The Aksaray Stele is a Syro-Hittite monument that was found in the city of

Aksaray Aksaray () is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District.

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

in central

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It is exhibited in Aksaray Museum (inventory number 1-1-77). According to the British hithitologist

John David Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, the site of the find had been the construction site for the Mehmet Şişman İşhane in Hükümet Caddesi. It was published in 1982 by Massimo Poetto. Hawkins published the stele in his Corpus of

Hieroglyphic Luwian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian languages, Anatolian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya ...

Inscriptions in 2000.

Description

The stone block is high, wide and thick. The top half is missing. The obverse shows the lower part of a figure to about the waist, probably a weather god. The content of the inscription is a dedication by King Kiyakiyas. He describes the prosperity in his reign and the benevolence of the weather god Tarhunzas. Kiyakiyas is believed to be identical with King Kiyakki of Šinuḫtu, who ruled prior to 718 BC. At that time, he was seized and deported by the Neo-Assyrian king

Sargon II Sargon II (, meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is generally believed to have be ...

. Thus the inscription indicates that the ancient kingdom of Sinuhtu was located at Aksaray.John David Hawkins, ed.
Inscriptions of the Iron Age: Part 1.
Walter de Gruyter, 2012. p.431 Kiyakiyas is also mentioned in the Topada rock inscription ( :de:Felsinschrift von Topada) as one of the kings who were friendly with Wasusarma of Tabal. Thus the inscription can be dated to the late 8th century BC.

Notes

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Literature

* Mustafa Kalaç: ''Ein Steinbruchstück mit luwischen Hieroglyphen in Aksaray bei Niğde'' In: ''Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung'' Bd. 92, 1978 S. 117–125. * John David Hawkins: ''Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions.'' Vol. I: ''Inscriptions of the Iron Age.'' Part 2: ''Text. Amuq, Aleppo, Hama, Tabal, Assur Letters, Miscellaneous, Seals, Indices.'' (= ''Studies in Indo-European Language and Culture'' 8).

de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

, Berlin, 2000, ISBN 3-11-010864-X, S. 475–478. History of Aksaray Province Archaeological sites in Central Anatolia Luwian inscriptions

Description

See also

Notes

Literature