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  Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Osmaniye Province, Turkey |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°17′45″N36°15′14″E / 37.29572521°N 36.25394787°E /37.29572521; 36.25394787 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Cultures | Hittite |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
Karatepe (Turkish, 'Black Hill';Hittite:Azatiwataya) is a lateHittite fortress andopen-air museum inOsmaniye Province in southernTurkey lying at a distance of about 23 km from the district center ofKadirli. It is sited in theTaurus Mountains, on the right bank of theCeyhan River. The site is contained withinKaratepe-Aslantaş National Park.
The place was an ancient city ofCilicia, which controlled a passage fromeastern Anatolia to the north Syrian plain. It became an importantNeo-Hittite center after the collapse of theHittite Empire in the late 12th century BC. Relics found here include vast historic tablets, statues and ruins, even two monumental gates with reliefs on the sills depicting hunting and warring and a boat with oars; pillars of lions and sphinxes flank the gates.
The site's eighth-century BCbilingual inscription, inPhoenician andHieroglyphic Luwian, reflects the activities of the kings ofAdana from the "house ofMopsos", given in Hieroglyphic Luwian asmu-ka-sa- (often rendered as 'Moxos') and in Phoenician as Mopsos in the formmpš. It was composed in Phoenician and then translated to Hieroglyphic Luwian.[1] This inscription has served archaeologists as aRosetta Stone for deciphering those glyphs.[2][3][4]
As we learn from the inscription, its author is Azatiwada (or Azatiwata), the ruler of the town. He was also its founder; the inscription commemorates the town's foundation. He acknowledged himself as a subordinate of Awariku, the king of Adanawa (Adana), which was the ancient kingdom ofQuwe. Azatiwataya seems to have been one of the frontier towns of Adanawa.[5][6]
Another inscription of the same type, theCinekoy inscription, was discovered more recently. It also mentions king Awariku, who may have been the same ruler, or part of the same dynasty.
The site was examined during the Oriental Institute of Chicago archaeological survey of the Amuq Valley in 1936.[7] Karatepe was excavated from 1947 to 1957 by a team led byHelmuth Theodor Bossert (1889–1961), revealing the ruins of the walled city of king Azatiwataš.[8][9] Restoration work was then carried on for many years, which included some further soundings. In the late 1990s, archaeological work, now led byHalet Çambel (1916–2014), was conducted on a palace at the site.[10]
Estimates for the dating of Azatiwataš rule have ranged from the early 8th century BC to the early 7th century BC.[4][11][12]
The artifacts are exhibited today in theKaratepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum, which is part ofKaratepe-Aslantaş National Park.[13]
In the 2004 exploration of Mars, "Karatepe" was the name given to a site designated for entering theEndurance Crater to investigate the layering of the bedrock.
The archaeological site ofDomuztepe (Aslantaş) is located on the eastern bank of Ceyhan river, across from Karatepe. It is the companion site of Domuztepe, and it was inhabited at the same time. It is dated to the ninth century BC. (Coordinates 37.291389, 36.256944)
This site is different fromDomuztepe (Domuztepe Höyüğü (Kahramanmaraş)), the large mound of theHalaf period (fifth millennium BC) that is situated nearKahramanmaraş.[14] Kahramanmaras is also located on the Ceyhan river; it is about 70km upstream from Karatepe and Domuztepe.[15]
After the construction ofAslantaş Dam, the site was substantially flooded.
Unlike Karatepe, which was founded in the Iron Age period, Domuztepe (Aslantaş) has a long sequence of occupation beginning with theNeolithic period (8th Millennium BC). Domuztepe is located on a natural hill. It was partly excavated in the early 1980s, before the lower parts of the site became mostly submerged by the dam lake.[16] A fortified city of the Hittite empire period flourished there.
In 1947, Th. Bossert and B. Alkım reported finding a statue base with two bulls at the site. It carries a poorly preserved hieroglyphic Luwian inscription. The find is currently at the Karatepe Museum.
In 1982, a Storm God stele was discovered at the site by Halet Çambel. Also several portal lions were found. The site is believed to be a little earlier than Karatepe.[17][18]
Some villas of Roman period have also been discovered. In 1958, this currently forested area was designated as a Historic National Park.[19]
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