Book Chapter

The King Tutḫaliya IV, the Eflatunpınar Monument, and the River of the Watery Abyss

  • Maria Elena Balza

In recent years, several studies have focused on the interpretation and possible function of the so-called Hittite landscape monuments. For many of these monuments, a connection with the sphere of religion and cultic celebration has been suggested, especially taking into account the possible sanctity of their location, often connected to mountains, rocky outcrops, and water. The landscape monuments would in this sense represent a form of immaterial appropriation of the landscape by the Hittite king, the elites, or, in some cases, local rulers, and would play a specific role in the transmission of messages aimed at consolidating identity and/or spreading consensus. This contribution aims to provide further elements of discussion on the subject, and particularly on the use of landscape monuments as the scene of public events, through a (re)examination of some characteristics of the so-called sacred pool of Eflatunpınar, its possible connection with cult celebrations, and the identity of the ruler that sponsored its construction.

  • Keywords:
  • Hittite monuments,
  • Eflatunpınar,
  • purulli,
  • Tutḫaliya IV,
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Maria Elena Balza

University of Pavia, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-8280-3653

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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

The King Tutḫaliya IV, the Eflatunpınar Monument, and the River of the Watery Abyss

Authors

Maria Elena Balza

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0042-4.05

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Administrative Practices and Political Control in Anatolian and Syro-Anatolian Polities in the 2nd and 1st Millennium BCE

Editors

Clelia Mora, Giulia Torri

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

216

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0042-4

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0041-7

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0042-4

Series Title

Studia Asiana

Series ISSN

1974-7837

Series E-ISSN

2612-808X

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