Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:50 AM Sayfa
Late Hittite City States 1200-650 BC
The migration wave around 1190 BC, starting in Greece and passing to Anatolia,
known as the sea migrations, overthrew the Hittite Empire, ravaging
states along its way, going as far down as Egypt. Thus the Hittites
completed their historical mission, whereas their cultural characteristics
continued to exist in Southern Anatolian cities for a certain period of time.
After the fall of the Hittites, this period when the region was taken by the
Assyrians in the 8 th century BC, was named the Late Hittite Period as the
continuation of the Hittites. Many Hittites who were displaced from their
homeland were forced to migrate to the territories in the south which
previously used to be under their ruling, thus this mass of people passed the
Taurusus and went down to the Upper Euphrates Basin and into Northern
Syria, and settled in cities which had previously been established here. These
newcomers seized power in cities such as Carchemish, Zincirli and Malatya
and continued their lives for a certain period of time and kept Late Hittite
art alive here.
The area encompassing Kayseri, Ni¤de, Nevflehir and Ürgüp in Central
Anatolia was named the Land of Tabal after the fall of the Hittites. While the
Kingdom of Kummuh existed in the region covering Gürün, Malatya and
surroundings, the Que Kingdom existed in Marafl Gaziantep, Gurgum and
Çukurova; the following kingdoms were established in their respective
regions: Hilakku, in the Taurus mountainous region, Milidia (Melid) in the
territories of Malatya, Elbistan and Gürün; Carchemish in the south of
Gaziantep; and Hattina in Samal and Antakya surroundings. We are able to
obtain information about these kingdoms based on Assyrian documents
rather than those of their own. This is because the Assyrian kings spoke of
these kingdoms as they were giving account of their military expeditions.
The city states, which were formerly independent, went into the rule of the
Urartians, after they became a state, as well as the Assyrians. During the reign
of the Assyrian King Sargon II, they were taken one by one and turned into
provinces of Assyria. While we devoted special attention to Aslantepe, Samal,
Carchemish and Karatepe among these city states, since they are important
centers of the Late Hittite Civilization, let us briefly talk about the rest here.
‹vriz Rock Monument.
Ere¤li, Konya, Late Hittite Period (second half of the 8 th century BC) This
relief shows king Warpalavas worshipping the god of fertility, Tarhu, who
holds ears of wheat in one hand and bunches of grapes in the other.
67