Luwians

The Luwians (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

"Luwian" is an exonym first used by the Hittites as an "ethno-linguistic term referring to the area where Luwian was spoken" 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''. An alternate derivation is ascribed to the Luwian ''lūwa'' meaning "plain."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
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Origins

The Luwian language is a member of the Anatolian language family, sharing a common ancestor with Hittite and Palaic. These languages are believed to have split off from one another over a period of less than a millennium. There is no consensus on Luwian origins or their entry point into Anatolia, only that Indo-European speakers were intrusive to Anatolia.Melchert, Craig. (2003). ''The Luwians'', pp. 23-25. Netherlands: Brill
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/ref> Archaeological evidence suggests disruptions dating to roughly 2200 BC, which could be associated with the arrival of new populations including speakers of Anatolian languages. within the earliest known geographical area of ''luwili''Yakubovich, Ilya. (2011). ''Luwian and the Luwians''. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), p. 364, 535. Spain: OUP USA
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/ref> and proximate to the location where Luwian names appear in Assyrian records.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
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/ref> The Konya plain is a plausible candidate for the initial settlement of the Luwians.

Geography

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

Nevertheless, archaeology suggests the arrival of Luwians at Acemhöyük sometime after 2157 BCYakar, Jak. (2003). ''Towards an absolute chronology for middle and late bronze age Anatolia, Studies''. Presented A.M. Mansel, 562
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/ref> and westward expansion thereafter.Bryce, T. (2018). ''Warriors of Anatolia: A Concise History of the Hittites''. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing
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/ref>Hawkins, David J. (2013). ''Luwians vs. Hittites''. Luwian Identities: Culture, Language and Religion Between Anatolia and the Aegean.. Netherlands: Brill. They are believed to have settled south-central Anatolia, the southern end of the Sakarya River valley, modern İzmirWoudhuizen, Fred. (2023). ''The Luwians of Western Anatolia: Their Neighbours and Predecessors''. United Kingdom: Archaeopress Publishing Limited
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/ref> and most if not all of southwestern Anatolia.Bryce, Trevor. (1999). ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press
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Fred Woudhuizen has argued that Luwian-speakers populated the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands prior to the arrival of the Mycenaeans.

History

Land of Luwiya

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). The region was dominated by the kingdom of Purushanda,Blasweiler, Joost. (2016). ''The kingdom of Purušhanda in the land Luwiya'', pp. 31-38. Arnhem, Arnhem (NL) Bronze Age
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/ref> the etymology of which suggests a takeover of Hattic lands by Luwian elites and a region made up of an eclectic mix of Luwian-speaking Luwians, Hattic-speaking Luwians, Luwian-speaking Hattians and Hattic-speaking Hattians.

Archaeology at Acemhöyük has confirmed the remains of central Anatolian, Mesopotamian and north Syrian pottery - as well as traces of monumental structures - which tree ring analysis establish 2157 BC as the final dating for wood used in construction, providing a plausible ''terminus a quo'' for the Luwian takeover of the region.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Post-Hittite period

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.

Popular Culture

The non-profit Luwian Studies foundation was established in 2014 to promote the study of the Luwians and their cultures.

In 2018 it was revealed that prominent British historian James Mellaart had fabricated Luwian inscriptions over the course of his career, invalidating any research based upon his work.

See also

* Luwian language
* Luwian religion
* Hieroglyphic Luwian
* Luwian Studies
* Luwian-Aramean states

References

Sources

* Hartmut Blum. “Luwier in der Ilias?”, ''Troia – Traum und Wirklichkeit: Ein Mythos in Geschichte und Rezeption'', in: Tagungsband zum Symposion im Braunschweigischen Landesmuseum am 8. und 9. Juni 2001 im Rahmen der Ausstellung “Troia: Traum und Wirklichkeit”. Braunschweig: Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, 2003. , pp. 40–47.
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* Billie Jean Collins, Mary R. Bachvarova, & Ian C. Rutherford, eds. ''Anatolian Interfaces: Hittites, Greeks and their Neighbours''. London: Oxbow Books, 2008.
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* H. Craig Melchert, ed. ''The Luwians''. Leiden: Brill, 2003, .
** also in: ''Die Hethiter und ihr Reich''. Exhibition catalog. Stuttgart: Theiss, 2002, .
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* Ilya S. Yakubovich. ''Sociolinguistics of the Luvian Language''. Leiden: Brill, 2010. .
* Eberhard Zangger. ''The Luwian Civilisation: The Missing Link in the Aegean Bronze Age''. Istanbul: Yayinlari, 2016, .

External links

Luwian Studies.org
* Urs Willmann
''Räuberbanden im Mittelmeer.''
In: ''Zeit Online'', 2016

"The Luwians: A Lost Civilization Comes Back to Life"
keynote lecture by Dr. Eberhard Zangger given at Klosters' 50th Winterseminar, 18 January 2015 (online at ''Luwian Studies'' YouTube Channel)
* Eberhard Zangger and Serdal Mutlu
Putting the Luwian Culture on the Map
American Society of Overseas Research January 2023

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Ancient peoples of the Near East
Anatolian peoples
Late Bronze Age collapse
Bronze Age peoples of Asia
Iron Age peoples of Asia