Pitassa is an as-yet undiscovered frontier city in western

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

, mentioned in

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

archives at

Hattusa Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'',Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of t ...

. The name seems

Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub- ...

or considered Hittite. It occasionally formed the border between Hatti and various iterations of

Arzawa Arzawa was a region and a political entity (a " kingdom" or a federation of local powers) in Western Anatolia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (roughly from the late 15th century BC until the beginning of the 12th century BC). The core ...

. Another account referred to it as an imperial geographical designation (also called Pedassa) for the region found at the foot of the Sultan Mountains and extend northwards all the way to the

Sakarya River The Sakarya (Sakara River, tr, Sakarya Irmağı; gr, Σαγγάριος, translit=Sangarios; Latin: ''Sangarius'') is the third longest river in Turkey. It runs through the region known in ancient times as Phrygia. It was considered one of th ...

and Gordion near Polath. It is also described as part of the region of Classical Lycaonia, which was located east of the

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

. Madduwatta wrested Pitassa from

Arnuwanda I Arnuwanda I was a king of the Hittite Empire. He became a ruler by marriage and was very religious. He ruled c. 1390–1380 BC (middle chronology). Biography Arnuwanda became a king by marriage. His wife was Ašmu-nikal, daughter of king Tudh ...

in the late 15th century BC. This figure was described as a freebooter and he forced the inhabitants of Pitassa to swear loyalty to himself. Decades later Suppiluliuma I retook it while he was the crown prince acting in behalf of his father. The city was included in the list of conquered territories cited in the ''Deeds of Suppiluliuma''. Mashuiluwa of Mira then incited it to revolt c. 1310 BC, after which

Mursili II There were three Hittite kings called Mursili: *Mursili I, ca. 1556–1526 BCE (short chronology), and was likely a grandson of his predecessor, Hattusili I. His sister was Ḫarapšili and his wife was queen Kali. * Mursili II, (also spelled Mursi ...

moved upon it and resubjugated it. One of the earliest records of Pitassa involve the account of Egyptian scribes of the battle of Qadesh in 1275 B.C. During the conflict, Pitassa provided a contingent that served under the Hittite army. In these documents, it was referred to as ''P-d-s'' or the equivalent of Pitassa and was located in the area of Salt Lake (Tuz Golu) and the plains of

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

. The city during this period was recorded as a subject of the kingdom of Hatti. Pitassa is cited in several historical documents such as the case of Hittite treaties that included the descriptions of boundaries and towns. These include the treaty between

Tudhaliya IV Tudhaliya is the name of several Hittite kings: *Tudhaliya (also Tudhaliya I) is a hypothetic pre-Empire king of the Hittites. He would have reigned in the late 17th century BC (short chronology). Forlanini (1993) conjectures that this king corres ...

of Hatti and his cousin Kurunta around 1240-1210 BC, which described the latter's frontiers in the following words:

In the direction of the land of Pitassa, his frontier city of Sanantarwa, but the kantanna of Zarniya belongs to the land of the Hulaya River, while Sanantarwa belongs to the land of Pitassa.

Speculations

''This may be the city of Abydos on the Hellespont.''

References

Hittite Empire {{AncientNearEast-stub