Prof. Ord. Sedat Alp (January 1, 1913 in

Veroia Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...

– October 9, 2006 in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

) was the first Turkish

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

with a specialization in

Hittitology Hittitology is the study of the Hittites, an ancient Anatolian people that established an empire around Hattusa in the 2nd millennium BCE. It combines aspects of the archaeology, history, philology, and art history of the Hittite civilisation. Li ...

, and was among the foremost names in the field. He was the president of the

Turkish Historical Association The Turkish Historical Society ( tr, Türk Tarih Kurumu, TTK) is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. It has been ...

from 1982 to 1983. Sedat Alp was born in Karaferye, present-day Veroia in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. His family moved to

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 ...

as a result of the

exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

in 1923. In 1932, he earned a state scholarship opened under the personal auspices of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

and was sent to the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

(he later transferred to the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

) to study

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

, history, Hittitology,

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

ology, Assyriology, ancient Anatolian languages and cultures, as well as

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

in general. Having earned his doctorate in the University of Berlin, he returned to Turkey in 1940 and started to teach Hittitology within Ankara University's Faculty of Languages, History and Geography (DTCF). He became the dean of the faculty in 1959, continuing at the same time his work in the field. One of his most notable discoveries was the mound of

Maşat Höyük Maşat Höyük is a Bronze Age Hittite archaeological site 100 km nearly east of Boğazkale/ Hattusa, about 20 km south of Zile, Tokat Province, north-central Turkey, not far from the Çekerek River. The site is under agricultural ...

, which in the quantities of Hittite cuneiform tablets was second only to the Hittite capital at Hattusas modern Boğazkale, near

Çorum Çorum () (Medieval Greek: Ευχάνεια, romanized: Euchaneia) is a northern Anatolian city that is the capital of the Çorum Province of Turkey. Çorum is located inland in the central Black Sea Region of Turkey, and is approximately from A ...

. Outside Turkey, Prof. Alp was awarded the Italian Commandatore of the Order of Merit of the Republic in 1957, the Order of Merit of the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972, the French

College of France A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

medal in 1980, the German Great Cross of Merit with star and the Grande Ufficiale Order of Merit of the Italian Presidency of the Republic in 1991. From 1997 he held an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

, and from the following year was made a member of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

and, for the contributions he made to the promotion of knowledge on the region's historical treasures, an honorary citizen of the city of Çorum in north-central Anatolia, where the Hittite capital was situated. He died in Ankara.

Awards

*1957 - Order of Merit Commendatore of the Italian Republic *1972 - Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany *1980 - Paris College de France Medal *1991 - Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany *1991 - Order of Merit Grande Ufficiale of the Italian Republic *1992 - Turkish Promotional Foundation Award *2001 - Ankara University Language and History-Geography Faculty Honor Award *2001 - Middle East Technical University Archeological Society Honor Award *2002 - Ankara University Language and History-Geography Faculty Honor Award *2003 - Aydın Doğan Foundation Archeology Award

Published works

* Untersuchungen zu den Beamtennamen im Hethitischen Festzeremoniell,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, 1940. * The Hittite Hieroglyphic Inscription of Şırzı, Ankara University, DTCF Dergisi, 1947, p. 153-158. (with Prof.

Hans Gustav Güterbock Hans Gustav Güterbock (May 27, 1908 – March 29, 2000) was a German- American Hittitologist. Born and trained in Germany, his career was ended with the rise of the Nazis because of his Jewish heritage, and he was forced to resettle in Turkey. ...

) * Military Instructions of the Hittite King Tuthaliya IV(?). Belleten XI, nr. 43, 1947 p. 403-414. * La désignation du Lituus eiı Hittite, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, I, 1947, p. 164-175. * GIS kalmuš "Lituus" and HUB.BI "Earring" in the Hittite Texts, Belleten XII, nr. 46, 1948, p. 320-324. * Die Soziale Klasse der NAM.RA-Leute und ihre hethitische Bezeichnung, Jahrbuch für Kleinasiatische Forschung I, 1950–51, p. 113-135. * Bemerkungen zu den Hieroglyphen des Hethitischen Monuments von İmamkulu, Symbolae Hrozny I, Archiv Orientální XVIII, 1950, p. 1-8. * Zur Lesung von manchen Personennamen auf den hieroglyphenhethitischen Siegeln und Inschriften. Ankara 1950. * On the Occasion of a New Book Concerning the Hittites. Ankara University, DTCF Dergisi, X, 1952, p. 249-256. * The N (N)-formations in the Hittite Language, Belleten 18, sayı 72, 1954, p. 449-467. * Die Lage von Šamuha, Anatolia (Anadolu) I, 1956, p. 77-80. * Zu den Körperteilnamen im Hethitischen, Anatolia (Anadolu) II, 1957 p. 1-48 * Eine hethitische Bronzestatuette und andere Funde aus Zara bei

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ...

, Anatolia (Anadolu) VI, 1961/1962, p. 217-243. * Kaniš = Aniša = Niša =

Nysa Nysa may refer to: Greek Mythology * Nysa (mythology) or Nyseion, the mountainous region or mount (various traditional locations), where nymphs raised the young god Dionysus * Nysiads, nymphs of Mount Nysa who cared for and taught the infant ...

, Erken Hitit Çağının bir Başkenti, Belleten 27, nr. 107, 1963, p. 366-376. * Kaniš = Aniša = Niša, Eine Hauptstadt der frühhethitischen Periode, Belleten 27, nr. 107, 1963, p. 376-386. * Frühbronzezeitliche Marmoridole aus Südwestanatolien, Belleten 29, nr. 113, 1965, p. 9-14. * Eine goldene Gesichtmaske vom zweiten Vorchristlichen Jahrtausend aus "Anatolien", Belleten 29, nr. 113, 1965, p. 19-23. * Die Libationsgefässe "Schnabelkanne" und "Armförmiges Gerät" und Ihre Hethitischen Bezeichnungen, Belleten 31, nr. 124, 1967, p. 531-549. * Zylinder-und Stempelsiegel aus Karahöyük bei

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

, Ankara 1968. T.T.K. Yayınları: Dizi-V, No. 26, XVI + 310 s. 276 Abbildungen im Texte, 254 Tafeln. * Ein hethitisches Stempelsiegel aus der Umgebung von

Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, tr, afyon "poppy, opium", ''kara'' "black", ''hisar'' "fortress") is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in the mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along t ...

und ein Knopfsiegel aus Yazırhöyük bei

Nevşehir Nevşehir (from the Persian compound ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city"), formerly Neapolis (Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις) and Muşkara, is a largely modern city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of ...

, Festschrift P. Meriggi, 1970, p. 1-6. * Eine weitere Hieroglypheninschrift aus Emirgazi und ein Rollsiegel mit Hieroglyphenlegenden aus dem Gebiet von

Adıyaman Adıyaman ( ku, Semsûr) is a city and district in southeastern Turkey, and the capital of the Adıyaman Province. The inhabitants of the city are mostly Kurdish. Etymology An unverified theory is that the former name of the city ''Hisn-Mansur'' ...

, südöstlich von

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...

, Festschrift Heinrich Otten, 1973 p. 11-15, 1975. * Ištar auf dem Karahöyük, presented to Prof. Mansel, 1974, p. 703-707. * Eine neue hieroglyphenhethitische Inschrift der Gruppe Kızıldağ- Karadağ aus der Nähe von

Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Aksaray Province. In 202 ...

und die früher publizierten Inschriften derselben Gruppe, Anatolian Studies Presented to Hans Gustav Güterbock on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, 1974, p. 17-27. * Die Hethiter in Anatolien, Das Parliament 1976, * Remarques sur la géographie de la région du Haut- Yeşilırmak d'après les tablettes hittites de Maşathöyük, Florilegium Anatolicum, Mélanges offerts à Emmanuel Laroche, Paris, 1979 p. 29-35. * Die Lage der Kultstadt Hanhana, Festschrift Elmar Edel,

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

1979, p. 13-16. * Das hethitische Wort für "Palast", Studia Mediterranea I, Piero Meriggi dicata I, 1979, p. 17-25. * Die hethitischen Tontafelentdeckungen auf dem Maşat-Höyük, Belleten 44, nr. 173, 1980, p. 254-59. * Beiträge zur Erforschung des hethitischen Tempels, Kultanlagen im Lichte der Keilschrifttexte, Ankara 1983.

Turkish Historical Society The Turkish Historical Society ( tr, Türk Tarih Kurumu, TTK) is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. It has been ...

Publication: Serie - VI, Nr. 23 XXXIV + 382 s. * Zum Wesen der kultischen Reinigungssubstanz tuhhueššar, Festschrift A. Kammenhuber. * Die Lage der hethitischen Kultstadt Karahna, Festschrift Kurt Bittel * E. Neufeld, The Hittite Laws, Journal of Cuneiform Studies VI, 1952, s.93-98. * B. Rosenkranz, Beiträge zur Erforschung des Luwischen, Bibliotheca Orientalis XI, 1954, s.208-209. * Th. Beran, Die hethitische Glyptik von Boğazköy I, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 66, 1971, s. 362-364. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alp, Sedat 1913 births 2006 deaths People from Veria Turkish scientists Turkish archaeologists Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Macedonian Turks Leipzig University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Ankara University faculty Hittitologists 20th-century archaeologists Greek emigrants to Turkey