Lycians
Lycia is the region of the modern Antalya. Anatolia's first waymarked footpath, about 509 km. Long, stretches from Fethiye to Antalya and is called the Lycian Way. The Lycia Region was inhabited by the Greek colonists who lived in the region until the modern times.
Lycia was bounded by Caria to the West and Pamphylia to the east. The Lycian Union or the Lycian League was a union comprised of 23 city-states as members. The Lycian League was established in 168 BC and was administered with democratic principles. Each member state sent 2 or 3 (depending on the size) senates to the parliament. Major cities of the League were Xanthos, Letoon, Patara, Pinara, Olympos, Myra, Tlos and Phaselis. Patara was the capital of the Union. The Union continued to function after becoming a province of the Roman Empire at 46 AD. After being taken over by the Byzantine Empire in the 4th century AD, the Union was abandoned.
Lycians are described as the allies of the Hittites according to the ancient Egyptian records. Lycia was a member-state of the Assuwa league of the Hittite Empire and most probably was called Lukka. After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, they emerged as a Neo-Hittite kingdom.
Lycia came under control of the Persian Empire under Cyrus II in around 546 BC. The region was then taken control by Athens in 468 BC and retaken by the Persians in 387 BC until the conquerence of Alexander the Great. It then passes to the Seleucids and finally to the Roman Empire in 189 BC.