Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni
This article may be too technical for most readers to understand.(April 2020) |
Some loanwords in the variant of the
It is generally believed that an
Linguistic context
Professor Eva von Dassow concurs with the presence of Indo-Aryan terms in Mitanni vocabulary, but cautiously advises against the notion of an "Indo-Aryan takeover".[5] Michael Witzel argues for the antiquity of the Indo-Aryan words attested in the Mitanni data, since they seem to predate linguistic developments attested in the Rigveda.[6]
In a treaty between the
Another text has babru(-nnu) (babhru, brown), parita(-nnu) (palita, grey), and pinkara(-nnu) (pingala, red) for horse colours. Their chief festival was the celebration of the
The Mitanni warriors were called marya (Hurrian: maria-nnu), the term for '(young) warrior' in Sanskrit as well,[8] formed by adding the Hurrian suffix -nnu;[9] note 'mišta-nnu' (= miẓḍha,~ Sanskrit mīḍha) "payment (for catching a fugitive)".[10]
Sanskritic interpretations of Mitanni names render Artashumara (artaššumara) as Arta-smara "who thinks of Arta/Ṛta",[11] Biridashva (biridašṷa, biriiašṷa) as Prītāśva "whose horse is dear",[12] Priyamazda (priiamazda) as Priyamedha "whose wisdom is dear",[13][14] Citrarata as Citraratha "whose chariot is shining", [15] Indaruda/Endaruta as Indrota "helped by Indra",[16] Shativaza (šattiṷaza) as Sātivāja "winning the race prize",[17] Šubandu as Subandhu "having good relatives" (a name in Palestine[18]), Tushratta (tṷišeratta, tušratta, etc.) as *tṷaišaratha, Vedic Tveṣaratha "whose chariot is vehement". [19]
Attested words and comparisons
All of the following examples are from Witzel (2001).[20] For the pronunciation of the sounds transcribed from cuneiform as š and z, see Proto-Semitic language#Fricatives.
Names of people
Transcription of cuneiform | Interpretation | Vedic equivalent | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
bi-ir-ya-ma-aš-da | Priyamazdha | Priyamedha | "whose wisdom is dear"; /azd(ʰ)/ to [eːd(ʰ)] is a regular development in Vedic and its descendants (Indo-Aryan in the narrow sense) |
bi-ir-ya-aš-šu-wa, bi-ir-da-aš-šu-wa | Priyāśva ~ Prītāśva | Prītāśva | "whose horse is dear" |
ar-ta-aš-šu-ma-ra | Artasmara | Ṛtasmara | "who thinks of Arta/Ṛta" |
ar-ta-ta-a-ma | Artadhāma(n?) | Ṛtadhāman | "his abode is Ṛta" |
tu-uš-rat-ta, tu-iš-e-rat-ta, tu-uš-e-rat-ta | Tvaiša(?)ratha | Tveṣáratha | "whose chariot is vehement" |
in-tar-ú-da, en-dar-ú-ta | Indrauta | Indrota | "helped by Indra"; /au/ to [oː] is a regular development in Vedic; ú specifically indicates [u] as opposed to [o] |
Names of deities
From treaties of Mitanni.
Transcription of cuneiform | Interpretation | Vedic equivalent | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
a-ru-na, ú-ru-wa-na | Varuna | Varuna | |
mi-it-ra | Mitra | Mitra | |
in-tar, in-da-ra | Indra | Indra | |
na-ša-ti-ya-an-na | Nasatya(-nna) | Nasatya | Hurrian grammatical ending -nna |
a-ak-ni-iš | Āgnis | Agni | only attested in Hittite, which retains nominative -/s/ and lengthens stressed syllables |
Horse training
From Kikkuli.
Transcription of cuneiform | Interpretation | Vedic equivalent | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
a-aš-šu-uš-ša-an-ni | āśva-san-ni? | aśva-sana- | "master horse trainer" (Kikkuli himself) |
-aš-šu-wa | -aśva | aśva
|
"horse"; in personal names |
a-i-ka- | aika- | eka | "1" |
ti-e-ra- | tera- ? | tri | "3" |
pa-an-za- | pańća- ? | pañca | "5"; Vedic c is not an affricate,[citation needed] but apparently its Mitanni equivalent was |
ša-at-ta | satta | sapta | "7"; /pt/ to /tː/ is either an innovation in Mitanni or a misinterpretation by a scribe who had Hurrian šinti "7" in mind |
na-a-[w]a- | nāva- | nava | "9" |
wa-ar-ta-an-na | vartan(n)a | vartana | round, turn |
See also
References
- ^ Kümmel 2022, p. 246.
- ^ Sigfried J. de Laet 1996, p. 562.
- ^ Beckwith 2009, pp. 39–41.
- ^ Bryce 2005, p. 55.
- ^ Dassow 2014, pp. 12–14.
- ^ Witzel 2001, pp. 5 and footnote nr. 8, 36, 49, 53–55.
- ^ Fournet 2010, pp. 26–40.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, p. 293.
- ^ Dassow 2014, p. 27.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, Entry "mīḍha". p. 358.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, Entry "SMAR". p. 780.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, p. 182.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, Entry "priyá-". p. 189.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, Entry "medhắ-". p. 378.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1992, p. 553.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1992, pp. 134.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, pp. 540, 696.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1998, pp. 209, 735.
- ^ Mayrhofer 1992, pp. 686, 736.
- ^ Witzel 2001, pp. 1–115.
Sources
- Dassow, Eva von (2014). "Levantine Polities under Mittanian Hegemony". In Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum; Nicole Brisch & Jesper Eidem (eds.). Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. pp. 11–32. ISBN 9783110266412.
- Fournet, Arnaud (2010). "About the Mitanni Aryan gods". Journal of Indo-European Studies. 38 (1–2): 26–40.
- Kümmel, Martin Joachim (2022). "Indo-Iranian". In Thomas Olander (ed.). The Indo-European Language Family: A Phylogenetic Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 246–268. ISBN 9781108758666.
- Mallory, J. P (1997). "Kuro-Araxes Culture". Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Chicago–London: Fitzroy Dearborn.
- Mayrhofer, Manfred (1982). "Welches Material aus dem Indo-arischen von Mitanni verbleibt für eine selektive Darstellung?". In E. Neu (ed.). Investigationes philologicae et comparativae: Gedenkschrift für Heinz Kronasser (in German). Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz. pp. 72–90.
- Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992). Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan] (in German). Vol. I. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag. ISBN 3-533-03826-2.
- Mayrhofer, Manfred (1998). Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen (in German). Vol. II. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.
- Mayrhofer, Manfred (2001). Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen (in German). Vol. III. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.
- JSTOR 595878.
- .
- Sigfried J. de Laet, ed. (1996). History of Humanity: From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century B.C. UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-102811-3.
- ISBN 978-0-691-13589-2.
- ISBN 978-0-19-927908-1.
Further reading
- Campos Méndez, Israel (2021). "El primer testimonio mitraico" [The First Mithraic Testimony]. In Roberto Rodríguez (ed.). Sociedades antiguas del Creciente Fertil: territorios, memorias e identidades culturales (in Spanish). Vol. 3, book 1. Buenos Aires: Remitente Patagonia. pp. 23–50. ISBN 978-987-8464-15-2.
- Cotticelli-Kurras, P.; Pisaniello, V. (2023). "Indo-Aryans in the Ancient Near East". In Giusfredi, Federico; Pisaniello, Valerio; Matessi, Alvise (eds.). Contacts of Languages and Peoples in the Hittite and Post-Hittite World. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. pp. 332–345. ISBN 978-90-04-54863-3.
- Dassow, Eva von (2022). "Mittani and Its Empire". In Karen Radner; Nadine Moeller & D. T. Potts (eds.). The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East. Vol. III: From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC, Oxford University Press. Oxford University Press. pp. 475–479. ISBN 9780190687601.
- García Ramón, José Luis (2017) [2015]. "Old Indo-Aryan Lexicon in the Ancient Near East: Proto-Indo-European, Anatolian and Core Indo-European". Atti del Sodalizio Glottologico Milanese. X: 17–33. .
- Gentile, Simone (2019). "Indo-Iranian personal names in Mitanni: A source for cultural reconstruction". Onoma. 54: 137–159. S2CID 239241967.
- Lahe, Jaan; Sazonov, Vladimir (2019). "Mitra esmamainimine Hetiidi kuninga Šuppiluliuma I ja Mitanni kuninga Šattiwaza lepingus? Lühiuurimus indoiraani usundiloost" [First mention of Mitra in the treaty between the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I and the Mittannian ruler Šattiwaza? A short study into the Indo-Iranian religion]. Mäetagused. Hüperajakiri. 73: 5–14. S2CID 188199063.
- ISBN 9780190226923.