science

Tarḫuntašša

Tarḫuntašša is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tarḫuntašša rather than just read about it. In short: Tarḫuntašša (Hittite: 𒀭𒅎𒋫𒀸𒊭 and Hieroglyphic Luwian: 𔖖𔓢𔕙𔑯𔗦: lit. 'City of Tarhunt') was a Bronze Age city in south-central Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) mentioned in contemporary documents. Its location is unknown.

Key takeaways

Tarḫuntašša belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tarḫuntašša to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tarḫuntašša from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tarḫuntašša (Hittite: 𒀭𒅎𒋫𒀸𒊭 and Hieroglyphic Luwian: 𔖖𔓢𔕙𔑯𔗦: lit. 'City of Tarhunt') was a Bronze Age city in south-central Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) mentioned in contemporary documents. Its location is unknown. The city was the capital of the Hittite Empire for a time and later became a regional power in its own right. The kingdom controlled by the city is known by the same name and its approximate borders are known from texts.

Location In 2019, a previously little-researched site at Türkmen-Karahöyük, near Çumra on the Konya Plain, was investigated and put forward as the site of Tarḫuntassa by Michele Massa, James Osborne and Christoph Bachhuber. Previously proposed locations include Konya, Sirkeli Höyük in Cilicia, the vicinity of Kayseri, and Kilise Tepe (formerly known as Maltepe). Kızıldağ has been suggested based on the idea that Hartapus was possibly a ruler of Tarḫuntassa. Another proposed location is at the site of Meydancık Castle and that Tarḫuntassa was another name for Hulaya River Land.

History

New Hittite capital In the early 13th century BC, Muwatalli II moved the Hittite capital from Hattusa to Tarhuntassa. The reasons for this move remain unclear. Official records postdating Muwatalli II's death state that he moved the capital as the result of an omen. Generally, archaeologists explain the move as a military strategy, in order to be closer to the Syrian region in preparation for battle with Ramses II at Kadesh. However, Itamar Singer has proposed instead that Muwatalli II moved the capital as part of a religious reform, attempting to elevate his personal god Pihassassi, the storm-god of lightning, to a more powerful position in Hittite religious observance. A third explanation is that at this point in time, Tarhuntassa was more centrally located within the network of overland and sea routes connecting the Hittite empire and beyond, making it an ideal capital for managing trade and communication throughout the territory. Muwatalli II's son Mursili III later moved the capital back to Hattusa. After Hattusili III deposed Mursili, the new king appointed Muwatalli's son Kurunta as king in Tarhuntassa. The treaty mostly refers to the appointed king as Ulmi-Tessup; consequently, some scholars believe that Ulmi-Tessup and Kurunta are two different rulers of Tarhuntassa.

Kurunta of Tarhuntassa Tudhaliya IV re-ratified Kurunta as king in a treaty inscribed in bronze. At this time, Kurunta was leading his forces to war with Parha. This treaty, unlike previous treaties involving Tarhuntassa, calls to witness the Hittites' vassal kings of Mira and the Seha River Land on the Aegean coast. This implies that Tarhuntassa's stature was now a matter of importance for all western Anatolia. Kurunta later claimed the title of Great King for himself. Whether or not this claim extended to the whole domain of Hatti, the court in Hattusa contested it (and buried the treaty).

Fall of the Hittite Empire Toward the end of the Hittite empire, Suppiluliuma II recorded in a Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription that Hatti had attacked and sacked the city of Tarhuntassa.

Türkmen-Karahöyük

Though occupied beginning in the Late Chalcolithic period this site was most heavily occupied in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1300-1100 BC) and Middle Iron Age (c. 900-600 BC). At those times it reached an extent of over 120 hectares making it largest site in west and central Anatolia. During a 2019 regional archaeological survey, called the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project, Oriental Institute of Chicago archaeologists unearthed a monumental Luwian Hieroglyphs inscription in an irrigation ditch. Investigation showed that the stone had originally been at the top of the mound but had been moved during illegal excavations. The inscription detailed a ruler named Harapu's victory over Muska, which the epigraphers propose is Phrygia but which is still unresolved.

"LINE 1 - Great King Kartapu, Hero, Mursili’s son. LINE 2 - When he (i.e. Kartapu) conquered the country of Muska, the enemy came down (into) the land. The Storm-god of heaven (and) all the gods placed 13 (enemy) kings (into) the hand (of) His Majesty, Great King Hartapu. (And) he (i.e. Hartapu) took (these) 13 kings down, (with their) shields/protection and cattle (at their/and) 10 mighty-fortresses (with their) great orthostats/stones/walls (within) a year. LINE 3 - And Azari-Tiwata (or less likely Ap(a)ri-Tiwata), the scribe, car[ved (this)]." Because an already known inscription referred to a Hartapu son of Mursili which some suggested was Mursili III a known king of Tarḫuntašša some researchers speculated Türkmen-Karahöyük was Tarḫuntašša. The excavators determined that the inscription dated to the 8th century BC, much too recent to be related to Tarḫuntašša and continue to stand by that view though not precluding the site being Tarḫuntašša in Middle Bronze times. At the site of Kızıldağ, about 13 kilometers to the south-southeast, there is another inscription (one of 4 similar inscriptions found there) of a Hartapu on an outcrop. At this time the collation, the translation, and the chronology of both the Kızıldağ inscriptions and the Türkmen-Karahöyük inscription (as well as similar inscriptions at BURUNKAYA and Topada) are still unsettled. Dating for the various related inscriptions, including the ones naming Hartapu, has been determined to be either 12th century BC or 8th century BC. In the case of the Türkmen-Karahöyük inscription it is thought that not all three lines were inscribed at the same time. The scientific consensus is that there was an earlier Hartapu and a later one.

See also Cities of the ancient Near East Ura, Anatolia

References

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tarḫuntašša

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tarḫuntašša claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tarḫuntašša before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tarḫuntašša ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tarḫuntašša

In research: Tarḫuntašša appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tarḫuntašša in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tarḫuntašša is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Former populated places in Turkey, Hittite cities, Late Bronze Age collapse, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tarḫuntašša outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tarḫuntašša in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tarḫuntašša means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tarḫuntašša out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tarḫuntašša in simple terms?

Why does Tarḫuntašša matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tarḫuntašša?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tarḫuntašša.