Assur’a Dua Metni K.3408 ışığında Urartu, Manna ve Kimmerler

Tanrı Aššur’a mektup şeklinde metinselleştirilen ve dolayısıyla Gottesbrief (“Tanrı mektubu”) metin türü dahilinde bilinen, British Museum’da korunan Assurbanipal (MÖ 668- 631) dönemine ait dua metni K.3408’de (= RINAP 5/2 195) Urartu, Manna ile Kimmerlere bazı göndermeler yapılmıştır. Assurluları’n Batı İran’da etkinlik kazanma gayretleri ve öncesinde Güney Mezopotamya’da Elam Krallığı’nın etkisine karşı yaptıkları askeri ve siyasi eylemleri, K.3408 dua metninin tarihi çerçevesini vermektedir. Dua metninde temel konu Assurlular’ın o döneme kadarki başarıları ve bu başarının arkasında olduğuna inanılan Tanrı Aššur’un desteği ışığında büyüyen Kimmer tehditinin de ileride bertaraf edilmesidir. Kimmerlerin özellikle Urartu siyasi coğrafyasında daha etkin bir konum edinmesiyle bağlantılı temalar, Assur-Babil siyasi ve edebi nitelemelerle ifade edilmektedir. Gottesbrief türünün gerektirdiği siyasi teolojik çerçeveye göre daha önce Assur devletiyle mücadele eden Arami, Bâbilli ve Elamlı tarihi kişilikleri ve hazin sonları da betimlenir. Bu yönleriyle dua metni K.3408’nin içeriğini analiz eden bu çalışma, metinde belirtilen olayların tarihi arka planlarını daha iyi anlamaya yönelik bir katkıda bulunmayı hedefliyor.

Urartu, Mannea and the Cimmerians in light of the Letter to Aššur K.3408

K.3408 (= RINAP 5/2) 195), textualized in the form of a letter to the god Aššur and thus known as the Gottesbrief (“Letter to the God”) genre, is a prayer text dated to the period of Assurbanipal (668 – 631 BC) and preserved in the British Museum. It alludes to Urartu, Mannea and the Cimmerians. Prayer text K.3408’s historical framework is defined by Assyrian efforts to dominate Western Iran and their military and political actions against the Elamite kingdom’s influence in southern Mesopotamia. The prayer’s main objective is the annihilation of the growing Cimmerian threat on account of earlier Assyrian successes and the support of the god Aššur. Themes related to the rise of the Cimmerians to a more dominant position, especially in Urartian political geography, are expressed in the prayer texts with Assyro-Babylonian political and literary terms. Following the political theological framework required by the Gottesbrief genre, there are mentions of Aramean, Bablylonian and Elamite historical figures who earlier opposed the Assyrian state but met a bitter end. By analyzing these aspects, this study seeks to to contribute to a better understanding of the historical background of the events mentioned in the prayer text K.3408.

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