"Turtanu" or "Turtan" (
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
: 饞寜饞嫬饞墶 ''tur-ta-nu''; he, 转址旨专职转指旨谉 ''tart膩n''; el, 螛伪蟻胃伪谓; la, Tharthan; arc, 墁艿塥墁艿堍 ''tartan'') is an
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
word/title meaning 'commander in chief' or 'prime minister'. In Assyria, the Turtanu ranked next to the king.
The Assyrian king would assign the individual who was turtanu to go to battle for him, thus giving great power and influence to the turtanu.
The office seems to have been duplicated, and there was a ''tartanu imni'' or 'tartan of the right', as well as a ''tartanu shumeli'' or 'tartan of the left'. In later times the title became territorial; we read of a tartan of 'Kummuh' (
Commagene
Commagene ( grc-gre, 螝慰渭渭伪纬畏谓萎) was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Iranian Orontid dynasty that had ruled over Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ancient city of Samosata, which ser ...
). The title is also applied to the commanders of foreign armies; thus Sargon speaks of the ''Tartan Musurai'', or 'Egyptian Tartan'.
[Assyrian Deeds](_blank)
C. H. W. Johns et al, Deighton, Bell and Company, 1901, Page 68. (Scanned book, University of Tronto Library website) The Tartan of 720 BC was probably called
Ashur-iska-danin; in 694 BC,
Abdai, and in 686 BC
Bel-emurani, held the title.
It does not seem to have been in use among the closely related
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''m膩t Akkad墨'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
ns.
Tartan in Bible
There are two references to Tartans in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''T膩n ...
: the Assyrian king sends a Tartan with two other officials to deliver a threatening message to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, 讬职专讜旨砖指讈诇址讬执诐 ; ar, 丕賱賯購丿爻 ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, 峒刮迪佄肯呄兾蔽晃/峒肝迪佄肯兿屛幌呂嘉, Hierousal岣梞/Hieros贸luma; hy, 缘謤崭謧战铡詹榨沾, Erusa艂膿m. i ...
in , and
Sargon II
Sargon II (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745鈥727), Sargon is general ...
, the king of Assyria, sends a Tartan who takes
Ashdod
Ashdod ( he, ''示a拧d艒岣''; ar, 兀爻丿賵丿 or 廿爻丿賵丿 ''示isd奴d'' or '' 示asd奴d'' ; Philistine: 饜饜饜饜 *''示a拧d奴d'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
during the reign of King
Hezekiah
Hezekiah (; hbo, , 岣つ珃q墨yyah奴), or Ezekias); grc, 峒樜段滴何毕 'Ezek铆as; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...
at the time of the prophet
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Y蓹拧a士y膩h奴'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
.
Examples
Dayyan-Assur
Dayyan-Assur was commander-in-chief, or Tartan (turt膩nu), of the Assyrian army during the reign of Shalmaneser III (859 - 824 BC).
According to the Black Obelisk, he personally led some of the military campaigns outside Assyria, which is rather u ...
was ''turtanu'' under the reign of
Shalmaneser III
Shalmaneser III (''艩ulm膩nu-a拧ar膿du'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Ashurnasirpal II in 859 BC to his own death in 824 BC.
His long reign was a constant series of campai ...
(859-824BC). Dayyan-Assur led campaigns in lieu of Shalmaneser III who gave him power over the Assyrian army. These campaigns took the Assyrian army and influence into the Zagros, where encounters with future opponents the Medes and Manneans.
Another example of a turtanu was
Shamshi-ilu
Shamshi-ilu (艩am拧i-ilu) was an influential court dignitary and commander in chief (turtanu) of the Assyrian army who rose in high prominence.
He was active during the reigns of Assyrian kings Adad-nirari III (810鈥782 BC), Shalmaneser IV (782鈥 ...
. He was the Assyrian military commander under
Adad-Nirari III
Adad-nirari III (also Adad-narari) was a King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. Note that this assumes that the longer version of the Assyrian Eponym List, which has an additional eponym for Adad-nirari III, is the correct one. For the shorter eponym ...
(811-783BC) and later
Shalmaneser IV
Shalmaneser IV ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Salm膩nu is foremost") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 783 BC to his death in 773 BC. Shalmaneser was the son and successor of his predecessor, Adad-nirari III, and ruled during a pe ...
(783-773) as well as others. He appears to have been of Bit-Adini descent, a province annexed by Assyria some time before. He led a campaign against the
Argishti I of Urartu
Argishti I (), was the sixth known king of Urartu, reigning from 786 BC to 764 BC. He founded the citadel of Erebuni in 782 BC, which is the present capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Alternate transliterations of the name include ''Argishtis'', ''Argis ...
.
Influence
The position of ''turtanu'' led to a decline of centralized power in Assyria. Shamshi-ilu for example, who was ''turtanu'' during four kings reigns, and was one of if not the most powerful individual in Assyria at the time (8th century BC), began to lead out his own campaigns without the sanction of the king. Shamshi-ilu was based out of Kar-Shalmaneser and began campaigning for his own kingdom west of the Euphrates.
[Van De Mierroop (2007) p.244] These campaigns led to greater power held by Shamshi-ilu and a fragmentary Assyria.
See also
*
Rabshakeh Rabshakeh (Akkadian: 饞儾饞亯饞垳饞埁饞實 ''rab 拧膩q锚'' AL.BI.LUL.ME艩 ; grc, 巍伪蠄伪魏畏蟼 ''Rapsak膿s''; la, Rabsaces; aii, 塥懿軖輦塬艿堠芄虉軔; alternative spellings include Rab-shakeh, Rabsaces, or Rab shaqe) is a title meaning "chief of ...
*
Rabsaris Rabsaris ( he, 专址讘-住指专执讬住 ''ra岣-s膩r墨s''), possibly means "Chief of officers", (Akkadian: 饞嚱饞儾饞姇 ''rab 拧a-r膿拧i'' 脷.GAL.SAG is the name or title of two individuals mentioned in the Bible.
* Rabasaris (in the Douay鈥揜heims Bib ...
Encyclopaedia Biblica: Tartan
References
Military history of the Assyrian Empire
Military ranks
Hebrew Bible content
Ancient history of Turkey
History of Assyria
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