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The inscriptions of the Aleppo temple

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2012

J.D. Hawkins
J.D. Hawkins
Affiliation:
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
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Abstract

The location of the Temple of the Storm-God of Aleppo, one of the most famous cult-centres of antiquity, has long been a matter of speculation, but was finally revealed by excavations on Aleppo citadel begun in 1996. These have gradually uncovered the central cult-room of the temple with a rich inventory of sculptures datable to several phases of the construction. In 2003 came the dramatic exposure of a substantial Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription recording a dedication to the Storm-God by a ruler, Taita King of Palistin, incised alongside his own image standing in an attitude of reverence before the deity. This was followed in 2004–2005 by the discovery of a further, but broken, inscription on portal figures of the entrance, attributable to the same ruler. These inscriptions are datable by their palaeography approximately to the 11th century BC, a period previously regarded as a dark age lacking written records. They suggest the existence of a large and powerful kingdom in an area where the increasingly known archaeology shows an influx of people of Aegean connections bringing with them the distinctive Mycenaean IIIC pottery. A combination of the archaeological data and the evidence of the inscriptions begins to offer an outline history for this little-known age. This paper presents the first full publication of the inscriptions together with some comments on their background and implications.

Özet

Antik dünyanın en ünlü kült merkezlerinden biri olan, Aleppo'daki Fırtına Tanrısı Tapınağı'nın yeri uzun bir süre tartışma konusu olmuş, fakat nihayet 1996'da başlatılan Aleppo kalesi kazıları sırasında ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Bu kazılar sonucunda kademeli olarak, yapının değişik dönemlerine tarihlenebilen çok sayıda heykeli barındıran tapınağın merkezi kült odası açığa çıkarılmıştır. 2003 yılında, Palistin Kralı Taita tarafından Fırtına Tanrısı'na adanmış, kendisinin Tanrı önünde saygıyla eğilir pozisyondaki heykelinin yanında kazılmış, önemli bir Luvi hiyeroglif yazıtı ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunu, 2004–2005 yıllarında, girişteki kapı figürlerinin üzerinde, aynı yöneticiye atfedilebilen daha ileri seviyede fakat kırık olan bir yazıtın keşfi takip etmiştir. Bu yazıtlar paleografik açıdan, daha önce yazılı kayıtlar olmadığı için karanlık çağ olarak kabul edilen, M.Ö. 11. yüzyıla tarihlenmiştir. Bu yazıtlar, giderek daha iyi bilinen arkeolojik verilerin gösterdiği gibi, Ege bağlantıları olan ve beraberinde karakteristik Miken IIIC seramiğini getiren halkın akın ettiği bu bölgede, büyük ve güçlü bir krallık var olduğunu akla getirmektedir. Arkeolojik veriler ve yazıtların birleşimi, bu az bilinen dönemin tarihi hakkinda ipuçları vermektedir. Bu makale, yazıtların geçmişi ve etkileri üzerine bazı yorumlarla birlikte, bu yazıtların ilk tam yayınını da sunmaktadır.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anatolian Studies , Volume 61 , December 2011 , pp. 35 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2011

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