Sastura

Sastura ( hieroglyphic Luwish sa-sa-tù + ra / i-sá or sa-sá-tù + ra / i-sa ) was a vizier of Karkemiš , whose son became king. He ruled in the middle 8th century BC. Chr.

Sastura as vizier of Kamani

During the reign of King Kamani of Karkemiš, Sastura was a vizier or "first servant of Kamani". He is mentioned on the founding stele of the city of Kamana, which he founded together with his master Kamani. As Vizier of Karkemiš he was powerful enough to be the overlord of others himself, as the inscription of his "beloved servant" DOMINUS-tiwara or DOMINUS-tiwari on the same stele reveals.

Sastura was originally incorrectly identified with King Sarduri II of Urartu , based on an earlier misreading of the passage from the "first servant". Nevertheless it is conceivable that the name Sastura is of Urartian origin.

The son of Sastura

The son of Sastura came to the throne of Karkemiš as king. He ruled in the second half of the 8th century BC. And carried the title hero and sovereign . His name has not been passed down. However, there are two options. On the one hand, the son of Sastura is identified with Pisiri , the last king of Karkemiš, who in Assyrian sources from 738 to 717 BC. Chr. Is mentioned. On the other hand, it could be a hypothetical Astiru II. If the latter is true, Pisiri would have to be viewed separately from the son of Sastura and would then be one of his successors, perhaps the immediate successor.

The name Astiru comes from a fragment of an inscription that is no longer clearly legible. Possibly the name Astiru did belong in the ancestral line of the king (maybe Pisiri after all?), Who clearly names his father: "my father Sastu (ra), the sun- blessed prince", whereby the father's name is only preserved as Sastu. The unclear, only fragmentarily preserved lineage of the ruler could be reconstructed as "Sastura's son, Astiro's grandson". This begs the question of how Sastura was related to Kamani. One possibility is consanguinity, possibly as the nephew of Kamani, since he could hardly be a brother or son of the man whose first servant he was, especially since the brothers of Kamani are known. However, it is possible that the vizier Sastura was a son-in-law or adopted son of Kamani, which would bring him (and thus his son) into the lineage of King Astiruwa , the father of Kamani.

There is a possibility that Sastura may have arranged for his son to be enthroned. A fragmentarily preserved inscription could also be interpreted to mean that there were hostile disputes on the occasion of Sastura's son's assumption of government, which were later settled.

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

• 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
• John David Hawkins (1979): Some Historical Problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . In: Anatolian Studies 29, pp. 153-167.
• John David Hawkins (1981): Kubaba at Karkamiš and Elsewhere . In: Anatolian Studies 31, pp. 153-167.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 77.
2. ^ ^{A b} Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 302.
3. ^ ^{A b} Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 80.
4. ^ JD Hawkins (1979): Some Historical Problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . In: Anatolian Studies 29, p. 161 f.
5. ^ JD Hawkins (1979): Some Historical Problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . In: Anatolian Studies 29, p. 160 f.
6. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, pp. 97 f.
7. ^ ^{A b} John David Hawkins (1979): Some Historical Problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . In: Anatolian Studies 29, p. 162.
8. ^ JD Hawkins (1982): Kubaba at Karkamiš and Elsewhere . In: Anatolian Studies 31, p. 157.
9. ^ ^{A b c} John David Hawkins (1982): Kubaba at Karkamiš and Elsewhere . In: Anatolian Studies 31, p. 159.
10. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, p. 98.
11. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History . Oxford, New York 2012, pp. 94-98, 302.
12. ^ John David Hawkins (1979): Some Historical Problems of the Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . In: Anatolian Studies 29, pp. 159, 162.
13. ^ John David Hawkins (1982): Kubaba at Karkamiš and Elsewhere . In: Anatolian Studies 31, p. 159.
14. ^ John David Hawkins: Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions: Inscriptions of the Iron Age, Volume 1 . Berlin 2000, p. 129.
15. ^ 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
Kamani	Vizier (king?) Of Karkemiš middle 8th century BC Chr.	Son of Sastura ( Pisiri ?)