Karahüyük (Elbistan) (also known as Karahöyük, Karahoyuk) is a village of
Elbistan
Elbistan (;Aksüt, Ali"''On the Alevism of Elbistan, Nurhak, Ekinozu and Afsin - Elbistan Nurhak Ekinözü Afşin Aleviliği Üzerine - Zum Alevitentum in Elbistan, Nurhak, Ekinözü und Afşin''"- Alevilik-Bektaşilik Araştırmaları Dergisi 201 ...
district of
Kahramanmaraş province
Kahramanmaraş Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 14,520 km2, and its population is 1,177,436 (2022). Its provincial capital is the city o ...
of Turkey. It is located 169 km to the north from
Kahramanmaraş
Kahramanmaraş (), historically Marash (; ) and Germanicea (), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean region of Turkey and the administrative centre of Kahramanmaraş Province, Kahramanmaraş province. After 1973, Maraş was ...
city and 9 km northwest from the Elbistan town.
In 1947, an important
Anatolian hieroglyphic inscription stele was discovered near the village. This stele is believed to be from the 12th century BC.
The plain of Elbistan shares some history with
Arslantepe
Arslantepe, also known as Melid, was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with the modern archaeological site of Arslantepe near Malatya, Turkey.
It was na ...
(Melid). It is believed that Elbistan came under the control of Melid sometime around the 12th century BC. The Malatya group of the Neo-Hittite Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions have been studied by scholars. They come from the area of Karahöyük, and are believed to be very ancient.
Archaeological excavations have also been conducted at Hamza Tepe, which is in the same area, 10 km northwest of Elbistan town, and to the west of Karahöyük. An ancient cremation cemetery from the Middle Iron Age (8th-7th centuries BC) has been discovered there.
The IZGIN hieroglyphic stele was also found in the area.
Izgın Stele
hittitemonuments.com It was found in 1882 in a cemetery near Izgın village. It was found actually standing among the monuments in that cemetery.
See also
*Hittites
The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...
* Maraş lion
* Kahramanmaraş Archaeology Museum
Notes
Literature
* Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin, 2000: 288-95 and plt. 133–34.
* Hawkins, J. D. "The Historical Significance of the Karahöyük (Elbistan) Stele," FsNÖzgüç, 1993: 273–79.
* Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 3, Berlin, 2024: 230–31, 325.
* Masson, E. "La stèle de Karahöyük-Elbistan: nouvel examen," FsLaroche, 1979: 225–41.
* Özgüç T., Özgüç N. Türk Tarih Kurumu tarafından yapılan Karahöyük hafriyatı raporu 1947, Ankara, TTK, 1949.
* Woudhuizen, F. C. “The Luwian Hieroglyphic Inscription on the Stele from Karahöyük-Elbistan.” Ancient West & East 2/2, 2003: 211–24.
* van Quickelberghe, E. "Réflexions Autour de la Stèle de Karahöyük (Elbistan),” Le Muséon: Revue d’Études Orientales 126/3–4, 2013: 253–63.
{{coord, 38.261634, 37.113965, display=title
Archaeological discoveries in Turkey
Luwian inscriptions
Kahramanmaraş Province