Lukka
Encyclopedia
The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite
texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Anatolia
. The Lukka lands were never put under permanent Hittite control and were viewed as hostile by the Hittites.
It is commonly accepted that the Bronze Age toponym Lukka is cognate with classical Lycia
. There is a contrast between the maximalist and the minimalist views with regard to the extent of the Lukka Lands. The maximalist view is upheld by Trevor Bryce, who discusses the occurrences of Lukka in Bronze Age texts.
The minimalist view is upheld by Ilya Yakubovich, who concludes based on the analysis of textual evidence:
Soldiers from the Lukka lands fought on the Hittite side in the famous Battle of Kadesh
(ca. 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.
The Lukka is also known from ancient Egyptian texts. They were one of the tribes that constituted the Sea Peoples
who invaded Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in the twelfth century BC.
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...
texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The Lukka lands were never put under permanent Hittite control and were viewed as hostile by the Hittites.
It is commonly accepted that the Bronze Age toponym Lukka is cognate with classical Lycia
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
. There is a contrast between the maximalist and the minimalist views with regard to the extent of the Lukka Lands. The maximalist view is upheld by Trevor Bryce, who discusses the occurrences of Lukka in Bronze Age texts.
From these texts we can conclude the Lukka, or Lukka lands, referred to a regions extending from the western end of PamphyliaPamphyliaIn ancient geography, Pamphylia was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus . It was bounded on the north by Pisidia and was therefore a country of small extent, having a coast-line of only about 75 miles with a breadth of...
, through LycaoniaLycaoniaIn ancient geography, Lycaonia was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor, north of Mount Taurus. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to the south it extended to the chain of Mount Taurus, where it bordered on the...
, PisidiaPisidiaPisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey...
and LyciaLyciaLycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
.
The minimalist view is upheld by Ilya Yakubovich, who concludes based on the analysis of textual evidence:
[W]e have positive philological arguments for the presence of Bronze Age Lukka settlements in classical LyciaLyciaLycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
, but not anywhere else in Asia Minor or beyond it.
Soldiers from the Lukka lands fought on the Hittite side 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) against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II
Ramesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
. A century later the Lukka had turned against the Hittites. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma II
Suppiluliuma II
Suppiluliuma II, the son of Tudhaliya IV, was the last known king of the New Kingdom of the Hittite Empire, ruling ca. 1207–1178 BC , contemporary with Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria....
tried in vain to defeat the Lukka. They contributed to the collapse of the Hittite empire.
The Lukka is also known from ancient Egyptian texts. They were one of the tribes that constituted the Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
who invaded Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in the twelfth century BC.
See also
- ArzawaArzawaArzawa 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...
- AssuwaAssuwaThe Assuwa league was a confederation of states in western Anatolia, defeated by the Hittites under an earlier Tudhaliya I around 1400 BC. The league formed to oppose the Hittite empire. The list of its members contains 22 names, including [...]uqqa, Warsiya, Taruisa, Wilusiya and Karkija .Some of...
- History of the HittitesHistory of the HittitesHittites 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...
- Sea PeoplesSea PeoplesThe Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
- LycaoniaLycaoniaIn ancient geography, Lycaonia was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor, north of Mount Taurus. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to the south it extended to the chain of Mount Taurus, where it bordered on the...
- Bronze Age collapseBronze Age collapseThe Bronze Age collapse is a transition in southwestern Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that some historians believe was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive...