Theme:
Interpreting the archaeological record: artefacts, humans and landscapes
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
The Political Geography of Western Anatolia in the LBA, and the Region’s Interaction with its Neighbours, in Particular the Balkan
Content:
Whilst we know of numerous Late Bronze Age (c. 1700-1200 BC) sites, including a number of very sizable ones, in western Anatolia, remarkably little archaeological fieldwork has focused on uncovering these settlements and establishing their role vis-a-vis their surroundings. Contemporary texts similarly indicate that the region was of a major political and military importance, and that individual states and federations may have ultimately challenged Hittite hegemony over Anatolia. Yet most text books largely ignore the region’s importance, and consider it as a conflict zone between the two great powers to its west (Mycenaean Greece) and east (Hatti). This session invites presentations that aim to redress this situation. We are particularly interested in papers where evidence from various relevant disciplines, including archaeology, philology, linguistics, and geology/geo-archaeology are combined and compared. The session aims to contextualize the role of western Anatolia during the LBA and the interactions with its neighbours (including Greece, central Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, Cyprus, and the Balkan), by inviting papers discussing fieldwork results as well as new interpretations of available archaeological and philological evidence. The session aims to present western Anatolia not simply as buffer zone between other regions and states, but as a region with its own socio-political and cultural developments, that was fully integrated in the LBA world.
Keywords:
Late Bronze Age, Western Asia Minor, Arzawa, Balkan, Luwian
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Eberhard Zangger (Switzerland) 1
Co-organisers:
Jorrit Kelder (Netherlands) 2
Ivo Hajnal (Austria) 3
Affiliations:
1. Luwian Studies
2. University of Leiden
3. University of Innsbruck
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