İncirli Stele

The stele was found in 1993 by Elizabeth Carter in a field in the village of Incirli in Pazarcık, Kahramanmaraş, during a field survey of an archaeology team from UCLA. Analysis of the basalt stele revealed that it was originally inscribed in three languages, namely, Hieroglyphic Luwian, Assyrian, and Phoenician, and much later in the Byzantine times it was reused as a border marker by incising an inscription in Greek. Original inscriptions have been badly eroded. The Luwian inscription is located on the front face to the right of the relief figure, and the two-line Assyrian inscription in cuneiform script is written below the Luwian and on the right side of the stele. However, both of these remain in illegible condition. Below those, a Phoenician inscription was written on all four sides of the stele, which has been read with the aid of advanced visual techniques.

The Phoenician inscription is for the most part narrated in the first person by King Warika, who is also known from the Çineköy inscription. It was erected to mark the land that was gifted to Warika by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III. The land was a border territory between the land of Warika and the mountains of Gurgum. The "Danunean king" and "King of Que" mentioned in the text apparently also refer to Warika and his kingdom (also known as Hiyawa) centered on the city of Adana. The "entire land of Hatti" term is used as a reference to the region in general. From the continuing narrative, it is understood that the border territory was given to Warika as a result of his alliance with the Assyrians during the rebellion of Matiel, the king of Arpad. The stele dates to the second half of the 8th century BCE and is currently on display in the Gaziantep Archaeology Museum.


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