Chalybes
Encyclopedia
The Chalybes or Chaldoi were a tribe of proto-Georgians
. Classical Antiquity
credited with the invention of ferrous metallurgy.
They settled in north Anatolia
known as Chaldia
near the shores of the Black Sea
, from the Halys
to Pharnakeia and Trabzon
in the east and as far south as Eastern Anatolia.
The main sources for the history of the Chaldoi are accounts from classical authors, including Homer
, Strabo
, and Xenophon
.
The Chaldoi/Chalybes, Mossynoikoi
, and Tubal
/Tabal
/Tibareni
, are counted among the first ironsmith nations by classical authors.
In Roman
times, the Chaldaei (homonymous but unrelated to the Semitic Chaldea
ns) and Chalybes are mentioned by Plutarch
(Lucull. c. 14) as settling in Pontic Cappadocia
, or the Pontus Cappadocicus section of the Roman province of Pontus
.
Χάλυψ, the tribe's name in Greek
, means "tempered iron, steel", a term that passed into Latin
as chalybs, "steel". Sayce derived the Greek name Chalybe from Hittite Khaly-wa, "land of Halys".
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
. Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
credited with the invention of ferrous metallurgy.
They settled in north Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
known as Chaldia
Chaldia
Chaldia was a historical region located in the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor . Its name was derived from a people called the Chaldoi that inhabited the region in Antiquity. Chaldia was used throughout the Byzantine period and was established as a formal theme, known as the Theme of Chaldia , in...
near the shores of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, from the Halys
Halys River
The Kızılırmak , also known as the Halys River , is the longest river in Turkey. It is a source of hydroelectric power and is not used for navigation.- Geography :...
to Pharnakeia and Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
in the east and as far south as Eastern Anatolia.
The main sources for the history of the Chaldoi are accounts from classical authors, including Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
, Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, and Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
.
The Chaldoi/Chalybes, Mossynoikoi
Mossynoeci
Mossynoeci is a name that the Greeks of the Euxine Sea applied to the peoples of Pontus, the northern Anatolian coast west of Trebizond.-Herodotus:...
, and Tubal
Tubal
Tubal, תובל or תבל , in Genesis 10 , was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah.Many authors, following the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus , related the name to Iber- Caucasian Iberia...
/Tabal
Tabal
Tabal was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom of South Central Anatolia. According to archaeologist Kurt Bittel, the kingdom of Tabal first appeared after the collapse of the Hittite Empire....
/Tibareni
Tibareni
The Tibareni were a people referred to in Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo and other classical authors. In classical times, they and other related tribes, the Chalybes and the Mossynoeci, were considered the founders of metallurgy...
, are counted among the first ironsmith nations by classical authors.
In Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times, the Chaldaei (homonymous but unrelated to the Semitic Chaldea
Chaldea
Chaldea or Chaldaea , from Greek , Chaldaia; Akkadian ; Hebrew כשדים, Kaśdim; Aramaic: ܟܐܠܕܘ, Kaldo) was a marshy land located in modern-day southern Iraq which came to briefly rule Babylon...
ns) and Chalybes are mentioned by Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
(Lucull. c. 14) as settling in Pontic Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
, or the Pontus Cappadocicus section of the Roman province of Pontus
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...
.
Χάλυψ, the tribe's name in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, means "tempered iron, steel", a term that passed into Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as chalybs, "steel". Sayce derived the Greek name Chalybe from Hittite Khaly-wa, "land of Halys".
See also
- ChaldiaChaldiaChaldia was a historical region located in the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor . Its name was derived from a people called the Chaldoi that inhabited the region in Antiquity. Chaldia was used throughout the Byzantine period and was established as a formal theme, known as the Theme of Chaldia , in...
- TabalTabalTabal was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom of South Central Anatolia. According to archaeologist Kurt Bittel, the kingdom of Tabal first appeared after the collapse of the Hittite Empire....
- TubalTubalTubal, תובל or תבל , in Genesis 10 , was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah.Many authors, following the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus , related the name to Iber- Caucasian Iberia...
- TibareniTibareniThe Tibareni were a people referred to in Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo and other classical authors. In classical times, they and other related tribes, the Chalybes and the Mossynoeci, were considered the founders of metallurgy...
- MossynoeciMossynoeciMossynoeci is a name that the Greeks of the Euxine Sea applied to the peoples of Pontus, the northern Anatolian coast west of Trebizond.-Herodotus:...
- MacronesMacronesThe Macrones were an ancient Colchian tribe in the east of Pontus, about the Moschici Mountains .The Macrones are first mentioned by Herodotus , who relates that they, along with Moschi, Tabal, Mossynoeci, and Mares, formed the nineteenth satrapy within the Achaemenid Persian Empire and fought...
- MoschiMushkiThe Mushki were an Iron Age people of Anatolia, known from Assyrian sources. They do not appear in Hittite records. Several authors have connected them with the Moschoi of Greek sources and the Georgian tribe of the Meskhi. Josephus Flavius identified the Moschoi with the Biblical Meshech...