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[[Image:Hayasaa.jpg|thumb|250px|Location of Hayasa-Azzi.]]
'''Hayasa-Azzi''' or '''Azzi-Hayasa''' was a confederation formed between the Kingdoms of '''Hayasa''' located South of [[Trabzon]] and '''Azzi''', located North of the [[Euphrates]] and to the South of Hayasa.
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Many historians claim<ref>"Hayasa, ancestors of the Armenians": International Dictionary of Historic Places, by Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda, 1996, Taylor & Francis, ISBN:1884964036, p. 250</ref><ref>Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe, by Glanville Price, 1998, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN:0631220399, p. 14</ref><ref>Synchronized Chronology: Rethinking Middle East Antiquity, by Roger Henry, 2002, Algora Publishing, ISBN:0875861911, p. 173, cit. M. Chahin</ref><ref>David Lang, Armenians, M, 2005, p. 126-129</ref><ref>Urartskie klinoobraznye nadpisi, by acad. G. Melikishvili, 1960, p. 9</ref><ref>Vsemirnaya istoriya, by Evgeny Zhukov, Science Academy of the USSR, 1955, p. 157</ref><ref>Strany i narody: proiskhozhdenie nazvaniy, by R. A. Ageeva, Ėd. M. Murzaev, Moscow, Nauka, 1990, p. 176</ref><ref>Puti razvitiya sovremennoy lingvistiki, by T. A. Degtereva, Moscow, 1961, pp. 57-67 (in Russian)</ref><ref>Istoriya SSSR s drevneĭshikh vremei do XVIII v.: posobie dliya uchiteleĭ, by N. E. Artemov, V. I. Lebedev, 1959, p. 37</ref><ref>Zakonomernosti razvitiya literaturnykh yazykov narodov SSSR v sovetskuyu epochu, by Yu. Desheriev, Science Acad. of the USSR, 1976, p. 51; also see his Vnutristrukturnoe razvitie staropismennykh yazykov, Science Acad. of the USSR, Moscow, 1973, p. 51</ref><ref>Российская федерация. Народы и их подразделения (Ethnoligical vocabulary in Russian), by Yuri Andreevich Evstigneev, Saint-Petersburg State University, 2003, ISBN:5288028176, p. 150</ref><ref>Naselenie mira: ėtnodemograficheskiĭ spravochnik, by S. Bruk, P. Puchkov, Moscow, "Nauka", 1986, p. 169</ref><ref>The World History: Encyclopedia, Vol. I, ISBN:5948495809, p. 166 (in Russian)</ref><ref>Simvoly gosudarstvennogo suvereniteta, by Vladislav Aleksandrovich Sokolov, 1969, Izd. Sarat. un-ta, p. 34</ref><ref>Internatsionalnye elementy v leksike i terminologii, by V. V. Akulenko, A. F. Balbukha, "Vishcha shkola", 1980, p. 158 (in Russian)</ref><ref>A Trip Through Historic Armenia, by Stephen G. Svajian, 1977, GreenHill Pub., pp. 125-128</ref><ref>Khaĭasa--kolybel' armian, by acad. Gr. Kapantsian, 1947, Armenian SSR Sciences Academy, p. 7 (in Russian)</ref> that the territory of Hayasa was involved in the formation of the [[Armenian people|Armenian nation]] (''Hayk'') and ancient [[Armenian language]]. The union of tribes ruled by Hays ({{lang-hy|Հայ}}, a name still used by modern Armenians) was formed there and moved to Arme-Shupria in [[12th century BC]].<ref>[http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/bse/article/00004/34100.htm?text=%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0 ''Lesser Armenia'' article, Great Soviet Encyclopedia]</ref><ref>[http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/bse/article/00004/37200.htm?text=%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0 ''Armenians'' article, Great Soviet Encyclopedia]</ref> However, non-Armenian scholars doubt this connection since the arrival of the Armenians can only be securely dated to the 6th century BC with the Orontid kings in the Armenian highlands. The origin of the Hay element remains a mystery--it may refer to an ethnic or regional designation.<ref>[[Vahan Kurkjian]] - The Country of Hayasa-Khayasha</ref>
'''Hayasa-Azzi''' (also '''Azzi-Hayasa''', '''Khayasha-Azzi''' etc.) was a confederation formed between the Kingdoms of '''Khayasha''' located South of [[Trabzon]] and '''Azzi''', located North of the [[Euphrates]] and to the South of Hayasa. We know of them from [[Hittite texts]] due to their contacts with the [[Hittites]].


==Before Tudhaliya III (1500-1340s BC)==
==Before Tudhaliya III (1500-1340s BC)==
[[Hittites|Hittite]] inscriptions deciphered in the 1920s by the Swiss [[Assyriologist]] [[Emil Forrer]] testify to the existence of a mountain country, the Hayasa and/or the Azzi, lying around [[Lake Van]]. Several prominent authorities agree in placing Azzi to the north of [[Ishuwa]]. Others see Hayasa and Azzi as identical.
[[Hittites|Hittite]] inscriptions deciphered in the [[1920s]] by the [[Swiss]] scholar Emil Forrer testify to the existence of a mountain country, the Hayasa and/or the Azzi, lying around [[Lake Van]]. Several prominent authorities agree in placing Azzi to the north of [[Ishuwa]]. Others see Hayasa and Azzi as identical.


Records of the time between [[Telipinu]] and [[Tudhaliya III]] are sketchy. The Hittites seem to have abandoned their capital at [[Hattusa]] and moved to [[Sapinuwa]] under one of the earlier [[Tudhaliya]] kings. In the early 14th cenutury BC, Sapinuwa was burned as well. [[Hattusili III]] records at this time that the Azzi had "made [[Samuha]] its frontier." It should be borne in mind that people who view themselves as great civilizations are not always too particular about which group of so-called "Barbarians" they are fighting. Also at times multiple atrocities are blamed on one group as a rallying cry for a current war.
Records of the time between [[Telipinu]] and [[Tudhaliya III]] are sketchy. The Hittites seem to have abandoned their capital at [[Hattusa]] and moved to [[Sapinuwa]] under one of the earlier [[Tudhaliya]] kings. In the early 14th cenutury BC, Sapinuwa was burned as well. [[Hattusili III]] records at this time that the Azzi had "made [[Samuha]] its frontier." It should be borne in mind that people who view themselves as great civilizations are not always too particular about which group of so-called "Barbarians" they are fighting. Also at times multiple atrocities are blamed on one group as a rallying cry for a current war.


==Tudhaliya III and Suppiluliuma I (1360s-1320s BC)==
==Tudhaliya III and Suppiluliuma I (1360s-1320s BC)==
[[Image:Hayasaa.jpg|thumb|250px|Location of Hayasa-Azzi.]]
[[Tudhaliya III]] chose to make the city of [[Samuha]], "an important cult centre located on the upper course of the [[Marassantiya]] river"<ref>Trevor R. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University Press. 1998, p.160 It should be stressed that Bryce's Tudhaliya III is equivalent to Wikipedia's Tudhaliya II There is some disagreement among Assyriologists over the precise number of kings named Tudhaliya.</ref>as a temporary home for the Hittite royal court sometime after his abandonment of [[Hattusa]] in the face of attacks against his kingdom by the [[Kaskians|Kaska]], Hayasa-Azzi and other enemies of his state. Samuha was, however, temporarily seized by forces from the country of Hayasa-Azzi.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.160</ref> At this point in time, the kingdom of [[Hatti]] was so besieged by fierce attacks from its enemies that many neighbouring powers expected it to soon collapse. The Egyptian pharaoh, [[Amenhotep III]], even wrote to Tarhundaradu, king of Arzawa saying: "'''''I have heard that everything is finished and that the country of Hattusa is paralysed'''''."(EA 31, 26-27)<ref>[[William L. Moran]], The Amarna Letters, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992., p.101</ref> However, Tudhaliya managed to rally his forces; indeed, the speed and determination of the Hittite king may have surprised Hatti's enemies including the [[Kaska]] and Azzi-Hayasa.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., pp.160-162</ref> Tudhaliya sent his general Suppiluliuma, who would later serve as king himself under the title [[Suppiluliuma I]], to Hatti's northeastern frontiers, to defeat Hayasa-Azzi. The Hayasans initially retreated from a direct battle with the Hittite commander. The [[Hittitologist]] [[Trevor R. Bryce]] notes, however, that Tudhaliya and Suppiluliuma eventually:
Tudhaliya III chose to make the city of Samuha, "an important cult centre located on the upper course of the [[Marassantiya]] river"<ref>Trevor R. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University Press. 1998, p.160 It should be stressed that Bryce's Tudhaliya III is equivalent to Wikipedia's [[Tudhaliya II]] There is some disagreement among Hittologists over the precise number of kings named Tudhaliya.</ref>as a temporary home for the Hittite royal court sometime after his abandonment of [[Hattusa]] in the face of attacks against his kingdom by the [[Kaskians|Kaska]], Hayasa-Azzi and other enemies of his state. Samuha was, however, temporarily seized by forces from the country of Azzi.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.160</ref> At this point in time, the kingdom of Hatti was so besieged by fierce attacks from its enemies that many neighbouring powers expected it to soon collapse. The Egyptian pharaoh, [[Amenhotep III]], even wrote to Tarhundaradu, king of Arzawa saying: "'''''I have heard that everything is finished and that the country of Hattusa is paralysed'''''."(EA 31, 26-27)<ref>[[William L. Moran]], The Amarna Letters, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992., p.101</ref> However, Tudhaliya managed to rally his forces; indeed, the speed and determination of the Hittite king may have surprised Hatti's enemies including the Kaska and Azzi-Hayasa.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., pp.160-162</ref> Tudhaliya sent his general Suppiluliuma, who would later serve as king himself under the title [[Suppiluliuma I]], to Hatti's northeastern frontiers, to defeat Hayasa-Azzi. The Hayasans initially retreated from a direct battle with the Hittite commander. The [[Hittitologist]] [[Trevor R. Bryce]] notes, however, that Tudhaliya and Suppiluliuma eventually:


: "invaded Azzi-Hayasa and forced a showdown with its king [[Karanni]] (or Lanni) near the city of [[Kumaha]]. The passage (in the 'Deeds of Suppiluliuma') recording the outcome of this battle is missing. But almost certainly, the Hittite campaign resulted in the conquest of Azzi-Hayasa, for subsequently Suppiluliuma established it as a Hittite vassal state, drawing up a treaty with [[Hakkana]], its current ruler."<ref>(CTH 42); see also Bryce, op. cit., pp.162-63</ref>
: "invaded Azzi-Hayasa and forced a showdown with its king Karanni (or Lanni) near the city of Kumaha. The passage (in the 'Deeds of Suppiluliuma') recording the outcome of this battle is missing. But almost certainly, the Hittite campaign resulted in the conquest of Azzi-Hayasa, for subsequently Suppiluliuma established it as a Hittite vassal state, drawing up a treaty with Hakkana, its current ruler."<ref>(CTH 42); see also Bryce, op. cit., pp.162-63</ref>


The Hayasans were now obliged to repatriate all captured Hittite subjects and cede "the border territory which Suppiluliuma claimed belonged to the Land of Hatti."<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.163</ref> Despite the restrictions imposed upon Hakkani, he was not a completely meek and submissive brother-in law of the Hittites in political and military affairs. As a condition for the release of the thousands of Hittite prisoners held in his domain, he demanded first the return of the Hayasan prisoners confined in Hatti.
The Hayasans were now obliged to repatriate all captured Hittite subjects and cede "the border [territory] which Suppiluliuma claimed belonged to the Land of Hatti."<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.163</ref> Despite the restrictions imposed upon Hakkani, he was not a completely meek and submissive brother-in law of the Hittites in political and military affairs. As a condition for the release of the thousands of Hittite prisoners held in his domain, he demanded first the return of the Hayasan prisoners confined in Hatti.


During their reigns, the cuneiform tablets of [[Boğazkale|Boğazköy]] begin to mention the names of three successive kings who ruled over a state of Hayasa and/or Azzi. They were [[Karanni]], [[Mariya]], and [[Hakkani]].
During their reigns, the cuneiform tablets of [[Boğazkale|Boğazköy]] begin to mention the names of three successive kings who ruled over a state of Hayasa and/or Azzi. They were [[Karanni]], [[Mariya]], and [[Hakkani]].
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==Mursili II (1320s-1290s BC)==
==Mursili II (1320s-1290s BC)==
The kingdom of Hayasa-Azzi remained a loyal Hittite vassal state for a time, perhaps hit by the same plague which claimed Suppiluliuma and his son [[Arnuwanda II]]. But, in [[Mursili II]]'s seventh year (three years before [[Mursili's eclipse]] - so, 1315 BC), the "lord of Azzi" [[Anniya]] took advantage of [[Pihhuniya]]'s unification of the [[Kaskas]] and raided the Land of [[Dankuwa]], a Hittite border region, where he transported its population back to his kingdom.
The kingdom of Hayasa-Azzi remained a loyal Hittite vassal state for a time, perhaps hit by the same plague which claimed Suppiluliuma and his son [[Arnuwanda II]]. But, in Mursili's seventh year (three years before [[Mursili's eclipse]] - so, 1315 BC), the "lord of Azzi" Anniya took advantage of Pihhuniya's unification of the [[Kaskas]] and raided the Land of Dankuwa, a Hittite border region, where he transported its population back to his kingdom.


[[Cavaignac]] wrote of that period that Anniya "had sacked several districts and refused to release the prisoners taken." Anniya's rebellion soon prompted a Hittite response. The Hittite King Mursili II, having defeated Pihhuniya, marched to the borders of Azzi-Hayasa where he demanded Anniya return his captured subjects.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.219</ref> When Anniya refused, Mursili immediatedly attacked the Hayasa's border fortress of Ura.<ref>AM 86-7</ref> In the following spring, he crossed the [[Euphrates]] and re-organized his army at [[Ingalova]] which, about ten centuries later, was to become the treasure-house and burial-place of the [[Kingdom of Armenia|Armenian]] kings of the [[Arshakuni Dynasty]]. One of the captured fortresses lay on the west side of the [[Lake Van]].
Cavaignac wrote of that period that Anniya "had sacked several districts and refused to release the prisoners taken." Anniya's rebellion soon prompted a Hittite response. The Hittite King [[Mursili II]], having defeated Pihhuniya, marched to the borders of Azzi-Hayasa where he demanded Anniya return his captured subjects.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.219</ref> When Anniya refused, Mursili immediatedly attacked the Hayasa's border fortress of Ura.<ref>AM 86-7</ref> In the following spring, he crossed the Euphrates and re-organized his army at Ingalova which, about ten centuries later, was to become the treasure-house and burial-place of the [[Kingdom of Armenia|Armenian]] kings of the [[Arshakuni Dynasty]]. One of the captured fortresses lay on the west side of the Lake of Van.


Despite Mursili's Year 7 and probable Year 8 campaigns against Azzi-Hayasa, Anniya was still unsubdued and continued to defy the Hittite king's demands to return his people at the beginning of Mursili's Ninth year.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.219</ref> Then, in the latter's Year 9, Anniya launched a major counter-offensive by once again invading the Upper Land region on the Northeast frontier of Hatti, destroying the land of [[Istitina]] and placing the city of [[Kannuwara]] under siege.<ref>AM 110-11</ref> Worse still, Mursili II was forced to face another crisis in the same year with the death of his brother [[Sarri-Kusuh]], the Hittite viceroy of Syria. This prompted a revolt by the [[Nuhašše]] lands against Hittite control.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.220</ref> Mursili II took decisive action by dispatching his general [[Kurunta]] to quell the Syrian rebellion while he sent another general, the able [[Nuwanza]] (or Nuvanza) to expel the Azzi-Hayasan enemy from the Upper Land. After consulting some oracles, the king ordered Nuwanza to seize the Upper Land territory from the Hayasan forces. This Nuwanza did by inflicting a resounding defeat against the Azzi-Hayasa invaders; henceforth, the "Upper Land" would remain "firmly in Hittite hands for the rest of Mursili's reign under the immediate authority of a local governor appointed by the king."<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.221</ref> While Mursili II would invade and reconquer Azzi-Hayasa in his tenth year<ref>AM 130-3</ref>, its formal submision did not occur until the following year of the Hittite king's reign.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.221</ref>
Despite Mursili's Year 7 and probable Year 8 campaigns against Azzi-Hayasa, Anniya was still unsubdued and continued to defy the Hittite king's demands to return his people at the beginning of Mursili's Ninth year.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.219</ref> Then, in the latter's Year 9, Anniya launched a major counter-offensive by once again invading the Upper Land region on the Northeast frontier of Hatti, destroying the Land of Istitina and placing the city of Kannuwara under siege.<ref>AM 110-11</ref> Worse still, Mursili II was forced to face another crisis in the same year with the death of his brother Sarri-Kusuh, the Hittite viceroy of Syria. This prompted a revolt by the [[Nuhašše]] lands against Hittite control.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.220</ref> Mursili II took decisive action by dispatching his general Kurunta to quell the Syrian rebellion while he sent another general, the able Nuwanza (or Nuvanza) to expel the Azzi-Hayasan enemy from the Upper Land. After consulting some oracles, the king ordered Nuwanza to seize the Upper Land territory from the Hayasan forces. This Nuwanza did by inflicting a resounding defeat against the Azzi-Hayasa invaders; henceforth, Upper Land would remain "firmly in Hittite hands for the rest of Mursili's reign under the immediate authority of a local governor appointed by the king."<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.221</ref> While Mursili II would invade and reconquer Azzi-Hayasa in his tenth year<ref>AM 130-3</ref>, its formal submision did not occur until the following year of the Hittite king's reign.<ref>Bryce, op. cit., p.221</ref>


The Annals of Mursili describe the campaigns of Mursili against Azzi-Hayasa below<ref>[[Hittite texts]] 61, 43, 78</ref>:
The Annals of Mursili describe the campaigns of Mursili against Azzi-Hayasa below<ref>[[Hittite texts|CTH]] 61, 43, 78</ref>:


:''The people of Nahasse arose and besieged (name indecipherable). Other enemies and the people of Hayasa likewise. They plundered Istitina, blockaded [[Ganuvara]] with troops and chariots. And because I had left [[Nuvanzas]], the chief cup-bearer, and all the heads of the camp and troops and chariots in the High Country, I wrote to Nuvanzas as follows; 'See the people of Hayasa have devastated Istitina, and blockaded the city of Ganuvara.' And Nuvanza led troops and chariots for aid and marched to Ganuvara and then he sent to me a messenger and wrote to me; 'Will you not go to consult for me the augur and the foreteller? Could not a decision be made for me by the birds and the flesh of the expiatory victims?''
:''The people of Nahasse arose and besieged" (name indecipherable). "Other enemies and the people of Hayasa likewise. They plundered Institina, blockaded Ganuvara with troops and chariots. And because I had left Nuvanzas, the chief cup-bearer, and all the heads of the camp and troops and chariots in the High Country, I wrote to Nuvanzas as follows; 'See the people of Hayasa have devastated Institina, and blockaded the city of Ganuvara.' And Nuvanza led troops and chariots for aid and marched to Ganuvara And then he sent to me a messenger and wrote to me; 'Will you not go to consult for me the augur and the foreteller? Could not a decision be made for me by the birds and the flesh of the expiatory victims?''


:''And I sent to Nuvanza this letter: 'See, I consulted for you birds and flesh, and they commanded, Go! because these people of Hayasa, the God U, has already delivered to you; strike them!''
:''And I sent to Nuvanza this letter: 'See, I consulted for you birds and flesh, and they commanded, Go! because these people of Hayasa, the God U, has already delivered to you; strike them!''


:''And as I was returning from [[Astatan]] to [[Carchemish]], the royal prince [[Nana-Lu]] came to meet me on the road and said, 'The Hayasan enemy having besieged Ganuvara, Nuvanza marched against him and met him under the walls of Ganuvara. Ten thousand men and seven hundred chariots were drawn up in battle against him, and Nuvanza defeated them. There are many dead and many prisoners.''
:''And as I was returning from Astatan to Carchemish, the royal prince Nana-Lu came to meet me on the road and said, 'The Hayasan enemy having besieged Ganuvara, Nuvanza marched against him and met him under the walls of Ganuvara. Ten thousand men and seven hundred chariots were drawn up in battle against him, and Nuvanza defeated them. There are many dead and many prisoners.''


(Here the tablets are defaced, and 15 lines lost.)
(Here the tablets are defaced, and 15 lines lost.)


:''And when I arrived in [[Tiggaramma]], the chief cup-bearer Nuvanza and all the noblemen came to meet me at Tiggaramma. I should have marched to Hayasa still, but the chiefs said to me, 'The season is now far advanced, Sire, Lord! Do not go to Hayasa.' And I did not go to Hayasa.''
:''And when I arrived in Tiggaramma, the chief cup-bearer Nuvanza and all the noblemen came to meet me at Tiggaramma. I should have marched to Hayasa still, but the chiefs said to me, 'The season is now far advanced, Sire, Lord! Do not go to Hayasa.' And I did not go to Hayasa.''


==Decline of Hayasa==
==Decline of Hayasa==
Mursili himself could now take satisfaction in the reducing the hostile and aggressive kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa once more to a Hittite vassal state.<ref>Bryce, op. cut., p.223</ref>
Mursili, himself, could now take satisfaction in the reduction of the hostile and aggressive kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa once more to a Hittite vassal state.<ref>Bryce, op. cut., p.223</ref>
After Anniya's defeat, Azzi-Hayasa never appears again in the Hittite (or [[Assyria]]n) records as a unified nation. Hayasa as a fighting power was practically eliminated by the expedition of Mursili II.
After Anniya's defeat, Azzi-Hayasa never appears again in the Hittite (or [[Assyria]]n) records as a unified nation. Hayasa as a fighting power was practically eliminated by the expedition of Mursili II.

==Speculations regarding Armenian ethnogenesis==

Some Armenians claim<ref>A Trip Through Historic Armenia, by Stephen G. Svajian, 1977, GreenHill Pub., pp. 125-128</ref><ref>Khaĭasa--kolybel' armian, by acad. Gr. Kapantsian, 1947, Armenian SSR Sciences Academy, p. 7 (in Russian)</ref> that the territory of Hayasa was involved in the formation of the [[Armenian people|Armenian nation]] (''Hayk'') and ancient [[Armenian language]]. The union of tribes ruled by Hays ({{lang-hy|Հայ}}, a name still used by modern Armenians) was formed there and moved to Arme-Shupria in [[12th century BC]].<ref>[http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/bse/article/00004/34100.htm?text=%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0 ''Lesser Armenia'' article, Great Soviet Encyclopedia]</ref><ref>[http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/bse/article/00004/37200.htm?text=%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0 ''Armenians'' article, Great Soviet Encyclopedia]</ref>
However, this is not a majority opinion in western literature because the arrival of the Armenians can only be securely dated to the 6th century BC with the [[Orontid]] kings in the Armenian highlands.


== See also ==
== See also ==
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[[Category:Anatolian peoples]]
[[Category:Anatolian peoples]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Armenia]]


[[ca:Azzi]]
[[ca:Azzi]]

Revision as of 18:36, 13 May 2008

Template:FixBunching Template:FixBunching Template:FixBunching Template:FixBunching Hayasa-Azzi or Azzi-Hayasa was a confederation formed between the Kingdoms of Hayasa located South of Trabzon and Azzi, located North of the Euphrates and to the South of Hayasa.

Many historians claim[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] that the territory of Hayasa was involved in the formation of the Armenian nation (Hayk) and ancient Armenian language. The union of tribes ruled by Hays (Armenian: Հայ, a name still used by modern Armenians) was formed there and moved to Arme-Shupria in 12th century BC.[18][19] However, non-Armenian scholars doubt this connection since the arrival of the Armenians can only be securely dated to the 6th century BC with the Orontid kings in the Armenian highlands. The origin of the Hay element remains a mystery--it may refer to an ethnic or regional designation.[20]

Before Tudhaliya III (1500-1340s BC)

Hittite inscriptions deciphered in the 1920s by the Swiss scholar Emil Forrer testify to the existence of a mountain country, the Hayasa and/or the Azzi, lying around Lake Van. Several prominent authorities agree in placing Azzi to the north of Ishuwa. Others see Hayasa and Azzi as identical.

Records of the time between Telipinu and Tudhaliya III are sketchy. The Hittites seem to have abandoned their capital at Hattusa and moved to Sapinuwa under one of the earlier Tudhaliya kings. In the early 14th cenutury BC, Sapinuwa was burned as well. Hattusili III records at this time that the Azzi had "made Samuha its frontier." It should be borne in mind that people who view themselves as great civilizations are not always too particular about which group of so-called "Barbarians" they are fighting. Also at times multiple atrocities are blamed on one group as a rallying cry for a current war.

Tudhaliya III and Suppiluliuma I (1360s-1320s BC)

Location of Hayasa-Azzi.

Tudhaliya III chose to make the city of Samuha, "an important cult centre located on the upper course of the Marassantiya river"[21]as a temporary home for the Hittite royal court sometime after his abandonment of Hattusa in the face of attacks against his kingdom by the Kaska, Hayasa-Azzi and other enemies of his state. Samuha was, however, temporarily seized by forces from the country of Azzi.[22] At this point in time, the kingdom of Hatti was so besieged by fierce attacks from its enemies that many neighbouring powers expected it to soon collapse. The Egyptian pharaoh, Amenhotep III, even wrote to Tarhundaradu, king of Arzawa saying: "I have heard that everything is finished and that the country of Hattusa is paralysed."(EA 31, 26-27)[23] However, Tudhaliya managed to rally his forces; indeed, the speed and determination of the Hittite king may have surprised Hatti's enemies including the Kaska and Azzi-Hayasa.[24] Tudhaliya sent his general Suppiluliuma, who would later serve as king himself under the title Suppiluliuma I, to Hatti's northeastern frontiers, to defeat Hayasa-Azzi. The Hayasans initially retreated from a direct battle with the Hittite commander. The Hittitologist Trevor R. Bryce notes, however, that Tudhaliya and Suppiluliuma eventually:

"invaded Azzi-Hayasa and forced a showdown with its king Karanni (or Lanni) near the city of Kumaha. The passage (in the 'Deeds of Suppiluliuma') recording the outcome of this battle is missing. But almost certainly, the Hittite campaign resulted in the conquest of Azzi-Hayasa, for subsequently Suppiluliuma established it as a Hittite vassal state, drawing up a treaty with Hakkana, its current ruler."[25]

The Hayasans were now obliged to repatriate all captured Hittite subjects and cede "the border [territory] which Suppiluliuma claimed belonged to the Land of Hatti."[26] Despite the restrictions imposed upon Hakkani, he was not a completely meek and submissive brother-in law of the Hittites in political and military affairs. As a condition for the release of the thousands of Hittite prisoners held in his domain, he demanded first the return of the Hayasan prisoners confined in Hatti.

During their reigns, the cuneiform tablets of Boğazköy begin to mention the names of three successive kings who ruled over a state of Hayasa and/or Azzi. They were Karanni, Mariya, and Hakkani.

Hakkani, married a Hittite princess. When Suppiluliuma had become king himself, Hakkani proceeded to marry Suppiluliuma's sister.

In a treaty signed with Hakkani, Suppiluliuma I mentions a series of obligations of civil right:

"My sister, whom I gave you in marriage has sisters; through your marriage, they now become your relatives. Well, there is a law in the land of the Hatti. Do not approach sisters, your sisters-in law or your cousins; that is not permitted. In Hatti Land, whosoever commits such an act does not live; he dies. In your country, you do not hesitate to marry your own sister, sister-in law or cousin, because you are not civilized. Such an act cannot be permitted in Hatti."

Mursili II (1320s-1290s BC)

The kingdom of Hayasa-Azzi remained a loyal Hittite vassal state for a time, perhaps hit by the same plague which claimed Suppiluliuma and his son Arnuwanda II. But, in Mursili's seventh year (three years before Mursili's eclipse - so, 1315 BC), the "lord of Azzi" Anniya took advantage of Pihhuniya's unification of the Kaskas and raided the Land of Dankuwa, a Hittite border region, where he transported its population back to his kingdom.

Cavaignac wrote of that period that Anniya "had sacked several districts and refused to release the prisoners taken." Anniya's rebellion soon prompted a Hittite response. The Hittite King Mursili II, having defeated Pihhuniya, marched to the borders of Azzi-Hayasa where he demanded Anniya return his captured subjects.[27] When Anniya refused, Mursili immediatedly attacked the Hayasa's border fortress of Ura.[28] In the following spring, he crossed the Euphrates and re-organized his army at Ingalova which, about ten centuries later, was to become the treasure-house and burial-place of the Armenian kings of the Arshakuni Dynasty. One of the captured fortresses lay on the west side of the Lake of Van.

Despite Mursili's Year 7 and probable Year 8 campaigns against Azzi-Hayasa, Anniya was still unsubdued and continued to defy the Hittite king's demands to return his people at the beginning of Mursili's Ninth year.[29] Then, in the latter's Year 9, Anniya launched a major counter-offensive by once again invading the Upper Land region on the Northeast frontier of Hatti, destroying the Land of Istitina and placing the city of Kannuwara under siege.[30] Worse still, Mursili II was forced to face another crisis in the same year with the death of his brother Sarri-Kusuh, the Hittite viceroy of Syria. This prompted a revolt by the Nuhašše lands against Hittite control.[31] Mursili II took decisive action by dispatching his general Kurunta to quell the Syrian rebellion while he sent another general, the able Nuwanza (or Nuvanza) to expel the Azzi-Hayasan enemy from the Upper Land. After consulting some oracles, the king ordered Nuwanza to seize the Upper Land territory from the Hayasan forces. This Nuwanza did by inflicting a resounding defeat against the Azzi-Hayasa invaders; henceforth, Upper Land would remain "firmly in Hittite hands for the rest of Mursili's reign under the immediate authority of a local governor appointed by the king."[32] While Mursili II would invade and reconquer Azzi-Hayasa in his tenth year[33], its formal submision did not occur until the following year of the Hittite king's reign.[34]

The Annals of Mursili describe the campaigns of Mursili against Azzi-Hayasa below[35]:

The people of Nahasse arose and besieged" (name indecipherable). "Other enemies and the people of Hayasa likewise. They plundered Institina, blockaded Ganuvara with troops and chariots. And because I had left Nuvanzas, the chief cup-bearer, and all the heads of the camp and troops and chariots in the High Country, I wrote to Nuvanzas as follows; 'See the people of Hayasa have devastated Institina, and blockaded the city of Ganuvara.' And Nuvanza led troops and chariots for aid and marched to Ganuvara And then he sent to me a messenger and wrote to me; 'Will you not go to consult for me the augur and the foreteller? Could not a decision be made for me by the birds and the flesh of the expiatory victims?
And I sent to Nuvanza this letter: 'See, I consulted for you birds and flesh, and they commanded, Go! because these people of Hayasa, the God U, has already delivered to you; strike them!
And as I was returning from Astatan to Carchemish, the royal prince Nana-Lu came to meet me on the road and said, 'The Hayasan enemy having besieged Ganuvara, Nuvanza marched against him and met him under the walls of Ganuvara. Ten thousand men and seven hundred chariots were drawn up in battle against him, and Nuvanza defeated them. There are many dead and many prisoners.

(Here the tablets are defaced, and 15 lines lost.)

And when I arrived in Tiggaramma, the chief cup-bearer Nuvanza and all the noblemen came to meet me at Tiggaramma. I should have marched to Hayasa still, but the chiefs said to me, 'The season is now far advanced, Sire, Lord! Do not go to Hayasa.' And I did not go to Hayasa.

Decline of Hayasa

Mursili, himself, could now take satisfaction in the reduction of the hostile and aggressive kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa once more to a Hittite vassal state.[36] After Anniya's defeat, Azzi-Hayasa never appears again in the Hittite (or Assyrian) records as a unified nation. Hayasa as a fighting power was practically eliminated by the expedition of Mursili II.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hayasa, ancestors of the Armenians": International Dictionary of Historic Places, by Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda, 1996, Taylor & Francis, ISBN:1884964036, p. 250
  2. ^ Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe, by Glanville Price, 1998, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN:0631220399, p. 14
  3. ^ Synchronized Chronology: Rethinking Middle East Antiquity, by Roger Henry, 2002, Algora Publishing, ISBN:0875861911, p. 173, cit. M. Chahin
  4. ^ David Lang, Armenians, M, 2005, p. 126-129
  5. ^ Urartskie klinoobraznye nadpisi, by acad. G. Melikishvili, 1960, p. 9
  6. ^ Vsemirnaya istoriya, by Evgeny Zhukov, Science Academy of the USSR, 1955, p. 157
  7. ^ Strany i narody: proiskhozhdenie nazvaniy, by R. A. Ageeva, Ėd. M. Murzaev, Moscow, Nauka, 1990, p. 176
  8. ^ Puti razvitiya sovremennoy lingvistiki, by T. A. Degtereva, Moscow, 1961, pp. 57-67 (in Russian)
  9. ^ Istoriya SSSR s drevneĭshikh vremei do XVIII v.: posobie dliya uchiteleĭ, by N. E. Artemov, V. I. Lebedev, 1959, p. 37
  10. ^ Zakonomernosti razvitiya literaturnykh yazykov narodov SSSR v sovetskuyu epochu, by Yu. Desheriev, Science Acad. of the USSR, 1976, p. 51; also see his Vnutristrukturnoe razvitie staropismennykh yazykov, Science Acad. of the USSR, Moscow, 1973, p. 51
  11. ^ Российская федерация. Народы и их подразделения (Ethnoligical vocabulary in Russian), by Yuri Andreevich Evstigneev, Saint-Petersburg State University, 2003, ISBN:5288028176, p. 150
  12. ^ Naselenie mira: ėtnodemograficheskiĭ spravochnik, by S. Bruk, P. Puchkov, Moscow, "Nauka", 1986, p. 169
  13. ^ The World History: Encyclopedia, Vol. I, ISBN:5948495809, p. 166 (in Russian)
  14. ^ Simvoly gosudarstvennogo suvereniteta, by Vladislav Aleksandrovich Sokolov, 1969, Izd. Sarat. un-ta, p. 34
  15. ^ Internatsionalnye elementy v leksike i terminologii, by V. V. Akulenko, A. F. Balbukha, "Vishcha shkola", 1980, p. 158 (in Russian)
  16. ^ A Trip Through Historic Armenia, by Stephen G. Svajian, 1977, GreenHill Pub., pp. 125-128
  17. ^ Khaĭasa--kolybel' armian, by acad. Gr. Kapantsian, 1947, Armenian SSR Sciences Academy, p. 7 (in Russian)
  18. ^ Lesser Armenia article, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  19. ^ Armenians article, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  20. ^ Vahan Kurkjian - The Country of Hayasa-Khayasha
  21. ^ Trevor R. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University Press. 1998, p.160 It should be stressed that Bryce's Tudhaliya III is equivalent to Wikipedia's Tudhaliya II There is some disagreement among Hittologists over the precise number of kings named Tudhaliya.
  22. ^ Bryce, op. cit., p.160
  23. ^ William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992., p.101
  24. ^ Bryce, op. cit., pp.160-162
  25. ^ (CTH 42); see also Bryce, op. cit., pp.162-63
  26. ^ Bryce, op. cit., p.163
  27. ^ Bryce, op. cit., p.219
  28. ^ AM 86-7
  29. ^ Bryce, op. cit., p.219
  30. ^ AM 110-11
  31. ^ Bryce, op. cit., p.220
  32. ^ Bryce, op. cit., p.221
  33. ^ AM 130-3
  34. ^ Bryce, op. cit., p.221
  35. ^ CTH 61, 43, 78
  36. ^ Bryce, op. cut., p.223
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