Luwians

The Luwians /ˈluːwiənz/ (also known as Luvians) were an ancient people in Anatolia who spoke the Luwian language. During the Bronze Age, Luwians formed part of the population of the Hittite Empire and adjoining states such as Kizzuwatna. During the Hittite New Kingdom, Luwian replaced Hittite as the empire's dominant language. In the early Iron Age, a number of Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittite states arose in northern Syria. The Luwians are known largely from their language, and it is unclear to what extent they formed a unified cultural or political group.

"Luwian" is an exonym first used by the Hittites as an "ethno-linguistic term referring to the area where Luwian was spoken"^[1] in Bronze Age Anatolia. It has been suggested that the name is a foreign ethnic designation (Assyrian) borrowed from another foreign ethnic designation (Hurrian) - nuwā-um.^[2] An alternate derivation is ascribed to the Luwian lūwa meaning "plain."^[3]

The Luwian language is a member of the Anatolian language family, sharing a common ancestor with Hittite and Palaic. These languages are believed to have split off from one another over a period of less than a millennium.^[4] There is no consensus on Luwian origins or their entry point into Anatolia,^[5][6][7] only that Indo-European speakers were intrusive to Anatolia.^[5] Archaeological evidence suggests disruptions dating to roughly 2200 BC, which could be associated with the arrival of new populations including speakers of Anatolian languages.^[8] within the earliest known geographical area of luwili^[9] and proximate to the location where Luwian names appear in Assyrian records.^[3] The Konya plain is a plausible candidate for the initial settlement of the Luwians.^[10]

The linguist Ilya Yakubovich has given the most succinct quote concerning the Luwians, stating:

The Hittite laws contain a handful of references to the country named Luviya, which is not accompanied by the geographic identification of this region, while a number of other texts introduce passages that were expected to be uttered luwili (in the Luvian language), even though not all of them are actually recorded in Luvian. This is all the historical information that is available about Luviya and the Luvians.^[3]

Nevertheless, archaeology suggests the arrival of Luwians at Acemhöyük sometime after 2157 BC^[11][12] and westward expansion thereafter.^{[13][14][5][15]} They are believed to have settled south-central Anatolia,^[16] the southern end of the Sakarya River valley,^[17] modern İzmir^{[18][better source needed]} and most if not all of southwestern Anatolia.^[19][20] Fred Woudhuizen has argued that Luwian-speakers populated the Greek mainland and the Aegaen islands prior to the arrival of the Mycenaeans:^[18]

Luwians first appear in the historical record around 2000 BC, with the presence of personal names and loan words in Old Assyrian Empire documents from the Assyrian colony of Kültepe, dating from between 1950 and 1700 BC (Middle Chronology), which shows that Luwian and Hittite were already two distinct languages at this point. The Luwians most likely lived in southern and western Anatolia, perhaps with a political centre at Purushanda. The Assyrian colonists and traders who were present in Anatolia at this time refer to the local people as nuwaʿum without any differentiation. This term seems to derive from the name of the Luwians, with the change from l/n resulting from the mediation of Hurrian.

Linguistic models suggest the existence of a common Luwian-speaking state circa 2000 BC, stretching from the central Anatolian plateau (modern Konya) northward to the western bend of the Maraššantiya (where modern Ankara, Kırıkkale and Kırşehir provinces meet).^[3][21] The region was dominated by the kingdom of Purushanda,^[22][3] the etymology of which suggests a takeover of Hattic lands by Luwian elites^[23] and a region made up of an eclectic mix of Luwian-speaking Luwians, Hattic-speaking Luwians, Luwian-speaking Hattians and Hattic-speaking Hattians.^[24]

Archaeology at Acemhöyük has confirmed the remains of central Anatolian, Mesopotamian and north Syrian pottery - as well as traces of monumental structures - which tree ring analysis establish 2157 BC as the final dating for wood used in construction, providing a plausible terminus a quo for the Luwian takeover of the region.^[25]

The Old Hittite laws from the 17th century BC contain cases relating to the then independent regions of Palā and Luwiya. Traders and displaced people seem to have moved from one country to the other on the basis of agreements between Ḫattusa and Luwiya.^[26] It has been argued that the Luwians never formed a single unified Luwian state but populated a number of polities where they mixed with other population groups, though a minority opinion holds that the Luwians formed a unified socio-political group.^{[citation needed]}

During the Hittite period, the kingdom of Kizzuwatna had its own dialect of Luwian, distinct from that spoken in Hattusa. Kizzuwatna was the Hittite and Luwian name for ancient Cilicia. The area was conquered by the Hittites in the 16th century BC. Around 1500, the area broke off and became the kingdom of Kizzuwatna, whose ruler used the title of "Great King", like the Hittite ruler. The Hittite king Telipinu had to conclude a treaty with King Išputaḫšu, which was renewed by his successors. Under King Pilliya, Kizzuwatna became a vassal of the Mitanni. Around 1420, King Šunaššura of Mitanni renounced control of Kizzuwatna and concluded an alliance with the Hittite king Tudḫaliya I. Soon after this, the area seems to have been incorporated into the Hittite empire and remained so until its collapse around 1190 BC at the hands of Assyria and Phrygia.^{[citation needed]}

Western Anatolian kingdoms such as Seha, Arzawa, and Wilusa may have had at least partially Luwian-speaking populations, though current evidence leaves room for doubt, and this is a matter of controversy in contemporary scholarship.^{[citation needed]}

Petra Goedegebuure of the Oriental Institute has argued that Luwian was spoken from the eastern Aegean coast to Melid and as far north as Alaca Hoyuk during the Hittite Kingdom.^[27]

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After the collapse of the Hittite Empire c. 1180 BCE, several small principalities developed in northern Syria and southwestern Anatolia. In south-central Anatolia was Tabal which probably consisted of several small city-states, in Cilicia there was Quwê, in northern Syria was Gurgum, on the Euphrates there were Melid, Kummuh, Carchemish and (east of the river) Masuwara, while on the Orontes River there were Unqi-Pattin and Hamath. The princes and traders of these kingdoms used Hieroglyphic Luwian in inscriptions, the latest of which date to the 8th century BC. The Karatepe Bilingual inscription of prince Azatiwada is particularly important.

These states were largely destroyed and incorporated into the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC) during the 9th century BC.^[28]

The non-profit Luwian Studies foundation was established in 2014 to promote the study of the Luwians and their cultures.^[29]

In 2018 it was revealed that prominent British historian James Mellaart had fabricated Luwian inscriptions over the course of his career, invalidating any research based upon his work.^[30][31]

• Luwian language
• Luwian religion
• Hieroglyphic Luwian
• Luwian Studies
• Luwian-Aramean states

• Luwian Studies.org
• Urs Willmann: Räuberbanden im Mittelmeer. In: Zeit Online, 2016
• "The Luwians: A Lost Civilization Comes Back to Life" keynote lecture by Dr. Eberhard Zangger given at Klosters' 50th Winterseminar, 18 January 2015 (online at Luwian Studies YouTube Channel)
• Eberhard Zangger and Serdal Mutlu, Putting the Luwian Culture on the Map American Society of Overseas Research January 2023