İmamkullu Relief
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The Hittite İmamkullu relief (previously also ''İmamkulu'') is a
rock relief A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief, relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction ...
near the town of İmamkullu in Tomarza district in
Kayseri Province The Kayseri Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in central Turkey. Its area is 16,970 km2, and its population is 1,441,523 (2022). It borders with Sivas, Adana, Niğde, Kahramanmaraş, Yozgat and Nevşehir provinces. T ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. In Turkish it is known as ''Yazılı Kaya'' ("inscribed cliff") and ''Şimşekkaya'' ("lightning cliff"). Rock reliefs are a prominent aspect of Hittite art.


Location

The
trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrus ...
block with the relief is located on the flank of the 3045 m high Bey Dağı to the south of İmamkullu. This spot marks the start of the Gezbel pass, where two routes met and crossed the
Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...
in ancient times. One of them came from the Hittite heartland through
Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...
and Tomarza, following the Zamantı Irmağı river; the other came from
Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...
via
Develi Develi, formerly known as ''Averak'' or ''Everek'', is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,892 km2, and its population is 66,840 (2022). History The historical name of the town is Eve ...
, passing the Fıraktın and Taşçı reliefs on the way. The Hanyeri relief stands at the other end of the Gezbel pass, to the southeast.


Description

The relief is about 3.25 x 2 metres and was engraved on the northwest side of a large boulder, on a slightly convex, but conveniently flat surface. It is now very worn. It consists of three sections. The left section features a human figure, moving to the right, perhaps the creator of the monument, holding a spear in his left hand and a bow in his left (the string is only roughly indicated). On his belt there are knobs and some traces of a sword. He wears a round cap and there are traces also of a horn and pointed shoes. Luwian hieroglyphs were engraved in front of his head, which name him as a son of the king. His name is given as Kuwalanamuwa. A prince of this name is also known from the Hanyeri and Manisa reliefs. Whether they are all the same person is not certain, though certainly possible. The central portion is the largest. In the upper part, the weather god is depicted in a chariot, driving to the right. He wears pointy shoes, a short soldier's kilt and a pointed hat with horns, which identifies him as a god. Traces of a sword can also be seen on his belt. He has a mace in his right hand and holds the reins of the galloping bulls which pull his chariot with his left hand. Above his outstretched hand there are three hieroglyphs which name him as the weather god of heaven; a fourth hieroglyph below the others is no longer legible. The god and his chariot stand on the bent necks of three mountain gods, in a manner similar to the main scene at Yazılıkaya. The wear the long robes and peaked hats which are usual for mountain gods, and are armed with swords. They themselves stand on top of three chimaeric creatures with cat's heads and raised human arms. The top part of the right portion of the relief shows a facing goddess with raised arms, who is probably
Šauška Šauška (Shaushka), also called Šauša or Šawuška, was the highest ranked goddess in the Hurrian pantheon. She was associated with love and war, as well as with incantations and by extension with healing. While she was usually referred to as ...
/
Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
. Her head is in profile, looking left towards the approaching weather god. Her arms hold her robe open. On her head there are four or five prongs of a crown or coiffure. Wings rise up from her shoulders. Ehringhaus identifies a six-pointed star above her right hand.Horst Ehringhaus: ''Götter, Herrscher, Inschriften. Die Felsreliefs der hethitischen Großreichszeit in der Türkei.'' Zabern, Mainz 2005, p. 74. Her legs are depicted without feet, in the manner of cult statues and she stands on top of a stylised tree. Between the weather god and the goddess, is a bird flying to the left. The motif of the weather god and an undressing goddess, often with a bird between them, is attested from the early
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
on Syrian cylinder seals (and other media). Jutta Börker-Klähn proposes a connection with the Asherdu myth, in which Ishtar in the form of a bird catches the weather god having sex with Asherdu, the wife of Elkunirsa. The relief is dated to the 13th century BC, the late Hittite empire, like the Hanyeri relief. File:Imamkulu2.jpg, Location of the relief on the mountain side File:Imamkulu4.jpg, Weather god in his chariot File:Imamkulu5.jpg, Mountain gods and chimaeric creatures File:Imamkulu3.jpg, Undressing goddess on stylised tree


Research history

A report was first published by the French orientalist Louis Delaporte after its discovery by Kemaleddin Karamete of Kayseri in 1934. In 1935 the American orientalist Ignace Gelb visited the site.
Sedat Alp Prof. Ord. Sedat Alp (January 1, 1913 in Veroia – October 9, 2006 in Ankara) was the first Turkish archaeologist, historian and academic with a specialization in Hittitology, and was among the foremost names in the field. He was the presiden ...
and Ekrem Akurgal recorded the inscription in their Anatolian work of 1947. In 1975, Markus Wäfler published a description of the relief and its inscriptions. In the same year, Piero Meriggi proposed a reading of the hieroglyphs, which
Hans Gustav Güterbock Hans Gustav Güterbock (May 27, 1908 – March 29, 2000) was a Germany, German-Americans, 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 re ...
, who visited the relief in 1978, supported. A different reading of the left hand figure's name was proposed by Jutta Börker-Klähn. In 1983, Kay Kohlmeyer published a detailed description and discussion of the monument. Finally, Horst Ehringhaus provides another description of the image and inscriptions in his 2005 book on the cliff inscriptions of the Hittite empire. A cast of the relief is displayed outside the Archaeological Museum of Kayseri.


References


Bibliography

* Jutta Börker-Klähn. "Imamkulu gelesen und datiert?" '' Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie'' 67 (1977) pp. 64–72. * Kay Kohlmeyer. "Felsbilder der hethitischen Großreichszeit." ''Acta Praehistorica et Archaeologica'' 15 (1983) pp. 80–86. * Joost Hazenbos. "Zum Imamkulu-Relief." in Piotr Taracha (Ed.): ''Silva Anatolica. Anatolian Studies Presented to Maciej Popko on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday.'' Agade, Warschau 2002, , pp. 147–161. * Horst Ehringhaus. ''Götter, Herrscher, Inschriften. Die Felsreliefs der hethitischen Großreichszeit in der Türkei.'' Zabern, Mainz 2005, , pp. 70–76.


External links


Description on www.hittitemonuments.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imamkullu relief Hittite art Archaeological sites in the Mediterranean region, Turkey Hittite sites in Turkey Luwian inscriptions Kayseri Province Rock reliefs in Turkey