King Tarkasnawa of Mira Kingdom circa 1350 BC

Tarkasnawa was ruler of the

Kingdom of Mira Mira (ca. 1330–1190 BC), in the Late Bronze Age, was one of the semi-autonomous vassal state kingdoms that emerged in western Anatolia (Asia Minor) following the defeat and partition of the larger kingdom of Arzawa by the victorious Suppiluli ...

, and one of the last independent kings of

Arzawa Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital wa ...

, a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

confederation of kingdoms in western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. He was probably the son of King Alantalli, and a contemporary of the Hittite king

Tudḫaliya IV Tudḫaliya IV was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom), and the younger son of Ḫattušili III. He reigned –1215 BC (middle chronology) or –1209 BC (short chronology). His mother was the great queen, Puduḫepa. Early life Tud� ...

. If, as proposed, Tarkasnawa was the recipient of the Milawata letter, he may have been subject to the Hittite king. Tarkasnawa appears in the

Karabel relief The Hittites, Hittite / Luwian Karabel relief is a rock relief in the pass of the same name, between Torbalı and Kemalpaşa, about 20 km from İzmir in Turkey. Rock reliefs are a prominent aspect of Hittite art. Description The monum ...

, where his name is inscribed in Luwian hieroglyphs. The inscription, next to the figure of the king, reads: He is also known from various seals, one of them in which his name was formerly read "Tarkondemos". This is a bilingual seal, combining a

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

inscription on the rim and the corresponding Hittite hieroglyphs around the figure in royal dress, giving the name of the ruler: Tarkasnawa. This bilingual inscription provided the first clues for deciphering Hittite hieroglyphs. File:Anatolian - Seal of Tarkummuwa, King of Mera - Walters 571512.jpg, Seal of Tarkasnawas, also known as the "Tarkondemos seal", with the

inscription "tar-kaš-ša-na-wa" File:Seal of Tarkasnawa.jpg, Seal of Tarkasnawa (drawing of imprint) File:Seal of Tarkasnawa (19th century reading).jpg, Seal of Tarkasnawa: 19th-century reading of the cuneiform File:Relief of Tarkasnawa, inscription.jpg, Name of Tarkasnawa in Luwian hieroglyphs on the

References

External links

The Relief of Sesostris
Kings of Arzawa 14th-century BC monarchs {{Rulers of the Ancient Near East