The Lukka lands (sometimes Luqqa lands), were an ancient region of Anatolia. They are known from Hittite and

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

texts, which viewed them as hostile. It is commonly accepted that the

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 ...

toponym Lukka is cognate with the

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

Geography

Lukka was located in southwestern Anatolia. However, its exact extent is a matter of debate.

Trevor Bryce Trevor Robert Bryce (; born 1940) is an Australian Hittitologist specializing in ancient and classical Near-eastern history. He is semi-retired and lives in Brisbane. His book, ''The Kingdom of the Hittites'', is popular among English-speaki ...

has argued that the Lukka lands covered a large area including the regions later known as

Lycaonia Lycaonia (; , ''Lykaonia''; ) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to ...

Pisidia Pisidia (; , ; ) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey. Among Pisidia's set ...

and

.Bryce, Trevor. (1999). ''The Kingdom of the Hittites'', p. 33-54. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press
Google Books
Other researchers, such as Ilya Yakubovich, have argued that Lukka was limited to Lycia and that "the Hittite kings did not regard Lukka as a state and...that this land was politically decentralized."Ilya Yakubovich (2010) ''Sociolinguistics of the Luvian Language'', pp. 134, 167. Leiden: Brill. Researcher Rostislav Oreshko argues that there were two centers of Lukkan power - one in the traditional location near Lycia and another located in the eastern part of the

Troad The Troad ( or ; , ''Troáda'') or Troas (; , ''Trōiás'' or , ''Trōïás'') is a historical region in northwestern Anatolia. It corresponds with the Biga Peninsula ( Turkish: ''Biga Yarımadası'') in the Çanakkale Province of modern Tur ...

- and that most of the Hittite records concern the latter.Oreshko, Rostislav. (2013). Geography of the Western Fringes: Gar(a)giša/Gargiya and the Lands of the Late Bronze Age Caria, p. 156-169. Centre for Hellenic Studies (Harvard University)
Academic.edu

History

The Amarna letters mention Lukkan raids against the island kingdom of

Alashiya Alashiya ( ''Alašiya'' -la-ši-ia ''ẢLṮY''; Linear B: 𐀀𐀨𐀯𐀍 ''Alasios'' -ra-si-jo Hieratic "'irs3"), also spelled Alasiya, also known as the Kingdom of Alashiya, was a state which existed in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, a ...

in the mid-1300s BC, about the same time as Hittite texts praying to the Sun goddess of Arinna mention the Lukka lands along with Arawanna, Kalaspa and Pitassa as independent lands that had ceased paying tribute. They are mentioned prominently in the Hittite treaty with

Alaksandu Alaksandu (Hittite language, Hittite: ), alternatively called Alakasandu or Alaksandus, was a king of Wilusa who sealed a treaty with Hittite empire, Hittite king Muwatalli II ca. 1280 BC. This treaty implies that Alaksandu had previously secure ...

circa 1280 BC: Soldiers from the Lukka lands fought on the Hittite side in the famous

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, ...

(c. 1274 BC) against the Egyptian Pharaoh

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

. A century later, the Lukka had turned against the Hittites. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma II tried in vain to defeat the Lukka. They contributed to the collapse 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 ...

. The Lukka are also known from texts in

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

as one of the tribes of the

Sea Peoples The Sea Peoples were a group of tribes hypothesized to have attacked Ancient Egypt, Egypt and other Eastern Mediterranean regions around 1200 BC during the Late Bronze Age. The hypothesis was proposed by the 19th-century Egyptology, Egyptologis ...

, who invaded Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in the 12th century BC.

Notes

External links

*
The Lukka, at "Sea Peoples and the Philistines on the Web"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukka lands Prehistoric Anatolia Lycia Hittite Empire Sea Peoples

Geography

History

See also

Notes

External links