Foreign Royal Nobles in the Neo Assyrian Empire

Öz

The Assyrian kings, who reached the peak of their power in the Near East between 934-612 BC, implemented various practices that would help them maintain their military and political dominance. Assyria's policy towards foreign royal captives, hostages, and refugees can also be considered within these practices. Assyria's policy was expected to preserve peace and keep some lands under control without war. The Assyrian kings carried the enemy kings and their family members whom they defeated as a result of military campaigns to Assyrian centres and captivated them, aiming to break the resistance of those regions and intimidate their enemies. In addition, Assyria aimed to gain some binding advantages to make the agreements permanent by taking hostages from the kings with whom it made agreements or made them swear allegiance. For this purpose, noble captives and hostages were subjected to Assyrian education and were tried to turn into allies who could be appointed as rulers of their countries in the future. Assyrian kings also wanted to establish their relations with these kingdoms on a binding and permanent basis by including the daughters of enemy or allied kings in their harems. Finally, they protected the noble people who took refuge in them in Assyrian cities and even helped them to become kings in their countries, depending on the changes in the political situation. Thus, the Assyrian kings thought that they could create rulers loyal to themselves. Based on cuneiform documents, this study investigates the Assyrian practice of taking captives and hostages, the position and status of foreign princesses sent to the Assyrian court, and the place of refugees in Assyrian policy. The study aims to reveal all aspects of Assyria's policy and to draw a portrait of the lives of foreign royals in the Assyrian court and cities. The primary sources used in this study are the royal inscriptions and the Assyrian state archive.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• The Neo-Assyrian Empire
• Noble Captives
• Hostages
• Refugees
• Foreign Princesses

Yeni Asur İmparatorluğu'nda Yabancı Kraliyet Soyluları

Öz

MÖ 934-612 yılları arasında Yakındoğu’da gücünün zirvesine ulaşan Asur kralları askeri ve politik açıdan hakimiyetlerini sürdürmelerine fayda sağlayacak çeşitli uygulamaları hayata geçirmişlerdir. Asur’un yabancı kraliyet soylu esirlere, rehinelere ve sığınmacılara yönelik politikası da bu uygulamalar içerisinde değerlendirilebilir. Asur’un bu politikası hem barışın korunmasına hem de savaşmaksızın bazı bölgelerin kontrol altında tutulması amacına hizmet etmesi beklenmekteydi. Asur kralları askeri seferler sonucunda yenilgiye uğrattığı düşman kralları ve onların aile üyelerini Asur merkezlerine taşıyarak esir etmiş ve bunu yaparken hem o bölgelerin direncini kırmayı hem de düşmanlarına açık bir gözdağı vermeyi amaçlamıştır. Bunun yanında antlaşma yaptığı ya da biat ettirdiği krallardan da rehineler alarak aradaki antlaşmaları kalıcı olmasına yönelik birtakım bağlayıcı avantajlar kazanmayı hedeflemiştir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda soylu esir ve rehineler Asur eğitimine tabi tutulmuş ve ileride ülkelerine yönetici olarak atanabilecek müttefiklere dönüştürülmeye çalışılmıştır. Asur kralları ayrıca düşman ya da müttefik kralların kızlarını haremine dahil ederek de bu krallıklarla ilişiklerini bağlayıcı ve kalıcı bir düzleme oturtmak istemişlerdir. Son olarak kendilerine sığınan soylu kişileri Asur kentlerinde koruma altına alarak siyasi durumdaki değişiklere göre bunların ülkelerinde kral olmalarına dahi yardımcı olmuştur. Böylece Asur kralları kendilerine sadık yöneticiler yaratabileceklerini düşünmüşlerdir. Bu araştırmada çivi yazılı belgelerden hareketle Asur esir ve rehin alma pratiği, Asur sarayına gönderilen yabancı prenseslerin konumları ve durumları ve sığınmacıların Asur politikası içerisindeki yeri araştırılmıştır. Çalışma ile Asur’un bu politikasının tüm yönlerinin ortaya konulması ve yabancı kraliyet soylularının Asur sarayındaki ve kentlerindeki hayatlarına dair bir portre çizilmesi hedeflenmektedir. Kraliyet yazıtları ve Asur devlet arşivi çalışmamızda kullanılan temel kaynaklardır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yeni Asur İmparatorluğu
• Soylu Esirler
• Rehineler
• Sığınmacılar
• Yabancı Prensesler

Kaynakça

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