Inscribed triumphal columns of Assyrian kings in Anatolia as a symbol of sovereignty

Abstract

The main reason for the campaigns, battles and massacres organized by Assyrian kings for conquering Anatolia or at least taking the region under control has been thought to be the raw materials resources in Anatolia and the convenience of sea and land connections through which these raw material resources could be transferred. As of the beginning of 2000 BC, the policy followed by Assyria, which had been started with the commercial relations with Anatolia and in the period of Assyrian Commercial Colonies when mining reserves of Anatolia largely carried to Assyria, continued in a straight line without impeding the trade performed upon the consent of Anatolian kings. Being home to establishments that were politically, economically and socio-culturally different, and losing its civilization level with the increase of mass movements, Anatolia was ruled by small or large kingdoms which tried to exhibit Hittite characteristics in 1000 BC. In this period, Assyria that gradually gained power and tried to expand with the policy of western expansionism turned its face towards Anatolia once again to dominate on the path from being a kingdom to becoming an empire and to make this permanent. Accordingly, Assyrian kings left permanent marks on the lands they conquered during the campaigns to Anatolia. It was aimed in this study to shed light on the triumphal columns left by Assyrian kings in Anatolia after the successful campaigns by means of both philological sources and archeological finds. 

Keywords

• Neo-Assyria,Neo-Hittite Kingdoms,Rock Relief of Neo-Assyria

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