1954-1955
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“The Hurrian Element in the Hittite Empire,”
CHM 2/2, pp. 383-394.
[Reprinted in H.A. Hoffner, Jr. & I.L. Diamond (eds.), Perspectives on Hittite Civilization: Selected Writings of Hans G. Güterbock, Assyriological Studies 26, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1997, pp. 179-186: Webpage. References in the following abstract are established on the base of the reprinting].
The author exposes in this paper the main Hurrian influences on the Hittite culture, mostly focusing on the Hittite Imperial period.
Section 1 presents the historical background, displaying the Hittite History from the Old-Assyrian colonies in Cappadocia, throughout the Old Kingdom until the end of the Hittite Empire. As for the Old-Assyrian period, some Hurrian names can be found on Cappadocian tablets, but they are regarded as Assyrian merchant, only. Nevertheless, during the Hittite Old Kingdom period, texts from Alalakh attests for a wider presence of Hurrian people in the town. As it is well-known, the influence of the Hurrian onto the Hittites developed at the beginning (or just some decades before the beginning) of the Hittite Empire.
Section 2 specifically summarizes the Hurrian influence during the New Empire, mostly after the overthrow of the Mittanian Empire by Šuppiluliuma I: during thus period, many Hittite queens bear Hurrian names, and also some Hittite kings carry Hurrian proper names, probably changed with a Hittite counterpart at the enthronement. Furthermore, many authors of magical texts from the Hittite capital were Hurrian and also many Hittite scribes have Hurrian names.
Section 3 explores the influence of Hurrian cults on the Hittite Empire: many ritual and festival texts, though fragmentary and hardly datable, are in Hurrian or quotes deities of the Hurrian pantheon, such as Ḫebat, Šeriš, Tešub, Šauška, Ḫurriš, Namni, Ḫazzi, Išḫara, Ištar, Ninatta and Kulitta.
Section 4 briefly introduces the Hurrian influence on Hittite literature (mostly for some mythological texts, such as the Kumarbi epos) and language (some loanwords of the religious sphere).
Section 5 focuses on the influence of Hurrian features on Hittite art (mainly glyptic and reliefs), but it seems clear that “the Hittite element was strong enough to absorb these foreign elements and form them according to its own patterns” (reprinting, p. 185).
[M. De Pietri – July 2019]
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