The Luwians (also known as Luvians) were an ancient people in

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 ...

who spoke the

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

. During 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 ...

, Luwians formed part of the population 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 ...

and adjoining states such as

Kizzuwatna Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode'') was an ancient Anatolian kingdom, attested in written sources from the end of the 16th century BC onwards, but though its origins are still obscure, the Middle Bronze Age in Cili ...

. During the

Hittite New Kingdom The Hittites () were an Anatolian 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 modern-day Turkey in the early 2nd millen ...

, Luwian replaced Hittite as the empire's dominant language. In the early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, 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 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 ...

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 The Hurrians (; ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. They spoke the Hurro-Urartian language, Hurrian language, and lived throughout northern Syria (region) ...

) - ''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
Academia.edu
/ref>

Origins

Anubanini relief constituents King Anubanini

The Luwian language is a member of the Anatolian language family, sharing a common ancestor with Hittite and

Palaic Palaic is an extinct Indo-European language, attested in cuneiform tablets in Bronze Age Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites. Palaic, which was apparently spoken mainly in northern Anatolia, is generally considered to be one of four primary sub ...

. 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
Google Books
/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
Academia.edu
/ref> The Konya plain is a plausible candidate for the initial settlement of the Luwians.

Geography

Mid000017 Map 2011 09 Middle-Bronzse-Age-Anatolia

The linguist Ilya Yakubovich has given the most succinct quote concerning the Luwians, stating: Nevertheless, archaeology suggests the arrival of Luwians at

Acemhöyük Acemhöyük is an archaeological site in Turkey. The tell is located near the village of Yeşilova in Merkez district, Aksaray Province. The Bronze Age name for the place was probably Purušḫanda/Purušḫattum or . The site was important d ...

sometime after 2157 BCYakar, Jak. (2003). ''Towards an absolute chronology for middle and late bronze age Anatolia, Studies''. Presented A.M. Mansel, 562
Academia.edu
/ref> and westward expansion thereafter.Bryce, T. (2018). ''Warriors of Anatolia: A Concise History of the Hittites''. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing
Google Books
/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 The Sakarya (; ; ; ) is the third longest river in Turkey. It runs through the region known in ancient times as Phrygia. It was considered one of the principal rivers of Asia Minor (Anatolia) in Greek classical antiquity, and is mentioned in th ...

valley, modern İzmirWoudhuizen, Fred. (2023). ''The Luwians of Western Anatolia: Their Neighbours and Predecessors''. United Kingdom: Archaeopress Publishing Limited
Academia.edu
/ref> and most if not all of southwestern Anatolia.Bryce, Trevor. (1999). ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press
Google Books

Fred Woudhuizen Frederik Christiaan Woudhuizen (Zutphen, 13 February 1959 – Heiloo, 28 September 2021) was a Dutch independent scholar who studied ancient Indo-European languages, hieroglyphic Luvian/Luwian, and Mediterranean protohistory. He was the former ed ...

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 name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

s and

loan word A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing (linguistics), borrowing. Borrowing ...

s in

Old Assyrian Empire The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after th ...

documents from the Assyrian colony of

Kültepe Kültepe ( Turkish: ), also known under its ancient name Kaneš (Kanesh, sometimes also Kaniš/Kanish) or Neša (Nesha), is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey. It was already a major settlement at the beginning of the 3rd mille ...

, dating from between 1950 and 1700 BC (

Middle Chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

), 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 Purushanda (also variously Puruskhanda, Purushhattum, Purushhatum or Burushattum) was an Anatolian kingdom of the early second millennium prior to the common era. It was conquered by the Hittites circa 1700 BC. The name disappears from history soon ...

. 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

. 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

,Blasweiler, Joost. (2016). ''The kingdom of Purušhanda in the land Luwiya'', pp. 31-38. Arnhem, Arnhem (NL) Bronze Age
Academia.edu
/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

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. SUPPILULIUMA

The

Old Hittite Hittite (, or ), also known as Nesite (Nešite/Neshite, Nessite), is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken by the Hittites, a people of Bronze Age Anatolia who created an empire centred on Hattusa, as well as parts of the northern ...

laws from the 17th century BC contain cases relating to the then independent regions of Palā and

Luwiya 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 Ne ...

. 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

had its own dialect of Luwian, distinct from that spoken in

Hattusa 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 ...

. Kizzuwatna was the Hittite and Luwian name for ancient

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

. 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 Telipinu was the last king of the Hittites Old Kingdom, reigning in middle chronology. At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all of its conquests, made in the former era ...

had to conclude a treaty with King Išputaḫšu, which was renewed by his successors. Under King Pilliya, Kizzuwatna became a vassal of the

Mitanni Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian language, Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria (region), Syria an ...

. Around 1420, King Šunaššura of Mitanni renounced control of Kizzuwatna and concluded an alliance with the Hittite king

Tudḫaliya I Tudḫaliya I (sometimes considered identical with Tudḫaliya II and called Tudḫaliya I/II ) was a Hittite great king in the 15th century BC, ruling perhaps c. 1465–c. 1440 BC Identity The numbering of Hittite kings named Tudḫaliya ( ...

. 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 Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

and

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

. Western Anatolian kingdoms such as Seha,

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 ...

, and

Wilusa Wilusa () or Wilusiya was a Late Bronze Age city in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) known from references in fragmentary Hittites, Hittite records. The city is notable for its identification with the archaeological site of Troy, and thus its ...

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 The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

Melid Arslantepe, also known as Melid, was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with the modern archaeological site of Arslantepe near Malatya, Turkey. It was na ...

and as far north as

Alaca Hoyuk Alaca () may refer to the following places in Turkey: * Alaca, Çorum, a large district in Çorum Province ** Alaca Dam * Alaca, Borçka, a village in Artvin Province * Alaca, Beşiri, a village in Batman Province * Alaca, Elâzığ, a village in E ...

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 Tabal may refer to: * Tabal (region), a region of southern Central Anatolia during the Iron Age. * Tabal (state), a Luwian-speaking Syro-Hittite petty kingdom that existed during the Iron Age. {{disambiguation ...

which probably consisted of several small city-states, in Cilicia there was Quwê, in northern Syria was

Gurgum Gurgum was a Neo-Hittite state in Anatolia, known from the 10th to the 7th century BC. Its name is given as Gurgum in Assyrian sources, while its native name seems to have been Kurkuma for the reason that the capital of Gurgum— Marqas in Assyr ...

, on the Euphrates there were

Kummuh Kummuh was an Iron Age Neo-Hittite kingdom located on the west bank of the Upper Euphrates within the eastern loop of the river between Melid and Carchemish. Assyrian sources refer to both the land and its capital city by the same name. The city ...

Carchemish Carchemish ( or ), also spelled Karkemish (), was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its history the city was independent, but it was also part of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo-Assyrian ...

and (east of the river) Masuwara, while on the

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Nahr al-ʿĀṣī, or simply Asi (, ; ) is a long river in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Hatay Province, Turk ...

there were Unqi-Pattin and

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

th. 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 The Karatepe bilingual (8th century BC), also known as the Azatiwada inscription, is a bilingual inscription on stone slabs consisting of Phoenician and Luwian text each, which enabled the decipherment of the Anatolian hieroglyphs. The artif ...

inscription of prince Azatiwada is particularly important. These states were largely destroyed and incorporated into the

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to dominate the ancient Near East and parts of South Caucasus, Nort ...

(911–605 BC) during the 9th century BC.

Popular Culture

The non-profit

Luwian Studies Luwian Studies is an independent, private, non-profit foundation based in Zürich, Switzerland. Its sole purpose is to promote the study of cultures of the second millennium BC in western Asia Minor. The foundation encourages and supports archaeol ...

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 James Mellaart FBA (14 November 1925 – 29 July 2012) was a British and Dutch archaeologist and author who is noted for his discovery of the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. He was expelled from Turkey when he was suspected o ...

had fabricated Luwian inscriptions over the course of his career, invalidating any research based upon his work.

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 Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum (BLM) is a history museum in Braunschweig, Germany, operated by the state of Lower Saxony. The museum is scattered on four locations: ''Vieweghaus'', ''Hinter Ägidien'' (both in Braunschweig), ''Kanzlei'' (Wolfenb� ...

, 2003. , pp. 40–47. * * * * * Billie Jean Collins, Mary R. Bachvarova, & Ian C. Rutherford, eds. ''Anatolian Interfaces: Hittites, Greeks and their Neighbours''. London: Oxbow Books, 2008. * * * * * * * H. Craig Melchert, ed. ''The Luwians''. Leiden: Brill, 2003, . ** also in: ''Die Hethiter und ihr Reich''. Exhibition catalog. Stuttgart: Theiss, 2002, . * * * * * * 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 The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR), founded in 1900 as the American School of Oriental Study and Research in Palestine, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, which supports the research and teaching of ...

January 2023 {{Authority control Ancient peoples of the Near East Anatolian peoples Late Bronze Age collapse Bronze Age peoples of Asia Iron Age peoples of Asia