Assur’a Dua Metni K.3408 ışığında Urartu, Manna ve Kimmerler

Abstract

Tanrı Aššur’a mektup şeklinde metinselleştirilen ve dolayısıyla Gottesbrief (“Tanrı mektubu”) metin türü dahilinde bilinen, British Museum’da korunan Assurbanipal (MÖ 668- 631) dönemine ait dua metni K.3408’de (= RINAP 5/2 195) Urartu, Manna ile Kimmerlere bazı göndermeler yapılmıştır. Assurluları’n Batı İran’da etkinlik kazanma gayretleri ve öncesinde Güney Mezopotamya’da Elam Krallığı’nın etkisine karşı yaptıkları askeri ve siyasi eylemleri, K.3408 dua metninin tarihi çerçevesini vermektedir. Dua metninde temel konu Assurlular’ın o döneme kadarki başarıları ve bu başarının arkasında olduğuna inanılan Tanrı Aššur’un desteği ışığında büyüyen Kimmer tehditinin de ileride bertaraf edilmesidir. Kimmerlerin özellikle Urartu siyasi coğrafyasında daha etkin bir konum edinmesiyle bağlantılı temalar, Assur-Babil siyasi ve edebi nitelemelerle ifade edilmektedir. Gottesbrief türünün gerektirdiği siyasi teolojik çerçeveye göre daha önce Assur devletiyle mücadele eden Arami, Bâbilli ve Elamlı tarihi kişilikleri ve hazin sonları da betimlenir. Bu yönleriyle dua metni K.3408’nin içeriğini analiz eden bu çalışma, metinde belirtilen olayların tarihi arka planlarını daha iyi anlamaya yönelik bir katkıda bulunmayı hedefliyor.

Keywords

• Dua Metinleri
• Assurbanipal
• Manna
• Urartu
• Kimmerler

Urartu, Mannea and the Cimmerians in light of the Letter to Aššur K.3408

Abstract

K.3408 (= RINAP 5/2) 195), textualized in the form of a letter to the god Aššur and thus known as the Gottesbrief (“Letter to the God”) genre, is a prayer text dated to the period of Assurbanipal (668 – 631 BC) and preserved in the British Museum. It alludes to Urartu, Mannea and the Cimmerians. Prayer text K.3408’s historical framework is defined by Assyrian efforts to dominate Western Iran and their military and political actions against the Elamite kingdom’s influence in southern Mesopotamia. The prayer’s main objective is the annihilation of the growing Cimmerian threat on account of earlier Assyrian successes and the support of the god Aššur. Themes related to the rise of the Cimmerians to a more dominant position, especially in Urartian political geography, are expressed in the prayer texts with Assyro-Babylonian political and literary terms. Following the political theological framework required by the Gottesbrief genre, there are mentions of Aramean, Bablylonian and Elamite historical figures who earlier opposed the Assyrian state but met a bitter end. By analyzing these aspects, this study seeks to to contribute to a better understanding of the historical background of the events mentioned in the prayer text K.3408.

Keywords

• Prayers
• Assurbanipal
• Mannae
• Urartu
• Cimmerians

References

1. ABL = Harper ve Waterman, 1892-1914.
2. Adalı, S. F. (2011). The Scourge of God: The Umman-manda and its significance in the first millennium BC. The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project.
3. Adalı, S. F. (2013). Tugdammê and the Cimmerians: A test of piety in Assyrian royal inscriptions. Feliu, L., Llop, J., Millet Albà, A., & Sanmartín, J. (Ed.), Time and history in the ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 56th rencontre Assyriologique internationale at Barcelona 26-30 July 2010, (s. 587-593). Eisenbrauns.
4. Adalı, S. F. (2017). Cimmerians and the Scythians: The impact of nomadic powers on the Assyrian Empire and the ancient Near East. Kim, H. J., Vervaet, F., & Adalı, S. F. (Ed.), Eurasian Empires in antiquity and the early Middle Ages: Contact and exchange between the Graeco-Roman World, Inner Asia and China (s. 60-81). Cambridge University Press.
5. Adalı, S. F. (2019). Barbarians at the gates: The Cimmerian occupation of Ereğli (Cybistra) and its aftermath.
6. Maner, Ç. (Ed.), Crossroads. Konya Plain from prehistory to the Byzantine Period / Kavşaklar. Prehistorik Çağ’dan Bizans dönemine Konya Ovası (s. 161-178). Ege Yayınları.
7. Adalı, S. F. (2020). Iron age Kültepe and its region in light of Tabal’s history. Kulakoğlu, F., Michel, C., & Öztürk, G. (Ed.), Integrative approaches to the archaeology and history of Kültepe-Kaneš. Kültepe, 4-7 August, 2017 (s. 225-237). Brepols Publishers.
8. Akkuş Mutlu, S. (2017). Asur ve Urartu Devleti’nin Manna ülkesi üzerindeki hâkimiyet politikası. Akademik Tarih ve Düşünce Dergisi 4, (11), 225-238.

9. Aster, S. Z. (2017). Reflections of empire in Isaiah 1-39: Responses to Assyrian ideology. Society of Biblical Literature Press.
10. Bennett, E. (2022). Beards as a Marker of Status during the Neo-Assyrian Period. Bach, J., & Fink, S. (Ed.), The King as a Nodal Point of Neo-Assyrian Identity (s. 81-105). Zaphon.
11. Bezold, C. (1891). Catalogue of the Cuneiform tablets in the Kouyunjik collection of the British Museum. Volume II. British Museum, Order of the Trustees.
12. Bonfanti, A. S., & Dan, R. (2021). Some remarks on the word LÚaṣuli in Urartian inscriptions. Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 4, (décembre), 263-264.
13. Borger, R. (1996). Beiträge zum inschriftenwerk Assurbanipals: Die prismenklassen A, B, C = K, D, E, F, G, H, J und T sowie andere Inschriften. Harrassowitz Verlag.
14. British Museum Mütevelli Heyeti. (2023a). BM 124802b. British Museum Collection. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1851-0902-7-b.
15. British Museum Mütevelli Heyeti. (2023b). K.3408. British Museum Collection. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_K-3408.
16. British Museum Mütevelli Heyeti. (2023c). 1883,0118.46. British Museum Collection. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1883-0118-46.
17. British Museum Mütevelli Heyeti. (2023ç). 1883,0118.82. British Museum Collection. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1883-0118-82.
18. CAD = Gelb, Oppenheim, Landsberger, Reiner, Biggs, Brinkman, Civil, Farber, Roth ve Stolper, 1956-2010.
19. Christiansen, B. (2016a). eCUT A 12-01. Electronic Corpus of Urartian Texts, based on Mirjo Salvini, Corpus dei Testi Urartei (CTU). http://oracc.org/ecut/Q007100/.
20. Christiansen, B. (2016b). eCUT B 16-01. Electronic Corpus of Urartian Texts, based on Mirjo Salvini, Corpus dei Testi Urartei (CTU). http://oracc.org/ecut/Q007895/.
21. Civil, M., Gelb, I. J., Landsberger, B., Oppenheim, A. L., & Reiner, E. (1968). The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Volume 1, A II. The Oriental Institute.
22. CTU A = Salvini, 2008.
23. CTU B = Salvini, 2012
24. Çifçi, A. (2017). The Socio-economic organisation of the Urartian Kingdom. Brill.
25. Çilingiroğlu, A. (1994). Urartu Krallığı tarihi ve sanatı. Yaşar Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfı. Çilingiroğlu, A. (2008). Rusa son of Argishti: Rusa II or Rusa III? Ancient Near Eastern Studies 45, 21-29.
26. Çilingiroğlu, A., & Salvini, M. (2001). The Historical background of Ayanis. Çilingiroğlu, A. & Salvini, M. (Ed.), Ayanis I. Ten Years’ excavations at Rusaḫinili Eiduru-kai 1989-1998 (s. 15-24). Istituto per gli studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici.
27. Diakonoff, I. M. (1951). Ассиро-вавилонские источники по истории Урарту (окончание). Вестник древней истории 37, 207-252.
28. Diakonoff, I. M. (1965). A Babylonian political pamphlet from about 700 BC. Güterbock, H. G., & Jacobsen, T. (Ed.), Studies in honor of Benno Landsberger on his seventy-fifth birthday April 25, 1965, (s. 343-349). The University of Chicago Press.
29. Frame, G. (1992). Babylonia 689–627 B.C.: A political history. Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul.
30. Fuchs, A. (2010). Gyges, Assurbanipal und Dugdamme/Lygdamis: Absurde kontakte zwischen Anatolien und Ninive. Rollinger, R. (Ed.), Interkulturalität in der Alten Welt: Vorderasien, Hellas, Ägypten und die vielfältigen ebenen des kontakts (s. 409-427). Harassowitz Verlag.
31. Fuchs, A. (2012). Urarṭu in der Zeit. Kroll, S., Gruber, C., Hellwag, U., Roaf, M., & Zimansky, P. (Ed.), Biainili – Urartu. The Proceedings of the Symposium held in Munich 12-14 October 2007 (s. 135-161). Peeters.
32. Fuchs, A. (2023). The Medes and the kingdom of Mannea. Radner, K., Moeller, N. & Potts, D. T. (Ed.), The Oxford history of the Ancient Near East (s. 674-768). Oxford University Press.
33. Gadd, C. J., & Leeper, A. W. A. (1920). Cuneiform texts from Babylonian tablets, &c., in the British Museum. Part XXXV. British Museum, Order of the Trustees. Gelb, I. J., Oppenheim, A. L., Landsberger, B., Reiner, E., Biggs, R. D., Brinkman, J. A., Civil, M., Farber, W., Roth, M. T., & Stolper, M. W. (1956-2010). The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. The Oriental Institute & J. J. Augustin Verlagsbuchhandlung.
34. Grayson, A. K. (1980). The chronology of the reign of Ashurbanipal. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, 70, 227-245.
35. Grekyan, Y. (2023). The Kingdom of Urartu. Radner, K., Moeller, N. & Potts, D. T. (Ed.), The Oxford history of the ancient Near East (s. 769-864). Oxford University Press.
36. Harper, R. F. & Waterman, L. (1892-1914). Assyrian and Babylonian letters belonging to the Kouyunjik Collection of the British Museum. Part XIV. University of Chicago Press.
37. Harper, R. F. (1911). Assyrian and Babylonian letters belonging to the Kouyunjik Collection of the British Museum. Part X. University of Chicago Press.
38. Hassanzadeh, Y. (2022). An archaeological view to the Mannaean Kingdom. Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures 4, 13-46.
39. Hellwag, U. (2012) Der Niedergang Urartus. Kroll, S., Gruber, C., Hellwag, U., Roaf, M., & Zimansky, P. (Ed.), Biainili – Urartu. The Proceedings of the Symposium held in Munich 12-14 October 2007 (s. 227-241). Peeters.
40. Huehnergard, J. (2011). A grammar of Akkadian. Eisenbrauns.
41. Ito, S. (2015). Royal image and political thinking in the letters of Assurbanipal. [Doktora tezi, Helsinki Üniversitesi]. Helda: Digital Repository of the University of Helsinki.
42. https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/153821/royalima.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 Ivantchik, A. I. (2001). Kimmerier und Skythen: Kulturhistorische und chronologische probleme der Archäologie der Osteuropäischen Steppen und Kaukasiens in vor- und frühskythischer zeit. Paleograph-Press.
43. Jeffers, J., & Novotny, J. (2023). The royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668-631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630-627 BC), and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626-612 BC), kings of Assyria, Part 2. The Pennsylvania State University Press.
44. Jones, H. L. (1917). The geography of Strabo. William Heinemann/G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
45. Karlsson, M. (2016). Relations of Power in Early Neo-Assyrian State Ideology. De Gruyter.
46. Kõiv, M. (2022). Lydia, Phrygia, and the Cimmerians: Mesopotamian and Greek evidence combined. Mattila, R., Fink, S., & Ito, S. (Ed.), Evidence combined: Western and eastern sources in dialogue. Melammu Symposia 11 (s. 261-294). Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
47. Konyar, E. (2022). Urartu: Aşiretten devlete. Homer Kitabevi.
48. Lenzi, A. (2011). Reading Akkadian prayers and hymns: An introduction. Society of Biblical Literature.
49. Lenzi, A. (2019). An introduction to Akkadian literature: Contexts and content. The Pennsylvania State University Press.
50. Lipiński, E. (2000). The Aramaeans: Their ancient history, culture, religion. Peeters.
51. Makhortykh, S. V. (2022). «Cimmero-Scythian» antiquities from Central Anatolia. Археологія і давня історія України/Archaeology and Early History of Ukraine 42, (1), 58-74.
52. Mardon, A., Sami, S., Shah, K., Fang, I., Orsini, L., Tulloch, K., Touliopoulos, L., Mohammad, K., Wiebe, J., Kaushal, K., Brodowski, O., & Makaby, K. 2021. The World’s oldest library: The library of Ashurbanipal. Edmonton, AB: Golden Meteorite Press.
53. Maul, S. (2017). Assyrian Religion. Frahm, E. (Ed.), A companion to Assyria (s. 336-358). Blackwell.
54. Mayer, W. (1993). Die chronologische einordnung der Kimmerier-Briefe aus der zeit Sargon II. Dietrich, M., & Loretz, O. (Ed.), Mesopotamica, Ugaritica, Biblica. Festschrift für Kuhrt Bergerhof zur Vollendung seines 70.
55. Lebensjahres am 7. Mai 1992 (s. 145-176). Neukirchener Verlag.
56. Miller, E. (2021). Drawing distinctions: Assyrians and others in the art of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Studia Orientalia Electronica. 9. 82-107.
57. Novotny, J. (2023). About the project. The royal inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period. http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/abouttheproject/.
58. Novotny, J., & Jeffers, J. (2018). The royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668-631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630-627 BC), and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626-612 BC), kings of Assyria, Part 1. The Pennsylvania State University Press.
59. Novotny, J., Jeffers, J., & Frame, G. (2023a). The royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), kings of Assyria, Part 3. The Pennsylvania State University Press.
60. Novotny, J., Jeffers, J., & Frame, G. (2023b). Sîn-šarru-iškun 06 [http://oracc.org/rinap/Q003867/]. The royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal, Aššur-etel-ilāni, and Sîn-šarra-iškun: The royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal and his successors. http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/.
61. Novotny, J., & Luukko, M. (2018a). SAA 21 124. State Archives of Assyria Online. http://oracc.org/saao/P237246/.
62. Novotny, J., & Luukko, M. (2018b). SAA 21 124. State Archives of Assyria Online. http://oracc.org/saao/P452777/.
63. Oppenheim, A. L., Reiner, E., Rowton, M. B., & Hallock, R. T. (1956). The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Volume 6, Ḫ. The Oriental Institute & The Oriental Institute & J. J. Augustin Verlagsbuchhandlung.
64. Oppenheim, A. L., Reiner, E., Harris, R. & Bowman, E. (1959). The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Volume 3, D. The Oriental Institute.
65. Palaz Erdemir, H. & Erdemir, H. (2010). Güneybatı Asya ve Avrasya’da İskit askeri izleri. Tarih Okulu 7, 25-37.
66. Parpola, S. (2018). The correspondence of Assurbanipal, Part I: Letters from Assyria, Babylonia, and vassal states. The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project.
67. Pongratz-Leisten, B. (1999). Herrschaftwissen in Mesopotamien: Formen der kommunikation zwischen Gott und König im 2. und 1. Jahrstausend v. Chr. The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project.
68. Pongratz-Leisten, B. (2015). Religion and ideology in Assyria. Walter de Gruyter.
69. Radner, K. (2011). Assyrian and Urartians. Steadman, S. R. & McMahon, G. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of ancient Anatolia (10,000-323 BCE) (s. 734-751). Oxford University Press.
70. Radner, K. (2012). Between a rock and a hard place: Muṣaṣir, Kumme, Ukku and Šubria – the buffer states between Assyria and Urarṭu. Kroll, S., Gruber, C., Hellwag, U., Roaf, M., & Zimansky, P. (Ed.), Biainili – Urartu. The Proceedings of the symposium held in Munich 12-14 October 2007 (s. 243-264). Peeters.
71. Reade, J. (1979). Ideology and propaganda in Assyrian art. Larsen, M. T. (Ed.), Power and propaganda: A symposium on ancient Empires (s. 329-343). Akademisk Forlag.
72. Reiner, E., Biggs, R. D., Groneberg, B., Hunger, H., Renger, J., Riemschneider, K. K., Stol, M., & Daniels, P. T. (1980). The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Volume 11, N Part II. The Oriental Institute & J. J. Augustin Verlagsbuchhandlung.
73. Reiner, E., Biggs, R. D., & Roth, M. T. (1989). The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Volume 17, Š Part I. The Oriental Institute.
74. RINAP 5/1 = Novotny ve Jeffers, 2018.
75. RINAP 5/2 = Jeffers ve Novotny, 2023.
76. RINAP 5/3 = Novotny vd., 2023a.
77. Roaf, M. (2012). Could Rusa son of Erimena have been king of Urartu during Sargon’s eighth campaign? Kroll, S., Gruber, C., Hellwag, U., Roaf, M., & Zimansky, P. (Ed.), Biainili – Urartu. The proceedings of the symposium held in Munich 12-14 October 2007 (s. 187-216). Peeters.
78. SAA 4 = Starr, 1990.
79. SAA 21 = Parpola, 2018.
80. Salvini, M. (2008). Corpus Dei Testi Urartei. Volume I. Le Iscrizioni su pietra e roccia, i testi. CNR Istituto di studi sulle civiltà dell’Egeo e del vicino oriente.
81. Salvini, M. (2012). Corpus Dei Testi Urartei. Volume IV. Iscrizioni su bronzi, argilla e altri supporti, nuove iscrizioni su pietra, paleografia generale. CNR Istituto di studi sulle civiltà dell’Egeo e del vicino oriente. Salvini, M. (2020). Urartu tarihine genel bir bakış. Köroğlu, K. & Konyar, E. (Ed.), Urartu: Doğu’da değişim (s. 50-73). Yapı Kredi Yayınları.
82. Starr, I. (1990). Queries to the Sungod: Divination and politics in Sargonid Assyria. Helsinki University Press. Taylor, J. (2022). About the project. Ashurbanipal Library Project, The British Museum.
83. http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/asbp/abouttheproject/.
84. Toptaş, K. (2020). Asur belgelerinde Kimmerler. Gazi Akademik Bakış 31, (4), 31-60.
85. Weeks, N. K. (1983). Causality in the Assyrian royal inscriptions. Orientalia Lovaniensia periodica (14), 115–127.
86. Wilhelm, G. (2008). Urartian. Woodard, R. D. (Ed.), The ancient languages of Asia Minor (s. 105-123). Cambridge University Press.
87. Yalvaç, K. (1972). Sumer-Babil ve Assur’da mektup çeşidi örnekleri. Anadolu 16, 27-76.
88. Zaia, S. (2019). My brother’s keeper: Assurbanipal versus Šamaš-šuma-ukīn. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History 6, 19–52.
89. Zimansky, P. (2020). Gölge hasım: Urartu’nun Assur’la ilişkisi. Köroğlu, K. ve Adalı, S. F. (Ed.), Assurlular: Dicle’den Toroslar’a Tanrı Assur’un krallığı (s. 207-228). Yapı Kredi Yayınları.