The Anatolian Interests of the Middle Assyrian Kings / Orta Assur Krallarının Anadolu’daki Çıkarları, K. Köroglu - S. Adali (eds. / Hz.), The Assyrians. Kingdom of the God Aššur from Tigris to Taurus / Assurlular. Dicle’den Toroslar’a Tanrı Assur’un Krallığı, Istanbul 2018, 108-125 (original) (raw)
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Flanking the western and northwestern boundaries of the territorial nucleus of Assyria, the Khabur Triangle in northeastern Syria and the Upper Tigris River Valley in southeastern Turkey represented areas of great value for the Assyrians, and were targeted in the expansion that took place in the Late Bronze Age. These territories were part of the area known as Hanigalbat in Assyrian sources, and constituted the heartland of the Mittani kingdom. To understand the nature and meaning of the Assyrian impact, as well as the ways in which territorial and hegemonic control was exercised over the subjugated lands, we need to analyse changes in settlement systems and material culture. In previous articles. The aim of the paper is to highlight what archaeological evidence may tell us about the rise of Assyrian power in the territories beyond the steppes.
KOUSBAD, 2017
During the first half of the Iron Age (ca.1000-620 BC), south-east and east Turkey witnessed the expansion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in a number of regions. The initial interest of the Assyrians in some regions of Turkey was political. It was to regain the lost territories once under the rule of their Middle Assyrian predecessors. Through time, Turkey’s strategic position, economic potential, rich mineral and natural sources, and its fertile lands drew the attention of the Neo-Assyrian kings. In order to obtain these resources and the strategic advantage, these regions of Turkey must have been brought under control. The Neo-Assyrian kings carried out military campaigns and political offensives against contemporary local political powers primarily against the Neo-Hittite and the Aramaean states in the west, and the Kingdom of Urartu. Indeed, the expansion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire is evident in the Upper Tigris, Euphrates regions, Cilicia, and the eastern highlands. The Neo-Assyrian kings’ perspective on these regions seems to have evolved from notions associated with the heritage of the Middle Assyrian kingdom; however, this became an imperialistic and expansionistic outlook. Thus, in time, these preliminary peripheral regions became the provinces of the NeoAssyrian Empire.
This book presents a revised model of the historical geography of Anatolia during the Old Assyrian Colony Period (c. 1969-1715 BC) based on topographical, archaeological and written records. It challenges traditional views of Anatolian geography by using arguments based on logistics, infrastructure and the organisation of trade, and suggests a new interpretation focussed on central markets, fluctuating prices and interlocking regional systems of exchange. The historical implications of this revised geography for Old Assyrian and early Hittite history and Bronze Age archaeology are also extensively discussed. The book contains translations and discussions of passages from hundreds of published and unpublished Old Assyrian texts and provides a comprehensive inventory of Anatolian toponyms, accompanied by numerous photographs and maps.