Kussara

Kussara (Kushshar) was a kingdom of the Bronze Age in Anatolia. The Kussarian king Pithana with his son Anitta conquered Kanesh (Nesa)[1] and her important trade centrum in ca.1780 BC. King Anitta became a Great King, when he defeated Zalpuwa and Hattum. Kussara is often mentioned in the clay tablets of the Old Assyrian Trade Period of Anatolia (Ku-ša-ra) and in the early Hittite Kingdom (KUR URU Ku-uš-ša-ra). The borders of Kussara are unknown and the old city of Kussara is not found yet.

Massimo Forlanini, the expert of the geography of old Anatolia stated that Kussara was probably situated southeast of Kanesh presumably north of Luhuzzadia/ Lahu(wa)zzandiya, between Hurama and [Tegarama] (modern day Gürün). Perhaps on a road, which was crossing another road to the north in the direction of Samuha. From the Old Assyrian trade tablets we know that a palace and an Assyrian trade station existed in the city. The language or dialect of Kussara is not found or described in the old texts. The Kings of Kusshara became the Kings of Kanesh in the Karum IB period of Kanesh. Hattusili I and Hattusili III mentioned the origins of the Kings of the land of Hatti: Hattusili (I), Great King, King of Hattusa, Man of Kussar, in the Land of Hattusa [reign]. No other town or land was ever mentioned by a King of Hattusa as the origin of the Kings of Hattusa. Because the Kings of Kussara and their clan formed the base of the Old Kingdom of the Hittites, Nesili(Hittite) was anyhow the language of the ruling officials. Probably the language of Kussara was Indo-European. Otherwise much more non Indo-European elements had to be found in the Nesili language by the linguists. Craigh Melchert concludes in the chapter Prehistory of his book The Luwians (2003–17): "Hittite core vocabulary remains Indo-European". Because there is a great geographic difference between the basin of the upper stream of the Kızılırmak River, the centrum of the Upperland of Hittite Anatolia and the Anti-Taurus Mountains area of Kussara we can expect a great number of differences in culture, languages and dialects between these regions.

References

  1. ↑ Kuhrt, Amélie (1995). The Ancient Near East, Volume I. London and New York: Routledge. p. 226. ISBN 0-415-16763-9.

1. Masimo Forlanini, 2008, the historical geography of Anatolia, OAAS, volume 3, Anatolia and the Jazira during the Old Assyrian Period- 81.

2. Gojko Barjamovic, 2011 A Historical Geography of Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Colony Period 148-149.

3. Joost Blasweiler 2012 - A scenario: fugitives of Kanesh and the origins of the Old Hittite Kingdom, www.academia.edu -12.

4. Joost Blasweiler 2011 Map of the kingdom of Kanesh 1900 – 1700 BC. also published in www.academia.edu.