Nerik ( Hittite: ''Nerik(ka)''"Nerik(ka)." ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie.'') was a

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 ...

settlement to the north of the Hittite capitals

Hattusa Hattusa, also Hattuşa, Ḫattuša, Hattusas, or Hattusha, was the capital of the Hittites, Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age during two distinct periods. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey (originally Boğazköy) within the great ...

and

Sapinuwa Sapinuwa (sometimes Shapinuwa; Hittite language, Hittite: ''Šapinuwa'') was a Bronze Age Hittites, Hittite city at the location of modern Ortaköy, Çorum, Ortaköy in the province Çorum in Turkey about 70 kilometers east of the Hittite capital ...

, probably in the Pontic region. Since 2005–2009, the site of Nerik has been identified as Oymaağaç Höyük, on the eastern side of the

Kızılırmak River The Kızılırmak (, Turkish language, Turkish for "Red River"), once known as the Halys River () and Alis River, is the longest river flowing entirely within Turkey. It is a source of hydroelectric power and is not used for navigation. Geogra ...

, northwest of

Vezirköprü Vezirköprü is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,674 km2, and its population is 90,308 (2022). It is named after the Ottoman Albanian grand vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. History At ...

History

It was occupied in the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze. The Hittites held it as sacred to a

Storm-god A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of ...

who was the son of Wurušemu, Sun-goddess of

Arinna Arinna was the major cult center of the Hittite sun-goddess known as dUTU URU''Arinna'' or " Sun-Goddess of Arinna", who is also sometimes identified as ''Arinniti'' or as ''Wuru(n)šemu''. Arinna was located near Hattusa, the Hittite capital. ...

. The weather god is associated or identified with Mount Zaliyanu near Nerik, responsible for bestowing rain on the city.

Middle Bronze

Hittite Old Kingdom

Nerik was founded by

Hattic language Hattic, or Hattian, was a non-Indo-European agglutinative language spoken by the Hattians in Asia Minor in the 2nd millennium BC. Scholars call the language "Hattic" to distinguish it from Hittite, the Indo-European language of the Hittite Emp ...

speakers as Narak; in the Hattusa archive, tablet CTH 737 records a Hattic

incantation An incantation, spell, charm, enchantment, or bewitchery is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial ri ...

for a festival there. Under

Hattusili I Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Labarna II) * Hattusili II *Hattusili III Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal ...

, the Nesite-speaking Hittites took over Nerik. They maintained a spring festival called " Puruli" in honor of the Storm-god of Nerik. In it, the celebrants recited the myth of the slaying of

Illuyanka In Hittite mythology, Illuyanka was a serpentine dragon slain by Tarḫunz (), the Hittite incarnation of the Hurrian god of sky and storm. It is known from Hittite cuneiform tablets found at Çorum-Boğazköy, the former Hittite capital Hat ...

. Under Hantili, Nerik was ruined (by the Kaška), and the Hittites had to relocate the Puruli festival to Hattusa.

Late Bronze

Hittite Middle Kingdom

As of the reign of

Tudhaliya I Tudḫaliya is the name of several Hittite kings or royals. It is not clear how many kings bore that name, and numbering schemes vary from source to source. *Tudḫaliya (sometimes called Tudḫaliya I) is deduced from his early placement in a lat ...

, Nerik's site was occupied by the barbarian Kaskas, whom the Hittites blamed for its initial destruction.

Hittite New Kingdom

During

Muwatalli II Muwatalli II (also Muwatallis, or Muwatallish; meaning "mighty") was a king of the New Kingdom of the Hittite empire c. 1295–1282 ( middle chronology) and 1295–1272 BC in the short chronology. Biography He was the eldest son of Mursili II ...

's reign (c. 1290 BC), his brother and appointed governor

Hattusili III Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Labarna II) * Hattusili II * Hattusili III It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Kummuh) * Hattus ...

recaptured Nerik and rebuilt it as its High Priest. Hattusili named his firstborn son "Nerikkaili" in commemoration (although he later passed him over for the succession). Seven years after Muwatalli's son

Mursili III There were three Hittite kings called Mursili: *Mursili I, ca. 1556–1526 BCE (short chronology), and was likely a grandson of his predecessor, Hattusili I. His sister was Ḫarapšili and his wife was queen Kali. *Mursili II, (also spelled Mursil ...

became king (c. 1270s BC), Mursili reassigned Nerik to another governor. Hattusili rebelled and became king himself. Nerik disappeared from the historical record when the Hittite kingdom fell, ca. 1200 BC.

Excavations

In 2005, Rainer Maria Czichon and Jörg Klinger of the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

began excavating Oymaağaç Höyük. Thus far, this is the northernmost place of

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 ...

with remains from the Hittite Empire, including "three fragments of tablets and a bulla with stamps of the scribe Sarini. In addition, mention of the mountains, in which Nerik was located, have been found at the site, as well as features suggestive of monumental Hittite architecture." The team has published a number of articles related to their excavations. According to Czichon, who is currently in the archaeology faculty at Uşak University, many stone and loom artifacts were unearthed during the excavations. Mining tools were found for copper deposits situated at nearby Tavşan Mountain field. The most valuable artifacts are tablets with

cuneiform script Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

, which point out the site as Nerik. An inventory list showing tools, including silver trays and golden bullae contained in an unknown shrine, is also among the findings.

References

External links

Prayer for Nerik Archaeological research in connection with NerikOymaağaç Höyük (Samsun)
{{Authority control Hattian cities Hittite sites in Turkey Hittite cities Former populated places in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Black Sea region Vezirköprü