Šinuḫtu ( and
) was a
Luwian
Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...
-speaking
Syro-Hittite state which existed in the
region of Tabal in southeastern
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
in the
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
.
Geography
Location
Šinuḫtu was located on the site of what is now
Aksaray
Aksaray () is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District. in Turkey, immediately to the south-east of
Lake Tuz
Lake Tuz ( meaning 'Salt Lake) is the second largest lake in Turkey with its
surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, northeast of Konya, south-southeast of Ankara and ...
, and consisted of its capital city and a small territory surrounding it.
Neighbours
The neighbours of Šinuḫtu were
Atuna to its north, and
Tabal proper to the east.
History
Kingdom of Šinuḫtu
The kingdom of Šinuḫtu might have come into existence during the early 1st millennium BCE, and one of the state's early kings might have been one of the 24 kings of the Tabalian region who offered tribute to the Neo-Assyrian king
Shalmaneser III
Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 859 BC to 824 BC.
His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations o ...
() during his campaign there in 837 BCE.
Submission to the Neo-Assyrian Empire
By , the Tabalian region, including Šinuḫtu, had become a tributary of the Neo-Assyrian king
Tiglath-pileser III (), possibly after his conquest of Arpad over the course of 743 to 740 BC caused the states of the Tabalian region to submit to him, or possibly as a result of a campaign of Tiglath-pileser III in Tabal.
The only known ruler of Šinuḫtu was the late 8th century BCE king Kiyakiyas, who was a tributary state of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to dominate the ancient Near East and parts of South Caucasus, Nort ...
. According to
an inscription of Kiyakiyas dedicated to the storm-god
Tarḫunz
Tarḫunz (stem: ''Tarḫunt-'') was the weather god and chief god of the Luwians, a people of Bronze Age and early Iron Age Anatolia. He is closely associated with the Hittite god Tarḫunna and the Hurrian god Teshub.
Name
The name of the Pro ...
as, Šinuḫtu appears to have been a thriving state at this time.
Kiyakiyas might have been a vassal of the great king
Wasusarmas of
Tabal proper, and Kiyakiyas was one of the three kings who helped him defeat an coalition of eight enemy rulers.
=Between Phrygia and Assyria
=
Following the union of the
Phrygians
The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity.
Ancient Greek authors used "Phrygian" as an umbrella term t ...
and the
Muški under the king
Midas
Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house.
His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...
, his
Phrygian kingdom became a major rival to Neo-Assyrian power in eastern Anatolia, and the region of Tabal became contested between the Neo-Assyrian and Phrygian empires.
Midas tried to convince the local rulers of Tabal who were still independent of overlordship to switch their allegiances to Phrygia, and several of them accepted his offer, with Kiyakiyas soon breaking his oath of allegiance to the Neo-Assyrian Empire and withholding his tribute, possibly after having been incited to do so by Midas.
=End of kingdom
=
The Neo-Assyrian king
Sargon II
Sargon II (, 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 (745–727), Sargon is generally believed to have be ...
() reacted through cautionary action meant to deter the other Tabalian kingdoms from rebelling by invading Šinuḫtu in 718 BCE and deporting Kiyakiyas, his family and warriors, and 7350 inhabitants of the kingdom's capital city to Assyria, where Kiyakiyas himself was executed by being burnt alive.
Sargon II then abolished the kingdom of Šinuḫtu and handed its territory to the king Kurdis of the nearby state of Atuna.
List of rulers
*Kiyakiyas (;
),
References
Sources
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{{Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia
Tabal
Anatolia
Syro-Hittite states