![Hethiter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Hethiter.svg)
The term Lukka lands (sometimes Luqqa lands), in
Hittite language
Hittite (natively / "the language of Neša", or ''nešumnili'' / "the language of the people of Neša"), also known as Nesite (''Nešite'' / Neshite, Nessite), is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken by the Hittites, a people ...
texts from the 2nd millennium BC, is a collective term for states formed by the Lukka people in south-west
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 ...
(modern-day
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
). The Lukka were never subjugated long-term by the
Hittites
The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...
, who generally viewed them as hostile. It is commonly accepted that the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
toponym Lukka is cognate with the
Lycia
Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...
of
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
(8th century BC to 5th century AD).
Location
There are two somewhat different hypotheses with regard to the extent of the Lukka lands. The maximalist hypothesis is upheld by
Trevor Bryce
Trevor Robert Bryce (; born 1940) is an Australian Hittitologist specializing in ancient and classical Near-eastern history. He is semi-retired and lives in Brisbane.
His book, ''The Kingdom of the Hittites'', is popular among English-speaking ...
, who discusses the occurrences of Lukka in Bronze Age texts. "From these texts we can conclude the Lukka, or Lukka lands, referred to regions extending from the western end of
Pamphylia
Pamphylia (; grc, Παμφυλία, ''Pamphylía'') was a region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the north by ...
, through
Lycaonia
Lycaonia (; el, Λυκαονία, ''Lykaonia''; tr, Likaonya) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by ...
,
Pisidia
Pisidia (; grc-gre, Πισιδία, ; tr, Pisidya) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of An ...
and
Lycia
Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...
". The minimalist hypothesis is upheld by Ilya Yakubovich, who concludes based on the analysis of textual evidence: "
have positive
philological
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...
arguments for the presence of Bronze Age Lukka settlements in classical
Lycia
Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...
, but not anywhere else in Asia Minor or beyond it." Properly, this region may refer to the more southern and open area of the
Teke Peninsula
Teke Peninsula ( tr, Teke Yarımadası), also known as Teke Region ( tr, Teke Yöresi), is a peninsula located in southwestern Turkey between the gulfs of Antalya and Fethiye extending into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered to the Turkish La ...
bound by a small chain of mountains running from
Babadağ to
Tahtalı Dağı
Tahtalı Dağı, also known as Lycian Olympus, is a mountain near Kemer, a seaside resort on the Turkish Riviera in Antalya Province, Turkey. It was known as Olympus ( grc, Ὄλυμπος; also transliterated as Olympos) and Phoenicus or Phoin ...
as described by
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
; confer the plains of
Lycaonia
Lycaonia (; el, Λυκαονία, ''Lykaonia''; tr, Likaonya) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by ...
for the semantics related to open territory (especially when juxtaposed or bound by mountains). Etymologically then the Lukka lands could be derived ultimately from the reconstructed term in
Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
'lowk-ó-s' (“open space”).
History
Soldiers from the Lukka lands fought on the Hittite side in the famous
Battle of Kadesh
The Battle of Kadesh or Battle of Qadesh took place between the forces of the New Kingdom of Egypt under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, just upstream of Lake Homs near the mod ...
(c. 1274 BC) against the Egyptian Pharaoh
Ramesses II
Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...
. A century later, the Lukka had turned against the Hittites. The Hittite king
Suppiluliuma II tried in vain to defeat the Lukka. They contributed to the collapse of the
Hittite Empire
The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...
.
The Lukka are also known from texts in
Ancient Egypt as one of the tribes of the
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples are a hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE).. Quote: "First coined in 1881 by the Fren ...
, who invaded Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in the 12th century BC.
[Bryce 2005, p. 336; Yakubovich 2010, p. 134]
See also
*
Ancient regions of Anatolia
The following is a list of regions of Ancient Anatolia, also known as "Asia Minor," in the present day Anatolia region of Turkey in Western Asia.
Late Bronze Age regions (circa 1200 BC)
* Alasiya / Alashiya (later Cyprus in the Classical Age, ...
*
Arzawa
Arzawa was a region and a political entity (a "kingdom" or a federation of local powers) in Western Anatolia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (roughly from the late 15th century BC until the beginning of the 12th century BC). The core o ...
*
Assuwa
*
Lycians
Lycians is the name of various peoples who lived, at different times, in Lycia, a geopolitical area in Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor).
History
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the ''Solymoi'' (or ''Solymi''), also know ...
Notes
External links
Maps of Lycia
Prehistoric Anatolia
Lycia
Hittite Empire
Sea Peoples
{{AncientNearEast-stub