Middle Ages. Around 1100, the Annolied finally told of the founding of Xanten by the defeated Trojans in the Trojan War:

As early as 1444, when Xanten fell to the Duchy of Cleves, coins were minted with the inscription Joannes Troianorum Rex ("John, King of the Trojans").