Please note: DATE CHANGE! Due to circumstances Andrea’s lecture is rescheduled for 4 November 2021, 16.30-17.30 hrs (Lipsius 0.19), drinks afterward.
Extra: the lecture will also be streamed via Zoom. Click here to register for the Zoom lecture.
Our new NINO Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2023) Andrea Trameri will introduce himself and his research into the history of Cilicia and the kingdom of Kizzuwatna in the second millennium BCE.
Come and meet Andrea, and join us for drinks afterwards! Please register through the online form below.
Rediscovering Kizzuwatna: history of Cilicia in the second millennium BCE
Towards the end of 15th century, the Hittite kingdom signed the last of a series of alliance treaties with the neighbor kingdom of Kizzuwatna, located in southern Anatolia, beyond the Taurus. These two states had been well connected for almost a century, but this treaty shows that the political balance had changed. In the course of a few decades, Kizzuwatna was silently incorporated in the Hittite Empire, and disappeared from political history.
These events had radical – and somewhat unexpected – consequences, especially visible in new cultural trends that impacted Hittite religion and the culture of the Hittite élites. In historiography, the Hittite “New Kingdom” (ca. 1450-1200) is in fact characterized by several innovations, such as the use of the Hurrian language, and new traditions in cult, ritual and religion. It appears that several of these innovations came via Kizzuwatna.
This state is thus well known in Anatolian studies for its religious traditions, and its importance in the broader context of Hittite history. However, the history of this kingdom at political, social, cultural, linguistic and material-cultural level, is comparatively poorly known, and has not been object of extensive research. Similarly, the motivations and dynamics of the cultural transformations visible in the available Hittite records remain quite obscure.
The lecture highlights some aspects of interest of my previous and current research on this topic, which aims at the publication of a history of Kizzuwatna and the region of Cilicia in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The project focuses on the local, regional dynamics, and aims at positively incorporating philological and archaeological evidence in the direction of historical synthesis.
This brief introduction will discuss previous historical frameworks and proposals for a review of some of the former reconstructions and interpretations of the evidence. It will also inform on current research on the topic and highlights some major research problems. In particular, it will discuss relations between the Hittite kingdom and Kizzuwatna during the Old Kingdom period (ca. 1650-1450), and the interpretation of some important sources, both philological and archaeological.
Practical information
Attendance is free of charge; please register below.
16.30-17.30 hrs: lecture, Lipsius building, room 0.19 (ground floor)
17.30-18.15 hrs: drinks, Grand Café Pakhuis (Doelensteeg 8)
Room 0.19 in the Lipsius building is a large lecture hall with 350 seats. Leiden University has abandoned most coronavirus measures but encourages everyone to keep a safe distance when possible.
Cafes and restaurants are obliged to ask their guests to show a valid “coronatoegangsbewijs” (coronavirus entry pass, DCC) and ID.
