Izgın Stele

The about 2.45-meter-high limestone stele is covered on all four sides with a Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription. It was found in 1882, standing as a headstone in a cemetery near Izgın village in the province of Kahramanmaraş, and in 1890 was transferred to Istanbul. The sides C, B, and A have one continuous text (IZGIN 1), and the D side has another text (IZGIN 2), which could have been a continuation of the first text, although there is not conclusive evidence due to damage. The text indicates that this stele was erected by a ruler of Malatya (Malizi) named Tara(?) for building a city/settlement named Taita(?) and talks about the extension of boundaries. The stele is dated to the 11th to 10th century BCE. It is currently in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.


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