TÜRKÇE
Nişantaş Inscription (BOĞAZKÖY 5)
At the rocky outcrop known as Nişantepe, a lengthy Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription carved in relief on a flattened surface at the northeast-facing side of the rocks is known as Nişantaş. It covers an area of roughly 9 meters long and 2 meters high. A large vertical crack towards the left side appears to be original and divides the inscription into two sections. The larger right section (A) has 11 lines, while on the left side (B) there are only 5 lines visible. Although the lines of the two sections seem to be in alignment, it remains uncertain whether they form a single text or two separate texts. Although highly weathered and largely illegible, the relatively better-preserved top lines of section A reveal that the monument dates to the reign of Suppiluliuma II, the last king of the Hittite Empire, thus around the end of the 13th century BCE, and the context is probably about the military victories of this king and his father Tudhaliya IV. In a Hittite text of Suppiluliuma II known from clay tablets found in the city, there are references to an "eternal rock sanctuary" and an inscription said to have been inscribed there, which may be references to Nişantepe and Nişantaş.
