Xanthos was the capital city of the Lycian Federation and its greatest city for most of Lycian history.

It was made famous to the Western world in the 19th century by its British discoverer Charles Fellows.

Xanthos is very old - finds date back to the 8th century BC, but it is possible that the site may have existed during the Bronze Age or during the first centuries of the Iron Age.

The history of Xanthos is quite a violent - the Xanthosians twice demonstrated the fierce independence of the Lycian people when they chose to commit mass suicide rather than submit to invading forces.

The Xanthosian men set fire to their women, children, slaves and treasure upon the acropolis before making their final doomed attack upon the invading Persians.

Xanthos was later repopulated but the same gruesome story repeated itself in 42 BC when Brutus attacked the city during the Roman civil wars in order to recruit troops and raise money.

Brutus was shocked by the Lycians' suicide and offered his soldiers a reward for each Xanthosian saved.

Only 150 citizens were rescued. Xanthos stands atop an elevated area within the Xanthos valley with the Xanthos River flowing closely under the city’s west side.

From this elevation one receives a supreme view of the valley surrounded by the spectacular Taurus Mountains.

Although Charles Fellows carried away most of the finds of Xanthos (now in the British Museum) many interesting monuments and structures remain, including two of the most interesting tombs in Lycia.