The Hanyeri relief (or ''Gezbeli relief'') is a Hittite

rock relief A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ...

near Hanyeri on the road from Tufanbeyli to

Develi Develi, formerly known as Averak, is a town and district in Kayseri Province in Central Anatolia Region, Turkey. History The historical name of the town is Everek and it is called ''Averak'' (oren, ruin) in Armenian. The historian, geographer, ...

in Tufanbeyli district in

Adana Province Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...

, about 80 km southeast of Kayseri, in Turkey. In Hittite times, the route over the 1960 m high Gezbeli Pass through the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...

, which connected the Hittite heartland on the

Kızılırmak River The Kızılırmak (, Turkish for "Red River"), once known as the Halys River ( grc, Ἅλυς) and Alis River ( hy, Ալիս), is the longest river flowing entirely within Turkey. It is a source of hydroelectric power and is not used for navig ...

with

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

, passed by here.Horst Ehringhaus: ''Götter, Herrscher, Inschriften.'' 2005, S. 80. At the other end of the pass, to the northwest, is the

İmamkullu relief The Hittite İmamkullu relief (previously also ''İmamkulu'') is a rock relief near the town of İmamkullu in Tomarza district in Kayseri Province, Turkey. In Turkish it is known as ''Yazılı Kaya'' ("inscribed cliff") and ''Şimşekkaya'' (" ...

. Rock reliefs are a prominent aspect of

Hittite art Hittite art was produced by the Hittite civilization in ancient Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey, and also stretching into Syria during the second millennium BCE from the nineteenth century up until the twelfth century BCE. This period falls under ...

Description

The Hanyeri relief was discovered in 1939 by Ali Rıza Yalgın, then director of the

Adana Archaeology Museum Adana Archaeology Museum ( tr, Adana Arkeoloji Müzesi) is a museum in Adana that houses the historical heritage of Cilicia in a converted textile factory. It is one of the oldest archaeological museums in Turkey. History Adana Archaeology Mu ...

and dates to the 13th century BC. It is about four metres above floor level and is about 2 m x 3.5 m. A bull is depicted on the left hand side, standing on the shoulders of two mountain goddesses. Hieroglyphs name the bull as the god Sarruma. A border warrior stands in the centre, facing left, with a bow hung over his shoulder and a spear in his right hand. He wears a short tunic and pointy shoes. He is identified by an inscription as the "son of a king" and his name probably reads "Ku(wa)lanamuwa." The same name appears on the Manisa relief and the İmamkullu relief, but it is not clear whether all three refer to the same person. This inscription is located left of the prince's head and is in

Luwian hieroglyphs Anatolian hieroglyphs are an indigenous logographic script native to central Anatolia, consisting of some 500 signs. They were once commonly known as Hittite hieroglyphs, but the language they encode proved to be Luwian, not Hittite, and the ter ...

. Another inscription appears behind the prince's back (unusually) and is probably not related to the figural relief. J.D. Hawkins reads it as the name "Tarḫuntabijammi"; it may have been added later. Hawkins connects this name with a prince "Tarḫuntabija," who is named in the Hemite relief. As of 2013, the monument was in poor condition and no longer recognisable.

References

Bibliography

Kay Kohlmeyer The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own ...

. "Felsbilder der hethitischen Großreichszeit." ''Acta Praehistorica et Archaeologica'' 15 (1983) pp. 86–90. * Eberhard P. Rossner. ''Felsdenkmäler in der Türkei. Band 1: Die hethitischen Felsreliefs in der Türkei. Ein archäologischer Führer.'' 2nd expanded edition. Rossner, München 1988, . * Horst Ehringhaus. ''Götter, Herrscher, Inschriften. Die Felsreliefs der hethitischen Großreichszeit in der Türkei.'' Zabern, Mainz 2005, , pp. 75–80.

External links

Description on www.hittitemonuments.com
{{coord, 38.2134, N, 36.0149, E, source:wikidata, display=title Hittite art Hittite sites in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey Luwian inscriptions Rock reliefs in Turkey Tourist attractions in Adana Province