Zalpuwa
Encyclopedia
Zalpuwa, also Zalpa, was an as-yet undiscovered Bronze Age
Anatolia
n city of ca. the 17th century BC. Its history is largely known from the Proclamation of Anitta, CTH 1.
Zalpuwa was by a "Sea of Zalpa". It was the setting for an ancient legend about the Queen of Kanesh, which was either composed in or translated into the Hurrian language
:
The river at Kanesh drains into the Black Sea
, not (for example) Lake Tuz
. "Zalpuwa" is further mentioned alongside Nerik
in Arnuwanda I
's prayer. Nerik was a Hattic language
speaking city which had fallen to the Kaskians by Arnuwanda's time. This portion of the prayer also mentioned Kammama, which was Kaskian as of the reign of Arnuwanda II
. The best conclusion is that Zalpuwa was in a region of Hattian cities of northern central Anatolia: as were Nerik
, Hattusa
, and probably Sapinuwa
. Zalpuwa was most likely, like its neighbours, founded by Hattians.
Ca. the 17th century BC, Uhna
the king of Zalpuwa invaded Neša
, after which the Zalpuwans carried off the city's "Sius" idol. Under Huzziya
's reign, the king of Neša, Anitta
, invaded Zalpuwa. Anitta took Huzziya captive, and recovered the Sius idol for Neša. Soon after that, Zalpuwa became seems to have become a culturally Hittite and Nesian-speaking.
Arnuwanda's prayer implies that Zalpuwa was laid waste by Kaskians, at the same time that Nerik
fell to them, in the early 14th century BC.
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n city of ca. the 17th century BC. Its history is largely known from the Proclamation of Anitta, CTH 1.
Zalpuwa was by a "Sea of Zalpa". It was the setting for an ancient legend about the Queen of Kanesh, which was either composed in or translated into the Hurrian language
Hurrian language
Hurrian is a conventional name for the language of the Hurrians , a people who entered northern Mesopotamia around 2300 BC and had mostly vanished by 1000 BC. Hurrian was the language of the Mitanni kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, and was likely spoken at least initially in Hurrian settlements in...
:
[The Queen] of Kanesh once bore thirty sons in a single year. She said: "What a horde is this which I have born!" She caulked(?) baskets with dung, put her sons in them, and launched them in the river. The river carried them down to the sea at the land of Zalpuwa. Then the gods took them up out of the sea and reared them. When some years had passed, the queen again gave birth, this time to thirty daughters. This time she herself reared them. http://rbedrosian.com/Memyth.htm
The river at Kanesh drains into the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, not (for example) Lake Tuz
Lake Tuz
Lake Tuz 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 northwest of Aksaray.-Geography:...
. "Zalpuwa" is further mentioned alongside Nerik
Nerik
Nerik was a Bronze Age city to the north of the Hittite capitals Hattusa and Sapinuwa. The Hittites held it as sacred to a storm god who was the son of Wurusemu, sun goddess of Arinna...
in Arnuwanda I
Arnuwanda I
Arnuwanda I was a king of the Hittite empire. He became a ruler by marriage and was very religious.- Biography :Arnuwanda became a king by marriage. His wife was Ašmu-nikal, daughter of king Tudhaliya I. He became a successor of Tudhaliya as his son-in-law. He began his reign under a co-regency...
's prayer. Nerik was a Hattic language
Hattic language
Hattic was a language spoken by the Hattians in Asia Minor between the 3rd and the 2nd millennia BC. Scholars call this language 'Hattic' to distinguish it from the Hittite language--the Indo-European language of the Hittite Empire....
speaking city which had fallen to the Kaskians by Arnuwanda's time. This portion of the prayer also mentioned Kammama, which was Kaskian as of the reign of Arnuwanda II
Arnuwanda II
Arnuwanda II was a king of the Hittite Empire ca. 1322–1321 BC . He succeeded his father Suppiluliuma I, who succumbed to the plague which Egyptian captives from his Canaan campaign had brought with them to the Hittite heartland....
. The best conclusion is that Zalpuwa was in a region of Hattian cities of northern central Anatolia: as were Nerik
Nerik
Nerik was a Bronze Age city to the north of the Hittite capitals Hattusa and Sapinuwa. The Hittites held it as sacred to a storm god who was the son of Wurusemu, sun goddess of Arinna...
, Hattusa
Hattusa
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. It was located near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızıl River ....
, and probably Sapinuwa
Sapinuwa
Sapinuwa was a Bronze Age Hittite city at the location of modern Ortaköy in Turkey. It was one of the major Hittite religious and administrative centres, a military base and an occasional residence of several Hittite kings...
. Zalpuwa was most likely, like its neighbours, founded by Hattians.
Ca. the 17th century BC, Uhna
Uhna
Uhna was a king of the ancient Anatolian city of Zalpuwa, ca. the 17th century BC, who conquered the Hittite city of Neša....
the king of Zalpuwa invaded Neša
Nesa
Nesa may refer to:* Neša, ancient city in Anatolia* Nisa, Turkmenistan, also transliterated as Nesa* Nesa , a genus of gossamer-winged butterfliesThe acronym NESA can stand for:* NESA, the National Eagle Scout Association...
, after which the Zalpuwans carried off the city's "Sius" idol. Under Huzziya
Huzziya
Huzziya was the last recorded king of Zalpuwa. He was captured by Anitta the Hittite king of Neša. Anitta had been confronted with what appears to have been a military alliance of states stretching southwards from Zalpa, an alliance in which Piyusti, the king of Hatti, and Huzziya, the king of...
's reign, the king of Neša, Anitta
Anitta
Anitta, son of Pithana, was a king of Kussara, a city that has yet to be identified. He is the earliest known ruler to compose a text in the Hittite language.- Biography :...
, invaded Zalpuwa. Anitta took Huzziya captive, and recovered the Sius idol for Neša. Soon after that, Zalpuwa became seems to have become a culturally Hittite and Nesian-speaking.
Arnuwanda's prayer implies that Zalpuwa was laid waste by Kaskians, at the same time that Nerik
Nerik
Nerik was a Bronze Age city to the north of the Hittite capitals Hattusa and Sapinuwa. The Hittites held it as sacred to a storm god who was the son of Wurusemu, sun goddess of Arinna...
fell to them, in the early 14th century BC.