"Turtanu" or "Turtan" (
Akkadian: šš«š” ''tur-ta-nu''; ''tartÄn''; ; ; ''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). The title is also applied to the commanders of foreign armies; thus Sargon speaks of the ''Tartan Musurai'', or 'Egyptian Tartan'.
[Assyrian Deeds](_blank)
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"](_blank)
. '' 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, the king of Assyria, sends a Tartan who takes
Ashdod during the reign of King
Hezekiah at the time of the prophet
Isaiah.
Examples
Dayyan-Assur was ''turtanu'' under the reign of
Shalmaneser III
Shalmaneser III (''Å ulmÄnu-aÅ”arÄdu'', "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.
See also
*
Rabshakeh
*
Rabsaris Encyclopaedia Biblica: Tartan
References
Ancient Anatolia
Hebrew Bible content
History of Assyria
Military history of the Assyrian Empire
Military ranks
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