The strategic and economic position of Cilicia in the Achaemenid period

After the conquest of Lydia and its capital Sardis by Cyrus the Great in 547 BCE, almost all parts of Asia Minor, including Cilicia in southern Asia Minor, came under Persian rule.Although the syennesis dynasty, the rulers of Cilicia were able to maintain their hereditary sovereignty over this land to some extent as semi-independent by helping Cyrus conquer Sardis, but the geopolitical and economic position of Cilicia caused the Achaemenids to pay special attention to this land from the very beginning.Because, being on the trade route, which on the one hand to connect the sea routes in the Mediterranean to the royal road  and on the other hand that connected Asia Minor to northern Syria and the Mesopotamia, had made Cilicia a center of trade and played an important role in the economic development of the Achaemenid Empire.However, despite the position and economic importance of this land in the Achaemenid period, but so far no independent research has been done in this regard. Therefore, by looking at the geographical and geopolitical location of Cilicia, and using ancient historical reports and archaeological data and based on the method of historical research in this study, an attempt has been made to examine the trade and economic status of Cilicia in the Achaemenid period.