Kizzuwatna
Encyclopedia
Kizzuwatna is the name of an ancient Anatolia
n kingdom in the second millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia
, near the Gulf of İskenderun
in modern-day Turkey
. It encircled the Taurus Mountains
and the Ceyhan river. The center of the kingdom was the city of Kummanni
, situated in the highlands. In a later era, the same region was known as Cilicia
.
. The slopes of the mountain range are still partly covered by woods. Annual winter rains made agriculture possible in the area at a very early date (see Çatal Hüyük). The plains at the lower course of the Ceyhan river provided rich cultivated fields.
inhabited this area at least since the beginning of the second millennium BC. The Hittite
expansion in the early Old Kingdom period (under Hattusili I
and Mursili I
) was likely to bring the Hittites and the Luwians to southeastern Anatolia. The Luwian language
was part of the Indo-European language group, with close ties to the Hittite language
. Both the local Hittites and the Luwians were likely to contribute to the formation of independent Kizzuwatna after the weakening of the Hittite Old Kingdom. The toponym Kizzuwatna is possibly a Luwian adaptation of Hittite *kez-udne 'country on this side (of the mountains)', while the name Isputahsu
is definitely Hittite and not Luwian (Yakubovich 2010, pp. 273–4). Hurrian culture became more prominent in Kizzuwatna once it entered the sphere of influence of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni
.
Puduhepa
, queen of the Hittite king Hattusili III
, came from Kizzuwatna, where she had been a priestess. Their pantheon
was also integrated into the Hittite one, and the goddess Hebat
of Kizzuwatna became very important in Hittite religion
towards the end of the 13th century BC. A corpus of religious texts called the Kizzuwatna rituals was discovered at Hattusa
.
claimed to have reached the Taurus mountains (the silver mountains) in the 23rd century BC. However, archaeology has yet not confirmed any Akkad
ian influence in the area. The trade routes from Assyria
to the karum in the Anatolian highlands went through Kizzuwatna by the early second millennium BC.
The kings of Kizzuwatna of the second millennium BC had frequent contact with the Hittites
to the north. The earliest Hittite records seem to refer to Kizzuwatna and Arzawa
(Western Anatolia) collectively as Luwia.
In the power struggle that arose between the Hittites and the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni
, Kizzuwatna became a strategic partner due to its location. Ishputashu made a treaty with the Hittite king Telepinu
. Later, Kizzuwatna shifted its allegiance, perhaps due to a new ruling dynasty. The city state of Alalakh
to the south expanded under its new vigorous leader Idrimi
, himself a subject of the Mitannian king Barattarna. King Pilliya
of Kizzuwatna had to sign a treaty with Idrimi. Kizzuwatna became an ally of Mitanni from the reign of Shunashura I, until the Hittite king Arnuwanda I
overran the country and made it a vassal kingdom.
Kizzuwatna rebelled during the reign of Suppiluliuma I
, but remained within the Hittite empire for two hundred years. In the famous Battle of Kadesh
(ca. 1274 BC), Kizzuwadna supplied troops to the Hittite king.
After the fall of the Hittite empire, several minor Neo-Hittite
kingdoms emerged in the area, such as Tabal
, Kammanu
and Quwe
.
conquest by Arnuwanda I of Hatti (c.1380 BC)
† š represents a "s" sound (as in "sun") in Hittite and Luwian transliteration, despite the fact that š usually represents "sh" (as in shun) in other languages.
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n kingdom in the second millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, near the Gulf of İskenderun
Gulf of Iskenderun
The Gulf of İskenderun is a gulf or inlet of the Levantine Sea, the easternmost part of Mediterranean Sea, of which it forms the easternmost tip, on the southern coast of Turkey near its border with Syria. It also contains the northernmost point of the Levantine Sea...
in modern-day Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It encircled the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
and the Ceyhan river. The center of the kingdom was the city of Kummanni
Kummanni
Kummanni was the name of the Anatolian kingdom of Kizzuwatna. Its location is uncertain, but is believed to be near the classical settlement of Comana in Cappadocia.Kummanni was the major cult center of the Hurrian chief deity, Tešup...
, situated in the highlands. In a later era, the same region was known as Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
.
The land
The country possessed valuable resources, such as silver mines in the Taurus MountainsTaurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
. The slopes of the mountain range are still partly covered by woods. Annual winter rains made agriculture possible in the area at a very early date (see Çatal Hüyük). The plains at the lower course of the Ceyhan river provided rich cultivated fields.
The people
Several ethnic groups coexisted in the Kingdom of Kizzuwatna. The HurriansHurrians
The Hurrians were a people of the Ancient Near East who lived in Northern Mesopotamia and adjacent regions during the Bronze Age.The largest and most influential Hurrian nation was the kingdom of Mitanni. The population of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia to a large part consisted of Hurrians, and...
inhabited this area at least since the beginning of the second millennium BC. The Hittite
History of the Hittites
Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa in northern Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite Kingdom was at its height, encompassing central Anatolia, south-western Syria as far as Ugarit, and...
expansion in the early Old Kingdom period (under Hattusili I
Hattusili I
Hattusili I was a king of the Hittite Old Kingdom. He reigned ca. 1586–1556 BC .He used the title of Labarna at the beginning of his reign...
and Mursili I
Mursili I
Mursili I was a king of the Hittites ca. 1556–1526 BC , and was likely a grandson of his predecessor, Hattusili I. His sister was Harapšili.- Biography :...
) was likely to bring the Hittites and the Luwians to southeastern Anatolia. The Luwian language
Luwian language
Luwian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Luwian is closely related to Hittite, and was among the languages spoken during the second and first millennia BC by population groups in central and western Anatolia and northern Syria...
was part of the Indo-European language group, with close ties to the Hittite language
Hittite language
Hittite is the extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who created an empire centred on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia...
. Both the local Hittites and the Luwians were likely to contribute to the formation of independent Kizzuwatna after the weakening of the Hittite Old Kingdom. The toponym Kizzuwatna is possibly a Luwian adaptation of Hittite *kez-udne 'country on this side (of the mountains)', while the name Isputahsu
Isputahsu
Isputahsu was a king of Kizzuwatna, probably during the mid 15th century BC . He signed a treaty of alliance with the Hittite king Telepinu....
is definitely Hittite and not Luwian (Yakubovich 2010, pp. 273–4). Hurrian culture became more prominent in Kizzuwatna once it entered the sphere of influence of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni
Mitanni
Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...
.
Puduhepa
Puduhepa
Puduhepa was a Hittite tawanannas was married to King Hattusili III. She has been referred to as "one of the most influential women known from the Ancient Near East."...
, queen of the Hittite king Hattusili III
Hattusili III
Hattusili III was a king of the Hittite empire ca. 1267–1237 BC . He was the fourth and last son of Mursili II...
, came from Kizzuwatna, where she had been a priestess. Their pantheon
Pantheon (gods)
A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...
was also integrated into the Hittite one, and the goddess Hebat
Hebat
Hebat, also transcribed Kheba or Khepat, was the mother goddess of the Hurrians, known as "the mother of all living".- Family :Hebat is the consort of Teshub and the mother of Sarruma. Originally, as Kheba or "Kubau" it is thought she may have had a Southern Mesopotamian origin, being the divinised...
of Kizzuwatna became very important in Hittite religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
towards the end of the 13th century BC. A corpus of religious texts called the Kizzuwatna rituals was discovered at Hattusa
Hattusa
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. It was located near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızıl River ....
.
History of Kizzuwatna
King Sargon of AkkadSargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great "the Great King" , was an Akkadian emperor famous for his conquest of the Sumerian city-states in the 23rd and 22nd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned in the last quarter of the third millennium BC...
claimed to have reached the Taurus mountains (the silver mountains) in the 23rd century BC. However, archaeology has yet not confirmed any Akkad
Akkad
The Akkadian Empire was an empire centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia....
ian influence in the area. The trade routes from Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
to the karum in the Anatolian highlands went through Kizzuwatna by the early second millennium BC.
The kings of Kizzuwatna of the second millennium BC had frequent contact with the Hittites
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
to the north. The earliest Hittite records seem to refer to Kizzuwatna and Arzawa
Arzawa
Arzawa in the second half of the second millennium BC was the name of a region and a political entity in Western Anatolia, the core area of which was centered on the Hermos and Maeander river valleys, corresponding with the Late Bronze Age kingdoms of the...
(Western Anatolia) collectively as Luwia.
In the power struggle that arose between the Hittites and the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni
Mitanni
Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...
, Kizzuwatna became a strategic partner due to its location. Ishputashu made a treaty with the Hittite king Telepinu
Telepinu
Telipinu was a king of the Hittites ca. 1460 BC . At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all of its conquests, made in the former era under Hattusili I and Mursili I -- to Arzawa in the West, Mitanni in the East, the Kaskas...
. Later, Kizzuwatna shifted its allegiance, perhaps due to a new ruling dynasty. The city state of Alalakh
Alalakh
Alalakh is the name of an ancient city-state near modern Antakya in the Amuq River valley of Turkey's Hatay Province.Now represented by an extensive mound, the name of the modern archaeological site is Tell Atchana.-History:...
to the south expanded under its new vigorous leader Idrimi
Idrimi
Idrimi was the king of Alalakh in the 15th century BC.Idrimi was a Hurrianised Semitic son of the king of Aleppo who had been deposed by the new regional master, Barattarna, king of the Mitanni. Nevertheless he succeeded in regaining his seat and was recognized as a vassal by Barattarna. Idrimi...
, himself a subject of the Mitannian king Barattarna. King Pilliya
Pilliya
Pilliya was king of Kizzuwatna ca. the 15th century BC . He signed a treaty with Idrimi of Alalakh, allying with the Mitanni empire....
of Kizzuwatna had to sign a treaty with Idrimi. Kizzuwatna became an ally of Mitanni from the reign of Shunashura I, until the Hittite king Arnuwanda I
Arnuwanda I
Arnuwanda I was a king of the Hittite empire. He became a ruler by marriage and was very religious.- Biography :Arnuwanda became a king by marriage. His wife was Ašmu-nikal, daughter of king Tudhaliya I. He became a successor of Tudhaliya as his son-in-law. He began his reign under a co-regency...
overran the country and made it a vassal kingdom.
Kizzuwatna rebelled during the reign of Suppiluliuma I
Suppiluliuma I
Suppiluliuma I was king of the Hittites . He achieved fame as a great warrior and statesman, successfully challenging the then-dominant Egyptian empire for control of the lands between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates....
, but remained within the Hittite empire for two hundred years. In the famous Battle of Kadesh
Battle of Kadesh
The Battle of Kadesh took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, in what is now the Syrian Arab Republic....
(ca. 1274 BC), Kizzuwadna supplied troops to the Hittite king.
After the fall of the Hittite empire, several minor Neo-Hittite
Neo-Hittite
The states that are called Neo-Hittite, or more recently Syro-Hittite, were Luwian, Aramaic and Phoenician-speaking political entities of the Iron Age northern Syria and southern Anatolia that arose following the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1180 BC and lasted until roughly 700 BC...
kingdoms emerged in the area, such as Tabal
Tabal
Tabal was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom of South Central Anatolia. According to archaeologist Kurt Bittel, the kingdom of Tabal first appeared after the collapse of the Hittite Empire....
, Kammanu
Kammanu
thumb|200px|right|Historical map of the Neo-Hittite states, ca. 800 BC, showing the location of Kammanu with Melid.Kammanu was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite state in South Central Anatolia in the late 2nd millennium BC, formed from part of Kizzuwatna after the collapse of the Hittite Empire. Its...
and Quwe
Quwê
Quwê – also spelled Que, Kue, Qeve, Coa, Kuê and Keveh – was a "Neo-Hittite" Assyrian vassal state or province at various times from the 9th century BCE to shortly after the death of Ashurbanipal around 627 BCE in the lowlands of eastern Cilicia, and the name of its capital city,...
.
Kings of Kizzuwatna
- Pariyawatri
- IsputahsuIsputahsuIsputahsu was a king of Kizzuwatna, probably during the mid 15th century BC . He signed a treaty of alliance with the Hittite king Telepinu....
/ Išputahšu† - contemporary of Hittite king TelepinuTelepinuTelipinu was a king of the Hittites ca. 1460 BC . At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all of its conquests, made in the former era under Hattusili I and Mursili I -- to Arzawa in the West, Mitanni in the East, the Kaskas...
(ca. mid 15th century BC (short chronology)) - Paddatisu / Paddatišu
- PilliyaPilliyaPilliya was king of Kizzuwatna ca. the 15th century BC . He signed a treaty with Idrimi of Alalakh, allying with the Mitanni empire....
- contemporary of IdrimiIdrimiIdrimi was the king of Alalakh in the 15th century BC.Idrimi was a Hurrianised Semitic son of the king of Aleppo who had been deposed by the new regional master, Barattarna, king of the Mitanni. Nevertheless he succeeded in regaining his seat and was recognized as a vassal by Barattarna. Idrimi...
of AlalakhAlalakhAlalakh is the name of an ancient city-state near modern Antakya in the Amuq River valley of Turkey's Hatay Province.Now represented by an extensive mound, the name of the modern archaeological site is Tell Atchana.-History:...
(ca. 15th century BC (short chronology)) - Sunassura I / Šunaššura I
- Talzu
- Sunassura II / Šunaššura II - contemporary of Hittite king Tuthaliya II (c.1400 BC)
conquest by Arnuwanda I of Hatti (c.1380 BC)
† š represents a "s" sound (as in "sun") in Hittite and Luwian transliteration, despite the fact that š usually represents "sh" (as in shun) in other languages.