Manneans

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The kingdom of the Manneans (also Manna or Mannai , Urartean Mana ) had its center in the early Iron Age at the southeast end of Lake Urmi .

Since no archives of the Manneans have been discovered so far, so the Manneans probably did not develop a written language, one has to rely on the sparse and certainly not always accurate information provided by their neighbors and enemies to reconstruct their history. The Assyrian and Urartian as well as some Babylonian sources are of particular help here . The biblical Minni ( Jeremiah chapter 51,27) probably also corresponds to the kingdom of Mannai. Important archaeological sites are Hasanlu in the Solduz Valley , Marlik Tepe and Ziwiye .

location

The south coast of the Urmiasee receives abundant rainfall and is one of the most fertile areas of Persia.

The Mannaean Empire consisted of four provinces:

  • Surikaš on the border of Assyria, in the south of Allabria , in northwestern Karalla limited
  • Missi with the town of Mešta around Cillik on the south bank of Lake Urmi
  • Uišdiš on the eastern shore of Lake Urmi to the foot of Kuh-e Sahand
  • Subi on the east bank of the lake as far as the Sofian area

The dependent countries also included Zikirtu and Andia at times .

According to Julian Reade, the area reached from Mannai to Tabriz and Zanjan in the east. Whether Hasanlu belonged to Mannai is controversial.

history

Manna and surrounding areas

The first mentions of the Manneans come from Assyrian inscriptions of the 9th century BC. Under the reign of Shalmaneser III. (858-824) penetrated for the first time an Assyrian army under Dajan-Aššur after crossing from Ḫubuškia to Manna and destroyed the capital Zirta . In the following year (the 30th year of Shalmaneser) the Assyrians levied tribute on the train to Parsuaš and Namri in Mannai. Presumably the Assyrians planned to create a number of buffer states on the edge of the Iranian highlands; a permanent conquest was probably not intended.

Under Shamschi -Adad V (823-811) the general ( rab-reschi ) Mutarris-Marduk moved against the Manneans, Medes and Persians . However, the king's main focus was on Babylon . Also Adad-nīrārī III. moved in 806 against Mannai and the Medes, presumably without any great success, the campaign is only known from the eponymous chronicle .

Mannai was also threatened from the north. Išpuini of Urartu (824–806) left behind the stele of Karagündüz , which reports how he fought with 106 chariots, 10,000 horsemen and 22,000 infantrymen against Paršua and the city of Mešta in the realm of the Manneans. A Urartean inscription from Taštepe near Cillik reports the victory of King Menua (approx. 805 – approx. 785 BC), the son of Išpuini, over the Manneans and names a fortress that Menua had built in Mešta. It was around this time that the citadel of Hasanlu IV was probably destroyed. The inscription of Argišti II. (Approx. 714 - approx. 685) in Van reports, among other things, of campaigns against the Manna and Uišdiš . Urartu reached its greatest extent at this time, up to the area of ​​the late Hittite principalities and up to "the mountains of the Assyrians". This power was sure to pose a great threat to the independence of Manna. Argišti's successor, Sarduri III. (approx. 765–733) reported campaigns against Manna, on which cities were burned down, fortresses razed and rich booty was brought to Urartu. Assyria was so weak at the time that it could not protect its former vassals.

Only under Tiglat-pileser III. (744–722) Assyria interfered again in the conditions in the Zagros and in the highlands.

The Urartian king Rusa I (approx. 734 – approx. 714) seems to have made a new attempt to subjugate manna after he had restored his authority within. Letters and inscriptions from the time of Sargon (722–705) report that around 719 the Urartians united with Mitatti , prince of Zikirtu , and Bagdatti of Uišdiš against Iranzu von Mannai, who was an Assyrian ally at the time. Rusa I conquered some Mannaean cities, others took Mitatti and settled in Parda . However, Sargon rushed to the aid of his allies, defeated the Zikirtai and partially deported them to Damascus . Bagadatti, on the other hand, appears to have expanded its power base and is believed to be planning to seize power across Manna. As early as 717 BC He rebelled against Aza, the son of Iranzu, supported by Rusa of Urartu. Aza was slain on the Uišdiš mountain. His body was left unburied. Sargon advanced to Mount Uišdiš, captured Baghdatti and had him dragged . The mutilated body was put on public display, presumably to deter potential rebels.

Rusa then put Aza's brother Ullusun , who had previously consented to larger territorial cessions, as a puppet ruler. Further support came from Assurli'u from Karalla and Itti from Allabria . Sargon put down the uprising, conquered Izirtu, sacked Assurli'u and deported Itti and his followers to Hamath . The fact that Ullusunu nevertheless remained king suggests a rather incomplete victory or considerable tribute payments. The Assyrians not only subjugated manna, but also built fortresses in Medien and Persia (Kar-Sharrukin and Kar-Nergal). Presumably the Urartian influence was pushed back in the course of this campaign.

Around 715 Rusa allied himself with the Mannaean Dajakku (Daiukka), whom he probably wanted to use as a dependent ruler. However, he was defeated by Sargon II during his famous 8th campaign and deported to Syria with his family. Modern research assumes that Dajakku is identical to Deiokes , mentioned by Herodotus as the founder of the Mederreich . Herodotus' story about the founding of Ekbatana clearly has legendary features, which is why it could also be a confusion of the name Herodotus.

On his 8th campaign, Sargon united with Ullusu in Surikas. They march together against Parsua and attacked Zikirtu, which at that time probably belonged to Urartu and which Sargon had sworn to destroy. The Mannaean Mitatti of Zikirtu and Rusa united, but were driven to flight by the Assyrian troops, who then invaded Urartian territory and took the tribute from Nairi . Parda was sacked and the Zikirtee Mitatti was finally driven out. The Medes were also beaten again or, given the very cautious formulation for Assyrian standards, probably only looted for a short time. "In the eighth year of my government I turned against the countries of the ... Medes .... I carried their goods away." The high point of this campaign was the sack of Muṣaṣir ; the aim was clearly to push back the Urartian influence.

The invasion of the Kimmerer around 708 freed Manna from the threat posed by its powerful northern neighbor. How far the Kimmerer advanced into Iran is unclear. At the time of Sennacherib (705–681) the Manneans and Medes were probably allied with the Cimmerians.

In the time of Assurhaddon (681-669) the Manneans were allies of the Scythians under their prince Išpakai . Oracle texts indicate that both were considered to be a real threat. Assurhaddon claims to have collected tribute from the Manneans, but this claim is doubted by Georges Roux . In any case, there was no firm control of the highlands, as under Sargon.

Under Assurbanipal (669–627), the Manneans under King Ahšeri tried to penetrate Assyrian territory and took several fortifications. Between 665 and 655 the king sent the rab-reši Nabu-šar-usur against them, who besieged Izirtu and devastated the surrounding area. Thereupon Ahšeri was deposed and killed by his subjects, his son submitted to the Assyrians, who confirmed him in office by ceding some border towns. Since there was also unrest among the Medes, the Assyrians could probably not take action with the usual harshness, even if inscriptions in Nineveh announced that Ashurbanipal had smashed the Manneans.

After the death of Assurbanipal and the beginning of the Scythian Wars around 630, Assyria was largely eliminated as a power factor. Presumably, Manna was able to restore its independence.

The Assyrian Chronicle (ABC 3) reports that Nabopolassar of Babylon defeated the Assyrians under Sin-Šar-Uškun (623-612) and their Mannaean allies in his 10th year of reign (616–615). A campaign in Nabopolassar's 17th year (609–608), which allegedly led to Urartu, could also have touched the Mannaean area. It is reported that the army reached the area of Izalla and destroyed numerous towns in the mountains. Unfortunately, the text is incomplete at this point. Under Nabupolassar, the Medes constantly emerged as allies of the Babylonians. If the Manneans continued to side with Assyria, it can be assumed that they were also exposed to Median attacks.

It is unclear when manna rose in the Meder kingdom. Assyria fell in 610, Urartu (Tušpa) around 590. Reade assumed 614–612.

economy

The Mannaean Empire - and particularly the Subi Province - was known for breeding horses. The Manneans also grew grain and wine . A pollen diagram from Lake Almalou in northwestern Iran shows the beginning of fruit growing from the early Iron Age (approx. 3030 cal BP) and in the Mannean period. A break in the pollen curve for the fruit trees is perhaps connected with Sargon's campaigns; they probably started again with the beginning of the Persian Empire.

Kings

  • Iranzu
  • Aza, son of Iranzu
  • Bagadata
  • Ullusun (u), son of Iranzu
  • Ahšeri
  • Ualli

Mannean cities

  • Izirtu / Zirta (capital, first mentioned in 829), perhaps identical to Kaflant ( Hamadan district ).
  • Mešta near Taštepe
  • Parda, capital of the Mitatti
  • Pazaši, conquered by Sargon II
  • Zibia, probably today's Ziwiye

religion

Names of Mannaean gods have not been passed down, the reconstruction of the religion depends solely on image sources. A flat cup from Hasanlu is particularly important here. It shows a weather god in a uniaxial chariot pulled by bulls, a sun god (?) Wearing a kind of winged sun on his head, and a moon god with a simple crown of horns , whose chariots are pulled by onagers . A man on a throne adorned with mountains or formed from mountains, who rests on a lion and from whose back a three-headed dragon rises, is interpreted as a mountain god. A woman who exposes herself and whose upper body is decorated with crescent moons can perhaps be equated with Ishtar . However, it stands on a ram, not a lion. Since these figures (apart from the “moon god”) lack the traditional Near Eastern horn crowns, their identification as transcendental beings is not entirely clear. An eagle carrying a human figure is interpreted as a representation of Ganymede . Some researchers assume that the cup is an old piece. W. Orthmann sees a clear late Hittite influence and advocates dating around 950 BC. Chr.

Eph'al assumes that Ḫaldi owned a temple in Z'TR in Mannai.

Language and ethnicity

Apart from proper names, there are no language certificates.

Horst Klengel assumes that the Manneans were mainly composed of Guti , Lullubi and Mitanni , who had lived in the area since the 2nd millennium , but that they had perhaps also incorporated Iranian elements. Edith Porada assumes a predominantly Hurrian population, but does not want to rule out a gradual Iranization of the language . She sees her Hurrian ancestry confirmed by the names of places and people known from the Assyrian annals.

Boehmer also sees the Manneans as Hurrians, but rather considers a Kassite admixture. Kashkai largely followed this thesis. Melikišvili also wants to see an Iranian influence only on the edge of the Mannean territory (Daiukku and Bagdatti) and considers it unlikely that the Manneans spoke an Iranian language.

A Turkish origin of the Manneans is generally rejected.

According to Ran Zadok's analysis of proper names, the majority of proper names and toponyms in Mannai were Iranian, followed by Hurro-Urartan (15%) and Kassite (4%). Since the traditional proper names come largely from the upper class, this does not necessarily allow conclusions to be drawn about the vernacular. In addition, cultural factors must be taken into account (prestige and tradition of foreign-language names or their adoption into one's own onomasticon ). Zadok considers a linguistic unity of the Manneans to be questionable and assumes an increasing Iranian penetration. He also wants to explain the names of the kings Udaki and Āza from ancient Iranian roots.

The stele of Bukan bears an Aramaic inscription from the 8th or 7th century BC. BC Lemaire assumes that the stele was written by the Mannean king Ullusunu; Salvini wants to see it as a state treaty, perhaps between Urartu and Mannai. Either the Aramaic language penetrated the Zagros very early as part of the Assyrian deportation policy , or the rulers of Mannai consciously chose an official and written language that set itself apart from the Assyrian cuneiform script used by the enemy neighbors in Urartu. If Aramaic documents were used on a larger scale, it would reduce the likelihood of finding Mannai documents, as Aramaic was mostly written on parchment or papyrus. Eph'al assumes that the upper class in Mannai had adopted the Aramaic language; however, it is more likely that it was written only, similar to Assyrian in Urartus' early years. The imagery of the stele is, however, a sign that the writer was probably Aramean. Michael Sokoloff refers to the lack of Akkadianisms or even influences of the native non-Semitic language.

literature

  • R. Böhmer: Incised ceramics from the Mannaean (?) Area. In: Arch. Mitt. Iran 19, 1986, pp. 95-115.
  • T. Cuyler Young: Iranian migration into the Zagros. In: Iran 5, 1967.
  • AK Grayson: Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles. Locust Valley 1975.
  • RH Dyson Jr .: Problems of protohistoric Iran as seen from Hasanlu. In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies 24/1965, pp. 193ff.
  • Horst Klengel : Cultural history of the ancient Near East. (= Publications of the Central Institute for Ancient History and Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR , Vol. 18). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1989.
  • SM Kashkai: O gorodach-krepostjach na territorii Manny. In: Drevnij Vostok 2, 1976, pp. 89-97.
  • SM Kashkai: Iz Istorii Mannejskogo Carstva. Baku 1977.
  • René Labat: Assyria and its neighboring countries . In: Elena Cassin , Jean Bottéro , Jean Vercoutter (eds.): Die Altorientalischen Reiche III. The first half of the 1st millennium (= Fischer Weltgeschichte . Volume 4). Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt am Main 1967, pp. 8–110.
  • Vladimir Lukon: Art of Ancient Iran. Leipzig 1986, p.?.
  • Edith Porada: The Art of Ancient Iran. Pre-Islamic Cultures. Crown Publishers, New York 1962, chapter 9.
  • Julian Reade: Iran in the Neo-Assyrian Period. In: Mario Liverani (Ed.): Neo-Assyrian geography. Università di Roma, Dipartimento di scienze storiche, archeologiche e antropologiche dell'Antichità, Rome 1995.
  • Georges Roux : Ancient Iraq. Penguin, London 1992.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Israel Eph'al: The Bukan Aramaic inscription: historical considerations. Israel Exploration Journal 49, 1999, p. 117.
  2. ^ Julian Reade: Iran in the Neo-Assyrian Period. In: Mario Liverani (Ed.): Neo-Assyrian geography. Università di Roma, Dipartimento di scienze storiche, archeologiche e antropologiche dell'Antichità, Rome 1995.
  3. ↑ Miroslav Salvini: The Influence of the Urartu Empire on the Political Conditions on the Iranian Plateau. In: Ricardo Eichmann, Hermann Parzinger (Hrsg.): Migration und Kulturtransfer. Bonn 2001, p. 350.
  4. ^ Georges Roux : Ancient Iraq. Penguin, London 1992.
  5. ^ Julian Reade: Iran in the Neo-Assyrian Period. In: Mario Liverani (Ed.): Neo-Assyrian geography. Università di Roma, Dipartimento di scienze storiche, archeologiche e antropologiche dell'Antichità, Rome 1995.
  6. ↑ Morteza Djamali et al: A late Holocene pollen record from Lake Almalou in NW Iran: evidence for changing land-use in relation to some historical events during the last 3700 years. Journal of Archaeological Science 36, 2009, pp. 1364-1375.
  7. ↑ Israel Eph'al: The Bukan Aramaic inscription: historical considerations. Israel Exploration Journal 49, 1999, p. 119.
  8. ↑ Israel Eph'al: The Bukan Aramaic inscription: historical considerations. Israel Exploration Journal 49, 1999, p. 120.
  9. ↑ Horst Klengel : Cultural History of the Ancient Near East. (= Publications of the Central Institute for Ancient History and Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR , Vol. 18). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1989.
  10. ↑ Edith Porada: The Art of Ancient Iran. Pre-Islamic Cultures. Crown Publishers, New York 1962, chapter 9.
  11. ↑ RM Boehmer: People and cities of the Manneans. Baghdader Mitteilungen 3, 1964, pp. 11-24.
  12. ↑ SM Kashkai: Iz Istorii Mannejskogo Carstva. Baku 1977, chapter 2.
  13. ↑ GA Melikišvili: Nekotor'ie voprosy istorii mannejskogo zarstva. VDI 1949/1, pp. 57-72.
  14. ↑ YB Yusifov: On the ancient population of the Urmia lake region. AMINF 19, 1986, pp. 87-93.
  15. ^ Ran Zadok: The ethno-linguistic character of Northwestern Iran and Kurdistan in the Neo-Assyrian Period. Iran 40, 2002, p. 140.
  16. ^ A. Lemaire: Une inscription areméenne du VIII e siècle av. J.-C. trouvée à Bukân (Azerbaijan Irania). Studia Iranica 27/1, 1998, pp. 15-30.
  17. ↑ Miroslav Salvini: The Influence of the Urartu Empire on the Political Conditions on the Iranian Plateau. In: Ricardo Eichmann, Hermann Parzinger (Hrsg.): Migration und Kulturtransfer. Bonn 2001, p. 353.
  18. ↑ Israel Eph'al: The Bukan Aramaic inscription: historical considerations. Israel Exploration Journal 49, 1999, p. 118.
  19. ^ Michael Sokoloff: The Old Aramaic inscription from Bukân: A revised interpretation. In: Israel Exploration Journal 49, 1999, p. 106.