Kussara
Old Hittite Kingdom
.
Location
Kussara is occasionally mentioned (as Ku-ša-ra) in the clay tablets of the
Hittite Kingdom (as KUR URU Ku-uš-ša-ra). Hittite sources have little to offer on the context of Kussara, and since the city disappears out of political history at a very early date, the records of the Old Assyrian traders still constitute the only real indication for the location of the city.[1]
The borders of Kussara remain unknown, and the old city of Kussara has not yet been found. Several proposals for its placement have been advanced.
Massimo Forlanini, an expert in the geography of ancient Anatolia, has stated that Kussara was probably situated southeast of
Kanesh, but presumably north of Luhuzzadia/Lahu(wa)zzandiya, between Hurama and Tegarama (modern day Gürün), perhaps on a road which was crossing another road to the north in the direction of Samuha
.
Professor
anti-Taurus region, on or near one of the main trade routes from Assyria and perhaps in the vicinity of modern Şar (Comana Cappadocia)".[2]
Another proposal for a location is in the mountainous area west of Elbistan.[3]
Kussaran kings
Pithana and his son Anitta, forerunners of the later Hittite kings, are the only two recorded kings of Kussara. Their exploits are known chiefly from the so-called Anitta Text, one of the earliest inscriptions in the Hittite language as yet discovered.[4]
Pithana took control over Great King.[7] Most scholars also accept a further king, Labarna I, to be a member of the Kussaran dynasty.[8]
It is notable that
Hattusili I, recognized as one of the first Hittite kings, referred to himself as "man of Kussara", although his capital (from which he likely took his name) was Hattusa.[9] Again, Kussara seems even then to have retained some importance, since this was where Hattusili called a council on his own succession.[10]
Economy, language and government
The language or dialect of Kussara is neither found nor described in either the Assyrian or Hittite texts, but from the evidence of Old Assyrian trade tablets, it is known that a palace and a
Hattusili III mentioned the origins of the Kings of the land of Hatti as Hattusili I styled himself: "man of Kussara . . . Great King Tabarna, Hattusili the Great King, King of the land of Hatti."[12]
No other town or land was ever mentioned by a King of Hattusa as the origin of the Kings of Hattusa.
Because the Kings of Kussara and their clan formed the base of the Old Kingdom of the Hittites, the Hittite language (known as 'Nesili' to its speakers after the city of Kanesh or Nesa) was the language of the ruling officials. It is assumed that the language of Kussara was
Indo-European, because if it were not, many more non-Indo-European elements would be expected in its apparent successor, Hittite. Craig Melchert concluded in the chapter "Prehistory" of his book The Luwians (2003–17): "Hittite core vocabulary remains Indo-European". The Anitta Text records that when Pithana captured Kanesh, he did no harm to it, but made the inhabitants "his mothers and fathers." Some scholars have taken this unique statement to mean there were cultural and/or ethnic affinities between Kussara and Kanesh.[6]
References
- ^ Barjamovic 2011, p. 143–144.
- ^ Bryce 2005, p. 35-36.
- ^ LEWY, JULIUS, "OLD ASSYRIAN EVIDENCE CONCERNING KUŠŠARA AND ITS LOCATION", Hebrew Union College Annual, vol. 33, pp. 45–57, 1962
- ^ Gonnet-Bağana, Hatice, (2015). "Anitta, CTH 1-30 (Proclamation of Anitta of Kussar) - CTH 1", Koc Universitesi Digital Collections.
- ISBN 0-415-16763-9.
- ^ a b Bryce 2005, p. 36.
- ISBN 978-0-19-537614-2.
- ^ Bryce 2005, p. 66.
- ^ Bryce 2005, p. 68.
- ^ Bryce 2005, p. 86.
- ^ Alwin Kloekhorst, "Kanišite Hittite. The Earliest Attested Record of Indo-European.", (Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section One, Near And Middle East, Volume 132), Leiden: Brill, 2019 ISBN 978-90-04-39791-0
- ISBN 0810865645.
Sources
- ISBN 978-975-17-2756-5.
- Bachvarova, Mary R. (2010). "Manly Deeds: Hittite Admonitory History and Eastern Mediterranean Didactic Epic". Epic and History. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 66–85. ISBN 978-1-4443-1564-6.
- ISBN 978-87-635-3645-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-924170-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-927908-1.
- ISBN 978-1-134-15907-9.
- Gilan, Amir (2010). "Epic and History in Hittite Anatolia: In Search of a Local Hero". Epic and History. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 51–65.
- Gilan, Amir (2018). "In Search of a Distant Past: Forms of Historical Consciousness in Hittite Anatolia" (PDF). Anadolu. 44: 1–23.
- ISBN 978-0-931464-85-0.
- ISBN 978-1-4443-1564-6.
External links