Warpalawas

Warpalawas II () was a Luwian king of the Syro-Hittite kingdom of Tuwana in the region of Tabal who reigned during the late 8th century BC, from around to .

Name

Etymology

The Luwian name was pronounced and was derived by adding the adjectival suffix to the adjective / (), meaning and , and cognate with the Hittite term (), meaning .

According to the linguist Ilya Yakubovich, / could also be used as a title meaning "warrior," while the denoted status, thus giving the name the meaning of .

The linguist Rostyslav Oreshko meanwhile interprets / as a substantivised epithet of the Luwian Storm-god Tarḫunzas, meaning , therefore giving to the name the meaning of , that is , being thus semantically similar to the name (), meaning .

Cognates

A Lydian cognate of the name is attested in the form () or () recorded in Phrygia. A Pisidian cognate of is also attested in the form ().

In Akkadian

Warpallawas II is referred to in Neo-Assyrian Akkadian sources as () and ( and ).

Life

Warpalawas II was the son of the previous king of Tuwana, Muwaḫḫaranis I.

Both Warpalawas II and Muwaḫḫaranis I may have been part of a dynasty which had ruled Tuwana for much of the 8th century BC, with another king of the same name, Warpalawas I, having been possibly ruled Tuwana in the earlier 8th century BC, and who might have been an ancestor of Muwaḫḫaranis I and Warpalawas II.

Reign

Warpalawas II appears to have succeeded his father Muwaḫḫaranis I on the throne of Tuwana around .

Submission to the Neo-Assyrian Empire

Warpalawas II was mentioned in the records of the Neo-Assyrian Empire under the name of Urpallâ as one of five kings who offered tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III in 738 and 737 BC, along with Tuwattīs II of Tabal and Ašḫiti of Atuna, and he appears to have maintained a policy of cooperating with the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Warpalawas II's pro-Assyrian orientation is visible in how his monuments used an Assyrianising style of sculpture: the best known of these monuments is a relief from Ivriz, on which Warpalawas II, himself represented in Assyrian style, is depicted praying to the Luwian Storm-god Tarḫunzas, with both of the images being influenced by Neo-Assyrian artistic features; likewise, the Bor stele of Warpalawas II also depicted him in Assyrianising style, reflecting his close ties with the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Vassals

The kingdom of Tuwana was powerful enough to have included a sub-kingdom, located at the site corresponding to present-day Porsuk, and ruled by a king named Tarḫunazzas who identified himself as a "servant" of Warpalawas II.

Tarḫunazzas himself recorded in his inscription that, in exchange for his services, Warpalawas II had rewarded him with Mount Mudi, which was a rocky outcrop of the Taurus Mountains near the Cilician Gates likely identical with the Mount Mulî mentioned in the records of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Relations with Tabal

The king Wasusarmas of the kingdom of Tabal claimed that Warpalawas II supported him during his war against a coalition of eight kings led by the king of Phrygia that was trying to encroach on the Tabalian region, although the veracity of Wasusarmas's claim regarding the participation of Warpalawas in this war as his ally is still uncertain.

Under direct Neo-Assyrian rule

Tuwana however was coming under the direct Neo-Assyrian rule during the later years of Warpalawas II's reign, especially following the annexation of the nearby kingdom of Tabal, then reorganised as the kingdom of Bīt-Burutaš. Its rebellious vassal king Ambaris was deported to Assyria in 713 BC, after which Sargon II appointed one Aššur-šarru-uṣur as governor of Que based in Ḫiyawa. Aššur-šarru-uṣur also held authority over Ḫilakku and the Tabalian region, including Bīt-Burutaš, as well as the general oversight over Tuwana.

Thus Tuwana and other nearby Anatolian kingdoms were placed the authority of Aššur-šarru-uṣur. Following the appointment of Aššur-šarru-uṣur, Warpalawas II of Tuwana and Awarikus of Ḫiyawa became largely symbolic rulers although they might have still held the power to manage their kingdoms locally.

The reason for these changes was due to the fact that, although Warpalawas II and Awarikus had been loyal Neo-Assyrian vassals, Sargon II considered them as being too elderly to be able to efficiently uphold Neo-Assyrian authority in southeastern Anatolia, where the situation had become volatile because of encroachment by the then growing power of Phrygian kingdom.

This reorganisation also increased Warpalawas II's authority in Tabal/Bīt-Burutaš so that Warpalawas II was ruling at least part of this kingdom's territory, as attested by Aššur-šarru-uṣur's report that two other Tabalian kingdoms, Atuna and Ištuanda, had seized certain cities of Bīt-Burutaš from Warpalawas II.

The attack by Atuna and Ištuanda caused Aššur-šarru-uṣur to worry that Warpallawas II might end up renouncing Neo-Assyrian overlordship. Nevertheless, Sargon II then informed him that Midas had made peace with Assyria, which would leave the Tabalian kings incapable of relying on Phrygian power against the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Warpalawas II seems to have continued his pro-Assyrian policy throughout his reign, thanks to which he was able to rule in Tuwana for a very long period until at least , at which date he was mentioned in the letter of Aššur-šarru-uṣur.

Relations with Phrygia

Warpalawas II also carried out relations with the Phrygian kingdom to the north-west of Tuwana, as attested by a report from or by Aššur-šarru-uṣur that Warpalawas II had demanded an audience with him in the company of an envoy of Midas of Phrygia, with Aššur-šarru-uṣur being doubtful whether Warpalawas II was indeed loyal to the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

This suggests that Warpalawas was one of the last still independent kings of the Tabal region who was being increasingly pressured by Phrygia and Assyria because of the location of his kingdom between these two powers.

Some Old Phrygian inscriptions on basalt, possibly dated from Warpalawas II's reign, as well as the robe decorated with Phrygian geometric designs depicted as worn by Warpalawas II in his Ivriz monument, suggest that aspects of Phrygian culture were arriving into Tuwana at this time.

The presence of the name "Midas" on one of these inscriptions has led to the archaeologist M. J. Mellink hypothesising that this was the king Midas of Phrygia, who had set up a monument in the city of his friend and ally, Warpalawas II. However, the long-time staunch pro-Assyrian orientation of Warpalawas II makes this hypothesis unlikely, and there is no evidence that Warpalawas II was ever an ally of Midas.

An alternative hypothesis regarding Phrygian influence in Tuwana, proposed by the Hittitologist Trevor Bryce, is that Midas might have attempted to fill the power vacuum left in Tabal that followed the death of Sargon II in battle in Tabal in .

Legacy

Warpalawas II was succeeded by his son, Muwaḫḫaranis II.

See also

* List of Neo-Hittite kings

References

Sources

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External links

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{{Rulers of the Ancient Near East

Tabal
Syro-Hittite kings
8th-century BC monarchs
Rock reliefs in Turkey