Tarḫuntašša

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Location of Tarḫuntašša

As Tarḫuntašša ( d U- ta-aš-ša ; outdated reading Dattašša) a region on the south coast of Asia Minor was referred to in Hittite sources .

geography

The heartland roughly corresponded to ancient Lycaonia or the catchment area of ​​the Çarşamba River , which was probably called Ḫulaya in Hittite . Tarḫuntašša bordered in the east on Kizzuwatna (corresponded to a large part of the ancient plains Cilicia ) and in the west on the river Kaštraya, the ancient Kestros , with the city of Parḫa, the ancient Perge , in the south it extended to the Mediterranean. The border to the north is unclear.

Localization of the capital

Kızıldağ rock relief with Hartapu's king cartridge

The location of Tarauntašša is unknown and various locations have been suggested, but none of them meet the archaeological requirements of a capital city. New research within the Konya Regional Archeological Survey Project (KRASP) revealed that the Konya plain was well populated during the Hittite period and the subsequent Iron Age, with Türkmen-Karahöyük being a political center during this period.

According to Michele Massa and Christoph Bachhuber, the heads of the KRASP, Türkmen-Karahöyük would be a suitable place for the Hittite Tarḫuntašša. The Bronze Age Turkmen-Karahöyük grew during the Hittite period from about 30 hectares to 150 hectares and was therefore only slightly smaller than the Hittite capital Ḫattuša with 180 hectares. In addition, no other place of this size in southern Anatolia is known. High-quality Hittite ceramics, as found mainly in the heartland, indicate an administrative center of the Hittites. The city was on a fertile plain that could feed the city sufficiently. It was strategically better located than the old capital, on the one hand better protected from enemy attacks by the Kaškäer from the north and on the other hand with better access to the Mediterranean, Cilicia and Syria, which were Hittite areas at the time.

Since the name Tarḫuntašša appears late, Massa et al. Suspect that King Muwattalli II , who moved the Hittite capital from Ḫattuša to Tarḫuntašša, renamed the place of the new capital after his personal patron god Tarḫunna .

Another clue could have been the inscriptions of the Great King Hartapu , son of Mursili, which were found in Türkmen-Karahöyük and on neighboring mountains ( Kızıldağ , Karadağ and Burunkaya ) and date back to the 8th century BC. To be dated. The archaic-looking inscriptions, the title "Great King" with the use of the Hittite king's seal and winged sun, as well as the name of Hartapu's father Mursili could also point to a tradition in the succession of the Hittite kings over the line of Tarḫuntašša.

history

Under Muwattalli II (approx. 1290-1272 BC) Tarḫuntašša was temporarily the seat of government of the Hittite Empire in place of the capital Ḫattuša, which was threatened by Kaškaers . The state treaty between the Hittite great king Tudḫaliya IV (approx. 1240–1215 BC) and his uncle or cousin Kurunta ensures the exact location of Tarḫuntašša. In this treaty, Kurunta, who himself had legitimate claims to the Hittite throne, was allowed to rule over Tarḫuntašša and the boundaries of his territory were precisely determined. Tarḫuntašša remained part of the Hittite Empire. Kurunta received the status of viceroy - the same status that the king of Karkamiš had - and was still subordinate to the Hittite great king.

Šuppiluliuma II. (From about 1215/10) apparently waged war with Tarḫuntašša. A few years earlier - according to the archaeological evidence in Ḫattuša - there had apparently been an attempted coup by Kurunta against the Hittite great king. A recently found inscription celebrates Šuppiluliuma's victory over Kurunta. The exact consequences of this campaign and the further fate of Tarḫuntašša have not yet been conclusively clarified. Because of survival of the Hittite culture in southern Anatolia some lead Hittitologists the collapse of the Hittite Empire to internal confusion (wars between Tarhuntassa and the core land) back.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michele Massa et al. A landscape-oriented approach to urbanization and early state formation on the Konya and Karaman plains, Turkey , Anatolian Studies 70 (2020): 63-66

literature

  • Birgit Brandau, Hartmut Schickert: Hittites: The Unknown World Power. Piper, Munich a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-492-04338-0 .
  • Peter Neve: Hattuŝa - city of gods and temples . von Zabern, Mainz 1993, ISBN 3-8053-1478-7 , esp.p. 19 ff.
  • John David Hawkins : The Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of the Sacred Pool Complex at Hattusa (Südburg). (= Studies on the Boǧazköy texts . Supplement 3). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1995, ISBN 3-447-03438-6 .
  • Ali M. Dinçol, Jak Yakar , Belkis Dinçol, Avia Taffet: The limits of Tarhuntašša in the light of geographical observations. In: Éric Jean, Ali M. Dinçol, Serra Durugönül (eds.): La Cilicie: Espaces et pouvoir locaux - Actes de la table ronde internationale d'Istanbul 2–5 November 1999 . Institut FranEais d'Etudes Anatoliennes, Georges Dumézil 2001. ISBN 2-906053-64-3 pp. 79-86
  • Michele Massa et al: A landscape-oriented approach to urbanization and early state formation on the Konya and Karaman plains, Turkey , Anatolian Studies 70 (2020): 45-75, (doi: 10.107 / S0066154620000034).