The Lukka lands (sometimes Luqqa lands), were an ancient region of Anatolia. They are known from Hittite and Egyptian texts, which viewed them as hostile. It is commonly accepted that the Bronze Age toponym Lukka is cognate with the Lycia of classical antiquity.
Lukka was located in southwestern Anatolia. However, its exact extent is a matter of debate. Trevor Bryce has argued that the Lukka lands covered a large area including the regions later known as Lycaonia, Pisidia and Lycia. [1] Other researchers, such as Ilya Yakubovich, have argued that Lukka was limited to Lycia and that "the Hittite kings did not regard Lukka as a state and...that this land was politically decentralized." [2] Researcher Rostislav Oreshko argues that there were two centers of Lukkan power - one in the traditional location near Lycia and another located in the eastern part of the Troad - and that most of the Hittite records concern the latter. [3]
The Amarna letters mention Lukkan raids against the island kingdom of Alashiya in the mid-1300s BC, [1] about the same time as Hittite texts praying to the Sun goddess of Arinna mention the Lukka lands along with Arawanna, Kalaspa and Pitassa as independent lands that had ceased paying tribute. [2] They are mentioned prominently in the Hittite treaty with Alaksandu circa 1280 BC:
"Concerning army and chariotry, the agreement with you will be as follows: if My Sun campaigns in the direction of those lands – either towards Gargisa, (or Masa), or Lukka, or Warsiyalla – you too will campaign with me, together with your infantry and chariotry. Or if I dispatch an officer in the direction of these lands to go on a campaign, you will campaign there with (him) too." [3]
Soldiers from the Lukka lands fought on the Hittite side in the famous Battle of Kadesh (c. 1274 BC) against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II. A century later, the Lukka had turned against the Hittites. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma II tried in vain to defeat the Lukka. They contributed to the collapse of the Hittite Empire.[ citation needed ] The Lukka are also known from texts in Ancient Egypt as one of the tribes of the Sea Peoples, who invaded Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in the 12th century BC. [1] [2]
| Bronze Age | |
|---|---|
| Iron Age | |
| Classical Age | |
The Hittites were an Anatolian Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of Bronze Age West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in modern-day Turkey in the early 2nd millennium BC. The Hittites formed a series of polities in north-central Anatolia, including the kingdom of Kussara, the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom, and an empire centered on Hattusa. Known in modern times as the Hittite Empire, it reached its peak during the mid-14th century BC under Šuppiluliuma I, when it encompassed most of Anatolia and parts of the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, bordering the rival empires of the Hurri-Mitanni and Assyrians.
Lycia was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğla in Turkey as well some inland parts of Burdur Province. The region was known to history from the Late Bronze Age records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire.
The Sea Peoples were a group of tribes hypothesized to have attacked Egypt and other Eastern Mediterranean regions around 1200 BC during the Late Bronze Age. The hypothesis was first proposed by the 19th century Egyptologists Emmanuel de Rougé and Gaston Maspero, on the basis of primary sources such as the reliefs on the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. Subsequent research developed the hypothesis further, attempting to link these sources to other Late Bronze Age evidence of migration, piracy, and destruction. While initial versions of the hypothesis regarded the Sea Peoples as a primary cause of the Late Bronze Age collapse, more recent versions generally regard them as a symptom of events which were already in motion before their purported attacks.
Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital was at Apasa, is often referred to as Arzawa Minor or Arzawa Proper, while the other Arzawa lands included Mira, Hapalla, Wilusa, and the Seha River Land.
Hittite, also known as Nesite, is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken by the Hittites, a people of Bronze Age Anatolia who created an empire centred on Hattusa, as well as parts of the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia. The language, now long extinct, is attested in cuneiform, in records dating from the 17th to the 13th centuries BC, with isolated Hittite loanwords and numerous personal names appearing in an Old Assyrian context from as early as the 20th century BC, making it the earliest attested use of the Indo-European languages.
Mursili II was a king of the Hittite Empire c. 1330–1295 BC or 1321–1295 BC.
Arnuwanda I was a Hittite great king during the early 14th century BC, ruling in c. 1390–1380/1370 BC.
Tudḫaliya II was a Hittite great king in the late 15th/early 14th century BC, ruling in perhaps c. 1425–c. 1390 BC. He was the father-in-law and predecessor of Arnuwanda I.
Alashiya, also spelled Alasiya, also known as the Kingdom of Alashiya, was a state which existed in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, and was situated somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was a major source of goods, especially copper, for ancient Egypt and other states in the Ancient Near East. It is referred to in a number of the surviving texts and is now thought to be the ancient name of Cyprus, or an area of Cyprus. This was confirmed by the scientific analysis performed in Tel Aviv University of the clay tablets which were sent from Alashiya to other rulers.
Assuwa was a region of Bronze Age Anatolia located west of the Kızılırmak River. It was mentioned in Aegean, Anatolian and Egyptian inscriptions but is best known from Hittite records describing a league of 22 towns or states that rebelled against Hittite authority. It disappears from history during the thirteenth century BC.
Ḫiyawa or Adanawa was a Luwian-speaking Syro-Hittite state which existed in southeastern Anatolia in the Iron Age.
Warpalawas II was a Luwian king of the Syro-Hittite kingdom of Tuwana in the region of Tabal who reigned during the late 8th century BC, from around c. 740 to c. 705 BC.
Nuhašše, was a region in northwestern Syria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was east of the Orontes River bordering Aleppo (northwest) and Qatna (south). It was a petty kingdom or federacy of principalities probably under a high king. Tell Khan Sheykhun has tenatively been identified as kurnu-ḫa-šeki.
The Luwians were an ancient people in Anatolia who spoke the Luwian language. During the Bronze Age, Luwians formed part of the population of the Hittite Empire and adjoining states such as Kizzuwatna. During the Hittite New Kingdom, Luwian replaced Hittite as the empire's dominant language. In the early Iron Age, a number of Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittite states arose in northern Syria. The Luwians are known largely from their language, and it is unclear to what extent they formed a unified cultural or political group.
Purushanda was an Anatolian kingdom of the early second millennium prior to the common era. It was conquered by the Hittites circa 1700 BC. The name disappears from history soon thereafter.
Ḫartapus or Kartapus was an Anatolian king who in the early 8th century BCE ruled a state in what is presently the region of Konya in modern Turkey.
Kubaba was a goddess of uncertain origin worshiped in ancient Syria. Despite the similarity of her name to these of legendary queen Kubaba of Kish and Phrygian Cybele, she is considered a distinct figure from them both. Her character is poorly known. Multiple local traditions associating her with other deities existed, and they cannot necessarily be harmonized with each other. She is first documented in texts from Kanesh and Alalakh, though her main cult center was Carchemish. She was among the deities worshiped in northern Syria who were incorporated into Hurrian religion, and in Hurrian context she occurs in some of the Ugaritic texts. She was also incorporated into Hittite religion through Hurrian intermediaties. In the first millennium BCE she was worshiped by Luwians, Arameans and Lydians, and references to her can be found in a number of Greek texts.
Karkiya or Karkisa was a Late Bronze Age region in western Anatolia known from references in Hittite and Egyptian records. It is believed to refer to the classical era region of Caria or to a region where ancestors of the Carians lived at the time, though this identification has not been firmly established.
Alatra was one of the lands of the Assuwa coalition that opposed the Hittites in Bronze Age Anatolia. It is mentioned in the Annals of Tudḫaliya and possibly in a later Iron Age stela.
Ḥuwallušiya was an ancient region of Anatolia located west of the Kızılırmak River and named in the Annals of Mursili, the Annals of Tudḫaliya and several itineraries of Hittite troop movements in the fifteenth century BC. It was one of the lands of the Assuwa coalition that opposed the Hittites.
