Kuşaklı
Coordinates: 39 ° 18 ′ 30 ″ N , 36 ° 54 ′ 35 ″ E
Kuşaklı (Turkish for “the girded”, Hittite local name probably Šarišša , also Kuşaklı-Sarissa ) was a Hittite city on the edge of the Eastern Anatolian highlands in eastern Turkey . The site is in the south of today's province of Sivas in a basin landscape with steppe vegetation, as it is typical for Eastern Cappadocia . The settlement mound was excavated from 1993 to 2004 in annual campaigns.
history
Dendrochronological data show that Šarišša was founded in the last third of the 16th century BC. Since no older settlement layers could be excavated, Šarišša is so far the only archaeologically recorded new city founded by the Hittites, which is otherwise only handed down from cuneiform texts . When erecting the building, therefore, no consideration had to be given to the existing structure. There was the possibility of a planned new development, which at least on the Acropolis, the old city center, was based on an axial street system. Texts found on site show that Šarišša was regularly visited by the Hittite great king to worship the weather god in rituals. The main destination of the ritual journey was the so-called Huwasi stone , which according to the texts was worshiped outside the city. In fact, there are remains of a pond and sanctuary from the Hittite period about 2 km south of the city, which is probably the location of this stone. The weather god of Šarišša is, together with the weather god of Šapinuwa , among other things in the Šuppiluliuma- Šattiwazza contract (KoB 1,1) and in the contract between Ḫattušili III. and Ramses II mentioned. His partner was the goddess Anzili .
In Hittite texts, various places of worship of the weather god are mentioned, who played a special role in the Hittite religion. Šariššas was one of the few places of worship of God that can be located.
The high dignitary Arma-Tarhunta (around 1280 BC), who is also known from other sources, is named on a cuneiform text from the city . According to this, he seems to have had a house in the city, but it was removed from him because he fell out of favor. The house passed to the house of Labarna , which is an institution otherwise also occupied in the city, but of which nothing further is known.
In the 14th and then again in the 13th century BC The city was hit by earthquakes. However, Šarišša did not go under in these disasters. The Hittite city came to an end around 1200 BC. In another fire disaster, which was probably caused by enemies. The place remained populated to a modest extent. The remains of the architecture and material culture testify to a continuity, but on a much more modest scale. The ceramics of this Early Iron Age period are linked to Hittite ceramics from the Great Empire and are still disk-turned . In contrast to the Büyükkaya in Ḫattuša, where Early Iron Age ceramics also came to light and continues the traditions of the Late Bronze Age, there is no handmade ceramics in Kuşaklı.
After a hiatus of several centuries, the field of ruins was destroyed in the Middle Iron Age, during the 8th – 6th centuries. Century BC Colonized again. Settlement remains were found mainly on the hill, but also in the lower town. It is unknown whether this place belonged to a state at the time. The pottery shows Prygian forms. However, it is not certain whether the area of the city belonged to the Phrygian Empire. The place remained populated only for a short time. In the 6th century BC A round fortress was built on the highest point of the upper town, which only stood for a short time and went down in a battle. It is unknown which parties fought here. Around the birth of Christ, a burial mound with a stone-lined burial chamber was built on the highest point of the city. The chamber was robbed in ancient times. The remains of six skeletons were found.
City and buildings
The city consisted of an upper and a lower town, which together took up about 53 hectares. The upper town was on a hill, while the lower town spread out onto the flat land to the north. The excavations focused mainly on the upper town, as the lower town was badly damaged by agricultural activities. The lower town is part of a city expansion from the 14th century BC. The upper town had a city wall with four gates and towers. It consisted of two shells that were supported by transverse walls about 5 to 6 m apart. The city wall was once about 1.5 km long and had 48 towers. The gates, two of which were excavated, were flanked by mighty towers. Traces of fire show that they were set on fire when the city was conquered. The lower town wall was about 2.8 km long, but has not yet been excavated.
The most important building in the city was probably the so-called building C. With a length of 76 m and a surface area of 4660 m², it extended to an impressive extent over the entire southwest of the Acropolis. During its use, which can generally be described as a temple, it suffered considerable damage from an earthquake, but was renewed and only had to be rebuilt in the early 14th century BC. When the city was conquered, looted and at least partially burned down, it was finally abandoned. It should be the temple of the weather god.
Another temple (Temple 1) stood in the north of the city. It was about 54 × 36 m in size with a floor area of 1825 m². It consisted of a large central courtyard with various rooms arranged around it. It can be assumed that Anzili was worshiped here, most often named after the weather god in the city's texts. Numerous seals were found in this temple, including those of a previously unknown king. The seals of private individuals convey the names and, in some cases, professions of the townspeople: Lazzi and Armizzi (?), Luwa, the scribe, Hatzi, the charioteer (?), Suppiluliuma, Tarhuntaija (?) And Samili.
The so-called caravanserai stood near Temple 1 and near the northeast gate. These are stables for horses. Several skeletons of horses that were slain in an earthquake were also found here. Obviously, royal chariots with horses stopped here to be fed and cared for.
Several larger residential buildings have been excavated in the center of the city. A central hall is typical for them. Building A also had a bathroom and a cuneiform archive was found in this house. The texts are all religious, so that it can be assumed that a priest lived in the house. In the western part of the city, another part with residential developments was excavated. The houses were standing close together on a hillside, so the floors were at different heights. In these residential buildings, too, the central room was a small hall.
Excavations and finds
The archaeological investigations are carried out under the direction of Andreas Müller-Karpe . The settlement mound was stratigraphically examined and divided into several layers. The city complex had a fortification and several gates. Numerous Hittite ceramic finds were secured.
A specialty are the findings of Mycenaean ceramics made in 2004 , which were found alongside local goods when the northwestern city gate was uncovered. The import vessel belongs to period SH II and dates to the second half of the 15th century BC. Chr. Fire debris of the northern tower is broken, which allowed the reconstruction of a vessel found. Characteristic are small transverse handles on the shoulder and horizontal stripe patterns.
The site is about 800 km from the Aegean coast and is the most easterly place where Mycenaean goods were found. The finds are an important indicator of trade activities between the Mycenaean culture and the Hittite Empire.
The otherwise not attested King Mizima was found on seal impressions (reading of the name uncertain). The ruler only describes himself as a king and not as a great king , as the rulers of the Hittite empire usually do. Its exact position is therefore uncertain. Seal impressions with the inscription King of the City of Šarišša were also found all over the city . Such seals are not known from any other place and make the identification of the place safe.
Most of the finds are exhibited in the Sivas Archaeological Museum .
literature
- Andreas Müller-Karpe (Ed.): Kusakli-Sarissa. VML Verlag Marie Leidorf, Rahden Westf. 1997. ISBN 3-89646-601-1
- Andreas Müller-Karpe: Sarissa: The rediscovery of a Hittite royal city Philipp von Zabern Verlag, 2017. ISBN 978-3-8053-5057-0
- Michael Zick: Sarissa - the home of the weather god. in: Image of Science . 2000.6, pp. 34-38. ISSN 0006-2375
- Ancient world. Journal of Archeology and Cultural History. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1969,4, 2004,5, 5. ISSN 0003-570X
Individual evidence
- ↑ Müller-Karpe; Sarissa, The Rediscovery of a Hittite Royal City , p. 121
- ^ Piotr Taracha : Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 56.
- ^ Piotr Taracha : Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 60-61
- ^ Hermann Genz : The Iron Age in Central Anatolia in the light of the ceramic finds from Büyükkaya in Boğazköy / Hattuša. TÜBA-AR 3, 2000, pp. 35-54, especially p. 39.
- ↑ Müller-Karpe: Sarissa: The rediscovery of a Hittite royal city , pp. 180-120
- ↑ Müller-Karpe: Sarissa: The rediscovery of a Hittite royal city , p. 118
- ↑ Müller-Karpe: Sarissa: The rediscovery of a Hittite royal city , pp. 130-134
- ↑ Müller-Karpe; Sarissa, The Rediscovery of a Hittite Royal City , pp. 70–71
- ↑ Müller-Karpe; Sarissa, The Rediscovery of a Hittite Royal City , p. 117
- ↑ Müller-Karpe; Sarissa, The Rediscovery of a Hittite Royal City , p. 7
Web links
- Kusakli-Sarissa on the website of the German Orient Society