FETHIYE AND THE LUWI QUESTION.IN.3000.B.C

In as much as the third thousand year is a period prior to written documents, it is not easy to
establish which tribe or tribes lived in and around Fethiye during this time. If is possible to arrive at some conclusions about the identity of this civilization with the aid of existing documents from countries neighbouring the peninsula or from tribes who have lived in Anatolia during the early years of 2000 B.C. On this basis, it is purported that the Luwi tribe lived in and around Fethiye. The Luwis came from the Balkans, crossing the Bosphorus (2500 B.C.) and destroyed Troy 1, setting up Troy 2. During the some period there were migrations also in the south-western region. That these migrations were mostly to Crete and Greece is proven by the philological evidences available today.
The discoveries achieved in the comparison of Troy 1 with Troy 2 reflect a village life on its way to urbanism in Fethiye, similar to other settlement areas in Anatolia. We ascertain from the Boğazköy tablets that the people in this area were called Luwis and they used the Luwian language. The Luwian was used as a second language by the Hitites as well. Although the origin of the Luwis is under dispute, if is certain that the Luwi Tribe, as they were named in the Hitite documents, was settled within the coastal plains of Southern Anatolia.
Their language was appropriated by many tribes and was greatly influential in a vast area.