The Peoples of Anatolia

Abstract

Studies of the peoples of Anatolia take for granted the existence and importance of regional ethnic communities on the peninsula when investigating issues of identity, ethnic origins, and cultural assimilation (especially Hellenization). In reviewing the scholarship, this work argues that such assumptions lead to problematic conclusions that ignore or poorly apply recent theoretical work on ethnicity and current critiques of the assimilation model. A critical consideration of this work leads to an appreciation for the somewhat limited, and at times non-existent, role of regional ethnicity in the experiences of the inhabitants and communities of Anatolia, who mainly promoted more local forms of belonging in the face of the attempted orderings of ethnographic and imperial discourses.