Astiruwa

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Astiruwa as a young prince.

Astiruwa or Astiru ( hieroglyphic Luwian á-sa-ti-ru-wa / i-sá ) was a Neo-Hittite king of Karkemiš , who lived in the late 9th to early 8th centuries BC. BC or between 848 and 790 BC Ruled. He carried the titles of sovereign , hero and king .

Mention in inscriptions

Astiruwa does not have its own inscriptions. He is only mentioned in four inscriptions by his servants and successors. A servant of the king narrated that King Astiru had handicraft houses built during his reign , although the translation with handicrafts is not entirely secure.

The sons of Astiruwa and the regent Yariri (2nd from left) appointed by Astiruwa on a relief from Karkemiš

The next mention of Astiruwa took place in two inscriptions by the regent Yariri , probably a eunuch who, after the death of Astiruwa, took over the education of his underage sons, in particular the designated heir to the throne Kamani . In these inscriptions, Yariri explicitly referred to Kamani and his younger brothers as the sons of his master Astiruwa. Yariri also boasted of receiving special treatment from King Astiruwa:

"By traveling, my lord provided me with a son of every country as to the language, and he let me know every ability."

- Luwian hieroglyphic inscription KARKAMIŠ A15b

According to his own statement, Yariri spoke twelve languages ​​and four scripts, which he owed to the king. If Astiruwa really took care of the education of the later regent, it was probably done in order to make Yariri a close confidante and advisor or a vizier .

The last known mention of the king was in the inscription of an author who described himself as "the son of the hero Astiros" and who could possibly be Kamani.

Dynastic arrangement

This article or section needs to be revised. Details should be given on the talk page. Please help to improve it , and then remove this flag.

Astiruwa was the first known ruler of the last dynasty of Karkemiš known as the Dynasty or House of Astiruwa. It is not known how the dynasty came to power and how it is related to the previous dynasty, even if it continued the previously common title of sovereign. The last known predecessor of Astiruwa, the Sangara (around 870-848 BC), only known from Assyrian sources , was last mentioned in the sources about half a century before Astiruwa's estimated reign. Whether and how many kings ruled between Sangara and Astiruwa is not known, but two or more are considered likely.

With the Astiruwa dynasty, a change in political attitudes seemed to arise, as evidenced by archaic titles such as king and hero. These titles proclaimed grandiose claims to the empire. It seems as if Astiruwa had planned to give its kingdom of Karkemiš international status through numerous diplomatic contacts. If not already himself, then at least his successor Yariri, who boasted of various international contacts, has demonstrably succeeded.

The dynasty established by Astiruwa or one of its unknown predecessors had at least five or six traditional rulers. These goods:

  • Astiruwa itself (late 9th to early 8th century BC)
  • the regent Yariri (early to mid 8th century BC)
  • Kamani , the son of Astiruwa (early to mid 8th century B.C.)
  • possibly the vizier Sastura (middle 8th century BC)
  • Sastura's son of unknown name (possibly Astiru II. Or Pisiri; 2nd half of the 8th century BC)
  • Pisiri , the last ruler of Karkemiš (738–717 BC) known only from Assyrian sources

Under Pisiri's reign, Karkemiš was reigned in 717 BC. Conquered by the Assyrians, which put an end to the Astiruwa dynasty.

Family tree House of Astiruwa

The succession of rulers is marked with bold numbers. The corresponding ranks and titles are shown in italics . Unclear relationships are shown with broken lines. More detailed information on such unclear relationships is explained under "Notes". People with an unclear or controversial classification in the family tree can appear several times, but are then indicated by a bold and italic question mark (?) Directly after the name. The person covered in this article is shown in BOLD CAPITALS .

 
 
 
 
 Astiruwa
King
1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Yariri
Vizier
Regent
2nd
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kamani
King
3.
 
 other sons:
Malitispa, Astitarhunza,
Tarnitispa, Isikaritispa,
Sikara, Halpawari,
Yahilatispa
 
 Tuwarsai ? 1
 
 
 Tuwarsai ? 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tuwarsai ? 1
 
 Sastura 2
vizier
king?
4th
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Son of Sastura 3
king
= Astiru II.?
= Pisiri ?
5.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pisiri 3
King
6.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Remarks:

1 : For Tuwarsai, the exact position in the family tree is somewhat unclear. He could be both the son of Astiruwa and the son of Kamani, which in the latter case would make him a grandson of Astiruwa. However, there is also the possibility that Tuwarsai by no means belongs to the house of Astiruwa, but is the son of the regent Yariri.

2 : The fact that the son of Sastura is the next undoubtedly documented king of Karkemiš after Kamani makes it likely that Sastura himself also belongs to the house of Astiruwa. The most likely explanations are that Sastura is an adopted son, son-in-law, or nephew of Kamani. All three possibilities would bring him into the dynastic line.

3 : The name of the son of Sastura is not recorded. Therefore, several possibilities of its identity are considered. One possibility is that the son of Sastura is identical to the Pisiri of the Assyrian sources. The other possibility is that the son of Sastura corresponds to an Astiru II, hypothetically reconstructed from a fragmentary inscription, which is then probably not identical with Pisiri. That would then mean that Pisiri is a successor to Astiru II, perhaps the immediate successor.

literature

  • Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-921872-1 .
  • Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta 2012, ISBN 978-1-58983-269-5 .
  • Alessandra Gilibert: Syro-Hittite Monumental Art and the Archeology of Performance . De Gruyter, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-11-022225-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 86.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 94.
  3. ↑ Alessandra Gilibert: Syro-Hittite Monumental Art and the Archeology of Performance . Berlin 2011, p. 135.
  4. ^ A b Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 94 f.
  5. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 86 f.
  6. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, pp. 84, 87.
  7. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 87.
  8. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 85.
  9. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 95.
  10. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 93.
  11. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 97.
  12. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, pp. 97, 302.
  13. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, pp. 97 f.
  14. ^ A b Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 98.
  15. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, pp. 94-98, 302.
  16. ^ John David Hawkins (1979): Some Historical Problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . In: Anatolian Studies 29, pp. 159, 162.
  17. ^ John David Hawkins (1982): Kubaba at Karkamiš and Elsewhere . In: Anatolian Studies 31, p. 159.
  18. ^ John David Hawkins: Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions: Inscriptions of the Iron Age, Volume 1 . Berlin 2000, p. 129.
  19. ^ Elisabeth Rieken (2003): Hieroglyphs-Luwisch zí + ra / i-la-mi-i ("SCALPRUM.ARGENTUM") su-ha-pa-na-ti: a compound and a new Luwian-Latin isogloss . In: Historische Sprachforschung / Historical Linguistics 116 (1), p. 48 f.
predecessor Office successor
Sangara King of Karkemiš
late 9th to early 8th century BC BC / 848–790 BC Chr. 		Yariri
personal data
SURNAME Astiruwa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aštiru; Aštiruwa; Astiru; Astiruwas; Astirus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the neo-Hittite Karkemish
DATE OF BIRTH 9th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 9th century BC BC or 8th century BC Chr.