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Luwians

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Luwians /ˈluːwiənz/ (also known as Luvians) were an ancient people in Anatolia who spoke the Luwian language. During the Bronze Age, Luwians formed part of the population of the Hittite Empire and adjoining states such as Kizzuwatna. During the Hittite New Kingdom, Luwian replaced Hittite as the empire's dominant language. In the early Iron Age, a number of Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittite states arose in northern Syria. The Luwians are known largely from their language, and it is unclear to what extent they formed a unified cultural or political group.

Etymology

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"Luwian" is an exonym first used by the Hittites as an "ethno-linguistic term referring to the area where Luwian was spoken"[1] in Bronze Age Anatolia. It has been suggested that the name is a foreign ethnic designation (Assyrian) borrowed from another foreign ethnic designation (Hurrian) - nuwā-um - used to name the local people of Kanis,[2] itself a possible transliteration of the Luwian wa­-a-su[3] and -iya[4] collectively meaning "our good land."" An alternate derivation is from the Luwian lūwa- meaning "plain,"[5] an apt description of the land of Luwiya on the Konya plain.

History

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Luwian storm god Tarḫunz in the National Museum of Aleppo.

The linguist Ylla Yakubovich has given the most succinct quote concerning the Luwians, stating:

The Hittite laws contain a handful of references to the country named Luviya, which is not accompanied by the geographic identification of this region, while a number of other texts introduce passages that were expected to be uttered luwili (in the Luvian language), even though not all of them are actually recorded in Luvian. This is all the historical information that is available about Luviya and the Luvians.[5]

Nevertheless, archaeology suggests the presence of new arrivals at Acemhöyük circa 2157 BC,[6] historical location of Purushanda[7][8] and the likely location of the land of Luwiya. This corresponds with traditional chronologies regarding the Luwian settlement of central Anatolia.[9][10] By the time of the Hittite laws this population was an eclectic mix of cross-lingual Luwians and Hattians[11] with a smattering of Hurrians and Semites as well.[12]

Origins

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There is no consensus on the origins of the Luwians. Armenia,[13] Iran,[13] the Balkans, the Pontic–Caspian steppe[14][15][16][17] have all been suggested.

Their route into Anatolia is unknown. Linguist Craig Melchert suggested they were related to the Demirci Hüyük culture, implying entry into Anatolia from ancient Thrace circa 3000 BC.[18] More plausible is a westward migration route along the Aras river toward Cilicia by proto-Luwians of the rapidly expanding Kura–Araxes culture.[19][20] Luwian was probably spoken over a larger geographic region than Hittite.[21]

Middle Bronze Age

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Luwians first appear in the historical record around 2000 BC, with the presence of personal names and loan words in Old Assyrian Empire documents from the Assyrian colony of Kültepe, dating from between 1950 and 1700 BC (Middle Chronology), which shows that Luwian and Hittite were already two distinct languages at this point. The Luwians most likely lived in southern and western Anatolia, perhaps with a political centre at Purushanda. The Assyrian colonists and traders who were present in Anatolia at this time refer to the local people as nuwaʿum without any differentiation. This term seems to derive from the name of the Luwians, with the change from l/n resulting from the mediation of Hurrian.

Linguistic models suggest the existence of a common Luwian-speaking state circa 2000 BC, stretching from the central Anatolian plateau (modern Konya) northward to the western bend of the Maraššantiya (where modern Ankara, Kırıkkale and Kırşehir provinces meet).[5][22] The region was dominated by the kingdom of Purushanda,[12][5] the etymology of which suggests a takeover of Hattic lands by Luwian elites[23] and a region made up of an eclectic mix of Luwian-speaking Luwians, Hattic-speaking Luwians, Luwian-speaking Hattians and Hattic-speaking Hattians.[24]

Archaeology at Acemhöyük has confirmed the remains of central Anatolian, Mesopotamian and north Syrian pottery - as well as traces of monumental structures - dated 2659 to 2157 BC, providing a plausible terminus a quo for the Luwian takeover of the region.[25]

Hittite period

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Statue from the Post-Hittite period, representing king Šuppiluliuma, ruler of the Luwian state of Pattin (Unqi)

The Old Hittite laws from the 17th century BC contain cases relating to the then independent regions of Palā and Luwiya. Traders and displaced people seem to have moved from one country to the other on the basis of agreements between Ḫattusa and Luwiya.[26] It has been argued that the Luwians never formed a single unified Luwian state but populated a number of polities where they mixed with other population groups, though a minority opinion holds that the Luwians formed a unified socio-political group.[citation needed]

During the Hittite period, the kingdom of Kizzuwatna had its own dialect of Luwian, distinct from that spoken in Hattusa. Kizzuwatna was the Hittite and Luwian name for ancient Cilicia. The area was conquered by the Hittites in the 16th century BC. Around 1500, the area broke off and became the kingdom of Kizzuwatna, whose ruler used the title of "Great King", like the Hittite ruler. The Hittite king Telipinu had to conclude a treaty with King Išputaḫšu, which was renewed by his successors. Under King Pilliya, Kizzuwatna became a vassal of the Mitanni. Around 1420, King Šunaššura of Mitanni renounced control of Kizzuwatna and concluded an alliance with the Hittite king Tudḫaliya I. Soon after this, the area seems to have been incorporated into the Hittite empire and remained so until its collapse around 1190 BC at the hands of Assyria and Phrygia.[citation needed]

Western Anatolian kingdoms such as Seha, Arzawa, and Wilusa may have had at least partially Luwian-speaking populations, though current evidence leaves room for doubt, and this is a matter of controversy in contemporary scholarship.[citation needed]

Petra Goedegebuure of the Oriental Institute has argued that Luwian was spoken from the eastern Aegean coast to Melid and as far north as Alaca Hoyuk during the Hittite Kingdom.[21]

Post-Hittite period

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Various Luwian (Post-Hittite) and Aramean (orange shades) states in the 8th century BCE
Main article: Syro-Hittite states

After the collapse of the Hittite Empire c. 1180 BCE, several small principalities developed in northern Syria and southwestern Anatolia. In south-central Anatolia was Tabal which probably consisted of several small city-states, in Cilicia there was Quwê, in northern Syria was Gurgum, on the Euphrates there were Melid, Kummuh, Carchemish and (east of the river) Masuwara, while on the Orontes River there were Unqi-Pattin and Hamath. The princes and traders of these kingdoms used Hieroglyphic Luwian in inscriptions, the latest of which date to the 8th century BC. The Karatepe Bilingual inscription of prince Azatiwada is particularly important.

These states were largely destroyed and incorporated into the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC) during the 9th century BC.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hawkins, David J. (2013). Luwians vs. Hittites. Luwian Identities: Culture, Language and Religion Between Anatolia and the Aegean, p. 31-35. Netherlands: Brill.
  2. ^ Carruba, Onofrio. (1992). Luwier in Kappadokien. La circulation des biens, des personnes et des idÈes dans le Proche-Orient ancien. Ed. D. Charpin and F. JoannËs. Paris: Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations. pp. 251-57.
  3. ^ Bomhard, A. R. (1984). Toward proto-Nostratic : a new approach to the comparison of proto-Indo-European and proto-Afroasiatic, p. 112. Netherlands: North-Holland. Academic.edu
  4. ^ Bauer, A. (2014). Morphosyntax of the Noun Phrase in Hieroglyphic Luwian, p. 154. Belgium: Brill. Google Books
  5. ^ a b c d Yakubovich, Ilya. (2010). Sociolinguistics of the Luvian Language. A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Division of the Humanities In Candidacy For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago. [https://www.academia.edu/498331/Sociolinguistics_of_the_Luvian_Language Academia.edu
  6. ^ Yakar, Jak. (2003). Towards an absolute chronology for middle and late bronze age Anatolia, Studies. Presented A.M. Mansel, 562. Academia.edu
  7. ^ Bryce, Trevor (2005). The kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-19-927908-1. -- 'The kingdom of the Hittites' at academia.edu
  8. ^ Forlanini, Massimo. 1977. “L’Anatolia Nord-Occidentale Nell’impero Eteo.” Studi Micenei Ed Egeo-Anatolici 3-4: 291-300.
  9. ^ Yakubovich, Ilya. (2011). Luwian and the Luwians. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), p. 535. Spain: OUP USA. Google Books.
  10. ^ Boutet, Michel Gérald, (2000). Time Line of Indo-European Peoples and Cultures (after Cyril Babaev with modifications by MichelGérald Boutet and David Frawley), p. 5. Academia.edu.
  11. ^ Giusfredi, F., Pisaniello, V., Matessi, A. (2023). Contacts of Languages and Peoples in the Hittite and Post-Hittite World: Volume 1, The Bronze Age and Hatti. Netherlands: Brill. Google Books
  12. ^ a b Blasweiler, Joost. (2016). The kingdom of Purušhanda in the land Luwiya, pp. 31-38. Arnhem, Arnhem (NL) Bronze Age. Academia.edu
  13. ^ a b Reich, David (2018), Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  14. ^ David W. Anthony (2010). The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400831104.
  15. ^ Haak, Wolfgang; Lazaridis, Iosif; Patterson, Nick; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; Llamas, Bastien; Brandt, Guido; Nordenfelt, Susanne; Harney, Eadaoin; Stewardson, Kristin; Fu, Qiaomei; Mittnik, Alissa; Bánffy, Eszter; Economou, Christos; Francken, Michael; Friederich, Susanne; Pena, Rafael Garrido; Hallgren, Fredrik; Khartanovich, Valery; Khokhlov, Aleksandr; Kunst, Michael; Kuznetsov, Pavel; Meller, Harald; Mochalov, Oleg; Moiseyev, Vayacheslav; Nicklisch, Nicole; Pichler, Sandra L.; Risch, Roberto; Guerra, Manuel A. Rojo; Roth, Christina; Szécsényi-Nagy, Anna; Wahl, Joachim; Meyer, Matthias; Krause, Johannes; Brown, Dorcas; Anthony, David; Cooper, Alan; Alt, Kurt Werner; Reich, David (10 February 2015). "Massive migration from the steppe is a source for Indo-European languages in Europe". bioRxiv. 522 (7555): 207–211. arXiv:1502.02783. Bibcode:2015Natur.522..207H. bioRxiv 10.1101/013433. doi:10.1038/NATURE14317. PMC 5048219. PMID 25731166. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  16. ^ Allentoft, Morten E.; Sikora, Martin; Sjögren, Karl-Göran; Rasmussen, Simon; Rasmussen, Morten; Stenderup, Jesper; Damgaard, Peter B.; Schroeder, Hannes; Ahlström, Torbjörn; Vinner, Lasse; Malaspinas, Anna-Sapfo; Margaryan, Ashot; Higham, Tom; Chivall, David; Lynnerup, Niels; Harvig, Lise; Baron, Justyna; Casa, Philippe Della; Dąbrowski, Paweł; Duffy, Paul R.; Ebel, Alexander V.; Epimakhov, Andrey; Frei, Karin; Furmanek, Mirosław; Gralak, Tomasz; Gromov, Andrey; Gronkiewicz, Stanisław; Grupe, Gisela; Hajdu, Tamás; Jarysz, Radosław (2015). "Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia". Nature. 522 (7555): 167–172. Bibcode:2015Natur.522..167A. doi:10.1038/nature14507. PMID 26062507. S2CID 4399103.
  17. ^ Mathieson, Iain; Lazaridis, Iosif; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; Llamas, Bastien; Pickrell, Joseph; Meller, Harald; Guerra, Manuel A. Rojo; Krause, Johannes; Anthony, David; Brown, Dorcas; Fox, Carles Lalueza; Cooper, Alan; Alt, Kurt W.; Haak, Wolfgang; Patterson, Nick; Reich, David (14 March 2015). "Eight thousand years of natural selection in Europe". bioRxiv: 016477. doi:10.1101/016477. Retrieved 3 April 2018 – via biorxiv.org.
  18. ^ H. Craig Melchert: The Luwians. Brill 2003, ISBN 90-04-13009-8, S. 23–26.
  19. ^ Frangipane, Marcella (2015). "Different types of multiethnic societies and different patterns of development and change in the prehistoric Near East". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (30): 9182–9189. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112.9182F. doi:10.1073/pnas.1419883112. PMC 4522825. PMID 26015583.
  20. ^ Geoffrey D. Summers, The Early Trans-Caucasian Culture in Iran: Perspectives and problems. Paléorient 2014 Volume 40 Numéro 2 pp. 155-168
  21. ^ a b Goedegebuure, Petra (February 5, 2020). "Petra Goedegebuure Anatolians on the Move: From Kurgans to Kanesh". Oriental Institute. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ Yakubovich, Ilya. (2011). In Search of Luwiya, the Original Luwian-speaking Area. Journal of Ancient History, Vol. 4, p. 295. http://vdi.igh.ru
  23. ^ History of Humanity: From the third millennium to the seventh century B.C., p. 549. United Kingdom: Routledge, 1994.
  24. ^ Giusfredi, F., Pisaniello, V., Matessi, A. (2023). Contacts of Languages and Peoples in the Hittite and Post-Hittite World: Volume 1, The Bronze Age and Hatti. Netherlands: Brill. Google Books
  25. ^ Yakar, Jak. (2003). Towards an absolute chronology for middle and late bronze age Anatolia, Studies. Presented A.M. Mansel, 562. Academia.edu
  26. ^ H. Craig Melchert: The Luwians. Brill 2003, ISBN 90-04-13009-8, pp. 28 f.
  27. ^ Georges Roux – Ancient Iraq

Sources

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