What does a Mediterranean civilization that thrived during the Bronze Age have in common with the United States Constitution? Quite a lot, actually. It was in Lycia, an ancient maritime republic located in what is now Turkey, where the world's first representative democratic federation was created: the Lycian League. The Lycian system of government was adopted by the founding fathers in Philadelphia as they sought to fashion a more inclusive way of determining the political direction of their fledgling nation. So effective was the Lycian model that it became a source of inspiration for later democratic institutions. But who exactly were the Lycians, and how did they inspire US democracy?
Click through this gallery and learn more about one of the most significant political achievements in ancient history.