Aḫḫulla was an ancient region of Anatolia located somewhere west of the upper Maraššantiya during the Middle Bronze Age. It is mentioned only in the Telepinu Proclamation.
Etymology
The etymology of Aḫḫulla is unknown. It may have been a Hittite formulaic theophoric name for the mountain-god Hulla.Taracha, P. (2009). Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. Germany: Harrassowitz. The prefix aḫ is the construct state of the noun aḫum meaning "bank, shore, side or edge of a river."A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian. (2000). Germany: Harrassowitz.
Geography
Ahhulla was located somewhere on the southern fringes of the land of Pala northeast of the Sakarya River.Trameri, A. (2024). Kizzuwatna. History of Cilicia in the Middle and Late Bronze Age (ca. 2000-1200 BC). Netherlands: Brill. The etymology suggests a town along a riverLoren, Jungen. (2017). "Moving through the landscape in Hittite texts." Hittite Landscape and Geography. Netherlands: Brill. in the shadow of a mountain,Rutherford, I. (2020). Hittite Texts and Greek Religion: Contact, Interaction, and Comparison. United Kingdom: OUP Oxford. perhaps somewhere at the foot of the Köroğlu range.Landscapes and Landforms of Turkey. (2019). Germany: Springer International Publishing.
History
A text known as the Telepinu Proclamation describes upheavals in Hittite-controlled Anatolia during the reign of Ammuna circa 1550-1530 BC. Ahhulla is named as one of the lands that "rebelled":
However, as Bryce attributes "the first major [Hittite] venture to the west" to have been during the reign of Tudḫaliya I/II a hundred years later,Bryce, Trevor. (1999). The Kingdom of the Hittites, p. 35-40, 54-55, 124-125. 136. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press. Google Books. the "hostility" of Ahhulla may have been nothing more than a cessation of tribute or trade and a corresponding cattle raid.Bryce, Trevor R., (2018). "The Annals and Lost Golden Statue of the Hittite King Hattusili I", in Gephyra 16, November 2018, pp. 1-12.
See also Ancient regions of Anatolia Hittites
References