Kingdom of Mira | |
|---|---|
| 1330 BCE–late 13th Century BCE | |
 Location of Mira and neighbouring states | |
| Status | Vassal state of theHittite Empire |
| Government | Kingdom |
| King of Mira | |
• ca. 1330 BCE–1300 BCE | Mašḫuiluwa |
• After 1220s BCE–? | Mašḫuitta |
| Historical era | Bronze Age |
• Established | 1330 BCE |
• Disestablished | late 13th Century BCE |
| Today part of | Aegean Region,Turkey |
Mira (ca. 1330–1190 BC), in theLate Bronze Age, was one of the semi-autonomousvassal state kingdoms that emerged in western Anatolia (Asia Minor) following the defeat and partition of the larger kingdom ofArzawa by the victoriousSuppiluliuma I of theHittite Empire. A significantly smaller Arzawa continued, centered on Apasa (Ephesus), with Mira to the east.
According to the current understanding, Mira's northern border with theSeha River Land was marked by theKarabel relief. This was first proposed in 1975 byHans Gustav Güterbock and confirmed byJohn David Hawkins decipherment of the inscription on the relief in 1998.[1] The southern border with theLukka lands was probably atMilas, while the eastern border withHapalla and the Hittite kingdom may have been somewhere aroundAfyon.[2] Borders with other territories, like Pitašša, Maša, and the kingdom of Arzawa are only attested in limited time periods. Mira was the closest of the Arzawa lands to the Hittite kingdom.[3]
The earliest reference to Mira is connected to the Arzawa campaign of the Hittite Great KingŠuppiluliuma I in the 14th century BC, but it is unclear whether Mira was one of the opponents of the Great King, or what its relationship to Arzawa was. Šuppiluliuma's daughter,Muwatti was married toMašḫuiluwa, who came from the Arzawa lands. After the successful conclusion of the Arzawa campaign by Šuppiluliuma's son and successorMuršili II, Mašḫuiluwa was installed in Mira as a vassal ruler and granted 600 men as a personal guard. How much of the area of the former Arzawa lands were encompassed by Mira is not clear.[3] It is probable that Mira extended to theAegean coast and had its capital at Apaša (probablyEphesus).[4] Soon after, Mašḫuiluwa was convicted of perjury, stirred up the land of Pitašša against the Hittites, and fled to the land of Maša. Muršili II threatened to invade Maša and thus Mašḫuiluwa was handed over to him, whereupon he was deported toHattusa. By agreement with 'the Great men' of Mira, Mašḫuiluwa's successor was his nephew and adopted son,Kupanta-Runtiya.[5]
During the reign ofḪattušili III in the 13th century BC, there seem to have been disagreements between the Hittites and the king of Mira (probably Kupanta-Runtiya), because of the latter's support forUrḫi-Teššup, whom Ḫattušili had ousted. Whether this led to war between Mira and the Hittites is not clear. The last known reference to Mira is in the treaty ofTudḫaliya IV with his cousin or uncleKurunta ofTarḫuntašša, late in the 13th century BC, in which a king of Mira with the name of Alantalli is named as a witness to the treaty.[3]
In theSuratkaya inscription, a 'Great prince' Kupantakurunta is named,[dubious –discuss] who is most likely the son of Mašḫuiluwa. The reference to Mira in the inscription is an indication that the land extended at least to the eastern part of theBeşparmak Mountains.
Mira is mentioned in around twenty, mostly fragmentary,cuneiform tablets found atBoğazkale (Ḫattuša) from the 14th and 13th centuries BC. In the Karabel relief, a king of Mira namedTarkasnawa is depicted. TheHieroglyphic Luwian inscription on the relief reads:
Tarkasnawa, King [of the land of] Mira
[son of] Alantalli, King of the land of Mira
grandson of ...., King of the land Mira[2]
The name Tarkasnawa also appears on a silver seal and in seal impressions from Hattusa, where the name was previously read as Tarkondemos.