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Topada Inscription

This Neo-Hittite period Hieroglyphic Luwian rock inscription is located near the Ağıllı village of Acıgöl (formerly Topada) in Nevşehir province. The inscription is carved on the flattened surface of a rock that sticks out from the eastern face of a rocky wall of about 5-meter-high plateau. It consists of 8 lines, all separated by drawn lines. There was also a short, one-line "scribal inscription" to the right of the main one, which was apparently destroyed sometime before 1986. The well-preserved inscription is associated with the Neo-Hittite era kingdom of Tabal. It begins as: "[Great K]ing Wasusarma Great King, the Hero, son of the Great King Tuwati, the Hero." It is a commemorative inscription about Wasusarma, the king of Tabal, describing political and military events that mainly revolve around a fight against the city of Parzuta. Sivasa, Sultanhanı, Göstesin, and Kayseri are other monuments that also mention Wasusarma. Three other kings—Warpalawa (Bor, İvriz, Bulgarmaden), Kiyakiya (Aksaray), and Ruwata—are mentioned as allies of Wasusarma, and use of cavalry is mentioned several times. The Tabal King Wasusarma is known from Assyrian sources as Wassurme, who was defeated by Tiglath-Pileser III. Thus, the monument is dated to the second half of the 8th century BCE.


Click on the pictures for larger images.

View of the Topada monument from a distance - T. Bilgin, 2019 Aerial view of the Topada monument - T. Bilgin, 2019 T. Bilgin, 2009 Topada inscription - T. Bilgin, 2019 Topada inscription - E. Anıl, 2019 Topada inscription - I. Simon, 2015 Topada inscription - E. Anıl, 2019 ITopada inscription, left - . Simon, 2015 Topada inscription, left - E. Anıl, 2019 Drawing of the inscription, J. D. Hawkins, 2000


Literature:
D'Alfonso, L. "War in Anatolia in the Post-Hittite Period: The Anatolian Hieroglyphic Inscription of Topada Revisited," 71, 2019: 133–52.
Ehringhaus, H. Das Ende, das ein Anfang war: Felsreliefs und Felsinschriften der luwischen Staaten Kleinasiens vom 12. bis 8./7. Jahrh. v. Chr., Mainz, 2014: 33–40.
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 1, Berlin, 2000: 451-61 ve lev. 250–3.
Hawkins, J. D. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Vol 3, Berlin, 2024: 259–61, 340–41.
Payne, A. Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions, Atlanta, 2012: 54–59.
Weeden, M. "Tuwati and Wasusarma: Imitating the Behavior of Assyria," Iraq 72, 2010: 39–61.
Woudhuizen, F. C. "Great King Wasusarmas' Victory Memorial at Topada," Ancient West & East 6, 2007: 23–41.


Image sources:
Tayfun Bilgin, 2009, 2019.
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2019.
Ingeborg Simon, (CC BY-SA 3.0), 2015.
J. David Hawkins, 2000.