city state · Anatolia and the Levant
Side
Origins
Greeks from Cyme in Aeolis settled Side in the 7th century BCE on a peninsula of the Pamphylian coast. According to legend, they soon forgot Greek and spoke the local language, called Sidetic, written in a unique alphabet. The city's name means pomegranate.
Rule and society
Side was a self-governing port that thrived on trade and shipbuilding. It surrendered to Alexander of the Macedonian Empire in 333 BCE and came under the Ptolemaic Empire and the Seleucid Empire. In 190 BCE a Rhodian fleet defeated Hannibal off its shore.
Decline and legacy
In the 1st century BCE Side became a centre for Cilician pirates, who sold captives in its market. The Romans suppressed piracy, and in 25 BCE the city was included in the province of Galatia, flourishing under Rome.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Side was a vassal of Kingdom of Lydia560 BCE – 546 BCE
- Side was a vassal of Achaemenid Empire546 BCE – 334 BCE
- Side was conquered by Roman Empire25 BCE
More states of Anatolia and the Levant →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Side. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/side
- MLA
- “Side.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/side. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Side.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/side.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Side’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/side (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻