King Tarkasnawa of Mira Kingdom circa 1350 BC

Tarkasnawa was ruler of the

Kingdom of Mira The Kingdom of Mira (ca. 1330–1190 BC) was one of the semi-autonomous vassal state kingdoms that emerged in western Anatolia (Asia Minor) after the destruction of the Arzava Kingdom by the Hittite Empire. Location According to the current u ...

, and one of the last independent kings of

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 ...

, a

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 ...

confederation of kingdoms in western

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 ...

. He was probably the son of King Alantalli, and a contemporary of the later king

Tudḫaliya IV Tudhaliya IV was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom), and the younger son of Hattusili III. He reigned c. 1245–1215 BC (middle chronology) or c. 1237–1209 BC (short chronology). His mother was the great queen, Puduhepa. Biograph ...

. He was succeeded by

Uhha-Ziti Uhha-Ziti was the last independent king of Arzawa, a Bronze Age kingdom of western Anatolia. Uhha-Ziti had two recorded children, Piyama-Kurunta and Tapalazunauli, who were of fighting age as of 1322 BC. The Hittite king Mursili II in his secon ...

. Tarkasnawa appears in the

Karabel relief The Hittite / Luwian Karabel relief is a rock relief in the pass of the same name, between Torbalı and Kemalpaşa, about 20 km from Izmir in Turkey. Rock reliefs are a prominent aspect of Hittite art. Description The monument origi ...

, where his name is inscribed 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 ...

. The inscription, next to the figure of the king, reads: He is also known from various seals, one of them in which his name was formerly read "Tarkondemos". This is a bilingual seal, combining a

cuneiform 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 ...

inscription on the rim and the corresponding

Hittite 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 language, Luwian, not Hitt ...

around the figure in royal dress, giving the name of the ruler: Tarkasnawa. This bilingual inscription provided the first clues for deciphering Hittite hieroglyphs. File:Anatolian - Seal of Tarkummuwa, King of Mera - Walters 571512.jpg, Seal of Tarkasnawas, also known as the "Tarkondemos seal", with

inscription "tar-kaš-ša-na-wa". File:Seal of Tarkasnawa.jpg, Seal of Tarkasnawa (drawing of imprint) File:Seal of Tarkasnawa (19th century reading).jpg, Seal of Tarkasnawa: 19th century reading of the cuneiform File:Relief of Tarkasnawa, inscription.jpg, Name of Tarkasnawa in

on the

References

External links

The Arzawa Page

The Relief of Sesostris
Kings of Arzawa 14th-century BC rulers {{Rulers of the Ancient Near East