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{{Short description|Late Bronze Age confederation in Asia Minor}}
{{redirect|Haysa|the village in Lebanon with the same transliteration|Hisah}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Semiprotected|small=yes}}
{{History of Armenia|expanded=age1|BC=1}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
'''Hayasa-Azzi''' or '''Azzi-Hayasa''' ({{langx|hit|<sup>URU</sup>Ḫaiaša-}}, {{langx|hy|[[wikt:Հայասա|Հայասա]]}}) was a [[Late Bronze Age]] confederation in the [[Armenian Highlands]] and/or [[Pontic Mountains|Pontic region]] of [[Asia Minor]]. The Hayasa-Azzi confederation was in conflict with the [[Hittite Empire]] in the 14th century BCE, leading up to the [[Bronze Age collapse|collapse of Hatti]] around 1190&nbsp;BCE. It has long been thought that Hayasa-Azzi may have played a significant role in the ethnogenesis of [[Armenians]].<ref name=Petrosyan2007>{{cite journal|first=Armen|last=Petrosyan|title=The Problem Of Identification Of The Proto-Armenians: A Critical Review|journal=Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies|volume=16|year=2007|page=43|url=https://www.academia.edu/3657764}}</ref>

==Location==

[[Hittites|Hittite]] inscriptions deciphered in the 1920s by the [[Swiss people|Swiss]] scholar [[Emil Forrer]] testify to the existence of the mountainous country, Hayasa-Azzi, lying to the east of [[Hatti (land of the Hittites)|Hatti]] in the [[Euphrates|Upper Euphrates]] region. Its western border seems to have alternated between [[Samuha]] (probably just west of modern [[Sivas]]) and [[Kummaha]] (likely modern [[Kemah, Erzincan]]).<ref name=Kosyan2015>{{cite conference|first=Aram|last=Kosyan|title=Between the Euphrates and Lake Van (On the Location of Hayasa and Azzi)|conference=International Symposium on East Anatolia-South Caucasus Cultures|year=2015|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|url=https://www.academia.edu/41716577}}</ref> These areas later geographically overlapped, at least partially, with the [[Upper Armenia]]<ref name="Matiossian2009">{{cite book |last=Matiossian |first=Vartan |title=Armenian Pontus: The Trebizond-Black Sea Communities |publisher=Mazda Publishing |year=2009 |editor-last=Hovannisian |editor-first=Richard G. |series=UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series |location=Costa Mesa, California |page=75 |chapter=Azzi-Hayasa on the Black Sea? Another Puzzle of Armenian Origins}}</ref> province of the later [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]] and the neighboring region of [[Lesser Armenia]].<ref name=Petrosyan2007/>

Hayasa-Azzi seems to have been bordered by [[Isuwa]] (later known as [[Sophene]], now known as [[Elazig Province|Elazig]]) and [[Pahhuwa]] (perhaps near modern [[Divriği]] or [[Bingol Province]]) to the south or the west.<ref name=Kosyan2015/><ref name=Matiossian2009/> The eastern extent of Hayasa-Azzi is unknown, although some have placed it in the area of modern [[Tercan]],<ref name="Forlanini 2013">{{Cite journal |last=Forlanini |first=Massimo |date=2017-01-01 |title=The Ancient Land of &quot;Northern&quot; Kummaha and Aripsa &quot;inside the Sea&quot; |url=https://www.academia.edu/44937753/The_Ancient_Land_of_Northern_Kummaha_and_Aripsa_inside_the_Sea_ |journal=Places and Spaces in Hittite Anatolia I: Hatti and the East}}</ref> or as far east as [[Lake Van]]<ref name=Kosyan2015/><ref name="Ghazaryan">{{cite journal |last=Ghazaryan |first=Robert P. |year=2015 |title=The Development of Armenian Statehood: Kingdom of Hayasa (XIV–XIII centuries BC) |url=https://fundamentalarmenology.am/datas/pdfs/87.pdf |journal=Fundamental Armenology |volume=1}}</ref> or the [[Ararat Plain]].<ref>Serkan Demirel, "A Contribution to Localization of Azzi-Hayaša Mentioned in Hittite Cuneiform Texts." ''Archivum Anatolicum-Anadolu Arşivleri (ArAn)''. 2017. pp. 97–110|url=https://www.academia.edu/38267672/A_Contribution_to_Localization_of_Azzi_Hayaša_Mentioned_in_Hittite_Cuneiform_Texts</ref> 

The name Hayasa might possibly be connected to the {{Transliteration|xur|Iya(ni)}}/{{Transliteration|xur|Iga(ni)}} of Urartian texts.<ref name="Armen Petrosyan 2018, pp. 151">{{cite book | first=Armen | last=Petrosyan | title=The Problem of Armenian Origins: Myth, History, Hypotheses (JIES Monograph Series No 66) | location=Washington DC | year=2018 | pages=151–154}}</ref> Both Hayasa and {{Transliteration|xur|Iya(ni)}}/{{Transliteration|xur|Iga(ni)}} have been connected to the Aia of Greek mythology.<ref name="Armen Petrosyan 2018, pp. 151"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gordeziani |first=Levan |date=2019-01-01 |title=Some Remarks on Qulḫa |url=https://www.academia.edu/50125245/Some_Remarks_on_Qulh_a |journal=Over the Mountains and Far Away. Studies presented to Mirjo Salvini}}</ref> Alternately, another theory proposes a connection to the {{Transliteration|xur|Huša(ni)}}, mentioned by the [[Urartu|Urartian]] kings [[Argishti I of Urartu|Argishti I]] and [[Sarduri II]] in the 8th century BCE.<ref name="Forlanini 2013"/> {{Transliteration|xur|Iya(ni)}}/{{Transliteration|xur|Iga(ni)}} and Husa(ni) were both probably located in modern [[Ardahan Province]] of [[Turkey]].

It is possible that the name Azzi survived into the [[Classical antiquity|Classical era]] as Aza, a city located in the [[Kelkit River]] Valley.<ref name="Forlanini 2013"/> Alternately, a form of the name Azzi may have continued into the 17th century CE as Azntsik, a district of Ani-Kammahk (Kemah) in Upper Armenia.<ref name=Matiossian2009/>

Azzi is not to be confused with the similarly named [[Arzanene|Alzi (Alshe)]], which was located further south.

==Political structure==
The exact nature of Hayasa's and Azzi's relationship is uncertain. They are generally thought to have been a confederation of two different kingdoms in what is now northeastern Turkey: Hayasa, in the north, and Azzi, in the south. While separate entities, the two lands were politically and probably linguistically connected.<ref name=Kosyan2015/> However, there are alternate theories regarding the nature of their relationship. Some have suggested that Azzi was a region or district of Hayasa or that Hayasa and Azzi were different names for the same location.<ref name=Diakonoff1968>{{cite web|first=Igor M.|last=Diakonoff|title=The Pre-history of the Armenian People|year=1968|url=http://www.attalus.org/armenian/diakph4.htm|accessdate=1 June 2021}}</ref> [[Vartan Matiossian]] argues that ''Hayasa'' was an [[ethnonym]] while ''Azzi'' was the polity or land in which the Hayasans lived.<ref name=Matiossian2009/> According to [[Massimo Forlanini]], ''Hayasa'' and ''Azzi'' may have denoted the same polity, with the name having switched from Hayasa to Azzi following the establishment of a new ruling dynasty or capital.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Forlanini |first=Massimo |date=2017-01-01 |title=The Ancient Land of &quot;Northern&quot; Kummaha and Aripsa &quot;inside the Sea&quot; |url=https://www.academia.edu/44937753/The_Ancient_Land_of_Northern_Kummaha_and_Aripsa_inside_the_Sea_ |journal=Places and Spaces in Hittite Anatolia I: Hatti and the East}}</ref>

The Hittite king [[Suppiluliuma I]]'s treaty with Hakkani of Hayasa addresses "the people of Hayasa." According to [[Igor Diakonoff]], this likely suggests that the Hayasans had a peoples' assembly or council of elders.<ref name=Diakonoff1968/><ref name=Ghazaryan/> Similarly, [[Mursili II]] later conducted negotiations with "the elders" of Azzi.<ref name=Diakonoff1968/> The nearby land of Pahhuwa may have had a similar governing council.<ref name=Diakonoff1968/>

A possible alternate interpretation of these treaties is that these councils consisted of the chieftains of the various tribes who made up the Hayasa-Azzi confederation.<ref name=Diakonoff1968/>

Although frequently at odds with Hatti, Hittite texts mention that the Hayasans served as charioteers in the Hittite army.<ref name=Diakonoff1968/>

The capital of Hayasa-Azzi is unknown, but its main fortress was Ura, possibly located somewhere near modern [[Bayburt]] or along the [[Kelkit River]].<ref name=Matiossian2009/> Another fortress, Aripsa, may have been located on the shore of Lake Van.<ref>Kosyan, Aram (2015). Between the Euphrates and Lake Van (On the Location of Hayasa and Azzi). International Symposium on East Anatolia-South Caucasus Cultures. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.</ref><ref>Robert Ghazaryan. "The Importance Of The Hittite Sources Of The Period of Mursili II For Ancient History Of Armenia." ''Fundamental Armenology''. 2016. https://fundamentalarmenology.am/datas/pdfs/297.pdf</ref><ref>Serkan Demirel, "A Contribution to Localization of Azzi-Hayaša Mentioned in Hittite Cuneiform Texts." Archivum Anatolicum-Anadolu Arşivleri (ArAn). 2017. pp. 97-110. https://www.academia.edu/38267672/A_Contribution_to_Localization_of_Azzi_Hayaša_Mentioned_in_Hittite_Cuneiform_Texts</ref>

==Early history==
[[File:Archaeological Museum of Erzurum Trans-Caucasian culture object 8426.jpg|thumb|upright|Ceramic vase found near Erzurum, c. 2000 BCE]]

All information about Hayasa-Azzi comes from the Hittites, there are no primary sources from Hayasa-Azzi. As such, the early history of Hayasa-Azzi is unknown. According to historian Aram Kosyan, it is possible that the origins of Hayasa-Azzi lie in the [[Trialeti-Vanadzor culture]], which expanded from [[Transcaucasia]] toward northeastern modern Turkey in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE.<ref name="Kosyan2014">{{cite book |last=Kosyan |first=Aram |title=Essays in Honour of Veli Sevin |publisher=Yayinlari |year=2014 |editor-last=Özfırat |editor-first=Aynur |page=279 |chapter=To the East of Hatti |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/7779387}}</ref> The Trialeti-Vanadzor-connected site of Sos Höyük IV, located in the Erzurum region, may have been associated with Hayasa-Azzi.<ref>Serkan Demirel, "A Contribution to Localization of Azzi-Hayaša Mentioned in Hittite Cuneiform Texts." Archivum Anatolicum-Anadolu Arşivleri (ArAn). 2017. pp. 97-110. https://www.academia.edu/38267672/A_Contribution_to_Localization_of_Azzi_Hayaša_Mentioned_in_Hittite_Cuneiform_Texts</ref>

==Tudhaliya III and Suppiluliuma I (1360s–1320s BCE)==
The Hittite king [[Tudhaliya III]] chose to make the city of Samuha, "an important cult centre located on the upper course of the [[Marassantiya]] river"<ref name="Bryce">{{cite book |last=Bryce |first=Trevor R. |title=The Kingdom of the Hittites |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=9780199240104 |author-link=Trevor R. Bryce}} It should be stressed that Bryce's Tudhaliya III is equivalent to Wikipedia's [[Tudhaliya II]]. There is some disagreement among Hittitologists over the precise number of kings named Tudhaliya.</ref>{{rp|160}} as a temporary home for the Hittite royal court sometime after his abandonment of [[Hattusa]] in the face of attacks against his kingdom by the [[Kaskians|Kaska]], Hayasa-Azzi and other enemies of his state. Samuha was, however, temporarily seized by forces from the country of Azzi.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|160}} At this time, the kingdom of Hatti was so besieged by fierce attacks from its enemies that many neighbouring powers expected it to soon collapse. The Egyptian pharaoh, [[Amenhotep III]], even wrote to Tarhundaradu, king of Arzawa: "I have heard that everything is finished and that the country of Hattusa is paralysed" (EA 31, 26–27).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moran |first=William S. |title=The Amarna Letters |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8018-4251-1 |location=Baltimore |pages=191 |author-link=William L. Moran}}</ref> However, Tudhaliya managed to rally his forces; indeed, the speed and determination of the Hittite king may have surprised Hatti's enemies including the Kaska and Hayasa-Azzi.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|160–162}} Tudhaliya sent his general Suppiluliuma, who would later serve as king himself under the title [[Suppiluliuma I]], to Hatti's northeastern frontiers, to defeat Hayasa-Azzi. The Hayasans initially retreated from a direct battle with the Hittite commander. The [[Hittitologist]] [[Trevor R. Bryce]] notes, however, that Tudhaliya and Suppiluliuma eventually:

{{blockquote|invaded Hayasa-Azzi and forced a showdown with its king Karanni (or Lanni) near the city of Kumaha. The passage (in the 'Deeds of Suppiluliuma') recording the outcome of this battle is missing. But almost certainly, the Hittite campaign resulted in the conquest of Hayasa-Azzi, for subsequently Suppiluliuma established it as a Hittite vassal state, drawing up a treaty with Hakkana, its current ruler.<ref>[[Hittite texts|CTH]] 42</ref><ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|162–163}}}}

The Hayasans were now obliged to repatriate all captured Hittite subjects and cede "the border [territory] which Suppiluliuma claimed belonged to the Land of Hatti."<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|163}} Despite the restrictions imposed upon Hakkani, he was not a completely meek and submissive brother-in law of the Hittites in political and military affairs. As a condition for the release of the thousands of Hittite prisoners held in his domain, he demanded first the return of the Hayasan prisoners confined in Hatti.

During their reigns, the cuneiform tablets of [[Boğazkale|Boğazköy]] begin to mention the names of three successive kings who ruled over a state of Hayasa and/or Azzi. They were Karanni (or Lanni), Mariya, and Hakkani (or Hukkana). Hakkani married a Hittite princess. When Suppiluliuma had become king himself, Hakkani proceeded to marry Suppiluliuma's sister.

In a treaty signed with Hakkani, Suppiluliuma I mentions a series of obligations of civil right:
{{blockquote|My sister, whom I gave you in marriage has sisters; through your marriage, they now become your relatives. Well, there is a law in the land of the Hatti. Do not approach sisters, your sisters-in law or your cousins; that is not permitted. In Hatti Land, whosoever commits such an act does not live; he dies. In your country, you do not hesitate to marry your own sister, sister-in law or cousin, because you are not civilized. Such an act cannot be permitted in Hatti.}}

==Mursili II (1320s–1290s BCE)==

[[File:Sivas Museum 05.jpg|thumb|upright|Hittite-era statues found near Sivas, ca. 1600–1200 BCE]]

The kingdom of Hayasa-Azzi remained a loyal Hittite vassal state for a time, perhaps hit by the same plague which claimed Suppiluliuma and his son [[Arnuwanda II]]. But, in Mursili's seventh year (three years before [[Mursili's eclipse]] – so, 1315 BCE), the "lord of Azzi" Anniya took advantage of Pihhuniya's unification of the [[Kaskians|Kaskas]] and raided the Land of Dankuwa, a Hittite border region, where he transported its population back to his kingdom.

Cavaignac wrote of that period that Anniya "had sacked several districts and refused to release the prisoners taken." Anniya's rebellion soon prompted a Hittite response. The Hittite King [[Mursili II]], having defeated Pihhuniya, marched to the borders of Hayasa-Azzi where he demanded Anniya return his captured subjects.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|219}} When Anniya refused, Mursili immediately attacked the Hayasa's border fortress of Ura.<ref>AM 86–87{{full citation needed|date=June 2021}}</ref> In the following spring, he crossed the Euphrates and re-organized his army at Ingalova which, about ten centuries later, was to become the treasure-house and burial-place of the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenian]] kings of the [[Arshakuni Dynasty]].

Despite Mursili's Year 7 and probable Year 8 campaigns against Hayasa-Azzi, Anniya was still unsubdued and continued to defy the Hittite king's demands to return his people at the beginning of Mursili's Ninth year.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|219}} Then, in the latter's Year 9, Anniya launched a major counter-offensive by once again invading the Upper Land region on the Northeast frontier of Hatti, destroying the Land of Istitina and placing the city of Kannuwara under siege.<ref>AM 110-11{{full citation needed|date=June 2021}}</ref> Worse still, Mursili II was forced to face another crisis in the same year with the death of his brother Sarri-Kusuh, the Hittite viceroy of Syria. This prompted a revolt by the [[Nuhašše]] lands against Hittite control.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|220}} Mursili II took decisive action by dispatching his general Kurunta to quell the Syrian rebellion while he sent another general, the able Nuwanza (or Nuvanza) to expel the Hayasa-Azzi enemy from the Upper Land. After consulting some oracles, the king ordered Nuwanza to seize the Upper Land territory from the Hayasan forces. This Nuwanza did by inflicting a resounding defeat against the Hayasa-Azzi invaders at the [[Battle of Ganuvara]]; henceforth, Upper Land would remain "firmly in Hittite hands for the rest of Mursili's reign under the immediate authority of a local governor appointed by the king."<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|221}} While Mursili II would invade and reconquer Hayasa-Azzi in his tenth year,<ref>AM 130–133{{full citation needed|date=June 2021}}</ref> its formal submission did not occur until the following year of the Hittite king's reign.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|221}}

The Annals of Mursili describe the campaigns of Mursili against Hayasa-Azzi below:<ref>[[Hittite texts|CTH]] 61, 43, 78</ref>
{{blockquote|The people of Nahasse arose and besieged" (name indecipherable). "Other enemies and the people of Hayasa likewise. They plundered Institina, blockaded Ganuvara with troops and chariots. And because I had left Nuvanzas, the chief cup-bearer, and all the heads of the camp and troops and chariots in the High Country, I wrote to Nuvanzas as follows; 'See the people of Hayasa have devastated Institina, and blockaded the city of Ganuvara.' And Nuvanza led troops and chariots for aid and marched to Ganuvara And then he sent to me a messenger and wrote to me; 'Will you not go to consult for me the augur and the foreteller? Could not a decision be made for me by the birds and the flesh of the expiatory victims?

And I sent to Nuvanza this letter: 'See, I consulted for you birds and flesh, and they commanded, Go! because these people of Hayasa, the God U, has already delivered to you; strike them!

And as I was returning from Astatan to [[Carchemish]], the royal prince Nana-Lu came to meet me on the road and said, 'The Hayasan enemy having besieged Ganuvara, Nuvanza marched against him and met him under the walls of Ganuvara. Ten thousand men and seven hundred chariots were drawn up in battle against him, and Nuvanza defeated them. There are many dead and many prisoners.

''(Here the tablets are defaced, and 15 lines lost.)''

And when I arrived in [[Tegarama|Tiggaramma]], the chief cup-bearer Nuvanza and all the noblemen came to meet me at Tiggaramma. I should have marched to Hayasa still, but the chiefs said to me, 'The season is now far advanced, Sire, Lord! Do not go to Hayasa.' And I did not go to Hayasa.}}

==Decline of Hayasa==
Mursili, himself, could now take satisfaction in the reduction of the hostile and aggressive kingdom of Hayasa-Azzi once more to a Hittite vassal state.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|223}}

[[File:Map Hittite rule en.svg|thumb|300px|The Hittite Empire at its greatest extent under Suppiluliuma I (c. 1350–1322 BCE), the region north of Ishuwa and Alshe is believed to have been the location of Hayasa-Azzi]]

After Anniya's defeat, Hayasa-Azzi never appears again in the Hittite (or [[Assyria]]n) records as a unified nation. Hayasa as a fighting power was practically eliminated by the expedition of Mursili II.

Azzi, however, continued to be mentioned for some time after references to Hayasa ceased. It is possible that Hayasa was destroyed by Mursili and/or that it became part of Azzi.<ref name=Kosyan2015/> Mutti, a man from the city Halimana, was mentioned as having greeted Mursili in Azzi. Nothing else is known about him, but he may have been a latter-day king of Azzi.<ref>P.M. Goedegebuure. "Reference, Deixis and Focus in Hittite. The demonstratives ka- "this", apa- "that"and asi "yon". University of Amsterdam. 2003. p. 144. https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/3448919/28669_Thesis.pdf.</ref>
{{check quotation}}
Many of the former districts and towns of Hayasa-Azzi become their own independent [[city-states]] following the breakup of the Hayasa-Azzi confederation at the end of the 13th century BCE.<ref name=Diakonoff1968/> Other regions of Azzi probably correspond to areas of the [[Nairi]]an state of [[Urartu]], mentioned in Assyrian records from around this same time.<ref>{{cite book|first=Trevor|last=Bryce|title=The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2009}}</ref>{{rp|310}}<ref name=Kosyan2011>{{cite journal|first=Aram|last=Kosyan|title=Towards the Hittite Eastern Periphery|journal=Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=VI|number=2|year=2011|pages=91–92|url=https://www.academia.edu/3712167}}</ref>

The territory of Hayasa-Azzi may have corresponded, at least partially, to [[Diauehi]] of Urartian-era texts.<ref>Massimo Forlanini. The Ancient Land of “Northern” Kummaḫa and Aripša: “Inside the Sea”. Places and Spaces in Hittite Anatolia I: Hatti and the East Proceedings of an International Workshop on Hittite Historical Geography in Istanbul, 25th-26th October 2013. Türk Eskiçağ Bilimleri Enstitüsü. p. 5. https://www.academia.edu/44937753/The_Ancient_Land_of_Northern_Kummaha_and_Aripsa_inside_the_Sea_</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first=Armen | last=Petrosyan | title=Towards the Origins of the Armenian People. The Problem of Identification of the Proto-Armenians: A Critical Review | journal=Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies | year=2007 | page=47 | url=https://www.academia.edu/3657764/Towards_the_Origins_of_the_Armenian_People_The_Problem_of_Identification_of_the_Proto_Armenians_A_Critical_Review_in_English_}}</ref><ref>Levan Gordzeiani. "Some Remarks on Qulḫa." ''Over the Mountains and Far Away:  Studies in Near Eastern history and archaeology presented to Mirjo Salvini on the occasion of his 80th birthday.'' eds.  Pavel S. Avetisyan, Roberto Dan and Yervand H. Grekyan. Archaeopress Archaeology. 2019. pp. 242–243. [https://www.academia.edu/50125245/Some_Remarks_on_Qulh_a]</ref>

==Hayasa and Armenians==
[[File:Greece and the Orient about 1250 B.C.jpg|thumb|right|Armenia(Hayasa) in XIII century B.C.]]
The similarity of the name ''Hayasa'' to the endonym of the [[Armenians]], {{Transliteration|hy|hay}}, and the Armenian name for Armenia, {{Transliteration|hy|Hayk’}} or {{Transliteration|hy|Hayastan}}, has prompted the suggestion that the Hayasa-Azzi confederation was involved in the Armenian ethnogenesis, or perhaps had been an Armenian-speaking state. ''-assa''/''-asa''  are, respectively, Hittite and [[Hieroglyphic Luwian]] genitive suffixes. Therefore, Hayasa could have been a Hittite or Luwian name meaning "land of the Hay."<ref name=Matiossian2009/> This is essentially the same meaning as modern ''{{Transliteration|hy|Hayastan}}''. Hayasa-Azzi could have been a Hittite translation of the Armenian {{Transliteration|xcl|Hayots’ azn}} or "Armenian nation".<ref name=Matiossian2009/>

''{{Transliteration|hy|Hay}}'' may derive from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] word *{{PIE|''h₂éyos''}} (or possibly *{{PIE|''áyos''}}), meaning 'metal'. According to this theory, Hayasa meant "land of metal," referring to the early metallurgy techniques developed in the region.<ref>{{cite book|last=Martirosyan|first=Hrach|title=Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon|url=https://archive.org/details/etymologicaldict00mart|url-access=limited|date=2010|publisher=Leiden: Brill|pages= [https://archive.org/details/etymologicaldict00mart/page/n395 382]–385|isbn=9789004173378 }}</ref>

While the language or languages spoken in Hayasa-Azzi are unknown, there does seem to have been a prevalent non-[[Anatolian languages|Anatolian]] Indo-European linguistic element. This language seems to have had some similarities to [[Ancient greek language|Ancient Greek]] and could have been an early Armenian dialect.<ref name=Kosyan2014/> The name of the king, Karanni, may be connected to Greek-[[Ancient Macedonian language|Macedonian]] ''[[Karanos (disambiguation)|Karanos]]''.<ref name=Petrosyan2002>{{cite book|first=Armen|last=Petrosyan|title=The Indo-European and Ancient Near Eastern Sources of the Armenian Epic|year=2002|page=154|url=https://www.academia.edu/3656244}}{{unreliable source?|date=May 2021|reason=Unpublished paper}}</ref><ref name=Kosyan2014/>

Some scholars argue that the Hayasan king name Mariya is connected to [[Sanskrit]] {{transliteration|sa|marya}}, meaning 'young man, warrior', and thus indicates a possible [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] presence (perhaps related to the Mitanni) in Hayasa-Azzi.<ref name=Petrosyan2018>{{cite journal|first=Armen|last=Petrosyan|title=Aryan Traces in the Onomastics of Hayasa|journal=Iran and the Caucasus|year=2018|volume=22 |issue=2 |page=179|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338395674|doi=10.1163/1573384X-20180207|s2cid=165481073 }}</ref> Vartan Matiossian argues instead that this name is a form of [[Classical Armenian]] {{transliteration|xcl|mari}}, also meaning 'young man'.<ref name=Matiossian>Vartan Matiossian. Mariya, Leader of the Land of Hayasa, and His Connections. Bazmavep 1-4. 1992. pp. 322–324.</ref> Both the Sanskrit and Armenian words ultimately derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root, *{{PIE|''méryos''}}.<ref>J. P. Mallory and D. Q. Adams. ''The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World''. Oxford University Press. 2006. p. 205.</ref><ref>Hrachia Acharian. ''Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran''. 2nd edition. Yerevan: University Press, 1971–1979</ref>

A few of the gods of Hayasa-Azzi recorded in treaties with the Hittites could be connected to Armenian or Greek traditions.  ''Unag-Astuas'' is likely connected, at least etymologically, to Classical Armenian {{transliteration|xcl|Astuats}} (Modern Armenian: {{transliteration|hy|Astvats}}), which means 'God' and continues to be used in Armenian today.<ref>Martiros Kavoukjian. ''Armenia, Subartu and Sumer.'' Montreal. (1987) p. 136</ref> ''Baltaik'' could be a goddess connected to West Semitic [[Baalat|Ba‘alat]] ([[Astarte]]), with a probable Armenian diminutive suffix {{transliteration|xcl|-ik}} (such as is present in the name of the Armenian goddess, [[Astłik]]).<ref name=Petrosyan2002/> Alternately, it could etymologically derive from Proto Indo-European *{{PIE|''bʰel-''}} (meaning 'bright'), via the *{{PIE|''bʰel-to''}} form.<ref>Matiossian, Vartan (2009). "Azzi-Hayasa on the Black Sea? Another Puzzle of Armenian Origins". In Hovannisian, Richard G (ed.). Armenian Pontus : the Trebizond-Black Sea communities. UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series. p. 77.</ref> Terittituniš might be connected to the [[Triton (god)|Triton]] of Greek mythology.<ref name=Kosyan2014/>

The region covered by Hayasa-Azzi would later constitute Lesser Armenia, as well as the western and south-western regions of [[Ancient Armenia]]. The main temples of many pre-Christian Armenian gods such as [[Armenian mythology|Aramadz]], [[Anahit]], [[Armenian mythology|Mher]], [[Nane (goddess)|Nane]], and [[Barsamin]] were located where Hayasa had likely been.<ref name=Petrosyan2018a>{{cite book|first1=Armen | last1=Petrosyan |title=The Problem Of Identification Of The Proto-Armenians: A Critical Review|url=https://www.academia.edu/3657764|access-date=23 November 2018|year= 2007|publisher= Society For Armenian Studies|pages=46}}</ref> The treasury and royal burials of the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia|Arsacid (Arshakuni) dynasty]] would be located in this region as well during the 1st millennium BCE.<ref>Vahan Kurkjian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/6*.html] ''A History of Armenia'' AGBU. (1958) p. 35</ref> Ani-Kammahk, probably the Kummaha of Hittite sources, was the main cultic center of the goddess [[Anahit]] and the location of the Armenian royal tombs during the [[Classical era]]. According to the prominent linguist [[Hrachia Acharian]], the name of the city Kummaha could derive from {{transliteration|xcl|kmakhk’}}, the Armenian word for 'skeleton'.<ref name=Petrosyan2002/>

Some scholars believe that Armenians were native to the Hayasa region, or perhaps moved into the Hayasa region from nearby northern or eastern regions (such as modern southern Georgia or northern Armenia).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hamp|first=Eric P.|title=The Expansion of the Indo-European Languages: An Indo-Europeanist's Evolving View|journal=Sino-Platonic Papers|date=August 2013|volume=239|pages=8, 10, 13|url=http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp239_indo_european_languages.pdf|access-date=8 February 2014}}</ref><ref name=Petrosyan2007/> A minority of historians theorize that after the possible [[Phrygians|Phrygian]] invasion of the Hittites, the hypothetically named [[Armeno-Phrygian]]s would have settled in Hayasa-Azzi, and merged with the local people, who were possibly already spread within the western regions of [[Urartu]].<ref>The Kingdom of Armenia, A History by Mack Chahin, 1987 (revised 2001), pp. 180–182. {{ISBN|0-7007-1452-9}}</ref> However, there is almost no evidence of a close Armenian-Phrygian connection.

The term ''Hayastan'' bears resemblance to the ancient [[Mesopotamian]] god Haya (''ha-ià'') and another western deity called ''[[Ebla]] Hayya'', related to the god [[Ea (Babylonian god)|Ea]] ({{transliteration|sux|Enki}} or {{transliteration|sux|Enkil}} in Sumerian, {{transliteration|akk|Ea}} in Akkadian and Babylonian).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/haya/ |title=Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses - Haya (God) |access-date=2012-07-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428122520/http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/haya/ |archive-date=2016-04-28 }}</ref> Thus, the ''[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]'' of 1962 posited that the [[Armenians]] derive from a migration of Hayasa into [[Shupria]] in the 12th century BCE.<ref>[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article071605.html Армяне], [[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]</ref> This is open to objection due to the possibility of a mere coincidental similarity between the two names.<ref>Anne Elizabeth Redgate, ''The Armenians'', Wiley-Blackwell, 2000 {{ISBN|978-0-631-22037-4}}, p. 24.</ref>

===Criticism of Armenian connection theory===

The mentioning of the name ''Armenia'' can only be securely dated to the 6th century BCE with the [[Orontid]] kings and very little is known specifically about the people of Hayasa-Azzi per se.<ref name=Bryce/>{{rp|158–163}}

Igor Diakonoff argues the pronunciation of Hayasa was probably closer to ''Khayasa'', with an aspirated ''h''. According to him, this nullifies the connection to Armenian ''Hay'' (հայ). Additionally, he argues that ''-asa'' cannot be an Anatolian language suffix as names with this suffix are absent in the Armenian Highlands.<ref name=Diakonoff1968/>

Diakonoff's criticisms have been refuted by Matiossian and others, who argue that, as Hayasa is a Hittite (or Hittite-ized) exonym applied to a foreign land, the ''-asa'' suffix can still mean "land of."<ref name=Matiossian2009/> Additionally, Khayasa can be reconciled with ''Hay'' as the Hittite ''h'' and ''kh'' phonemes are interchangeable, a feature present in certain Armenian dialects as well.<ref name=Matiossian2009/>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Asia}}
* [[Ishuwa]]
* [[Ancient regions of Anatolia]]
* [[Nairi]]
* [[Urartu]]
* [[History of the Hittites]]
* [[History of Armenia]]
* [[Indo-European languages]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Vyacheslav Ivanov (philologist)|Vyacheslav V. Ivanov]] & [[Thomas Gamkrelidze]], "The Early History of Indo-European Languages", ''Scientific American''; vol. 262, N. 3, 110–116, March 1990.

{{Armenia topics|state=collapsed}}
{{History_of Anatolia}}

[[Category:States and territories established in the 15th century BC]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 13th century BC]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Anatolia]]
[[Category:Ancient Near East]]
[[Category:Former confederations]]

[[ca:Azzi]]
[[gl:Azzi]]