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This study traces material movement across human–nonhuman animal bodies (henceforth human–animal) during ritual performances in which patients from Hittite Anatolia spat into an animal's mouth. It explores the transference of pollution through the lens of theoretical approaches that reflect on bodily margins and orifices as potent symbolic points of human bodies, as well as on bodily fluids as substances that can threaten inside/outside, subject/object distinctions. An examination of Hittite compositions from this theoretical perspective suggests that ritual patients were able, through spitting, and spittle, to release evils characterized primarily by being in between corporeality, social, and divine encounters, instead of freeing them principally from physical afflictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Arkeolojik kazılarda şimdiye kadar gün yüzüne çıkartılmış olan Hitit çiviyazılı tabletlerde Hitit mimarisinde kullanılan ve Sumerce determinatif/belirteç işareti “É” bina, yapı, ev (ile ilgili) vs.” anlamına gelen çok sayıda yapı adına rastlanmaktadır. Makalemizin konusunu oluşturan ve şimdiye kadar Hitit araştırmacıları tarafından yeterince üzerinde durulmamış olan makziḭa- yapısı eldeki bilgiler doğrultusunda, ayrıntıları ile bu makalede ele alınmaktadır. Metin grupları içinde belirgin bir çoğunluğu olan ve Hitit inanç sistemi içerisinde önemli bir yeri bulunan bayram töreni metinlerinin yanı sıra ritüellerin icra edilmesi esnasında da adı geçen yapının kullanılması; makziḭa-’nın kutsal bir yapı olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu çalışmamızda, yapının adının geçtiği Hitit çiviyazılı metinlerin transkripsiyon, çevirileri ve filolojik değerlendirmeleri yapılarak; yapının adının kökeni, kendisine ait bir damı, kapısı ve penceresi olduğu, ayrıca Hitit krallarının burada kült gereği temizlenme eylemini gerçekleştirdiği tespit edilmiştir. Bu yapının bir tapınak oluşumu olduğu, adının geçtiği Hitit çiviyazılı metinlerin incelenmesiyle Eski Hitit Döneminde kullanılmaya başlandığı, daha sonra ise Yeni Hitit /İmparatorluk Döneminde bu özelliğini koruduğu tarafımızdan belirlenmiştir.

In the ruins of Hattuşa, the capital of the Hittite Empire more than 3,000 years ago, large, sedimented water storage ponds have been uncovered since 1998. An investigation based on time series of measured groundwater levels, showed that the ponds were supplied from layered aquifers which were opened at their source horizons directly at the uphill edge of the pond. When the groundwater level at the pond exceeds a threshold given by the geology at that edge, water pours into the pond. The principles and the path of filling become clear, but not the volumes and time distribution of the transfers. These results of the previous studies were amply published and are shortly summarized. The present investigation is also based on the time series of groundwater levels and of the discharge of a modern fountain as well as the local hydrogeological properties. The approach is simple but shows the effect of storage in the aquifer which delays the outflow into the pond, so that water from the rainy season was available in the dry season. Also, the annual outflow values are determined. Besides gaining knowledge it is an aim of the article to encourage interdisciplinary and process-oriented thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this study, the emergence of the Hittite State Archive-Library, which is the first state archive-library in Anatolia, is examined in terms of its functioning, librarianship techniques and the work of Hittite scribes and their contributions to the history of civilization. Before the invention of writing, information was transmitted orally and this caused some information to change or disappear. With the invention of writing, information was transformed into a written format and started to be recorded. This situation created the need to protect written documents, which increased over time in secure environments. The need to collect and preserve the documents that proliferated in ancient societies in an organized manner was decisive in the formation of archive-library institutions. These institutions, which are the memory of human history, ensured the transfer of knowledge to future generations. There was also a cultural competition between ancient societies through these institutions. The palace archive-library established by the Hittite State was the first civilization in Anatolia to undertake the task of writing, reproducing and preserving information with its collection of clay tablets, the first examples of written documents. If we can access such accurate information about a civilization that lived in BC, it is thanks to the translations of the clay tablets extracted from the palace archive-library of the Hittite State. The Hittites, who formed the oldest known archive-library institution in Anatolia, have an important place in the history of librarianship. As a result of the excavations, many tablets and remains of librarianship were found. The studies show that the Hittite State established a systematic archive-library institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TÜBA-AR: Turkish Academy of Sciences, Journal of Archaeology is the property of Turkish Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Afyon Kocatepe University Journal of Social Sciences / Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of Afyon Kocatepe University (AKU) Sosyal Bilimler Enstitusu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The prominent religious feature of the Hittites is that they are polytheistic. However, these deities are not just the creator deities, but a chaotic community of deities with hundreds of gods and goddesses. The Hittite gods are anthropomorphic with their emotions, eating, drinking, and procreating features and descriptions. There are also more local forms of the same gods worshiped elsewhere. The cult of each god is consecrated according to his/her degree. The change in the Hittite political history also affected the worship of the gods, and there were changes in the precedence of the gods. In a religious cult where there are many gods, taking care of these gods and consecrating their cults are difficult and time-consuming activities. The consecration of the cult of the gods is among the main duties of the Hittites that should not be neglected. By always offering sacrifices to the gods, they should be treated well. Especially the festival ceremonies are the times when a kind of show of gratitude is made to the gods. Natural events were perceived as a punishment method sent to the Hittites by the gods. The anger of the gods meant that the people faced bad living conditions such as flood, drought, famine, and disease. They tried to find out why the gods were angry because they did not want to the calamity. In their mythological texts, they describe what the angry gods could do, and therewith they worship more the gods. After they died, they believed that kings and queens were among the gods and goddesses and worshiped their cult. After other people died, their afterlife continued in the dark underworld. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the depictions of deities on stag seen in Anatolia and its surroundings during the second millennium BC. DLAMMA.LĺL “Tutelary Deity of the Countryside” can be considered as one of the deities represented by the name rendered as DKAL. Although the deity is identified with the hunting deity and the Stag-god (Ku)Runtiya and Innara/Annari in the Assyrian Colony Period, as suggested earlier, further support for this identification is rendered in this paper. Additionally, there are criticisms on the differentiation in the iconographic appearance of the deity during the second millennium BC and other depictions associated with this deity. Concordantly, the deity is depicted on a stag in the Assyrian Colony Age, with a bird in his hand emphasizing the deity’s hunting character and a lituus in the other hand. The iconographic features of the deity seem to have been preserved during the transition from the Colony Age to the Hittite Period. The depictions associated with the deity in Hittite Period can be divided into three groups. The first group comprises imagery whereby the deity holds a lituus in his hand, which may be related to the deity's rise to prominence in the state cult. The only difference in the second group, which is other similar to the first group, is that the deity stands on the ground instead of standing on a stag. The deity, assumed to be equated with the Tutelary Deity of the Countryside and included in the descriptions that can be called the third group, is depicted in a typical libation scene, sitting on a cross stool and holding a bird in his hand. However, this latter deity must obviously be a different deity in terms of its iconographic features. The Stag-god, who is the deity of wildlife and hunting in the Late Hittite Period art, stands on a stag. However, the hunter title of the deity is represented sometimes by a bird he holds in his hand, and sometimes by a bow and spear. This can also be associated with hunting. It is during this period that the winged sun disk (instead of lituus), can be interpreted as a continuation of the custom also regarding the deity in the state cult, as it began to appear in the depictions of the deity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the relationship of Hittite festival rituals and mythical accounts, based on the mythical narrative of the feast of the sun god, in which the invited deities are not satiated despite sufficient food and drink. It is shown that the myths of the disappearing and returning deities were originally invocations or supplications (mugawar) incorporated into ritual acts that were intended to summon a deity. From the Middle Hittite period onward, rituals for invoking deities (mukeššar) seem to have been distinguished from ritual offerings to deities, which could then be called festival rituals (EZEN₄). In the process, an occasion-bound invocation of a deity due owing to some emergency situation may have been reinterpreted as an invocation to guarantee the deity's presence, which in the further course lost its significance for being written down while the ritual descriptions gained in importance. At the same time, the invocations may have been literarily processed and expanded, e.g., by southeast Anatolian descriptions of rites of evocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Iliad , the Phrygians ally with the Trojans under Phorkys and Askanios from "faraway Askania." Currently, these names are not found in Phrygian sources. While the etymology of Phorkys is accepted as Greek, the origins of Askanios and Askania are uncertain. Strabo describes Askania as a region around Lake İznik in Bithynia, and Arrian refers to another " Askania lake," i.e., Lake Burdur, in Pisidia. I propose Askania and Askanios derive from Hittite * Āška-niya -, meaning 'of/pertaining to a gate(way), passage(way).' This assumption is based on the existence of a confirmed Hittite anthroponym Āška-liya - and the possibility of an -l- ~ -n- variation within the Anatolian linguistic context. Given that the Hittites viewed water bodies as "passages" to the Netherworld, the term āška- 'gate(way), passage(way)' would be an apt descriptor for lakes. This toponymic use of āška - is supported by the epithet Askaenos of the Anatolian god Mên. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As we can see, divine support, divine intervention, and an ideology of (divine) warfare developed in the Hittite world throughout the whole of Hittite history and became better formulated and more complex with the passing of time, reaching their apex during the New Kingdom Period. If we can observe barely any divine support for Anitta’s deeds in the Text of Anitta, then Ḫattušili I, who ruled 100 years later, already elaborated this phenomenon more explicitly and referred to gods in support of his aggressive politics and military actions (The Annals of Ḫattušili I). The phenomenon of divine support for war can be found in an even more sophisticated and developed manner during the New Kingdom, in the Annals of Tudḫaliya I, in the Manly Deeds of Šuppiluliuma and in the annals written by Muršili II, etc. In some cases, we even have outright theological justification of wars. As we can see, ideology, religion, and theology played an insignificant role in conflict and warfare and especially in the divine support of war in Hittite Anatolia at the time of Anitta in the 18th century BCE. This, however, changed dramatically across the time, and in the Annals of Ḫattušili I, the role of gods increased considerably, and the king began to refer to the gods in justification for his actions (also in war). Later, in the epoch of the New Kingdom, since the time of Tudḫaliya I, and especially since Muršili II, the role of the gods became even more elaborate and sophisticated, and the kings mention several gods or a group of gods, instead of only two or three of them (as was done by Ḫattušili I) which helped them in wars and in military campaigns. We have several pieces of evidence from Hittite sources in which the ruler uses proper theological justification for his military campaign or for the invasion of another country, and the most elaborate of these are the annals of Muršili II. Similar themes of divine support and the occasional theological justification of war are also found in the texts of the vassal kingdoms of the Hittite Empire, with the exception that, on the ideological level, the Hittite kings were the representatives of the gods for the Syrian kings. This is a clear difference between the texts from the core area of the Hittite Empire and the texts from the kingdoms of the Hittite ambit. Many of the wars fought by the major international players of the Late Bronze Age were fought on the battlefields of North Syria, which is why war is a common occurrence in the texts of the peoples based there. Unlike in the Hittite texts, the petitioning of the gods before military undertakings is a common trope in the texts from Ugarit and Alalaḫ. The same may have been true of the other Syrian vassals of the Hittite kings, but fewer texts have remained from them. These petitions were also accompanied by rituals meant to ascertain good fortunes in war. The petitioned deities changed depending on the place of origin of the petitioner and the place that was attacked. Both one’s ancestral gods and the gods of the enemy needed to be respected for a campaign to be successful, and peace could also be made on behalf of the gods of both parties only. In the North Syrian kingdoms, proper conduct of war concerned not only the present but also the past and future generations. A victory or defeat could be decided by the conduct of one’s ancestors, and teaching one’s descendants the proper way to petition the gods for success in war was supremely important. While the storm god was likely the most important deity concerning the theological justification of war among the North Syrian kingdoms, this role of the god is not always clearly formulated in the texts. Goddesses were also petitioned for success in war, but there was a clear difference in how common soldiers and kings apprehended the gods, especially the widely popular warrior goddess Anat. While soldiers and warriors looked to the goddess for success in battle, she functioned as the nursemaid of the king. While the petitioning of divine support for military undertakings was likely shared by kings across the entire ancient Near East, Anatolia and North Syria formed a cultural ambit where influences were readily exchanged both from Anatolia to Syria and from Syria to Anatolia. In the texts from these areas, we can see details and motifs that are particular to either region but also themes that are shared by both areas. It is noticeable that the political relationship of overlord and vassal or subject kingdom can be seen not only in the political correspondence of the kingdoms but also on the ideological level, in the texts that the Hittites wrote for their own gods and the Syrians wrote for theirs. The hierarchical relationships of the kingdoms of Anatolia and North Syria are so ingrained that they influenced the very core of how the divine support of war was formulated in the texts.

Hittites, like all civilizations, contributed to the historical accumulation achieved by mankind in reaching the current level of modern medicine, and also served as a bridge between cultures by carrying the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia to Anatolia. Health relationships are formed by being influenced by the geography in which societies are located, economic relations and cultural accumulations. When considered from this point of view, in addition to the fact that the economy of Hittites relied on agriculture and husbandry, the spoils of war were also very significant in their economy. It also becomes important what the impact of the world of religion and faith on health relations is and what structures this effect produces. Many cuneiform script which informs us on Hittite history and culture was found in Hattusa, the capital of Hittites. Among these cuneiforms, together with texts related to religious, magical and scientific treatments, there are also important texts containing information about scientific medicine. It is possible to say that in Hittites, the treatment methods and health relations applied for various diseases were mainly based on two main paths, as: The treatment with drugs and the treatment with religious and magical rituals. In terms of social role and status, the physician was in the same class as oracles, innkeepers and bakers. In fact, this classification is not bizarre at all, and that shows us that the physicians are not just government officers working at the palace but also persons who live on the income s/he receives due to his/her medical services outside the palace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Late Bronze Age, Syria was mostly dominated by the larger powers of the ancient Near East—Mitanni (the Hurrians), the Hittite Empire, and Egypt. The ancient city of Ugarit yielded numerous texts and artifacts that attest to the presence of foreigners and their influences on local religious traditions. Textually, the best-preserved influences are those of Hurrian origin, although these were probably promoted thanks to the Hittites, who incorporated many Hurrian deities and cults. Hurrian traditions thus influenced both Ugaritic cults and divine pantheons. Egyptian influences, in contrast, are observable mostly in art and material evidence. Art of Egyptian origin was considered prestigious and because of that was prominently seen in trade and international exchange gifts, but it also entered the religious sphere in the form of cultic statues and ex-voto gifts for deities. Egyptian art was also often imitated by local artists. The same can be said of art from the Mediterranean area. Some evidence suggests that foreigners actively related to local traditions as well. Ritual tablets from Ugarit (namely KTU3 1.40 and its variants) illustrate that there were always frictions in a multicultural/national society. These tablets also indicate that such frictions could have been dealt with through ritual action, and thus emphasize the role religion played. The city of Ugarit is used in this paper to illuminate some processes that can be observed in the whole of ancient Syria. Nevertheless, every site has its own outcome of interactions with other cultures.

In this study, an archaeological and archaeometric research of a fibula in the Sivas Archaeological Museum was conducted. One of the purposes of choosing this material is to archaeologically identify this fibula, one of the fibula types identified with Phrygians, and to determine which century it belongs to. Another purpose is to determine which mining sites the Phrygians had contact with, who were mainly located in the middle and west of Anatolia during the period in question (8th - 7th centuries BC). In determining the first aim, that is, the period to which the object belongs, literature review and analogical comparison were selected as methods. The second objective, namely the determination of the mining sites that Phrygs come into contact with based on the fibula, covers two methods. The first method is the determination of the elemental composition of the fibula by the p-XRF method. In the process of associating the fibula with the Anatolian mining sites, a comparative literature review was used. Cadmium in the elemental composition of the work triggered the interest associated with the second aim. Cadmium, has also been detected in a mining site under the control of the Hittites. Although it is known that the mining site in question had been used since the 3rd millennium BC, including the Hittite period, the question of when it was last used has been updated within the scope of this study. In fact during the second quarter of the 1st millennium BC, the Phrygians, who lived in a contemporary period with the Late Hittites, imported raw materials from the mining sites under the control of the Late Hittites in the said period and produced metal works with this raw material. As a result, the Late Hittites are among the last identifiable owners of the mine site, which was determined within the scope of the research on the origin of tin in Anatolia in the 3rd millennium BC. Based on this information, it has been proven for the first time that Phrygian fibulas are produced with ores obtained from the mining site in the north of the Taurus Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the Hittite kingdom in the Anatolian peninsula of the II millennium, the first known Indo-European-ruled political entity, the so-called bilingual testament of Hattušili I (ca. 1650–1620 BC) has long fascinated modern scholars. This article offers a translation of the original Hittite text into Estonian. The testament describes the turbulent political situation of the state’s earlier period, filled with the king’s unruly family members and many rebellions. Seemingly on his deathbed, King Hattušili I proclaimed that instead of the young Labarna, the previously designated heir, a new candidate – Muršili – would take his place, due to the former’s unkind nature. Labarna had not been the first to oppose Hattušili. His daughter and son had also done that, revolting against their father. The numerous problems related to inheriting the kingship in the early period of Hittite history have also prompted an ongoing discussion about the succession principles in Hittite society. Concerning the literary value, the testament is a masterpiece that incorporates historical exempla, metaphors, similes, direct speech, and rhetorical questions to enforce the king’s arguments and to persuade his audience – the upper echelons of the Hittite society. Despite its name, the testament seems to have more didactical than juridical purposes, as the king offers many instructions to his new heir – to be kind, abstemious, pious and, first and foremost, he orders to heed his wisdom and his will. The ones around the new designee are exhorted to be united and supportive to Muršili. As such, the text can be compared to some other proto-Fürstenspiegels, like “The Teaching for King Merikare” form Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, but it also bears parallels to Gen 49. All in all, the testament is a remarkable insight into Hittite history and society.

This paper addresses the Hittite word gišmāri-, which designates a kind of weapon and is often translated as 'mari-spear'. A philological re-evaluation of the Hittite attestations rather calls for the meaning 'scimitar (sickle-shaped sword),' which has previously been suggested but was largely disregarded. At the same time, archaeological evidence for the presence of scimitars in the Hittite culture is adduced. Subsequently, the role of this type of weapon in the ancient Near East is reassessed. Finally, a new Indo-European etymology for the word māri- is offered, which brings additional support for the meaning 'scimitar (sickle-shaped sword).' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

الملخص: يتناول هذا البحث النزاع بين الحيثيين وقبائل الكشكير، وكانت قبائل الكشكير تسكن المناطق الشمالية والشمالية الشرقية إلى الشمال من العاصمة الحيثية خاتوشا وحتى سلاسل جبال البحر الأسود. هذا وقد سببت قبائل الكشكير العديد من الاضطرابات للملوك الحيثيين وذلك بداية من عصر الدولة الحيثية القديمة وحتى نهاية الدولة الحيثية الحديثة. وقد اتخذ الملوك الحيثيون التدابير اللازمة لحماية العاصمة الحيثية خاتوشا أما بتحصين الأجزاء الشمالية منها أو بحملات ضد قبائل الكشكير. وقد وصلت قبائل الكشكير فى الكثير من الأحيان إلى العاصمة خاتوشا مما اضطر معه الملوك الحيثيون لنقل العاصمة الحيثية لموقع مؤقت بعيد عن هجمات قبائل الكشير. هذا وقد جرد العديد من الملوك الحيثيين عددا من الحملات لمحاربة قبائل الكشكير ومنهم الملك توتخاليا الثانى وابنه الملك شوبلليوما وكان أكثر هذه الحملات فى عهد الملك مورشيلى الثانى وكذلك الملك خاتوشيلى الثالث. ولا تشير مصادر الدولة الحيثية القديمة إلى وجود أى نزاع بين الحيثيين وقبائل الكشكير ولكن نعتمد على بعض المصادر المتأخرة التى تنتمى إلى عصر الدولة الحيثية الحديثة فى معرفة تأثير قبائل الكشكير فى تلك الفترة ومن هذه المصادر نعرف أن الملك خانتيلى الأول قد قام بتحصين الأجزاء الشمالية للعاصمة خاتوشا ربما بسبب هجمات قبائل الكشكير. Abstract: This paper investigates the interrelationship between the Hittites and the Kaškäer tribes. The Kaškäer tribes were controlled the north and north- easte regions from the Hittites Capital Hattuša to the so-called Black See mountains. Along the Hittites history, the Kaškäer tribes caused a lot of troubles to the Hittites kings from the Old Hittites Kingdom till the end of the New Hittites Kingdom. Additionally, the Hittites kings took the necessary measures to protect their capital Hattuša, either by building fortifications at the northern parts of the capital or by sending military campaigns against the Kaškäer tribes. Moreover, the Hittites kings were forced occasionally to move their capital to a temporary location because of the Kaškäer attacks

The magic rituals of Allaiturahhi from Mukiš, known from the Middle Kingdom, were used for Šuppiluliuma II, the last king of the Hittites, in this last stage of the Hittite State, according to Hittite cuneiform dıuments dating to the reign of Šuppiluliuma II. The texts identified as belonging to Allaiturahhi consist of three fragments. Additionally, one fragment of a tablet, thought to be a ritual, has survived to this day. Three of the four tablets include the name of Šuppiluliuma II, and it was intended to purify the Hittite monarch through rites in which Allaiturahhi functioned as an Old Woman (MUNUSŠU.GI). The ritual attendant in question is a woman from Mukiš who was famed among the Hittites for her evil-repelling spells, and it appears that her magic rituals were widely utilized to remove hostile magic for a long time until the collapse of the Hittite State. The idea that the evils that were said to have descended on Šuppiluliuma II should be expelled and the king cleansed of them is thought to originate from occurrences at the end of the Bronze Age, such as revolt, infidelity, starvation, drought, and the arrival of the Sea Peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction. The popularity of images of birds of prey in Scythian art makes us pay more attention to the place of birds of prey in the life of the Scythian world. Birds of prey were actively used in the hunting practice, and hunting with hunting birds was an elite form of hunting common in open spaces. Materials. The first information about nurseries of hunting birds belongs to ancient China of the 7th century BC. Images of hunting birds appear on Hittite basreliefs of the 13th century BC. They are also known in the Assyria of the time of Sargon II. Analysis. The active participation of the Scythians in political events in the Middle East allows us to assume that the Scythians are familiar with this method of hunting. In Scythian culture, there are a series of images of attacking birds, which should be seen as naturalistic sketches. Results. The abundance of bone remains of hunting birds in the cultural layers of Scythian settlements and the presence of a burial of a man with a Falcon in the materials of the Elizavetovskoe hillfort directly indicates the use of hunting birds in the South Easten European continent steppe as early as the 4th century BC.

One of the subjects that draw attention to in both art history and archeology iconography is the double-headed eagle motif. This motif, especially handled by art history researchers without questioning enough, is directly attributed to the Seljuks. However, the double-headed eagle motif, which was known to be used especially in Anatolia in the previous centuries, was handled as a repeat, not the first time, by the Seljuks. It is also not true that the double-headed eagle motif is a motif originally brought by Turks from Central Asia. In the studies conducted to date, the origin of the double-headed eagle has not been emphasized. In addition, it is not adequately explained why a double headed eagle is needed instead of a single eagle. In this study, the use of the double-headed eagle motif from the first appearance to the present has been discussed. The interaction of the nation’s using the double-headed eagle figure in their culture and artwork was questioned, so it was possible to determine how this motif spread since its first appearance. In addition, the meaning and propaganda of the double-headed eagle motif in connection with political events were also emphasized. It is evident that the double-headed eagle motif has been a well-known emblem of Anatolia since the 2nd millennium BC and this motif has been adopted and lived throughout Asia and Europe as a fashion. This motif, interpreted as a royal insignia in the Hittites, was found to have become widespread in the time of Tuthalia IV, and considering the political events of the period, the idea that it symbolizes the Great King Tuthalia IV and Kurunta, the king of the Land of Tarhuntassa. The double-headed eagle in Russia symbolizes the solidarity, unity and integrity of the Tsar and the Church. It is believed that this motif, which is applied frequently in Europe, especially in Vienna, expresses the Great Kingdom administration, which includes the combination of power and might of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The double-headed eagle was applied in the Anatolian Seljuks only in the 13th century AD, mostly in the famous structures of the Alaeddin Keykubad I period and in the wall decoration of the palaces, or rather in the art of tiles. This motif also expresses the support of the caliph in the Seljuks, and thus the unity of religion and state.

This study sheds light on the kingdom of Urkesh (Tell Mozan) at the end of the third millennium BC. AD as a prosperous capital, its population ranged from ten thousand to twenty thousand people. Moreover, although its power has diminished over the centuries, it remained a sacred center during the rise of the Mitanni kingdom at the beginning of the fifteenth century BC. AD, and ended the Hurrian independence until then. The influence of the Hurrian traditions continued on the Hittites in Anatolia, were "B. G, Collins" indicated the extent of the influence of the Hurrian religion on them through the practice of their own rituals, especially in the "Kizwatna" region in southeastern Turkey. It continued as their sacred center, Unchanged over at least a thousand years after the Urkesh period. The study relied on the descriptive and analytical approach, such as referring to the vocabulary and terminology used. In addition to clarifying its role in spreading its faith through the analytical aspect, and in the conclusion the results of the research on the Hurrian religion, its transition from Urkesh as a major center, the integration of Hurrian religion, and the role of Hurrian deities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors examine the divine support and religious justification of wars by Anatolian and North Syrian rulers in the Late Bronze Age, an epoch of international diplomacy. Notable is that many wars and conflicts in the region of Anatolia and North Syria took place in this period, which may have occasioned an increasing need to justify them by appeal to divinities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article discusses one of the main problems of the Zalpa-text, namely that its mythological part deals with the relations between Zalpa and Nēša, but leaves Ḫattuša unmentioned, whereas its historical part deals with the relations between Zalpa and Ḫattuša, but contains no reference to Nēša. Following Martínez’ 2016 suggestion that in the text’s historical part Ḫattuša does not have the function of capital of the kings who feature in this story, but is merely used as a military base for the campaigns against Zalpa, it will be argued that during the historical events described in the Zalpa-text these kings in fact ruled from Nēša. A major consequence of this interpretation is that Nēša was the capital during the reigns of the early Hittite kings Ḫuzzii̯a I and Labarna I and also that Ḫattušili I ascended the throne there before he moved his court to Ḫattuša. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this contribution is to evaluate the Hittite verb pukk-, pugga- 'to be hateful, to be repulsive, to be unpleasant' that, according to the opinion here presented, would reflect our conceptual schemes, and to explain the semantic shift undergone by a polysemic PIE root *bhewg(h)- 'to bend, to run away' taking into account some theoretical prerequisites of cognitive linguistics. Within this framework it is possible to confirm Kronasser's etymological interpretation, also considering a further possibility, advanced by the scholar, of a motivation due to linguistic contact with Akkadian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In 1907 a treaty was found in the Hittite royal archive in Boğazköy. It was forged between the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I and the Mitanni king Šatiwaza. Among the deities named in this contract is DINGIR.MEŠ Mi-it-ra-aš-ši-il. This is usually understood to refer to the god Mitra. However, the authors of this article draw attention to the fact that the name occurs in the plural form; the divine classifier DINGIR (“god” before Mitra’s name) is written in the plural form DINGIR.MEŠ, meaning “gods”. They are of the opinion that it should not be understood as a proper name but as a denomination of a group of deities that one could translate as “gods of the treaties”.

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Copyright of History Studies (13094688) is the property of History Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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The article explores the evidence of the journeys of the Babylonian physician Rabâ-ša-Marduk who was active during the first half of the 13th century B.C. Earliest attestations of the physician trace him at Nippur, with three documents record expenditures of different types of goods as travel provisions for him on the occasion of a trip to Babylon. A significant journey the physician took was travelling to the Hittite capital Hattuša witnessed by a passage in a diplomaitc letter.

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From the Bronze Age onwards, summits of mountains in the East Mediterranean were sacred; many to the Greek sky-god Zeus – making a symbolic connection between the abstract sky and the physically highest point. In some cases, sacredness extends through to the Christian period, such as at Mount Kasios, which sits on the Syrian-Turkish border, and which is inaccessible for archaeological research. In this paper, we explore interactions with and representations of Mount Kasios by different groups at different times, and how these sources can help reconstruct ancient meanings and experiences of the mountain. Myth, archaeology, and landscape are mobilized to inform the construction and interrogation of two digital models in GIS and Virtual Reality (VR) designed to elicit a feeling of awe. Such 'virtual phenomenology' offers a means to explore a contested contemporary landscape, and to engage with ancient experiences and atmospheres of this holy mountain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]