Lawazantiya (URULa-wa(-az)-za-an-ti-ya) was a major Bronze Age city in the Kingdom of Kizzuwatna and the cultic city of the goddess Šauška.Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H.. "Š". A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021, pp. 318-337 It was famous for its temple that got purification water from its seven springs.CTH 475 Today the best candidate for the site is Tatarli Höyük which is known for its seven springs.https://www.levantineceramics.org/sites/1535-tatarli-hoyukK.Serdar Girginer (2013) Tatarlı Höyük Treading in the Hittites' and Lawazantia's Footsteps
History Middle Bronze During the Old Assyrian Trade Network into Anatolia it was mentioned as Luhuzantiya. The earliest mention of the city comes from the Old Assyrian documents as a trading colony in Kaniš, where the place Luḫuzatia is often mentioned, which is common to Lawazantiya.
In the late 17th century BC, Lawazantiya was a target for Hittite expansion to the sea and the base of the military campaigns of Ḫattušili I (c. 1620 BC). He went northeast attacking Urshu and Hassu, which then got aid from Halap (Aleppo) and Carchemish.
Late Bronze In Hittite texts the city is known as Lawazantiya (also: Lahuwazantiya, Lauwanzantiya or Lahuzzandiya), in Ugarit as LwsndKTU2 2.40 line 10 and in Assyrian Annals as Lusanda. There is a Hittite document entitled "Festival of Teššub and Ḫebat of Lawazantiya" which has the king calling these deities in to open the spring festival.Görke, Susanne. "Hurrian and Luwian Elements in the Kizzuwatna Religious Texts" Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 49, no. 1, 2022, pp. 148-157
In the Telipinu Edict that Hittite ruler (c. 1525-1500 BC) reports that the city had rebelled and been retaken.Bilgin, Tayfun. "3. The Top-level Offices of Hittite State Administration". Officials and Administration in the Hittite World, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2018, pp. 97-359
In the 13th century BC, Hattušili III met and married Pudu-Heba, daughter of Pentipšarri, a priest of Šauška, in Lawazantiya. She was a strong promoter of Kizzuwatnean cults and traditions. Martino, Stefano de. "5 Hatti: From Regional Polity to Empire". Handbook Hittite Empire: Power Structures, edited by Stefano de Martino, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2022, pp. 205-270
For the Festival for Teššup and Ḫebat of Lawazantiya, see CTH 699.https://www.hethport.uni-wuerzburg.de/CTH/index.php?l=Lawazantija
Location The city is known to have been part of the Kizzuwatna region. Gojko Barjamovic considers Luḫuzatia and Lawazantiya to be two separate localities, with the former locating in Elbistan. Meanwhile Lawazantiya might be located at Sirkeli Höyük. Tatarli Höyük has also been proposed as the location based on cylinder and stamp seals found at that site.Girginer, K. Serdar, and Dominique Collon. "Cylinder and Stamp Seals from Tatarli Höyük." Anatolian Studies, vol. 64, 2014, pp. 59–72
References