A KÜLTEPE TABLET RELATING TO CARAVAN EXPENSES FROM THE  UṢUR-ŠA-IŠTAR ARCHIVE

İrfan Albayrak

Makale detayları

A KÜLTEPE TABLET RELATING TO CARAVAN EXPENSES FROM THE UṢUR-ŠA-IŠTAR ARCHIVE

Yazarlar:

İrfan Albayrak

Yayıncı:

Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Sümeroloji

Dergi:

Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.64 Issue 2, pp.1581-1589

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001333869

pISSN:

2459-0150

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 As is well known, the caravans travelling from Assyria were usually loaded with various textile products and tin ore, which was much needed for the production of bronze in the Anatolian kingdoms. The caravans had to cross mountains, hills and rivers to reach the kārum and wabartum in the Anatolian interior. During this arduous journey of more than a thousand kilometres, donkey caravans had to pass through the territories of different kingdoms and pay taxes under various names depending on the type of goods they carried. The available information shows that merchant caravans entered Anatolia by three different routes. During the journey, caravans loaded with tin and textiles stopped in towns and cities along the way, and numerous records were kept of travelling expenses, pre-arranged credit purchases and delivery of goods. These records are known in the literature as itinerary texts, and they provide important insights into the historical geography of ancient Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The texts left behind by the merchants who traded between Assyria and Anatolia do not provide detailed information about the topography of the travelling regions. This is because caravan managers and merchants did not make additional notes about the cities on the route and the topography of the region, unless there was a threat to the safety of the road and trade. From time to time, if there were processes that directly affected the merchant activities such as difficulties at river and mountain passes, closure of roads due to political and social events, and measures to prevent smuggling, they only mentioned geographical descriptions such as place, river and mountain names. A tablet, which is treated for the first time in this article, provides interesting content both in terms of place names, which are rarely mentioned in previously published documents, and in terms of the diversity of the caravans cargo. This tablet must belong to the archives of the Uṣur-ša-İštar family, one of the famous merchants of Kaniš-Kültepe.

 As is well known, the caravans travelling from Assyria were usually loaded with various textile products and tin ore, which was much needed for the production of bronze in the Anatolian kingdoms. The caravans had to cross mountains, hills and rivers to reach the kārum and wabartum in the Anatolian interior. During this arduous journey of more than a thousand kilometres, donkey caravans had to pass through the territories of different kingdoms and pay taxes under various names depending on the type of goods they carried. The available information shows that merchant caravans entered Anatolia by three different routes. During the journey, caravans loaded with tin and textiles stopped in towns and cities along the way, and numerous records were kept of travelling expenses, pre-arranged credit purchases and delivery of goods. These records are known in the literature as itinerary texts, and they provide important insights into the historical geography of ancient Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The texts left behind by the merchants who traded between Assyria and Anatolia do not provide detailed information about the topography of the travelling regions. This is because caravan managers and merchants did not make additional notes about the cities on the route and the topography of the region, unless there was a threat to the safety of the road and trade. From time to time, if there were processes that directly affected the merchant activities such as difficulties at river and mountain passes, closure of roads due to political and social events, and measures to prevent smuggling, they only mentioned geographical descriptions such as place, river and mountain names. A tablet, which is treated for the first time in this article, provides interesting content both in terms of place names, which are rarely mentioned in previously published documents, and in terms of the diversity of the caravans cargo. This tablet must belong to the archives of the Uṣur-ša-İštar family, one of the famous merchants of Kaniš-Kültepe.

 As is well known, the caravans travelling from Assyria were usually loaded with various textile products and tin ore, which was much needed for the production of bronze in the Anatolian kingdoms. The caravans had to cross mountains, hills and rivers to reach the kārum and wabartum in the Anatolian interior. During this arduous journey of more than a thousand kilometres, donkey caravans had to pass through the territories of different kingdoms and pay taxes under various names depending on the type of goods they carried. The available information shows that merchant caravans entered Anatolia by three different routes. During the journey, caravans loaded with tin and textiles stopped in towns and cities along the way, and numerous records were kept of travelling expenses, pre-arranged credit purchases and delivery of goods. These records are known in the literature as itinerary texts, and they provide important insights into the historical geography of ancient Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The texts left behind by the merchants who traded between Assyria and Anatolia do not provide detailed information about the topography of the travelling regions. This is because caravan managers and merchants did not make additional notes about the cities on the route and the topography of the region, unless there was a threat to the safety of the road and trade. From time to time, if there were processes that directly affected the merchant activities such as difficulties at river and mountain passes, closure of roads due to political and social events, and measures to prevent smuggling, they only mentioned geographical descriptions such as place, river and mountain names. A tablet, which is treated for the first time in this article, provides interesting content both in terms of place names, which are rarely mentioned in previously published documents, and in terms of the diversity of the caravans cargo. This tablet must belong to the archives of the Uṣur-ša-İštar family, one of the famous merchants of Kaniš-Kültepe.

 Bilindiği üzere Asurdan hareket eden kervanların yükü genellikle çeşitli dokuma ürünleri ve Anadolu krallıklarında tunç yapımında çok ihtiyaç duyulan kalay madeniydi. Kervanlar Anadolu içlerindeki kārum ve wabartumlara ulaşmak için karşılarına çıkan dağları, tepeleri ve nehirleri aşmak zorundaydılar. Bin kilometreyi aşan bu zorlu yolculuk sırasında eşek kervanları farklı krallıkların topraklarından geçmek ve taşıdıkları ürünlerin türüne göre çeşitli adlar altında vergiler ödemekle yükümlüydüler. Eldeki mevcut bilgiler tüccar kervanlarının Anadoluya üç ayrı güzergâh kullanarak girdiklerini göstermektedir. Yolculuk esnasında, kalay ve tekstil ürünleriyle yüklü kervanların yol boyunca uğradıkları irili ufaklı kasaba ve şehirlerde, yol giderleri ve önceden düzenlenen vadeli alış-verişler ile mal teslimatına ilişkin çok sayıda tutanak düzenlenmiştir. Bu kayıtlar literatürde itinerer güzergâh metinleri olarak bilinir ve bunlar eskiçağ Anadolu ve Mezopotamyasının tarihi coğrafyası hakkında çok önemli içerikler vermektedir. Asur-Anadolu kentleri arasında ticaret yapan tüccarlardan geriye kalan metinler seyahat bölgelerinin topografyası hakkında ayrıntılı bilgi vermezler. Çünkü kervan sorumluları ve tüccarlar, yol ve ticaret güvenliği açısından kendilerini tehdit eden herhangi bir olumsuzluk olmadığı sürece güzergâh üzerindeki kentler ve bölge topografyası hakkında belgelere ilave notlar düşmemişlerdir. Zaman zaman nehir ve dağ geçitlerinde yaşanan sıkıntılar, yolların siyasal ve bazı sosyal olaylar nedeniyle kapatılması, kaçakçılığın önlenmesine yönelik tedbirler gibi, tüccarlık faaliyetlerini doğrudan etkileyen süreçler olursa ancak yer, nehir ve dağ adları gibi coğrafi tanımlardan bahsetmişlerdir. Bu makalede ilk olarak işlenen bir belge gerek önceden neşredilmiş belgelerde az geçen yer adlarına sahip olması gerekse kervanın taşıdığı yükün çeşitliliği bakımında ilginç içerikler vermektedir. Bu tablet Kaniš-Kültepenin ünlü tüccarlarından Uṣur-ša-İštar ailesinin arşivine ait olmalıdır.

Makale detayları

A KÜLTEPE TABLET RELATING TO CARAVAN EXPENSES FROM THE UṢUR-ŠA-IŠTAR ARCHIVE

Yazarlar:

İrfan Albayrak

Yayıncı:

Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Sümeroloji

Dergi:

Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.64 Issue 2, pp.1581-1589

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001333869

pISSN:

2459-0150

Kültepe Tablets

Uṣur-ša-İštar’s Archive

Itinerer Texts

CaravanKültepe Tabletleri

Uṣur-ša-İštar Arşivi

İtinerer Metinler

Kervan

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: İrfan Albayrak

Yayıncı: Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar: Sümeroloji

Dergi: Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.64 Issue 2, pp.1581-1589

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 12/2024

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001333869

pISSN: 2459-0150

Sayı

Yazarlar:

İrfan Albayrak

Yayıncı:

Ankara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Sümeroloji

Dergi:

Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.64 Issue 2, pp.1581-1589

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001333869

pISSN:

2459-0150