Nişantaş

Nişantepe from the east

Coordinates: 40 ° 0 ′ 47.5 ″  N , 34 ° 37 ′ 2.7 ″  E

Nişantaş​

Turkey

Nişantaş ( Turkish character stone) is a rock with an inscription in Luwian hieroglyphics on the hill Nişantepe ( Turkish character hill ) in the Hittite capital Ḫattuša . It was created in the time of the Hittite empire under Šuppiluliuma II. , The last great king.

location

The excavation site of Ḫattuša is located near the small town of Boğazkale in the district of the same name in the province of Çorum in central Turkey . The rocky hill Nişantepe belongs to the upper town and is located about 250 meters southwest of the Büyükkale rock massif with the royal castle, west of the modern road that comes down here from the King's Gate. Opposite is the elevation called Südburg , on which there are remains of a Phrygian fortification. Traces of a large building can be seen on Nişantepe. This probably includes the fragments of two torsphing rings that were found in fallen rubble at the foot of the rock and are now exhibited in the Museum of Boğazkale. The eponymous inscription is carved under a protruding hollow on the south-eastern side of the hill.

description

Nişantaş

The surface described has a slope of about 50 degrees and measures almost 9 meters in width and 2.40 meters in height. On the left it is separated into two unequal parts by a wedge-shaped crevice. Like the line dividing lines, the writing is in high relief. The text begins in the upper right corner and continues bustrophedon over eleven lines, with the last one coming from the right ending in the right section. Since the inscription has been exposed to the weather for three millennia since its creation, it is in very poor condition, which means that only parts of the first line, which was protected by the rock overhang, are clearly legible. The text begins with two indistinct characters that can possibly be interpreted as I am . This is followed by the name Šuppiluliuma with the designation Great King under a winged sun , followed by the descent as the son of the Great King Tudḫaliya IV and grandson of the Great King Ḫattušili III. The founder of the inscription can thus be identified as Šuppiluliuma II., The last great king of the Hittite empire before its collapse, who lived from the end of the 13th to the beginning of the 12th century BC. Ruled. After the performance, the name of Tudḫaliya follows again, which is why it is assumed that the further text, which can only be deciphered in fragments, is a report on the deeds of this great king.

About 200 meters east of Nişantepe, on the south-eastern slope of the southern castle , a chamber was excavated which, in addition to a relief of the sun god and one of Šuppiluliuma, contains another hieroglyphic text of the same great king in which he gives an account of his deeds.

Research history

The rock inscription has been evident since its creation. The first photograph of the inscription was taken in 1861 by Georges Perrot , who, like Charles Texier before him , considered the place to be the ancient pteria. The Cornell expedition to Asia Minor and the Assyro-Babylonian Orient ( Cornell University ) from 1907 visited the site and also published photos and a description. A first scientific review was published in 1933 by Helmuth Theodor Bossert . After careful editing with chalk, Franz Steinherr in 1972 provided a complete recording of the text, including good photographs and a drawing .

literature

• Helmuth Theodor Bossert: Nischan-Tepe and Nischan-Tasch. In: Archive for Orient Research . Volume 9, 1933-1934, pp. 173-186.
• Franz Steinherr: The king's inscription from Nişantaş (Boğazkale). In: Istanbul communications. Volume 22, 1972, pp. 1-14, panels 1-5.
• Horst Ehringhaus : Gods, rulers, inscriptions - the rock reliefs of the Hittite empire in Turkey. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2005, ISBN 3-8053-3469-9 , p. 32.
• Jürgen Seeher : Hattuscha leader. A day in the Hittite capital. 4th, revised edition. Ege Yayınları, Istanbul 2011, ISBN 978-605-5607-57-9 , pp. 98-100.

Web links

Commons : Nişantaş  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Georges Perrot, Edmond Guillaume, Jules Delbet: Exploration archéologique de la Galatie et de la Bithynie, d'une partie de la Mysie, de la Phrygie, de la Cappadoce et du Pont. Volume 2, Didot, Paris 1872, plate 35 ( digitized version ).
2. ^ Charles Texier: Description de l'Asie Mineure: faite par ordre du gouvernement français en 1833-1837. Beaux-arts, monuments historiques, plans et topographie des cités antiques. Volume 1, Firmin Didot Frères, Paris 1839, pp. 209-228 ( digitized version ).
3. ^ Benson Brush Charles: Hittite Inscriptions ( Cornell Expedition to Asia Minor ). Ithaca / New York 1911, pp. 7-10.
4. ↑ Helmuth Theodor Bossert: Nischan-Tepe and Nischan-Tasch. In: Archive for Orient Research . Volume 9, 1933-1934, pp. 173-186.