"Turtanu" or "Turtan" (
Akkadian: 𒌉𒋫𒉡 ''tur-ta-nu''; he, תַּרְתָּן ''tartān''; el, Θαρθαν; la, Tharthan; arc, ܬܵܪܬܵܢ ''tartan'') is an
Akkadian 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, Κομμαγηνή) 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 s ...
). 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
Babylonians.
Tartan in Bible
There are two references to Tartans in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in , and
Sargon II, the king of Assyria, sends a Tartan who takes
Ashdod during the reign of King
Hezekiah
Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; 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.
Examples
Dayyan-Assur was ''turtanu'' under the reign of
Shalmaneser III (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. He was the Assyrian military commander under
Adad-Nirari III (811-783BC) and later
Shalmaneser IV
Shalmaneser IV ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Salmānu 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'', ''Ar ...
.
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: 𒃲𒁉𒈜𒈨𒌍 ''rab šāqê'' AL.BI.LUL.MEŠ ; grc, Ραψακης ''Rapsakēs''; la, Rabsaces; aii, ܪܲܒ݂ܫܵܩܹ̈ܐ; alternative spellings include Rab-shakeh, Rabsaces, or Rab shaqe) is a title meaning "chief of ...
*
Rabsaris Rabsaris ( he, רַב-סָרִיס ''raḇ-sārīs''), possibly means "Chief of officers", (Akkadian: 𒇽𒃲𒊕 ''rab ša-rēši'' Ú.GAL.SAG is the name or title of two individuals mentioned in the Bible.
* Rabasaris (in the Douay–Rheims 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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