Assuwa
Encyclopedia
The Assuwa league was a confederation of states in western Anatolia
, defeated by the Hittites
under an earlier Tudhaliya I
around 1400 BC. The league formed to oppose the Hittite empire. The list of its members contains 22 names, including [...]uqqa, Warsiya, Taruisa, Wilusiya and Karkija (Caria
).
Some of the identifications of these names are disputed. Wilusiya is commonly identified with Ilion, and Taruisa with the surrounding Troad, and Warsiya may be associated with Lukka
(Lycia
). However, identification of [..]uqqa with later-attested Lukka (Lycia) is problematic, because that would put the Assuwa league both north and south of Arzawa
in southwestern Anatolia. Assuwa appears to lie north of Arzawa, covering the northwestern corner of Anatolia. Homer
in the Iliad
seems to refer to two Lycias (in 2.876-77, 5.479; Sarpedon
is a leader of "distant Lycia" while in 2.824ff. 5.105 Pandarus
is another leader of Lycians from around Mount Ida
near Troy, so that Lukka vs. [...]uqqa may find its explanation in these terms. However, the Assuwa League included Karkija (Caria), in southwest Anatolia, south of even the proposed Lukka (Lycia). So, since also Assuwa was only a confederate league, it could easily have included a wide-ranging array of anti-Hittite minor powers, across the region.
This confederacy is mentioned only in the fragmentary tablets making up Laroche's CTH 142/85. Since the later Tudhaliya IV
was known to have had frontier trouble between 1250 and 1200 BC, and since the text lists rebel nations in much the way Ramesses II
does, the first consensus dated this text - and so Assuwa - to Tudhaliyas IV. This dating appears in all older literature on the fall of the Hatti, and crops up every now and then to this day. However the consensus has since then come around to dating Assuwa to an earlier Tudhaliyas, which means prior to Suppiluliumas and so prior to 1350 BC.
Assuwa has been suggested as the origin for the name of the continent Asia
(Bossert, 1946).
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, defeated by the Hittites
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
under an earlier Tudhaliya I
Tudhaliya I
Tudhaliya I was a king of the Hittite empire ca. the early 14th century BC .- Identity :...
around 1400 BC. The league formed to oppose the Hittite empire. The list of its members contains 22 names, including [...]uqqa, Warsiya, Taruisa, Wilusiya and Karkija (Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
).
Some of the identifications of these names are disputed. Wilusiya is commonly identified with Ilion, and Taruisa with the surrounding Troad, and Warsiya may be associated with Lukka
Lukka
The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Anatolia. The Lukka lands were never put under permanent Hittite control and were viewed as hostile by the Hittites....
(Lycia
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
). However, identification of [..]uqqa with later-attested Lukka (Lycia) is problematic, because that would put the Assuwa league both north and south of Arzawa
Arzawa
Arzawa in the second half of the second millennium BC was the name of a region and a political entity in Western Anatolia, the core area of which was centered on the Hermos and Maeander river valleys, corresponding with the Late Bronze Age kingdoms of the...
in southwestern Anatolia. Assuwa appears to lie north of Arzawa, covering the northwestern corner of Anatolia. Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
in the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
seems to refer to two Lycias (in 2.876-77, 5.479; Sarpedon
Sarpedon
In Greek mythology, Sarpedon referred to at least three different people.-Son of Zeus and Europa:The first Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and Europa, and brother to Minos and Rhadamanthys. He was raised by the king Asterion and then, banished by Minos, his rival in love for the young Miletus, he...
is a leader of "distant Lycia" while in 2.824ff. 5.105 Pandarus
Pandarus
Pandarus is a Trojan aristocrat who appears in stories about the Trojan War. In Homer's Iliad he is portrayed as an energetic and impetuous warrior, but in medieval literature he becomes a witty and licentious figure who facilitates the affair between Troilus and Cressida...
is another leader of Lycians from around Mount Ida
Mount Ida
In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete; and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia which was also known as the Phrygian Ida in classical antiquity and is the mountain that is mentioned in the Iliad of...
near Troy, so that Lukka vs. [...]uqqa may find its explanation in these terms. However, the Assuwa League included Karkija (Caria), in southwest Anatolia, south of even the proposed Lukka (Lycia). So, since also Assuwa was only a confederate league, it could easily have included a wide-ranging array of anti-Hittite minor powers, across the region.
This confederacy is mentioned only in the fragmentary tablets making up Laroche's CTH 142/85. Since the later Tudhaliya IV
Tudhaliya IV
Tudhaliya IV was a king of the Hittite Empire , and the younger son of Hattusili III. He reigned ca. 1237 BCE–1209 BCE. His mother was called Puduhepa...
was known to have had frontier trouble between 1250 and 1200 BC, and since the text lists rebel nations in much the way Ramesses II
Ramesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
does, the first consensus dated this text - and so Assuwa - to Tudhaliyas IV. This dating appears in all older literature on the fall of the Hatti, and crops up every now and then to this day. However the consensus has since then come around to dating Assuwa to an earlier Tudhaliyas, which means prior to Suppiluliumas and so prior to 1350 BC.
Assuwa has been suggested as the origin for the name of the continent Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
(Bossert, 1946).
See also
- ArzawaArzawaArzawa in the second half of the second millennium BC was the name of a region and a political entity in Western Anatolia, the core area of which was centered on the Hermos and Maeander river valleys, corresponding with the Late Bronze Age kingdoms of the...