Zippalanda

Zippalanda was a Hattic administrative and religious center of the Hittite Old Kingdom. Although its name was known from inscriptions, it was not until the latter 20th century that scholars placed it in Sorgan District of Yozgat Province, Turkey, near Kerkenes Dağ (Kerkenes Mountain often identified with Mount Daha (Mount Taha)[1]), about one day's journey north of Ankuwa (present-day Alışar Höyük).[2][3] The plausible sites[3] are the settlement mounds known as Çadır Mound (Çadır Höyük)[4] and Uşaklı Mound (Uşaklı Höyük).[5]

Zippalanda was one of the ancient Hattic religious centers that retained privileges in the Old Kingdom.[2] These included Arinna and Nerik, and toward the end of the Hittite Empire Hattusa and Tarhuntassa. The Hittite king participated in official religious ceremonies such as the purulli-festival, spring and autumn Imperial festivals, the festival of the month, and possibly the hunting festival (the Ki-Lam). Much of the information about Zippalanda comes from tablets found at Hattusa, which record the existence of the temple of the Storm God and a palace or royal residence (halentu) and refer indirectly to daily religious life and festivals. The light defenses of the city wall suggest that it was a religious perimeter like that of Alaca Höyük.[6] A number of cultic sites are found within the city and ranging outside it toward Mount Daha.[2]

In addition to religious functions, people at Zippalanda are recorded as engaging in military affairs, crafts, hunting and stock breeding.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Bryce, Trevor (2009). "Zippalanda". The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire. London: Routledge. pp. 791–792. ISBN 978-0-415-39485-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Burney, Charles Allen (2004). Historical Dictionary of the Hittites. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 324–325. ISBN 978-0-8108-4936-5.
  3. 1 2 Barjamovi, Gojko (2011). Historical Geography of Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Colony Period. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press for Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, University of Copenhagen. p. 316. ISBN 978-87-635-3645-5.
  4. ↑ Site History Çadır Höyük Archaeological Project - www.cadirhoyuk.com
  5. ↑ "Structures at Uşaklı Mound may be ancient Zippalanda". Hurriyet Daily News. 27 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016.
  6. ↑ At least one scholar has identified Zippalanda with Alaca Höyük, but this is not a widely held view; Barjamovi, Historical Geography of Anatolia, p. 316, note 1302; see also Bryce The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia page 22.

Coordinates: 39°41′28″N 35°08′29″E / 39.69111°N 35.14139°E / 39.69111; 35.14139

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