Kuššara

Central Anatolia during Anitta's time

Kuššara was a Bronze Age city that has not yet been located. Possibly it can be found in southeastern Anatolia . The rulers of Kuššara expanded their sphere of influence in the 18th century BC. BC to Central Anatolia, conquered the trading metropolis Kaneš-Neša and destroyed Ḫattuša , the later capital of the Hittite Empire .

history

Kuššara was a trading post ( wabartum ) during the ancient Assyrian kārum period . It had a ruler's palace where a murder of Assyrian traders in Luḫuzatia was reported. Both places were on the trade route between Ḫurama and Šamuḫa , which is why they must be sought south of the Kızılırmak . The Hittite place La (ḫu) wazantiya was the birthplace of Queen Puduḫepa and was near Kommanna, the most important place of worship in Kizzuwatna . Thus, Kuššara is more likely to be found north of it.

The first ruler of Kuššara known by name was Pitḫana , who conquered the Assyrian trading center Kaniš. His son Anitta began in the 18th century BC. With the expansion of his sphere of influence and finally became the dominant local prince of Anatolia. He moved his residence to Kaneš. The city of Ḫattuša is also mentioned as an opponent of Anittas in the struggle for supremacy, which he destroyed and whose repopulation he tried to prevent by a curse by sprinkling salt on the ruins and fields.

Ḫattušili I also came from Kuššara , the first historically secured ruler of the Hittite Empire, with whom in the middle of the 16th century BC. The series of the Hittite kings begins. Ḫattušili I moved his residence from Kuššara to Ḫattuša, which from then on was to remain the capital of the Hittite Empire. The associated loss of importance of Kuššara is probably also the reason why the city is no longer mentioned in the more recent Hittite written sources.

literature

Jörg Klinger: Die Hittiter , CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53625-0 .

Individual evidence

^ Gojko Barjamovic: A Historical Geography of Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Colony Period ; Copenhagen 2011, ISBN 978-87-635-3645-5 . Pp. 143-150
↑ The question of whether Pitḫana and Anitta were Hittites cannot be answered. It is at least certain that Anitta was of such interest to the Hittites that the text in which his deeds were reported has been copied several times over the centuries. Klinger (2007), p. 34f.

[1] Gojko Barjamovic: A Historical Geography of Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Colony Period ; Copenhagen 2011, ISBN 978-87-635-3645-5 . Pp. 143-150

[2] The question of whether Pitḫana and Anitta were Hittites cannot be answered. It is at least certain that Anitta was of such interest to the Hittites that the text in which his deeds were reported has been copied several times over the centuries. Klinger (2007), p. 34f.