Purushanda

Last updated

Purushanda (also variously Puruskhanda, Purushhattum, Purushhatum or Burushattum) 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.

Contents

Etymology

The name is written as māt Purušḫattim in the oldest Assyrian texts, [1] and it has been speculated that the root Puruš- is of Indo-European (i.e. Luwian language) heritage. [2] The suffix -ḫattim most certainly refers to the Hattians. [3] It was transliterated as Pu-ru-us-ha-an-da in the oldest Hittite texts (1650 -1500 BCE) and Pu-u-ru-us-ha-an-da (or -ta) in the newer ones (13th century BCE), resulting in the modern spelling Purušhanda. [4] The allophone variation of P/B is from the Akkadian language, which variously transliterated the name as Puruš-haddum, Puruš-ḫattim, Buruš-haddum, Puruš-hadim and Puruš-handar. [5]

Geography

Middle Bronze Age Anatolia Mid000017 Map 2011 09 Middle-Bronzse-Age-Anatolia.jpg
Middle Bronze Age Anatolia

Purushanda has yet to be archaeologically located. It can be discerned as a polity in the general central Anatolian region from Old Assyrian texts, [6] appeared to have access to the silver mines of the Taurus Mountains [7] [8] [2] and control of the Cilician Gates. [9] [10] It has been posited as lying astride an inland passage of Anatolia known as “the Great Caravan Route” during the Early Bronze Age, [2] connecting Cilicia with the Troad. [11] Scholarship has reduced its location to three likely sites. [12] Majority opinion locates it at the mound of Acemhöyük. [13] [14] The site consists of a 700 by 600 meter mound, shows occupation back to the third millennium BCE with central Anatolian, Mesopotamian and North Syrian pottery of the same era, a lower city that existed only during the Old Assyrian period, a burnt level at the end of that period and contemporaneous abandonment. [15] [16] Minority views hold it to be at either the mound of Karahöyük [17] or somewhere west of Konya in the land of Pedassa. [18]

History

Hattic period

Archaeology at Acemhöyük has confirmed the remains of central Anatolian, Mesopotamian and north Syrian pottery - as well as traces of monumental structures - dated 2659 to 2157 BC. [19] The etymology suggests a city in the land of Hatti [1] south of the Kızılırmak River.

A text known as the "King of Battle" dating to the 14th century BC recounts the fictional expedition of Akkadian king Sargon against Purushanda and its ruler, Nur-Dagan (or Nur-Daggal). [20] An even older legend - the "Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin" - implies that Purushanda belonged to Sargon's grandson. [21] Both works are anachronistic and ahistorical but may hint at a relationship between the Akkadians and Proto-Luwians in the twenty-fourth and twenty-third centuries BC before the latter's immigration to Anatolia.

Luwian period

Linguistic models suggest the existence of a common Luwian-speaking state circa 2000 BC, stretching from the central Anatolian plateau (modern Konya province) northward to the western bend of the Maraššantiya (where modern Ankara, Kırıkkale and Kırşehir provinces meet). [22] [23] This region was dominated by the kingdom of Purushanda, [24] [22] the etymology of which suggests a takeover of Hattic lands by Luwian elites. [25] It is believed Purushanda would have functioned as "copper clearinghouse" between central and western Anatolia between 1974–1836 BC, [6] with evidence of monumental structures dating to the 1900s BC at the end of the early Bronze Age. [26]

Four ivory sphinxes from Acemhoyuk, Turkey. Pratt ivories, Metropolitan Museum of Art Four ivory sphinxes from Acemhoyuk, Turkey. Pratt ivories, Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg
Four ivory sphinxes from Acemhöyük, Turkey. Pratt ivories, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Purushanda is first mentioned toward the end of the 19th century BCE in the records of Mari. Subsequent seals found at Acemhöyük suggest substantial trade between the two kingdoms as well as the possibility of dynastic intermarriage between the two royal houses. Syrian cylinder seals appear to be the dominant style during this period and resemble the seal of Matruna, the daughter of the king Aplahanda of Carchemish who reigned 1786-1766 BC. [18] Scholarship has concluded that "that city was associated with an Anatolian or North Syrian network in which the Assyrians did not participate." [27] [28]

Hittite period

The city is prominently mentioned in the Anitta Texts, [29] a collection of Hittite writings unearthed at Kanesh. They depict it as a major seat of power in the region, describing its ruler as "Great King" (rubā'um rabi'um) whereas other rulers are merely "kings".

Purushanda features again in the stories of the campaigns of the 17th century BC Hittite ruler Anitta. [30] The Purushandan kingdom appears to have been a significant rival of Kanesh, the kingdom ruled by Anitta. The Hittite king launched a war against Purushanda but according to the Anitta Text, a Hittite account of later date, the Purushandan king surrendered to the Hittite army: [30]

When I went into battle, the Man of Purushanda brought gifts to me; he brought to me a throne of iron and a sceptre of iron as a gift. But when I returned to Nesa [Kanesh] I took the Man of Purushanda with me. As soon as he enters the chamber, that man will sit before me on the right. [31]

The text indicates that the right to rule over Purushanda's territory – symbolised by the regalia of office, the throne and sceptre – was surrendered to Anitta. Its king was reduced to the status of a privileged vassal, entitled to join Anitta at the court in Kanesh in recognition of his voluntary surrender and his high-born status. The kingdom itself probably ceased to exist at this point and was absorbed into Hittite-ruled territory. [30]

Kings

RulerDatePeriodComment
Nur-Daggalc. 2330-2200 BCEarly Bronze IVA (Akkadian Period)legendary great king contemporary with Sargon of Akkad.
Anitta*c. 1650 BCMiddle Bronze II*Conquered the kingdom with the Rise of the Hittite Old Kingdom.

See Also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hittites</span> Ancient Anatolian people of Kussara

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kültepe</span> Human settlement

Kültepe, also known under its ancient name Kaneš or Neša (Nesha), is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey. It was already a major settlement at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, but it is world-renowned for its significance at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The archaeological site consists of a large mound, and a lower city, where a kārum was established in the beginning of the 2nd Millenium BC. So far, 23,500 cuneiform tablets recovered from private houses constitute the largest collection of private texts in the ancient Near East. In 2014, the archaeological site was inscribed in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey.

The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hittite language</span> Extinct Bronze Age Indo-European language

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hattians</span> Ancient people of central Anatolia

The Hattians were an ancient Bronze Age people that inhabited the land of Hatti, in central Anatolia. They spoke a distinctive Hattian language, which was neither Semitic nor Indo-European. Hattians are attested by archeological records from the Early Bronze Age and by historical references in later Hittite and other sources. Their main centre was the city of Hattush. Faced with Hittite expansion, Hattians were gradually absorbed into the new political and social order, imposed by the Hittites, who were one of the Indo-European-speaking Anatolian peoples. The Hittites kept the country name unchanged, which also became the main designation for the Hittite state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabal (state)</span> Neo-Hittite state

Tabal, later reorganised into Bīt-Burutaš or Bīt-Paruta, was a Luwian-speaking Syro-Hittite state which existed in southeastern Anatolia in the Iron Age.

Pitḫana (Pythanas) was a Bronze Age king, during the 18th century BC, of the Anatolian city of Kuššara, and a forerunner of the later Hittite dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anitta (king)</span> King of Kussara

Anitta, son of Pitḫana, reigned ca. 1740–1725 BC, and was a king of Kuššara, a city that has yet to be identified. He is the earliest known ruler to compose a text in the Hittite language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assuwa</span> 15th century BC confederation in western Anatolia

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.

The Anatolians were a group of Indo-European peoples who inhabited Anatolia as early as the 3rd millennium BC. Identified by their use of the now-extinct Anatolian languages, they were one of the oldest collective Indo-European ethno-linguistic groups and also one of the most archaic, as they were among the first peoples to separate from the Proto-Indo-Europeans, who gave origin to the individual Indo-European peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kizzuwatna</span> Ancient Anatolian kingdom

Kizzuwatna was an ancient Anatolian kingdom, attested in written sources from the end of the 16th century BC onwards, but though its origins are still obscure, the Middle Bronze Age in Cilicia can be seen as its possible formative period. Kisuwatna was situated mostly in the Cilician Plain of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun, in modern-day Turkey. The Central Taurus Mountains and the Amanus Mountains encircled it. The centre of the kingdom was the city of Kummanni, in the highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kussara</span> Bronze Age kingdom in Anatolia

Kussara (Kuššar) was a Middle Bronze Age kingdom in Anatolia. The kingdom, though apparently important at one time, is mostly remembered today as the origin of the dynasty that would form the Old Hittite Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syro-Hittite states</span> Iron Age states of modern Syria and Turkey

The states called Neo-Hittite, Syro-Hittite, or Luwian-Aramean were Luwian and Aramean regional polities of the Iron Age, situated in southeastern parts of modern Turkey and northwestern parts of modern Syria, known in ancient times as lands of Hatti and Aram. They arose following the collapse of the Hittite New Kingdom in the 12th century BCE, and lasted until they were subdued by the Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BCE. They are grouped together by scholars, on the basis of several cultural criteria, that are recognized as similar and mutually shared between both societies, northern (Luwian) and southern (Aramaean). Cultural exchange between those societies is seen as a specific regional phenomenon, particularly in light of significant linguistic distinctions between the two main regional languages, with Luwian belonging to the Anatolian group of Indo-European languages and Aramaic belonging to the Northwest Semitic group of Semitic languages. Several questions related to the regional grouping of Luwian and Aramaean states are viewed differently among scholars, including some views that are critical towards such grouping in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zalpuwa</span> Bronze Age city in Anatolia

Zalpuwa, traditionally also thought to be Zalpa, was a still-undiscovered Bronze Age city in Anatolia of around the 18th century BC. Its history is largely known from the Proclamation of Anitta, CTH 1. It has now been proposed that the Zalpa mentioned in the Annals of Hattusili I, CTH 4, was a different city located at Tilmen Höyük, in the Karasu River Valley south of the Taurus Mountains by Tubingen and Chicago Universities recent excavations.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karum (trade post)</span>

Karum is the name given to ancient Old Assyrian period trade posts in Anatolia from the 20th to 18th centuries BC. The main centre of karum trading was at the ancient town of Kanesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Šanta</span>

Šanta (Santa) was a god worshiped in Bronze Age Anatolia by Luwians and Hittites. It is presumed that he was regarded as a warlike deity, and that he could additionally be associated with plagues and possibly with the underworld, though the latter proposal is not universally accepted. In known texts he frequently appears alongside Iyarri, a deity of similar character. He is first attested in documents from Kanesh dated to the Old Assyrian period, and continues to appear in later treaties, ritual texts and theophoric names. He is also present in an offering lists from Emar written in Akkadian, though he did not belong to the local pantheon and rituals involving him were only performed on behalf of the Hittite administration by local inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prehistory of Anatolia</span> Prehistorical period in Western Asia

The prehistory of Anatolia stretches from the Paleolithic era through to the appearance of classical civilisation in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. It is generally regarded as being divided into three ages reflecting the dominant materials used for the making of domestic implements and weapons: Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. The term Copper Age (Chalcolithic) is used to denote the period straddling the stone and Bronze Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acemhöyük</span>

Acemhöyük is an archaeological site in Turkey. The tell is located near the village of Yeşilova in Merkez district, Aksaray Province. The Bronze Age name for the place was probably Purušḫanda/Purušḫattum or Ullama. The site was important during the Early Bronze Age as part of the Anatolian Trade Network and the Middle Bronze Age as a colony in the Assyrian Trade Network, with a trading post called Karum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimet Özgüç</span> Turkish archaeologist

Nimet Özgüç was a Turkish archaeologist. In her era, she and her husband were the dominant Turkish academics and archaeologists. She was made an honorary member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences in 1996 and was awarded the Grand Prize of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2010 for her contributions to archaeology in the country.

References

  1. 1 2 Karl Hecker, Zur Beurkundung V011 Kauf und Verkauf im Altassyrischen, Die Welt des Orients 11 (1980); RIA band 11, Purušhatum, 119.
  2. 1 2 3 Blasweiler, Joost. "The kingdom of Purušhanda in the land Luwiya.” Arnhem, Arnhem (NL) Bronze Age, 2016. ISBN 978-90-820497-2-5.
  3. ↑ Lewy, J. ”Hatta, Hattu, Hatti, Hattua, and ‘Old Assyrian’ Hattum." Archív Orientální; Praha Vol. 18, Iss. 3,  (Nov 1, 1950): 366-441.
  4. ↑ Neu, Erich. Der Anitta-Text. Germany, O. Harrassowitz, 1974; Der Anitta-Text, 35-36.
  5. ↑ Benjamin Studevent-Hickman and Christopher Morgan, "Old Akkadian Period Texts," in The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation, ed. Mark W. Chavalas, Blackwell Sourcebooks in Ancient History I (Malden, MA; Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2006), 33.
  6. 1 2 Barjamovic, Gojko.(2011). A Historical Geography of Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Colony Period, p. 357-366, 373-374. United States, Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, University of Copenhagen. Academic.edu
  7. ↑ Dercksen, Jan Gerrit. The old Assyrian copper trade in Anatolia, p.125-128, 170-171. Jan Gerrit Dercksen. Istanbul, Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul, 1996.
  8. ↑ Yener, K Aslihan. “The Anatolian Middle Bronze Age kingdoms and Alalakh: Mukish, Kanesh and trade.” Anatolian Studies 57 (2007): 151 - 160.
  9. ↑ SMEA. Italy, Edizioni Quasar, 2007, p. 278.
  10. ↑ Anatolia and the Jazira During the Old Assyrian Period, p. 67. Netherlands, Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 2008.
  11. ↑ Efe, Turan. The theories of the ‘Great Caravan Route’ between Cilicia and Troy: the Early Bronze Age III period in inland western Anatolia. Anatolian Studies 57 (2007): 47−64.
  12. ↑ Naohiko Kawakami, "The location of Purušḫanta", AL-RÃFIDÃN, Vol. XXVII, pp. 59-64, 2006
  13. ↑ Bryce, Trevor (2005). The kingdom of the Hittites . Oxford University Press. p.  25. ISBN   978-0-19-927908-1. -- 'The kingdom of the Hittites' at academia.edu
  14. ↑ Forlanini, Massimo. 1977. “L’Anatolia Nord-Occidentale Nell’impero Eteo.” Studi Micenei Ed Egeo-Anatolici 3-4: 291-300.
  15. ↑ Oztan, Aliye; Ozguc, Nimet (2002). "the databases of the Archaeological Settlements of Turkey Project". Tayproject.org. Tay Project. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ Ozguc, Nimet (2022). "Acemhöyük (Ancient Anatolian City of Acemhoyuk-Aksaray)". transanatolie.com. Anadolu.
  17. ↑ Kuhrt, Amélie (1995). The ancient Near East, c. 3000-330 BC. Routledge. p.  92. ISBN   978-0-415-16763-5.
  18. 1 2 Blasweiler, Joost. "The kingdom of Purušhanda and its relations with the kings of Mari and Kanesh.” Arnhem, Arnhem (NL) Bronze Age, 2019. ISBN 978-90-820497-5-6.
  19. ↑ Yakar, Jak. (2003). Towards an absolute chronology for middle and late bronze age Anatolia, Studies. Presented A.M. Mansel, 562. Academia.edu
  20. ↑ Studevent-Hickman, Benjamin; Morgan, Christopher (2006). "Old Akkadian Period Texts". In Chavalas, Mark William (ed.). The ancient Near East: historical sources in translation. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 24–27. ISBN   978-0-631-23580-4.
  21. ↑ 1. Lewy H. Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Period. In: Edwards IES, Gadd CJ, Hammond NGL, eds. The Cambridge Ancient History. The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press; 1971:707-728.
  22. 1 2 Yakubovich, Ilya. (2011). Luwian and the Luwians. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), p. 535. Spain: OUP USA. Google Books.
  23. ↑ Yakubovich, Ilya. (2011). In Search of Luwiya, the Original Luwian-speaking Area. Journal of Ancient History, Vol. 4, p. 295. http://vdi.igh.ru
  24. ↑ Blasweiler, Joost. (2016). The kingdom of Purušhanda in the land Luwiya, pp. 31-38. Arnhem, Arnhem (NL) Bronze Age. Academia.edu
  25. ↑ History of Humanity: From the third millennium to the seventh century B.C., p. 549. United Kingdom: Routledge, 1994.
  26. ↑ Efe, Turan. (2021) The Early Bronze Age in Western Anatolia. Eds. Laura Harrison, Nejat Bilgen and Asuman Kapuci. United Kingdom: State University of New York Press.
  27. ↑ Stephen Paul Lumsden. (1990). Symbols of Power: Hittite Royal Iconography in Seal, 87. Also Briggs Buchanan 1969, The end of the Assyrian Colonies: The evidence of the seal, JAOS 89.4, 762.
  28. ↑ Özgüç, Nimet: "Excavations at Acemhöyük“, Anadolu (Anatolia) 10 (1966)
  29. ↑ Kuhrt, Amélie (1995). The Ancient Near East, Volume I. London and New York: Routledge. pp.  226–27. ISBN   0-415-16763-9.
  30. 1 2 3 Bryce, p. 39
  31. ↑ Anitta Text, 73-9. Quoted in Bryce, p. 39
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.