View source for Arzawa

{{Short description|Ancient Anatolian kingdom}}
</noinclude>{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{lang|hit|𒅈𒍝𒉿}}<br />{{small|{{transliteration|peo|ar-za-wa}}}}
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Arzawa
| common_name            = Arzawa
| era                    = [[Bronze Age]]
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| area_km2               =
| year_start             = 1700 BC
| year_end               = 1300 BC
| life_span              = 1700–1300 BC
| event_start            =  
| date_start             =
| event_end              = 
| date_end               =
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| p1                     = 
| flag_p1                =
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| s1                     = 
| flag_s1                = 
| border_s1              = no
| s2                     =
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| image_flag             =
| flag_size              =
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| image_coat             =
| symbol                 =
| symbol_type            =
| image_map              = Ancient Near East 1400BC.svg
| image_map_caption      = Map of the Arzawa and the surrounding kingdoms, {{Circa|1400 BC}}.
| capital                = [[Ephesus|Apaša]]
| common_languages       = [[Luwian language|Luwian]] or related languages
| religion               = 
| currency               = 
| title_leader           = Kings
| year_leader1           =Late 15th century BC
| leader1                = [[Kupanta-Kurunta (king of Arzawa)|Kupanta-Kurunta]]
| year_leader2           =Early 14th century BC
| leader2                = [[Tarḫuntaradu]]
| year_leader3           = 1320s BC
| leader3                = [[Tarkasnawa]]
| year_leader4           = 1320–1300 BC
| leader4                = [[Uhha-Ziti]]
| year_leader5           =
| leader5                =
| footnotes              = 
}}
[[File:King Tarkasnawa of Mira Kingdom circa 1350 BC.jpg|thumb|King [[Tarkasnawa]] of [[Kingdom of Mira|Mira]], in the [[Karabel relief]], circa 1350 BC]]
'''Arzawa''' was a region and political entity in Western [[Anatolia]] during the [[Late Bronze Age]]. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital was at [[Apasa]], is often referred to as ''Arzawa Minor'' or ''Arzawa Proper'', while the other Arzawa lands included [[Mira (kingdom)|Mira]], [[Hapalla]], [[Wilusa]], and the [[Seha River Land]].

Arzawa is known from contemporary texts documenting its political and military relationships with [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and the [[Hittite Empire]]. The kingdom had a tumultuous relationship with the Hittites, sometimes allied with them but other times opposing them, in particular in concert with [[Mycenaean Greece]] which corresponds to [[Ahhiyawa]] of the Hittite sources. During the [[Amarna Period]], Arzawa had achieved sufficient independence that Egypt opened direct diplomatic relations, addressing the Arzawan king [[Tarhuntaradu]] as "great king", a title reserved for peers. However, the kingdom was fully subjugated by [[Mursili II]] around 1300 BC.

== Geography ==

The Kingdom of Arzawa was located in Western Anatolia. Its capital was a coastal city called Apasa, which is believed to have been [[Ayasuluk Hill]] at the site of later [[Ephesus]]. The hill appears to have been fortified during the [[Late Bronze Age]] and contemporary graves suggest that it was a locally important center, though much of the potential ruins are obscured by the later [[Basilica of St. John]].<ref name=steadman-bryce24 /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Beckman|first1=Gary|last2=Bryce|first2=Trevor|last3=Cline|first3=Eric|year=2012 |title=The Ahhiyawa Texts|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|page=46|isbn=978-1589832688}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The West: Archaeology |encyclopedia=Hittite Landscape and Geography |year=2017 |last= Günel |first= Sevinç |pages=119–133 |editor-last1=Weeden |editor-first1=Mark |editor-last2=Ullmann |editor-first2=Lee |publisher=Brill| doi=10.1163/9789004349391_014|isbn=978-90-04-34939-1 }}</ref>

In Hittite texts, the term "Arzawa" is also used more broadly to refer to a group of kingdoms including Arzawa itself. Thus, modern-day scholars sometimes use the terms "Arzawa Minor" or "Arzawa Proper" to designate the main kingdom.<ref name="AT46-47">{{cite book |last1=Beckman|first1=Gary|last2=Bryce|first2=Trevor|last3=Cline|first3=Eric|year=2012 |title=The Ahhiyawa Texts|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|pages=46–47|isbn=978-1589832688}}</ref><ref name=steadman-bryce24/> The other "Arzawa Lands" included [[Mira (kingdom)|Mira]], [[Hapalla]], [[Seha River Land|Seha]], and in later periods [[Wilusa]] as well. At times, the Arzawa Lands appear to have banded together as a loose military confederation, which may have been led by the Kingdom of Arzawa itself. However, they were never fully united as a single kingdom, and did not always operate in solidarity with one another.<ref name=steadman-bryce24/>

== History ==

The zenith of the kingdom was during the 15th and 14th centuries BC. The Hittites were then weakened, and Arzawa was an ally of Egypt.

=== Early history ===

Around 1650 BC, the Hittite [[Hittite Old Kingdom|old kingdom]] ruler [[Hattusili I]] raided Arzawan territory. Documents regarding this incident provide the earliest known mention of Arzawa, which in this era was spelled as ''Arzawiya''. Around 1550 BC, the Arzawans joined a broader uprising against the Hittite king [[Ammuna]]. However, they were subjugated by [[Tudhaliya I/II]] around 1400 BC, concurrently with the [[Assuwa|Assuwa Revolt]].<ref name=steadman-bryce24>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bryce |first=Trevor |year=2011 |editor-last1=Steadman |editor-first1=Sharon | editor-last2=McMahon | editor-first2=Gregory |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia |title=The Late Bronze Age in the West and the Aegean |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195376142.013.0015}}</ref>

A Hittite text known as the ''Indictment of Madduwatta'' discusses the exploits of an Anatolian warlord named [[Madduwatta]] in and around Arzawa during Tudhaliya's reign. The document recounts that Madduwatta launched multiple unsuccessful attacks on Arzawa before seeking a marriage alliance with the Arzawan king [[Kupanta-Kurunta (king of Arzawa)|Kupanta-Kurunta]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beckman|first1=Gary|last2=Bryce|first2=Trevor|last3=Cline|first3=Eric|year=2012 |title=The Ahhiyawa Texts|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|page=98|isbn=978-1589832688}}</ref> Maduwatta then allied with a certain [[Attarsiya]], the man of [[Ahhiyawa]]; the latter country being widely accepted as [[Mycenaean Greece]] or part of it.<ref>Beckman, Gary; Bryce, Trevor; Cline, Eric, 2012: 69, 99</ref> In general during the period 1400-1190 BC Hittite records mention that the populations of Arzawa and Ahhiyawa were in close contact.<ref>Kelder, 2003–2004: 66</ref>

=== Zenith ===

Around 1370 BC, during the reign of [[Tudhaliya II|Tudhaliya III]], Arzawa conquered a large portion of Western Anatolia. Their army swept across the ''Lower Land'', into territories that the Hittites had never lost before, reaching as far as the border as the Hittite homeland.<ref name=steadman-bryce24/><ref name=Beal-2011-Steadman-McMahon>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Beal |first=Richard |year=2011 |editor-last1= Steadman |editor-first1=Sharon | editor-last2=McMahon | editor-first2= Gregory |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia |title=Hittite Anatolia: A Political History |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195376142.013.0026|page=594}}</ref>

In response, the Egyptian pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]] opened diplomatic relations with the Arzawan king [[Tarhundaradu]], proposing a marriage alliance. In his letter, the pharaoh refers to the Hittite Empire as paralyzed, suggesting that he expected Arzawa to replace it as the major regional power. This correspondence had to be carried out in Hittite, since the Arzawan court did not have scribes capable of writing [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], the contemporary [[lingua franca]] for international diplomacy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoffner|first1=Harry|year=2009 |title=Letters from the Hittite Kingdom|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|pages=269–275|isbn=978-1589832121}}</ref><ref name=steadman-bryce24/><ref name=Beal-2011-Steadman-McMahon/>

Arzawa never achieved political or military supremacy over Anatolia. The territory they had seized was soon recaptured by the Hittite prince [[Šuppiluliuma I]]. After coming to the throne around 1350 BC, Šuppiluliuma continued to campaign against Arzawa, even installing pro-Hittite rulers in former Arzawan vassal states such as [[Mira (kingdom)|Mira]].<ref name=steadman-bryce24/><ref name=Beal-2011-Steadman-McMahon/>

=== Revolt and fragmentation ===

The Arzawa lands were fully subjugated by the Hittites around 1300 BC, after an unsuccessful rebellion. When [[Mursili II]] ascended to the Hittite throne, much of Anatolia erupted into rebellion. At this time, [[Uhha-Ziti]] ruled Arzawa Minor, the epicenter of the broader Arzawa confederation. Uhha-Ziti provoked the new Hittite king by providing sanctuary to anti-Hittite rebels and refusing to extradite them. In doing so, he was supported by [[Manapa-Tarhunta]] of the Arzawan [[Seha River Land]] as well as by the king of [[Ahhiyawa]]. However, he was also opposed by King Mashuiluwa of [[Mira]], one of the other Arzawan kingdoms.<ref name="The Ahhiyawa Texts">{{cite book |last1=Beckman|first1=Gary|last2=Bryce|first2=Trevor|last3=Cline|first3=Eric|year=2012 |title=The Ahhiyawa Texts|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|pages=45–47|isbn=978-1589832688}}</ref><ref name=Bryce-2005>{{cite book |author=Bryce, T. |author-link=Trevor Bryce |year=2005 |title=The Trojans and their Neighbours |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages=77|isbn=978-0-415-34959-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kelder |first=Jorrit |year=2004–2005 |title=Mycenaeans in Western Anatolia |url=https://www.talanta.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TAL-36-37-2004-2005-pag-49-88-kelder.pdf |journal=Talanta: Proceedings of the Dutch Archaeological and Historical Society |volume=XXXVI-XXXVII |page=66}}</ref>

The Hittites responded with full military force. The ''Annals of Mursili'' claim that Uhha-Ziti was incapacitated after being struck by lightning and that his capital city of [[Apasa]] fell after a short siege. Uhha-Ziti and his family fled to Ahhiyawa ([[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]])-controlled islands in the Aegean, while local populations faced further sieges and deportations. Uhha-Zitti died shortly afterwards in exile, and his son Tapalazunawali failed to regain control of the kingdom.<ref name="The Ahhiyawa Texts"/><ref name=Bryce-2005/> As for the deportees around 6,200 of them comprised the royal share who ended up serving the Hittite king.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strauss |first1=Barry |title=The Trojan War: A New History |date=21 August 2007 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-6442-6 |page=142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFYrk7VXOtMC |language=en}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the Arzawa defeat the nearby settlement of [[Miletus]] (Millawanda in Hittite records) 
was affected and probably burnt by the Hittites due to previous Mycenaean involvement in support of the Arzawan side. Nevertheless Mycenaeans retained control of Miletus.<ref>Kelder, 2003–2004: 66-67</ref>

Hittite records also mention [[Piyama-Radu]] a local warlord who was active in Arzawa and fled to Mycenaean controlled territory that time. <ref>{{cite book |last1=Matthews |first1=Roger |last2=Roemer |first2=Cornelia |title=Ancient Perspectives on Egypt |date=16 September 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-43491-9 |page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7AYDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT128 |language=en}}</ref> It is not clear if the Arzawan pockets of resistance were overcome by Hittite forces.<ref>Kelder, 2003–2004: 67</ref>

== Society ==

The Arzawa Lands were unusual in Western Anatolia for having a [[state (polity)|state]]-level society, being ruled by kings who conducted formal relations with one another and with foreign powers. By contrast, other nearby groups such as the [[Lukka]], [[Karkiya]], and Masa, were [[stateless society|stateless societies]] ruled by councils of elders, and thus had more informal relations with outsiders.<ref name=steadman-bryce24/>

The languages spoken in Arzawa cannot be directly determined due to the paucity of written sources. The primary languages are believed to have been from the [[Anatolian language|Anatolian family]], and in particular from the [[Anatolian languages#Luwic branch|Luwic subgroup]]. Some scholars such as Ilya Yakubovich argue that Arzawa was predominantly inhabited by speakers of Proto-[[Lydian language|Lydian]] and Proto-[[Carian language|Carian]]. Others such as Trevor Bryce regard it as [[Luwian]]-speaking.<ref name=steadman-bryce24/><ref>Yakubovich 2010, pp. 107-11</ref>

In its final century of independence, Arzawan culture was influenced by the culture of Mycenaean Greece, which was beginning to expand into Western Anatolia. For instance, Mycenaean-style pottery and architecture are both evidenced at Apasa, which may have even had a Mycenaean cult center at the site of the later [[Temple of Artemis]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kelder |first=Jorrit |year=2004–2005 |title=Mycenaeans in Western Anatolia |url=https://www.talanta.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TAL-36-37-2004-2005-pag-49-88-kelder.pdf |journal=Talanta: Proceedings of the Dutch Archaeological and Historical Society |volume=XXXVI-XXXVII |page= 59,66}}</ref>

== Amarna letters ==

The [[Amarna letters]] include a pair of letters between the Arzawan ruler [[Tarhundaradu]] and the [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]ian [[Pharaoh]] [[Amenhotep III]]. One letter, known to modern scholars as EA 31, was sent from the pharaoh to Arzawa; the other, known as EA 32, contains the Arzawan king's reply. While most of the Amarna letters were written in the [[Akkadian language]], these letters were written in [[Hittite language|Hittite]]. The Egyptian letter EA 31 was written by a scribe not fully proficient in Hittite, and contains significant grammatical errors.<ref name=steadman-beckman>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Beckman |first=Gary |year=2011 |editor-last1=Steadman |editor-first1=Sharon | editor-last2=McMahon | editor-first2=Gregory |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia |title=The Hittite Language |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195376142.013.0022|hdl=2027.42/86652 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

When these letters were excavated in the 1880s, they were the first Hittite texts to be discovered. Because they were written in the already-deciphered [[Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform|Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform script]], scholars were able to pronounce the words, and could often make inferences about their meanings based on the letters' formulaic rhetorical style and use of [[sumerogram]]s. Based on these inferences, the scholar [[Jorgen A. Knudtzon]] proposed that the language was from the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European family]]. This hypothesis proved correct after thousands more tablets were discovered at [[Hattusa]].<ref name=steadman-beckman />

The letters have also proved relevant in debates about Arzawan geography. While the general consensus suggests that Arzawa's capital was at [[Ephesos]], chemical analyses suggest that EA 32 was written on clay from far to the north, near [[Cyme (Aeolis)|Kyme]] in the region later known as the [[Aeolis]].<ref>Max Gander (2014), [https://books.openedition.org/ifeagd/3522?lang=en An Alternative View on the Location of Arzawa.]  Hittitology today: Studies on Hittite and Neo-Hittite Anatolia in Honor of Emmanuel Laroche’s 100th Birthday. Alice Mouton, ed. p. 163-190</ref><ref>Kerschner, M., “On the Provenance of Aiolian Pottery”, in: Naukratis: Greek Diversity in Egypt. Studies on East Greek Pottery and Exchange in the Eastern Mediterranean (The British Museum Research Publication 162), Villing, A. / Schlotzhauer, U. (éds.). British Museum Company, Londres, 2006, 109-126. p.115</ref>

==Kings of Arzawa==
[[File:NejdetDuzen KarabelHittiteLuwianMonumentCarvedinRockKemalpasaTurkey.jpg|thumb|right|245px|The inscription of the Karabel rock-carved prince-warrior monument in [[Mount Nif]] was read as attributing it to ''"Tarkasnawa, King of Mira"'', a part of the Kingdom of Arzawa.]]

*[[Kupanta-Kurunta (king of Arzawa)|Kupanta-Kurunta]] c.1440s BC
*[[Tarhundaradu]] c.1370s BC
*[[Tarkasnawa]], king of Mira, c.1320s BC
*[[Uhha-Ziti]] - last ruler c. 1320-1300 BC

==See also==
{{Portal|Asia}}
*[[Ancient regions of Anatolia]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{refbegin}}
*[http://www.asor.org/HITTITE/CTHHP.html Catalog of Hittite Texts]
{{refend}}

{{History of Anatolia|state=expanded}}
{{Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia}}
{{coord missing|Turkey}}

[[Category:Arzawa| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 15th century BC]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 12th century BC]]
[[Category:Hittites]]
[[Category:Lydia]]
[[Category:Amarna letters locations]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Anatolia]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]