Kamani (Karkemiš)

The Crown Prince Kamani (left) and his mentor, the regent Yariri (right) on a relief from Karkemiš

Kamani ( hieroglyphic Luwian ka-ma-ní-sa or ka-ma-ni-sa ) was a king of Karkemiš who, depending on the date, lived in the second half of the 8th century BC. Or in the early to mid 8th century BC BC, possibly around 760 BC Ruled. He carried the titles of ruler and sovereign .

Parentage and ancestors

Kamani was the son of the late King Astiruwa . Since Kamani was not of age when his father died, the eunuch Yariri was appointed as regent. Before taking office, Kamani was already co-regent with his predecessor Yariri. It is not known whether Kamani only received the throne after Yariri's death or whether he was able to ascend it when he reached the age of majority, since Yariri left the throne to him.

Reign

Kamani is attested in Yariris as well as in own inscriptions, some of which were found on statues. According to the inscriptions, he received the peaceful, stable conditions that had already prevailed during the reign of his predecessor. Construction projects, a war campaign and the repopulation of devastated areas are documented by Kamani. He also acquired territory that previously belonged to the city of Kanapu. On this territory he founded the city of Kamana, which he settled with father-son couples from other cities. He was also involved in other property sales.

Succession

Woman with donkey and the toddler Tuwarsai, the possible descendant of Kamani, on a relief from Karkemiš

There is a possibility that Kamani already had a descendant as an underage prince who was originally intended to be his immediate successor to the throne. That child of Kamani, a toddler named Tuwarsai, is depicted on a building belonging to the regent Yariri. It forms the end of a series of reliefs depicting Prince Kamani and the regent Yariri, the childlike younger brothers of Kamani and at the end a woman with a toddler and a donkey. This toddler is Tuwarsai. If the inscription attached to the woman with the child reads as “And this (is) Tuwarsai, the growing ruler , the prince proclaimed to rule”, it is possible to interpret the child as a descendant of Kamani. However, the reading as a growing ruler is not assured. At least it is clear that Tuwaršai never ascended the throne.

On the Adana 1 stele from Karkemiš , which was handed over to the museum in Adana in 2012 , an Atika describes himself as the son of the landlord Kamani and as the beloved servant of Astiru, the hero, the landlord of the city of Karkemiš . The status of this atika is not evident from the fragmentary legible text of the stele.

Sastura was the vizier under Kamani . Perhaps Sastura succeeded Kamani on the throne. In any case, the son of Sastura is documented as king of Karkemiš. It is not known whether Sastura's son is identical with the Pisiri documented in Assyrian sources or must be equated with a hypothetical Astiru II, whose successor was Pisiri.

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

• Hawkins, in CAH III.1, 406 f.
• Ders., Some historic problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian corpus , in Anatolian Studies XXIX, 153 ff.
• 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
• 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), pp. 35–53.
• 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. 77.
2. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 82.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, pp. 97 f.
4. ↑ Alessandra Gilibert: Syro-Hittite Monumental Art and the Archeology of Performance . Berlin 2011, p. 135.
5. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 76 ff.
6. ^ 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.
7. ↑ John David Hawkins , Kazım Tosun, Rukiye Akdoğan: A New Hieroglyphic Luwian Stele in Adana Museum In: Höyük 6 pp. 1-6.
8. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, pp. 94-98, 302.
9. ^ John David Hawkins (1979): Some Historical Problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . In: Anatolian Studies 29, pp. 159, 162.
10. ^ John David Hawkins (1982): Kubaba at Karkamiš and Elsewhere . In: Anatolian Studies 31, p. 159.
11. ^ John David Hawkins: Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions: Inscriptions of the Iron Age, Volume 1 . Berlin 2000, p. 129.
12. ^ 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
Yariri	King of Karkemiš early to mid-8th century BC BC / around 760 BC Chr.	Sastura ?