A CONSİDERATİON ON THE HİTTİTE SEA RİTUAL

Year 2022, , 113 - 126, 31.12.2022

Sinan Öztürk

https://doi.org/10.52735/bellek.1177210

Abstract

The Hittites, which was established in the middle of The Kızılırmak curve in Central Anatolia and became a great empire from here to Northern Syria and from there to the western skirts of Mesopotamia, had no borders to the sea. This situation also explains why the Hittites did not need a central navy. Although the Hittites fol-lowed an expansionist policy, they could not expand their borders to the Black Sea and Aegean coasts. As a reflection of this, they could not engage in commercial, cultural and military activities over The Black and The Aegean Sea. Of course, this does not mean that the Hittites were not involved in sea activities. The Hittite State, which turned its direction to the Mediterranean instead of the maritime activities they could not continue thro-ugh the Black Sea and the Aegean, carried out commercial and cultural activities with the kingdoms or states such as Alashiya (Cyprus), Amurru, Egypt with the merchant ships of the vassal Ugarit Kingdom. On the other hand, the Hittite army also continued successful naval wars against the littoral kingdoms with the warships of the vassal kingdoms (such as Ugarit).
Hittite society believed that blessings and sometimes evils came from The Gods. At the same time when they felt that an evil was sent by The God or people of the enemy country, they would still seek the help of the gods. This request for help was made by ritual acts performed in a certain order by religious officials holding the title of magician or priest. These ritual acts could be performed with individual demands as well as at the royal level, that is, at the level of the Hittite army. These rituals could be done just before the war to get the support of the gods, but also after the war, that is, to get rid of negative situations such as defeat or epidemic diseases.
We have not yet come across a text showing that rituals were performed in the name of blessing the victory obtained immediately after the land war. However, the text that we are examining, which we can call a single record, which blesses the victory of the Hittite army at sea, describes a ritual performed after a possible naval war. Although the chronological date of this naval battle, which is the subject of the ritual text, is not known, another text mentions a naval victory of Šuppiluliuma II. against the enemy. The Great King said that Alašiya (Cyprus), which confronted him three times in the sea right after sailing, he destroyed their ships, seized their ships and set fire to their ships.
Probably, he must have needed divine support after this or another naval war, on behalf of the Hittite army, The King asked The God for help through the “Sea Ritual” performed near the sea, against the evil that may come from the enemy. Magic objects which are not seen in other military rituals have appeared in the lines of this ritual text, which has survived to the present day in quite fragments. Among these objects, the clay figu-res defined as “harnessed chariot” and “two soldiers on a chariot” are extremely important in terms of emphasi-zing the military nature of the ritual. In the surviving lines of the ritual text, there is no explanation about what the chariot figure made of clay means. This clay object was perhaps a symbol that purifies evil or a symbolic deterrent against the enemy. In addition to this, another prominent element is that precious stones and metals such as “zapza stone”, “blue stone”, “agate (red) stone”, “Babylon stone”, “silver”, “gold” are mentioned in the lines of the text as ritual objects. It is not mentioned in the surviving lines of the text that what kind of magical action was performed on these metals and precious stones, which enrich the purpose of the ritual due to their rarity. The bronze and wooden stakes that specified along with these objects were symbolic magic items used to secure the naval victory and perhaps the maritime border.
On the other hand, The King, who blessed his military victory with the title of ritual owner, did not neg-lect the preparation and presentation of abundant and various foods, drinks and sacrifices to the Storm God of the Sea. Therefore, the king tried to provide the god's support by means of the “Sea Ritual” against the evils that could come from the enemy and could overshadow the naval victory. When we look at the materials of the ritual designed for this purpose, we see that it is highlighted in generosity as well as wealth. This is an indication of how much the king valued the ritual. As a result, the enemy was not only left to be defeated in the war, but also tried to be weakened by prayers and curses.

Keywords

Hittite army, Hittite military texts, Ritual, Naval warfare, Ugaritic Navy

HİTİT DENİZ RİTÜELİ ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Abstract

Anadolu’nun merkezine yerleşmeleri nedeniyle Hititlerin denize sınırı yoktu. Bu durum Hititlerin denizle ilgili faaliyetleri olmadığı anlamına gelmemektedir. Nitekim Hitit ordusu, askerî faaliyetlerini karada sürdürmesinin yanı sıra kendilerine bağlı (Ugarit gibi) vasal krallıkların donanmaları üzerinden deniz savaşlarıyla da sürdürmüştür. Böyle bir deniz savaşı ardından Hitit ordusu, tanrıların desteğine ihtiyaç duymuş olmalı ki deniz kenarında “Deniz Ritüeli” adıyla bir ayin gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu ritüel, düşmana karşı bir mağlubiyet sonucu değil, kazanılan zaferin kutsanması ile ilgilidir. Ritüelin eylemleri, basit düzeyde değil alanında tecrübeli olarak bilinen “Yaşlı kadın” rehberliğinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kralın düşman ülke için söylediği beddua ve duaların kabulü için Denizin Fırtına Tanrısı’na sunulmak üzere keçi, kırmızı boğa, siyah boğa, kalın ekmekler ve bira ve şarap dolu kaseler ritüel masası ile beraber hazırlanmıştır. Bu sunumlara ek olarak kilden figürler, bronz ve ahşap kazıkların yanı sıra altın, gümüş ve değerli taşlar, ritüelin amacına uygun büyülerde kullanılmak üzere hazırlanmıştır. Ritüel metninde büyü objelerinin geçtiği satırlar oldukça sağlam olarak korunmuşken, büyü eylemlerinin geçtiği satırlar bozuk halde günümüze ulaşmıştır. Bu nedenle metnin sağlam satırlarından yola çıkarak yaptığımız bu çalışmanın amacı, “Deniz Ritüeli”nin kapsamlı bir analizinin yapılarak ortaya konulmasıdır.

Keywords

Hitit ordusu, Hititçe askeri metinler, Ritüel, Deniz savaşı, Ugarit Donanması

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