Zippalanda (Uşaklı höyükhttps://news.cnrs.fr/articles/the-holy-hittite-city-of-zippalanda-finally-identified) was a Hattic administrative and religious center of the Hittite Old Kingdom. Although its name was known from inscriptions, it was not until the latter 20th century that scholars placed it in Sorgun District of Yozgat Province, Turkey, near Kerkenes Dağ (Kerkenes Mountain often identified with Mount Daha (Mount Taha)), about one day's journey north of Ankuwa (present-day Alışar Höyük).
History Zippalanda was one of the ancient Hattic religious centers (šiunan URU "city of the gods") that retained privileges in the Old Kingdom. These also included Arinna and Nerik; early on, Hattusa was added to these as well.Maciej Popko: Arinna. Eine heilige Stadt der Hethiter. (Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten, Bd. 50). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-05867-4, p.4. Also toward the end of the Hittite Empire, after Muwatalli II moved the Hittite capital from Hattusa to Tarhuntassa, this also became a sacred city.
The Hittite king participated in official religious ceremonies such as the purulli-festival, spring and autumn Imperial festivals, the festival of the month, and possibly the hunting festival (the Ki-Lam).
The Weather god of Zippalanda, originally Hattic, was an important deity for the Hittites. At Zippalanda, he was considered to be the son of Tarḫunna, the 'Weather god of Heaven', and the Sun goddess of the Earth (known as Allani in the Hurrian-Hittite "Song of the Ransom").Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religionen des alten Orients: Hethiter und Iran. Göttingen 2011, p. 236.Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 42, 55. His partner was the goddess Anzili or Enzili, who played a role in the rituals of Hittite childbirth.Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. Wiesbaden 2009, p. 56 & 156.
Much of the information about Zippalanda comes from tablets found at Hattusa, which record the existence of the temple of the Storm God and a palace or royal residence (halentu) and refer indirectly to daily religious life and festivals.
In addition to religious functions, people at Zippalanda are recorded as engaging in military affairs, crafts, hunting and stock breeding.
Plausible sites The plausible sites are the settlement mounds known as Çadır Mound (Çadır Höyük)Site History Çadır Höyük Archaeological Project - www.cadirhoyuk.org and Uşaklı Mound (Uşaklı Höyük).
The light defenses of the city wall suggest that it was a religious perimeter like that of Alaca Höyük.Barjamovi, Historical Geography of Anatolia, p. 316, note 1302; see also Bryce The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia page 22. A number of cultic sites are found within the city and ranging outside it toward Mount Daha.
At least one scholar, Maciej Popko, has identified Zippalanda with Alaca Höyük, but this is not a widely held view.Barjamovi, Historical Geography of Anatolia, p. 316, note 1302
In January 2020, one of the earliest Mosaics in the world was found in Uşaklı Höyük, and possibly Zippalanda.
In December 2022, archaeologists from the University of Pisa found a circular-shaped structure located to the north of what is probably the main temple of the city on the mound of Uşaklı Höyük. This, together with tablets found and other previous finds, could identify Uşaklı Höyük as ancient Zippalanda.
References
External links Cadir Hoyuk at megalithic.co.uk
Cadir Hoyuk Interactive Map from megalithic.co.uk showing several historical sites in the area