Traumas of Hittite Kings and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Forms

Nermin Atila

Makale detayları

Traumas of Hittite Kings and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Forms

Yazarlar:

Nermin Atila

Yayıncı:

Hitit University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Anadolu Tarihi

Dergi:

Hitit Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 2, pp.431-449

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

8/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001354499

pISSN:

2757-7449

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 Psychohistory is a discipline that examines the emotions, thoughts, and behaviours of people who lived in the past from a psychological perspective. Through this approach, the existence of trauma and traumatic experiences in humans can be examined from ancient times onwards. The destructive impact of nature, peoples propensity for violence, the existence of disease and death, peoples different characters, and their lust for power have made trauma inevitable. In the cuneiform documents belonging to the Hittites, who ruled Anatolia in 2000 BC, there is information about individual and social traumas. Although the term trauma is not used in these documents, the data reflecting the effects of psychological and physical violence reveal the existence of trauma. During the Hittite period, traumas caused by various factors such as natural disasters, wars, diseases, deaths, and power struggles deeply affected the lives of kings. Hittite kings unknowingly drew their children into their own traumas and indirectly passed them on to them. The effects of traumatic events on individuals extended to their children and subsequent generations through their parents. This situation has given rise to intergenerational psychological trauma transmission patterns. The traumas that Hittite kings experienced directly or indirectly increased their devotion and dependence on the gods, strengthening their beliefs. Kings who could not cope with their traumas sought psychological defence by complaining and praying to the gods, who were a higher authority.In these documents, the king, who had experienced trauma, aimed to describe and convey his feelings and thoughts, make sense of events, inform others, and purify himself. Thus, the chronological and cyclical repetition of traumas that existed throughout Hittite history was revealed. It has been observed that the Hittites traumatic experiences were related to events such as domestic murder, betrayal, exile, slander, political weakness, and death. These traumas were not only present in the kings memory but also in royal texts and at the centre of communication with the gods. This analysis, conducted within the framework of psychoanalytic historical interpretation and intergenerational trauma theories, reveals that Hittite texts are not only political, administrative, and religious documents, but also carriers of traumas and traumatic experiences. Since epigenetic data is unavailable, intergenerational trauma transmission has been evaluated based on psychological theories. This study focuses on traumas and their intergenerational transmission, which have been overlooked in Hittite studies but affect many different areas. By revealing the existence of ways in which Hittite society coped with traumas, it contributes to the psychohistory literature.

 Psychohistory is a discipline that examines the emotions, thoughts, and behaviours of people who lived in the past from a psychological perspective. Through this approach, the existence of trauma and traumatic experiences in humans can be examined from ancient times onwards. The destructive impact of nature, peoples propensity for violence, the existence of disease and death, peoples different characters, and their lust for power have made trauma inevitable. In the cuneiform documents belonging to the Hittites, who ruled Anatolia in 2000 BC, there is information about individual and social traumas. Although the term trauma is not used in these documents, the data reflecting the effects of psychological and physical violence reveal the existence of trauma. During the Hittite period, traumas caused by various factors such as natural disasters, wars, diseases, deaths, and power struggles deeply affected the lives of kings. Hittite kings unknowingly drew their children into their own traumas and indirectly passed them on to them. The effects of traumatic events on individuals extended to their children and subsequent generations through their parents. This situation has given rise to intergenerational psychological trauma transmission patterns. The traumas that Hittite kings experienced directly or indirectly increased their devotion and dependence on the gods, strengthening their beliefs. Kings who could not cope with their traumas sought psychological defence by complaining and praying to the gods, who were a higher authority.In these documents, the king, who had experienced trauma, aimed to describe and convey his feelings and thoughts, make sense of events, inform others, and purify himself. Thus, the chronological and cyclical repetition of traumas that existed throughout Hittite history was revealed. It has been observed that the Hittites traumatic experiences were related to events such as domestic murder, betrayal, exile, slander, political weakness, and death. These traumas were not only present in the kings memory but also in royal texts and at the centre of communication with the gods. This analysis, conducted within the framework of psychoanalytic historical interpretation and intergenerational trauma theories, reveals that Hittite texts are not only political, administrative, and religious documents, but also carriers of traumas and traumatic experiences. Since epigenetic data is unavailable, intergenerational trauma transmission has been evaluated based on psychological theories. This study focuses on traumas and their intergenerational transmission, which have been overlooked in Hittite studies but affect many different areas. By revealing the existence of ways in which Hittite society coped with traumas, it contributes to the psychohistory literature.

 Psychohistory is a discipline that examines the emotions, thoughts, and behaviours of people who lived in the past from a psychological perspective. Through this approach, the existence of trauma and traumatic experiences in humans can be examined from ancient times onwards. The destructive impact of nature, peoples propensity for violence, the existence of disease and death, peoples different characters, and their lust for power have made trauma inevitable. In the cuneiform documents belonging to the Hittites, who ruled Anatolia in 2000 BC, there is information about individual and social traumas. Although the term trauma is not used in these documents, the data reflecting the effects of psychological and physical violence reveal the existence of trauma. During the Hittite period, traumas caused by various factors such as natural disasters, wars, diseases, deaths, and power struggles deeply affected the lives of kings. Hittite kings unknowingly drew their children into their own traumas and indirectly passed them on to them. The effects of traumatic events on individuals extended to their children and subsequent generations through their parents. This situation has given rise to intergenerational psychological trauma transmission patterns. The traumas that Hittite kings experienced directly or indirectly increased their devotion and dependence on the gods, strengthening their beliefs. Kings who could not cope with their traumas sought psychological defence by complaining and praying to the gods, who were a higher authority.In these documents, the king, who had experienced trauma, aimed to describe and convey his feelings and thoughts, make sense of events, inform others, and purify himself. Thus, the chronological and cyclical repetition of traumas that existed throughout Hittite history was revealed. It has been observed that the Hittites traumatic experiences were related to events such as domestic murder, betrayal, exile, slander, political weakness, and death. These traumas were not only present in the kings memory but also in royal texts and at the centre of communication with the gods. This analysis, conducted within the framework of psychoanalytic historical interpretation and intergenerational trauma theories, reveals that Hittite texts are not only political, administrative, and religious documents, but also carriers of traumas and traumatic experiences. Since epigenetic data is unavailable, intergenerational trauma transmission has been evaluated based on psychological theories. This study focuses on traumas and their intergenerational transmission, which have been overlooked in Hittite studies but affect many different areas. By revealing the existence of ways in which Hittite society coped with traumas, it contributes to the psychohistory literature.

 Psikotarih, geçmişte yaşamış olan insanların, duygu, düşünce ve davranışlarını psikolojik açıdan inceleyen bir disiplindir. Bu yaklaşım aracılığıyla, eskiçağlardan itibaren insanların travma ve travmatik deneyimlerin varlığı incelenebilir. Doğanın yıkıcı etkisi, insanların şiddete meyilli olması, hastalıkların ve ölümlerin varlığı, insanların farklı karakterde olması, iktidar hırslarının olması, travmaları kaçınılmaz kılmıştır. M.Ö. 2 bin yılında Anadoluda hüküm süren Hititlere ait çivi yazılı belgelerde, bireysel ve toplumsal travmalara ilişkin bilgiler bulunmaktadır. Bu belgelerde travma terimi kullanılmamasına rağmen, psikolojik ve fiziksel şiddetin etkilerini yansıtan veriler, travmanın varlığını ortaya koymaktadır. Hititler döneminde doğal afetler, savaşlar, hastalıklar, ölümler ve güç mücadeleleri gibi çeşitli nedenlerle oluşan travmalar, kralların yaşamını derinden etkilemiştir. Hitit kralları, farkında olmadan çocuklarını da kendi travmalarının içine çekmiş ve onlara dolaylı olarak travmalarını aktarmıştır. Travmatik olayların bireyde bıraktığı etki ebeveynleri aracılığıyla, çocuklarına ve sonraki nesillere uzanmıştır. Bu durum kuşaklararası psikolojik travma aktarım biçimlerini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Hitit krallarının doğrudan ya da dolaylı olarak etkilendikleri travmalar, onların tanrılara bağlılık ve bağımlılıklarını artırmış, inançlarını güçlendirmiştir. Travmalarıyla başa çıkamayan krallar, bir üst merci olan tanrılara, şikâyet ve dua ederek psikolojik bir savunma yapmıştır. Bu belgelerde, travmatik deneyime sahip kral, duygu ve düşüncelerini anlatma, dinletme, olayları anlamlandırma, bilgilendirme ve arınmayı amaçlamışlardır. Böylece Hitit tarihi boyunca var olan travmaların, kronolojik ve döngüsel tekrarı ortaya konulmuştur. Hititlerin travmatik deneyimlerinin, aile içi cinayet, ihanet, sürgün, iftira, siyasi zayıflık ve ölüm gibi olaylarla ilişkili olduğu görülmüştür. Bu travmalar sadece kralın belleğinde değil, kraliyet metinlerinde ve tanrılarla kurulan iletişimin merkezinde var olmuştur. Psikoanalitik tarih okuması ve kuşaklararası travma kuramları çerçevesinde gerçekleştirilen bu analiz, Hitit metinlerinin sadece siyasi, idari ve dini belgeler değil, aynı zamanda travmaların ve travmatik deneyimlerin taşıyıcı olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Epigenetik verilere ulaşılamadığında dolayı, kuşaklararası travma aktarımı psikolojik kuramlar temel alınarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bu çalışma, Hitit bilimi için göz ardı edilen, pek çok farklı alanı etkileyen travmaları ve kuşaklararası aktarımlarına odaklanmaktadır. Hitit toplumunun travmalarıyla başa çıkma yollarının varlığını ortaya koyarak, psikotarih literatürüne katkı sağlamaktadır.

Makale detayları

Traumas of Hittite Kings and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Forms

Yazarlar:

Nermin Atila

Yayıncı:

Hitit University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Anadolu Tarihi

Dergi:

Hitit Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 2, pp.431-449

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

8/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001354499

pISSN:

2757-7449

Hittites

Psychohistory

Trauma

Traumatization

Intergenerational Trauma TransmissionHititler

Psikotarih

Travma

Örselenme

Kuşaklararası Travma Aktarımı

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Nermin Atila

Yayıncı: Hitit University

Ana Başlıklar: Eski Anadolu Tarihi

Dergi: Hitit Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 2, pp.431-449

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 8/2025

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001354499

pISSN: 2757-7449

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Nermin Atila

Yayıncı:

Hitit University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Anadolu Tarihi

Dergi:

Hitit Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 2, pp.431-449

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

8/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001354499

pISSN:

2757-7449