hittite rock reliefs in southeastern anatolia as a religious manifestation of the late bronze and iron

135 Pages·2016·9.78 MB·English

by  Hande Köpürlüoğlu

HITTITE ROCK RELIEFS IN SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA AS A
RELIGIOUS MANIFESTATION OF THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON
AGES

A Master’s Thesis

by
HANDE KÖPÜRLÜOĞLU

Department of Archaeology
İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University
Ankara

September 2016
HITTITE ROCK RELIEFS IN SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA AS A
RELIGIOUS MANIFESTATION OF THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON
AGES

The Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences
of
İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University

by

Hande KÖPÜRLÜOĞLU

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree
of
MASTER OF ARTS

THE DEPARTMENT OF
ARCHAEOLOGY
İHSAN DOĞRAMACI BİLKENT UNIVERSITY

September 2016

ABSTRACT

HITTITE ROCK RELIEFS IN SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA AS A
RELIGIOUS MANIFASTATION OF THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON
AGES

Köpürlüoğlu, Hande
M.A., Department of Archaeology
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marie-Henriette Gates

September 2016
The LBA rock reliefs are the works of the last three or four generations of the Hittite
Empire. The first appearance of the Hittite rock relief is dated to the reign of Muwatalli II
who not only sets up an image on a living rock but also shows his own image on his seals
with his tutelary deity, the Storm-god. The ex-urban settings of the LBA rock reliefs and
the sacred nature of the religion make the work on this subject harder because it also
requires philosophical and theological evaluations. The purpose of this thesis is to
evaluate the reasons for executing rock reliefs, understanding the depicted scenes,
revealing the subject of the depicted figures, and to interpret the purposes of the rock
reliefs in LBA and IA. Furthermore, the meaning behind the visualized religious
statements will be investigated. Whether there was a cultural continuity in the IA in the
context of iconography, functions, and meanings will be proposed. Various iconographies
depicted on the living rock and used on the royal seals reveal that the politico-religious
discourse of the Hittite kingship gained a new ideological perspective. The IA rock
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monuments indicate a Hittite cultural inheritance along with the Assyrian influence.
However, IA states also produced a number of inscribed colossal statues and stelae, and
rock reliefs. In general, the Hittites were executing rock monuments which carry religious
elements as a way of promulgating their political propaganda, and attributing the
authority of the king to the mighty god/s.

The Key Words: Hittite Empire, Late Bronze and Iron Age Anatolia, Neo-Hittite,
Religion, Rock Reliefs

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ÖZET
GEÇ TUNÇ VE DEMİR ÇAĞLARINDA DİNİ BİR MANİFESTO
OLARAK GÜNEYDOĞU’DA HİTİT KAYA KABARTMALARI

Köpürlüoğlu, Hande
Yüksek Lisans, Arkeoloji Bölümü
Danışman: Doç. Dr. Marie-Henriette Gates

EYLÜL 2016
Geç Tunç Çağı kaya kabartmaları Hitit İmparatorluğu’nun son üç ya da dört
jenerasyonunun çalışmasıdır. Hitit kaya kabartmasının ilk ortaya çıkışı II. Muwatalli
zamanına tarihlenmektedir. II. Muwatalli yalnızca bununla sınırlı kalmayıp, aynı
zamanda kendi mühürleri üzerinde de kendisini Fırtına Tanrısı ile betimletmiştir. Geç
Tunç Çağı kaya kabartmalarının yerleşim dışındaki konumları ve dinin kutsal doğası
felsefi ve teolojik yaklaşımlar gerektirdiği için bu konu üzerine çalışmayı
zorlaştırmaktadır. Bu tez kaya kabartmalarının ortaya çıkış sebeplerini değerlendirmek,
betimlenen sahneleri anlamak, ve Geç Tunç ve Demir Çağları’nda kullanılan kaya
kabartmalarının amaçlarını yorumlayabilmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda
görselleştirilmiş dini söylemlerin arkasındaki anlamlar incelenecektir. Demir Çağı’nda
aynı geleneğin devam edip etmediği hakkında, ikonografik, fonksiyon ve anlam açısından
çeşitli öneriler sunulacaktır. Kaya üzerinde ve mühürlerde betimlenen çeşitli
ikonografiler, Hitit krallığının politik-dini söyleminin yeni bir ideolojik bakış açısı
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kazandığını ortaya koymaktadır. Demir Çağı kaya kabartmaları Hitit kültürel mirasının
yanı sıra Assur etkisi de göstermektedir. Aynı zamanda, Demir Çağı kentleri oldukça
fazla sayıda stel, yazıtla süslenmiş heykel, ve kaya kabartması üretmiştir. Genel olarak,
Hititler kendi politik propagandalarını yaymak ve kralın otoriterisini yüce tanrı/lara
dayandırmak amacıyla dini elementler taşıyan kaya kabartmalarını yapmışlardır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Din, Geç Tunç ve Demir Çağı Anadolusu, Hitit Devleti, Kaya
Kabartmaları, Yeni Hitit

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere regards to my advisor, Associate Professor Dr. Marie-
Henriette Gates, for her great patience and guidance during my study and thesis period at
Bilkent University. I would also like to thank to my examining committee members,
Associate Professor Dr. Julian Bennett, and Assistant Professor Dr. Selim Ferruh Adalı
for their insightful, and eye-opening comments.
I also thank my friends, Kasia Kuncewicz, Nurcan Küçükarslan, Rida Arif, Simon
Halama, and Emre Dalkılıç for their moral support. I would like to express my special
thanks to Andrew Beard who went over my text and helped me edit it.
Lastly, I owe special thanks to my parents who always support me during my study.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii
ÖZET ...................................................................................................................................v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x
ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1
1.1 General Outline of the Rock Reliefs ........................................................................1
1.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................2
CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF HITTITE ROCK RELIEFS IN THE
LATE BRONZE AGE .........................................................................................................6
2.1 The Introduction of the Royal Relief Type ..............................................................7
2.1.1 Relief of Muwatalli II .....................................................................................8
2.1.2 Iconography of the Relief and Seals .............................................................11
2.2 Later Relief Types..................................................................................................16
2.2.1 Cilicia (Hemite) ............................................................................................16
2.2.2 Eastern Group (Fıraktin, Taşçı 1 and 2, Hanyeri, İmamkulu) ......................18
2.2.3 Central and Western Anatolian Group (Hatip and Karabel) .........................29
2.3 Landscape Settings of the Late Bronze Age Rock Reliefs ...................................34
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2.4 Some Suggestions on the Origin and Development of the Idea of Carving Figures
on the Living Rock .....................................................................................................37
CHAPTER 3: IRON AGE ROCK MONUMENTS ..........................................................42
3.1 Related Rock Monuments ....................................................................................43
3.1.1 Southern (Tuwana) Group/Tabal Region (Tavşantepe and İvriz) ................45
3.2 Cilician Rock Reliefs and Their Iconography ......................................................51
3.2.1 Çineköy .........................................................................................................52
3.2.2 Karatepe (Azatiwataya) ................................................................................55
3.2.3 Arsuz 1 and 2 ................................................................................................58
3.3 Landscape Settings of the Iron Age Rock Reliefs ................................................63
3.4 Some Suggestions on the Origin and Development of the Idea of Carving Figures
on the Living Rock .....................................................................................................68
CHAPTER 4: VISUALIZATION OF RELIGIOUS DISCOURSES ON THE LIVING
ROCK ................................................................................................................................71
4.1 Identifying the Subject of the Rock Monuments ..................................................72
4.2 Deciphering the Functions/Purposes of the Reliefs .............................................79
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................82
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................91
FIGURES ...........................................................................................................................96

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