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Karahöyük (Elbistan) Stele

The about 2.7-meter-high limestone stele has a relief-style Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription on its front face (9 lines) and on the right and left sides (1 line each). It was excavated in 1949 in situ, standing on a stone base together with a stone basin in front of it at Karahöyük near Elbistan in 1947. Due to its archaic style, a date around the 12th century BCE has been suggested. The inscription is a dedication to a local Storm God by Armanani, who is an official of a Great King named Ir-Teššub(?). It is currently in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara.


Click on the pictures for larger images.

T. & N. Özgüç, 1949 B. Bilgin, 2008 T. Bilgin, 2006 T. Bilgin, 2006 T. Bilgin, 2006 B. Bilgin, 2008 J. D. Hawkins, 2000


Literature:
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin, 2000: 288-95 and plt. 133–34.
Hawkins, J. D. "The Historical Significance of the Karahöyük (Elbistan) Stele," FsNÖzgüç, 1993: 273–79.
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 3, Berlin, 2024: 230–31, 325.
Masson, E. "La stèle de Karahöyük-Elbistan: nouvel examen," FsLaroche, 1979: 225–41.
Özgüç T., Özgüç N. Türk Tarih Kurumu tarafından yapılan Karahöyük hafriyatı raporu 1947, Ankara, TTK, 1949.
Woudhuizen, F. C. “The Luwian Hieroglyphic Inscription on the Stele from Karahöyük-Elbistan.” Ancient West & East 2/2, 2003: 211–24.
van Quickelberghe, E. "Réflexions Autour de la Stèle de Karahöyük (Elbistan),” Le Muséon: Revue d’Études Orientales 126/3–4, 2013: 253–63.
(List of Abbreviations)


Image sources:
Tahsin & Nimet Özgüç, 1949.
Bora Bilgin, 2008.
Tayfun Bilgin, 2006.
J. David Hawkins, 2000.