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Hartapu was an
Anatolian Anatolian or anatolica may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the region Anatolia * Anatolians, ancient Indo-European peoples who spoke the Anatolian languages * Anatolian High School, a type of Turkish educational institution * Anatol ...
king in the 8th century BCE. He is known from
Hieroglyphic Luwian Hieroglyphic Luwian (''luwili'') is a variant of the Luwian language, recorded in official and royal seals and a small number of monumental inscriptions. It is written in a hieroglyphic script known as Anatolian hieroglyphs. A decipherment was pr ...
inscriptions from Kizildağ, Mount Karadağ, Burunkaya near
Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey, Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the ca ...
, and most recently Türkmen-Karahöyük, site of a monumental stele in which he claimed victory over the kingdom of
Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...
, ruled around that time by
King Midas Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ...
. Hartapu, who bore the titles
Great king Great king, and the equivalent in many languages, refers to historical titles of certain monarchs, suggesting an elevated status among the host of kings and princes. This title is most usually associated with the ''shahanshah'' (shah of shahs, ...
, and
Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
, states himself to be the son of another Great King and Hero named Mursili. If Hartapu is the son of Mursili III, he may have succeeded his uncle
Kurunta Kurunta (Cuneiform: ) was younger son of the early 13th century BC Hittite king Muwatalli II and cousin of Tudhaliya IV. Kurunta was thereby a Hittite prince and king of Tarhuntassa country. It has been suggested that he may have captured the Hi ...
, the younger brother of Mursili III as king of Tarḫuntašša in the 2nd half of the 13th century BC. Hartapu's use of royal titulation may have been similar to its use by to Kurunta, who also bore the titles Great King and Hero to demonstrate his right to the throne of
Hattusa Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of t ...
, still occupied by the descendants of the usurper Ḫattušili III. Those descendants were
Tudhaliya IV Tudhaliya is the name of several Hittite kings: *Tudhaliya (also Tudhaliya I) is a hypothetic pre-Empire king of the Hittites. He would have reigned in the late 17th century BC ( short chronology). Forlanini (1993) conjectures that this king corres ...
during Kurunta's reign, and Suppiluliuma II during Hartapu's reign. It is known that Suppiluliuma II, last known Great King of Hattusa and usurper from Hartapu's point of view, conquered Tarhuntassa during a military campaign. This may have brought Hartapu's reign to an end. Tarhuntassa may have been ruled by the great king of Hattusa again and collapsed together with the rest of the Hittite empire. Tarhuntassa may have survived the collapse of the Hittite empire. Possible evidence is given by a Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription from Karahöyük in south-central
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. In this an inscription dated to the (later?) 12th century BC, a certain Armanani informs about a visit of a great king named Ir-Teššub in the land POCULUM, at which event the great king gave control of three cities within the country of POCULUM to Armanani. It is sure that Ir-Teššub was a Great King, but his country is unknown. One hypothesis is that he was a Great King of
Carchemish Carchemish ( Turkish: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ; Hieroglyphic Luwian: , /; Akkadian: ; Egyptian: ; Hebrew: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its ...
and successor of Kuzi-Teššub. The other hypothesis is that he may in fact have been a Great King of Tarhuntassa. This hypothesis is based on epigraphic similarities between the inscription from Karahöyük and the inscriptions of Hartapu. This would imply that the royal line represented by Hartapu continued at least to the early
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. In 2019, a farmer near the site of Türkmen-Karahöyük discovered a stone stele commissioned by Hartapu to commemorate his victory over Phrygia written in Luwian Hieroglyphics. Archaeologists from the University of Chicago joined the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project to excavate the stele, and the excavations of the archaeological mound at the site, which is believed to be the capital of Hartapu's as yet unnamed kingdom, will continue in 2020. Luwian hieroglyphs have been found on the stone stele in a canal next to the ancient mound of Türkmen-Karahöyük, describing the military victory of "Great King Hartapu" over an alliance of 13 kings, dating from the 8th century B.C. The description has a reference to defeating the royal house of Phrygia, which included
King Midas Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ...
.


See also

*
Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fa ...
people *
Luwian language Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...
*
Hieroglyphic Luwian Hieroglyphic Luwian (''luwili'') is a variant of the Luwian language, recorded in official and royal seals and a small number of monumental inscriptions. It is written in a hieroglyphic script known as Anatolian hieroglyphs. A decipherment was pr ...


Literature

* Trevor Bryce: ''The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History''. Oxford University Press: Oxford, New York 2012.


References

{{Hittite tree , state=collapsed Hittite kings 13th-century BC rulers