Page "Anatolia" Paragraph 77

In central and western Anatolia another Indo European people, the Luwians came to the fore, circa 2000 BC.

Thier language was closely related to Hittite.

The general consensus amongst scholars is that Luwian was spoken — to a greater or lesser degree — across a large area of western Anatolia, including ( possibly ) Wilusa (= Troy ), the Seha River Land ( to be identified with the Hermos and / or Kaikos valley ), and the kingdom of Mira-Kuwaliya with its core territory of the Maeander valley.

From the 9th century BC, Luwian regions coalesced into a number of states such as Lydia, Caria and Lycia, all of which had Hellenic influence.