"Turtanu" or "Turtan" ( Akkadian: 𒌉𒋫𒉡 ''tur-ta-nu''; ''tartān''; ; ; ''tartan'') is an Akkadian word/title meaning 'commander in chief' or 'prime minister'. In Assyria, the Turtanu ranked next to the king. The Assyrian king would assign the individual who was turtanu to go to battle for him, thus giving great power and influence to the turtanu. The office seems to have been duplicated, and there was a ''tartanu imni'' or 'tartan of the right', as well as a ''tartanu shumeli'' or 'tartan of the left'. In later times the title became territorial; we read of a tartan of 'Kummuh' (

Commagene Commagene () was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Orontid dynasty, Orontids, a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian origin, that had ruled over the Satrapy of Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ...

). The title is also applied to the commanders of foreign armies; thus Sargon speaks of the ''Tartan Musurai'', or 'Egyptian Tartan'.Assyrian Deeds
C. H. W. Johns et al, Deighton, Bell and Company, 1901, Page 68. (Scanned book, University of Tronto Library website) The Tartan of 720 BC was probably called Ashur-iska-danin; in 694 BC, Abdai, and in 686 BC Bel-emurani, held the title. It does not seem to have been in use among the closely related

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

ns.

Tartan in Bible

There are two references to Tartans in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in , and

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 ...

, the king of Assyria, sends a Tartan who takes

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

during the reign of King

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...

at the time of the prophet

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

Examples

Dayyan-Assur was ''turtanu'' under the reign of

Shalmaneser III Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 859 BC to 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations o ...

(859-824BC). Dayyan-Assur led campaigns in lieu of Shalmaneser III who gave him power over the Assyrian army. These campaigns took the Assyrian army and influence into the Zagros, where encounters with future opponents the Medes and Manneans. Another example of a turtanu was Shamshi-ilu. He was the Assyrian military commander under Adad-Nirari III (811-783BC) and later Shalmaneser IV (783-773) as well as others. He appears to have been of Bit-Adini descent, a province annexed by Assyria some time before. He led a campaign against the Argishti I of Urartu.

Influence

The position of ''turtanu'' led to a decline of centralized power in Assyria. Shamshi-ilu for example, who was ''turtanu'' during four kings reigns, and was one of if not the most powerful individual in Assyria at the time (8th century BC), began to lead out his own campaigns without the sanction of the king. Shamshi-ilu was based out of Kar-Shalmaneser and began campaigning for his own kingdom west of the Euphrates.Van De Mierroop (2007) p.244 These campaigns led to greater power held by Shamshi-ilu and a fragmentary Assyria.

References

Ancient Anatolia Hebrew Bible content History of Assyria Military history of the Assyrian Empire Military ranks {{Hebrew-Bible-stub

Tartan in Bible

Examples

Influence

See also

References