Karahüyük (Elbistan) (also known as Karahöyük, Karahoyuk) is a village of
Elbistan district of
Kahramanmaraş province of Turkey. It is located 169 km to the north from
Kahramanmaraş
Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahrama ...
city and 9 km northwest from the Elbistan town.
In 1947, an important
Anatolian hieroglyphic inscription stele was discovered near the village. This stele is believed to be from the 12th century BC.
The plain of Elbistan shares some history with
Arslantepe
Melid, also known as Arslantepe, was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with the modern archaeological site of Arslantepe near Malatya, Turkey.
It was ...
(Melid). It is believed that Elbistan came under the control of Melid sometime around the 12th century BC. The Malatya group of the Neo-Hittite Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions have been studied by scholars. They come from the area of Karahöyük, and are believed to be very ancient.
Archaeological excavations have also been conducted at Hamza Tepe, which is in the same area, 10 km northwest of Elbistan town, and to the west of Karahöyük. An ancient cremation cemetery from the Middle Iron Age (8th-7th centuries BC) has been discovered there.
The IZGIN hieroglyphic stele was also found in the area.
Izgın Stele
hittitemonuments.com It was found in 1882 in a cemetery near Izgın village. It was found actually standing among the monuments in that cemetery.
See also
* Hittites
* Maraş lion
*Kahramanmaraş Archaeology Museum
Kahramanmaraş Archaeology Museum is a museum in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey. The museum is on Azerbeycan Boulevard in Kahramanmaraş. Its geographic coordinates are .
History
According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, even in the Medieval A ...
Notes
Literature
* Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin, 2000: 288-95 and plt. 133–34.
* Hawkins, J. D. "The Historical Significance of the Karahöyük (Elbistan) Stele," FsNÖzgüç, 1993: 273–79.
* Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 3, Berlin, 2024: 230–31, 325.
* Masson, E. "La stèle de Karahöyük-Elbistan: nouvel examen," FsLaroche, 1979: 225–41.
* Özgüç T., Özgüç N. Türk Tarih Kurumu tarafından yapılan Karahöyük hafriyatı raporu 1947, Ankara, TTK, 1949.
* Woudhuizen, F. C. “The Luwian Hieroglyphic Inscription on the Stele from Karahöyük-Elbistan.” Ancient West & East 2/2, 2003: 211–24.
* van Quickelberghe, E. "Réflexions Autour de la Stèle de Karahöyük (Elbistan),” Le Muséon: Revue d’Études Orientales 126/3–4, 2013: 253–63.
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Archaeological discoveries in Turkey
Luwian inscriptions
Kahramanmaraş Province