Kalašma or Kalasma (occasionally Kalašpa) was a late

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 ...

polity in Northern Anatolia on the border of the

Hittite Empire The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

Geography

Kalašma was located somewhere in northwestern Anatolia. Though its precise location is uncertain, its location relative to other places can be deduced from geographical references in contemporary documents. For instance, it is known to have been south of Arawanna and west of

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County * Pala, Järva County, ...

. Current research suggests that it was located near modern day

Bolu Bolu is a city in northern Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province and of Bolu District,Bedřich Hrozný Bedřich Hrozný (; 6 May 1879 – 12 December 1952), also known as , was a Czechs, Czech Oriental studies, orientalist and linguist. He contributed to the decipherment of the ancient Hittite language, identified it as an Indo-European language, ...

took the placename "Kalašmitta" to be a variant of "Kalašma", but current research suggests that they were in fact separate places.

History

Forlanini says that ''Kalašma'' was not a

tribal name A tribal name is a name of an ethnic tribe —usually of ancient origin, which represented its self-identity. Studies of Native American tribal names show that most had an original meaning comparable to "human," "people" "us"—the "triba ...

but a

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

, the eponymous city having been fortified by the Hittite king

Hantili I Hantili I was a king of the Hittites during the Hittite Old Kingdom. His reign lasted for 30 years, from c. 1590 to c. 1560 BC (middle chronology). Biography Rise to power According to the Telepinu Proclamation, Hantili was the royal cup-bearer ...

(died c. 1560 BCE). Hantili failed to reinstate Kalašma's local

weather god A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of ...

, and on returning to

Ḫattuša Hattusa, also Hattuşa, Ḫattuša, Hattusas, or Hattusha, was the capital of the Hittites, Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age during two distinct periods. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey (originally Boğazköy) within the great ...

, the Hittite capital, he had to perform expiatory rituals to the

Sun goddess of the Earth The Sun goddess of the Earth ( Hittite: ''taknaš dUTU'', Luwian: tiyamaššiš Tiwaz) was the Hittite goddess of the underworld. Her Hurrian equivalent was Allani and her Sumerian/Akkadian equivalent was Ereshkigal, both of which had a marked i ...

Arnuwanda I Arnuwanda I was a Hittite great king during the early 14th century BC, ruling in c. 1390–1380/1370 BC. Origins Arnuwanda's parents are unknown. Because both Arnuwanda and his wife, Queen Ašmu-Nikkal, are described on their respective seals a ...

(ruled 1380s BCE) installed oathbound military commanders in regions including Kalašma.Weeden and Ullmann 2022 p. 256 Civil administration was by a council of elders. In the reign of Arnuwanda's son

Tudhaliya II Tudḫaliya II (sometimes identified with and designated Tudḫaliya I) was a Hittite great king in the late 15th/early 14th century BC, ruling in perhaps c. 1425–c. 1390 BC. He was the father-in-law and predecessor of Arnuwanda I. Identity ...

, troops from Kalašma and elsewhere rebelled and fled through Išuwa to an unnamed enemy country; Tudhaliya's son Suppiluliuma I subdued the rebel regions. There were several revolts in the reign of Suppiluliuma's son

Muršili II Mursili II (also spelled Mursilis II) was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom) –1295 BC (middle chronology) or 1321–1295 BC (short chronology). Early Life Mursili was the third born son of King Suppiluliuma I, one of the most powerful ...

(ended 1295 BCE). One triggered a punitive raid by Hittite general Nuwanzas.Garstang 196
p. 46
/ref> Muršili replaced the elders with a single administrator named Aparru, who rebelled, seized royal power, and invaded neighbouring Sappa.Garstang 196
p. 45
/ref> Aparru was soon defeated but Kalašma was in

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

until pacified the next year by Hutupiyanza, governor of Pala. Kalašmans were later to be found further east, at Pahhuwa on the upper Euphrates, possibly having been deported there by Muršili, or as

mercenary soldier A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather th ...

s. Kalašmans fought alongside the Hittites at the

Battle of Kadesh The Battle of Kadesh took place in the 13th century BC between the New Kingdom of Egypt, Egyptian Empire led by pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittites, Hittite Empire led by king Muwatalli II. Their armies engaged each other at the Orontes River, ...

against the

Egyptian Empire The New Kingdom, also called the Egyptian Empire, refers to ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC. This period of ancient Egyptian history covers the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasties. Through radioc ...

in 1274 BCE. Kalašma is one of the places mentioned in a

Luwian hieroglyphic Anatolian hieroglyphs are an indigenous logographic script native to central Anatolia, consisting of some 500 signs. They were once commonly known as Hittite hieroglyphs, but the language they encode proved to be Luwian, not Hittite, and the ter ...

tablet from the reign of Arnuwanda III (ended c. 1210 BCE) as conquered by Mukšuš.

Language

In 2023 a tablet written in " the language of Kalašma" was discovered in the Bogazköy Archive excavated at Ḫattuša. It is in the Anatolian branch of the

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

, probably the

Luwic The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language. Undiscovered until the late ...

sub-branch. In 1958 had noted that a Hittite-language oath taken by officials from Kalašma represented a different

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

of Hittite from the oath of other regions' officials.

Sources

* * * *

References

{{reflist Hittite Empire Black Sea region States in Bronze Age Anatolia City-states