Loading AI tools
Bilingual inscription on stone slabs From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Karatepe bilingual (8th century BC), also known as the Azatiwada inscription, is a bilingual inscription on stone slabs consisting of Phoenician and Luwian text each, which enabled the decipherment of the Anatolian hieroglyphs. The artifacts were discovered at Karatepe, southern Turkey by the archaeologists Helmuth Theodor Bossert (1889–1961) and Halet Çambel (1916–2014) in 1946.[1]
Karatepe bilingual | |
---|---|
Material | Stone |
Writing | Phoenician alphabet and Luwian hieroglyphs |
Created | 8th century BC |
Discovered | 1946 Osmaniye, Turkey |
Present location | Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum, southern Turkey |
This inscription has served archaeologists as a Rosetta Stone for deciphering the Luwian glyphs.[2] The inscription is known as KAI 26.
The inscription reflects the activities of the kings of Adana from the "house of Mopsos", given in Hieroglyphic Luwian as mu-ka-sa- (often rendered as 'Moxos') and in Phoenician as Mopsos in the form mpš. It was composed in Phoenician and then translated to Hieroglyphic Luwian.[3]
This geographical area of Cilicia was known in various historical periods under the names of Quwe (Que), Luwian Adanawa, Hiyawa, and Classical 'Cilicia of the Plain'. Adana is the modern city in the area.
As we learn from the inscription, its author is Azatiwada (or Azatiwata), the ruler of the town of Azatiwataya. He was also its founder; the inscription commemorates the town's foundation. Azatiwataya seems to have been one of the frontier towns of Adanawa.
According to Ilya Yakubovich, the rulers of Quwe claimed Greek descent but, at some point, they adopted the Phoenician language. Their use of the Luwian was a concession to the indigenous population of Que.
After the Greek Linear B script had been forgotten, these Greek colonists started using the Phoenician script, and this represented the first step toward the creation of the Greek alphabet.[4]
Azatiwada was a local ruler in Cilicia. He was installed as ruler by Awariku (Urikki), king of Adanawa (Adana), who reigned in 738-732 BC. These lands paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III.
The text is an autobiographical account of Azatiwada's services to the kingdom of Adana where, according to the inscription, he later enthroned the descendants of Awariku. The inscription is assumed to date after his death in 709 BC. This dating is supported by the stylistic analyses of both the Phoenician text and the hieroglyphs.
From King Awariku also comes the Çineköy inscription, which is also a Phoenician-Luwian bilingual.
Awariku is also mentioned in the Hasanbeyli inscription, also from the nearby area of Samʼal (Zincirli).
Placed at the fortress gates, the stones presenting the Karatepe bilingual inscription feature the "Call of Azatiwada" in the following text:[5]
The stones featuring the Karatepe bilingual are situated along with many other statues and reliefs in stone at the Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum, which is in turn part of the Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park.[6][7]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.