Nerik (
Hittite: ''Nerik(ka)''
["Nerik(ka)." ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie.'']) was a
Bronze Age settlement to the north of the
Hittite capitals
Hattusa and
Sapinuwa, probably in the
Pontic region. Since 2005–2009, the site of Nerik has been identified as
Oymaağaç Höyük, on the eastern side of the
Kızılırmak River, northwest of
Vezirköprü
Vezirköprü is a district of Samsun Province of Turkey. It is named after the Ottoman Albanian grand vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha.
History
At the breakup of Alexander the Great's empire the Vezirköprü region became part of the kingdom ...
.
The Hittites held it as sacred to a
Storm-god who was the son of
Wurušemu,
Sun-goddess of
Arinna. The weather god is associated or identified with
Mount Zaliyanu near Nerik, responsible for bestowing rain on the city.
Nerik was founded by
Hattic language speakers as Narak;
in the Hattusa archive, tablet CTH 737 records a Hattic
incantation for a festival there. Under
Hattusili I, the
Nesite
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 ...
-speaking Hittites took over Nerik. They maintained a spring festival called "
Puruli" in honor of the Storm-god of Nerik. In it, the celebrants recited the myth of the slaying of
Illuyanka.
Under
Hantili, Nerik was ruined and the Hittites had to relocate the Puruli festival to Hattusa. As of the reign of
Tudhaliya I, Nerik's site was occupied by the barbarian
Kaskas, whom the Hittites blamed for its initial destruction.
During
Muwatalli II's reign, his brother and appointed governor
Hattusili III recaptured Nerik and rebuilt it as its High Priest. Hattusili named his firstborn son "Nerikkaili" in commemoration (although he later passed him over for the succession). Seven years after Muwatalli's son
Mursili III became king, Mursili reassigned Nerik to another governor. Hattusili rebelled and became king himself.
Nerik disappeared from the historical record when the Hittite kingdom fell, ca. 1200 BC.
Excavations
In 2005, Rainer Maria Czichon and Jörg Klinger of the
Free University of Berlin began excavating
Oymaağaç Höyük. Thus far, this is the northernmost place of
Anatolia with remains from the Hittite Empire, including "three fragments of tablets and a
bulla
Bulla (Latin, 'bubble') may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Bulla (dermatology), a bulla
* Bulla, a focal lung pneumatosis, an air pocket in the lung
* Auditory bulla, a hollow bony structure on the skull enclosing the ear
* Ethmoid bulla, pa ...
with stamps of the scribe Sarini. In addition, mention of the mountains, in which Nerik was located, have been found at the site, as well as features suggestive of monumental Hittite architecture." The team has published a number of articles related to their excavations.
According to Czichon, who is currently in the archaeology faculty at
Uşak University, many stone and loom artifacts were unearthed during the excavations. Mining tools were found for copper deposits situated at nearby Tavşan Mountain field. The most valuable artifacts are tablets with
cuneiform script
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
, which point out the site as Nerik. An inventory list showing tools, including silver trays and golden bullae contained in an unknown shrine, is also among the findings.
References
External links
Prayer for Nerik Archaeological research in connection with NerikOymaağaç Höyük (Samsun)
{{Authority control
Hattian cities
Hittite sites in Turkey
Hittite cities
Former populated places in Turkey
Archaeological sites in the Black Sea Region
Vezirköprü