Hittite Monuments

Main Page

Karabel Reliefs
The large Hittite relief is in the Karabel Pass on the Kemalpasa-Torbali road, in a spot where an arch stands on a rock on the southern slope of a mountain, on the left side of the road. It is about 1.5 meter wide 2.5 meters high. A male figure is depicted standing with a bow in his right hand and a spear in his left, wearing a tunic and a cone-shaped hat. This relief is referred as Karabel A among the scholars. Between the head of the warrior and the spear there are three lines of a badly worn out hieroglyphic Luwian inscription, barely visible to the human eye. Monument was mentioned by Heredotus in his history where he identified it as the Egyptian pharaoh Sesostris: "... There are two figures of this man on some rocks in Ionia. One of them is on the Ephesos-Phokaia road and the other is on Sardis-Smyrna road. In both places, the figure has a shield in his right hand and a bow in his left. On the hieroglyphic inscription between his shoulders it says 'I have won this country with my own shoulders'". Needless to say Heredotus was mistaken about the identity of the relief. The latest on the reading of the Karabel A inscription was published by David Hawkins in 1998. Hawkins reads the three line script as:
Tarkasnawa, King of Mira (land).
(Son of) Alantalli, King of Mira land.
Grandson of (...), King of Mira land.
Alantalli reading is not certain. Also, although the name of the grandfather is not readable, it was suggested to be Kupanta-Kurunta. The reading of Hawkins also reveals Tarkasnawa to be the same person as Tarkondemos who appears in some Boğazköy seals. The Tarkasnawa reading has been widely approved by scholars. Thus the relief is dated to the second half of the 13th c. BCE or perhaps a bit late, corresponding to the reign of either Tudhaliya IV or Shuppiluliuma II.
About hundred meters north of the Karabel A relief was another relief similar to it and two separate hieroglyphic inscriptions. The three of them were named as Karabel B, Karabel C1 and Karabel C2 respectively. Unfortunately during the widening of the nearby road, these three carvings were completely destroyed in sometime between 1977 and 1982. Karabel B also displayed a standing male figure with a spear on his extended left hand and probably a bow on the right shoulder. The worn out inscription on the relief was unreadable other than the first character which was probably 'King'.
The inscriptions C1 and C2 were located on the perpendicular surfaces of the same rock just a few meters to the north of Karabel B. The C1 inscription was the better preserved of them with five hieroglyphic characters. Güterbock (in 1975) suggested a reading of 'Targasnawati' and Kohlmeyer read it as '(...) (of )Aššuwa(?)-wa-ti king/city'. The C2 inscription was in less readable shape. It had three lines of hieroglyphs, top line being the best preserved.
38°22'13.95 N - 27°27'21.50 E Google Earth location

Click on pictures for a larger image.

Karabel A

Karabel B

Karabel C1

Karabel C2

Image sources:
Kurt Bittel, Die Hethiter, Beck, München 1976, ISBN 3406030246.
Gertrude Bell, 1907, University of Newcastle Gertrude Bell Project (www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk)
Kay Kohlmeyer, "Felsbilder der hethitischen Großreichszeit", Acta Praehistorica et Archaeologica 15, 1983. ISBN 3896467123
J.David Hawkins, "Tarkasnawa King of Mira", Anatolian Studies, vol 48, 1998.

Karabel Reliefs The large Hittite relief is in the Karabel Pass on the Kemalpasa-Torbali road, in a spot where an arch stands on a rock on the southern slope of a mountain, on the left side of the road. It is about 1.5 meter wide 2.5 meters high. A male figure is depicted standing with a bow in his right hand and a spear in his left, wearing a tunic and a cone-shaped hat. This relief is referred as Karabel A among the scholars. Between the head of the warrior and the spear there are three lines of a badly worn out hieroglyphic Luwian inscription, barely visible to the human eye. Monument was mentioned by Heredotus in his history where he identified it as the Egyptian pharaoh Sesostris: "... There are two figures of this man on some rocks in Ionia. One of them is on the Ephesos-Phokaia road and the other is on Sardis-Smyrna road. In both places, the figure has a shield in his right hand and a bow in his left. On the hieroglyphic inscription between his shoulders it says 'I have won this country with my own shoulders'". Needless to say Heredotus was mistaken about the identity of the relief. The latest on the reading of the Karabel A inscription was published by David Hawkins in 1998. Hawkins reads the three line script as: Tarkasnawa, King of Mira (land). (Son of) Alantalli, King of Mira land. Grandson of (...), King of Mira land. Alantalli reading is not certain. Also, although the name of the grandfather is not readable, it was suggested to be Kupanta-Kurunta. The reading of Hawkins also reveals Tarkasnawa to be the same person as Tarkondemos who appears in some Boğazköy seals. The Tarkasnawa reading has been widely approved by scholars. Thus the relief is dated to the second half of the 13th c. BCE or perhaps a bit late, corresponding to the reign of either Tudhaliya IV or Shuppiluliuma II. About hundred meters north of the Karabel A relief was another relief similar to it and two separate hieroglyphic inscriptions. The three of them were named as Karabel B, Karabel C1 and Karabel C2 respectively. Unfortunately during the widening of the nearby road, these three carvings were completely destroyed in sometime between 1977 and 1982. Karabel B also displayed a standing male figure with a spear on his extended left hand and probably a bow on the right shoulder. The worn out inscription on the relief was unreadable other than the first character which was probably 'King'. The inscriptions C1 and C2 were located on the perpendicular surfaces of the same rock just a few meters to the north of Karabel B. The C1 inscription was the better preserved of them with five hieroglyphic characters. Güterbock (in 1975) suggested a reading of 'Targasnawati' and Kohlmeyer read it as '(...) (of )Aššuwa(?)-wa-ti king/city'. The C2 inscription was in less readable shape. It had three lines of hieroglyphs, top line being the best preserved. 38°22'13.95 N - 27°27'21.50 E Google Earth location Click on pictures for a larger image.
Karabel A

Karabel B

Karabel C1

Karabel C2