Aksaray stele
The stele of Aksaray is a late Hittite monument from the urban area of Aksaray in western Cappadocia in central Turkey . It is exhibited in the Aksaray Museum with the inventory number 1-1-77.
Find
The Turkish Hittitologist Mustafa Kalaç was told by Abdullah Karakaya, assistant to the Aksaray Museum, that the stele was found on April 25, 1976 in the excavation of a hotel near the southeastern city wall . The British Hittitologist John David Hawkins, on the other hand, received information from Museum Director Fariz Demir in 1987 that the site was the construction site for Mehmet Şişman İşhane in Hükümet Caddesi. The first publication was in 1977 by Kalaç, another in 1982 by Massimo Poetto. Hawkins published the stele in 2000 in his Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions .
description
The stone block is 88 centimeters high, 90 centimeters wide and has a thickness of 39 centimeters. The upper half is missing. On the front, the lower part of a figure can be seen up to about the waist, probably a weather god . The god is turned to the right and clad with sneakers. The fringed border of a short skirt can be seen on the upper edge, and the blunt end of a sword protrudes behind the left leg. On the back the last five lines of a text can be read in Luwian hieroglyphics . The inscription continues over the sides, the last line is continued on the front in a narrow strip under the figure's feet. Between lines 2 and 3 there is a second use hole in the stone, possibly it was used as a millstone. Only four lines remain on the side surfaces.
The top line is illegible, the following text begins at the top right and continues boustrophedon to the right end of the bottom line, and then continues on the front under the feet of the god. Hawkins suspects the end of the writing on a lost part of the stele, possibly the base. The lines are about 16 centimeters high, the last line is only half as high. The content of the inscription is a dedication by King Kiyakiyas. He describes the prosperity in his reign and the benevolence of the weather god Tarhunzas . He explains that great kings and kings all admired this city and attributes this back to Tarhunzas. The text on the front is unclear; the erection of the stele may be described by another person. Kiyakiyas is believed to be identical to King Kiyakki of Šinuḫtu, who lived in 718 BC. Was deported by the Neo-Assyrian King Sargon II . He is also mentioned in the rock inscription of Topada as one of the kings who were gracious to Wasusarma of Tabal . This means that the inscription can be traced back to the late 8th century BC. To be dated.
Left side
right side
Front with relief
Right foot with writing
Left foot with writing
literature
- Mustafa Kalaç: A stone quarry with Luwian hieroglyphs in Aksaray near Niğde In: Journal for Comparative Linguistic Research Vol. 92, 1978 pp. 117–125.
- John David Hawkins: Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Vol. I: Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Part 2: text. Amuq, Aleppo, Hama, Tabal, Assur Letters, Miscellaneous, Seals, Indices. (= Studies in Indo-European Language and Culture 8). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2000, ISBN 3-11-010864-X , pp. 475-478.
Web links
- Aksaray at hittitemonuments.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mustafa Kalaç: A quarry with Luwian hieroglyphs in Aksaray near Niğde In: Journal for Comparative Linguistic Research Vol. 92, 1978 p. 117.
- ↑ Massimo Poetto: Osservazioni sull'iscrizione luvio-geroglifica di Aksaray In: Serta indogermanica - Festschrift for G. Neumann , J. Tischler, Innsbruck 1982 pp. 275–286