Çineköy inscription

The statue of Cineköy, because of it engraved bilingual inscription often referred to as Bilingue of Cineköy, is a statue of a Weather God on a chariot drawn by bulls car, found in the village Cineköy, about 30 km south of Adana in Cilicia in southern Turkey. It is now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Adana.

Discovery

The sculpture was of a farmer in the village Cineköy (36 ° 48 'N, 35 ° 16' O36.79833333333335.260277777778 ) in the district of the province of Adana Yüreğir found on 30 October 1997 during plowing. After notification of the competent authorities undertook in November Izmet Ipek and A. Kazim Tosun on behalf of the Archaeological Museum of Adana excavations, where the statue of the god, and the car with the bulls in several parts came to light. The statue, which consisted of soft limestone, was spent on 13 November to the museum shortly after the other, consisting of basalt parts. They were restored under the direction of the central workshop for restoration and conservation Istanbul and subsequently exhibited in the museum. In summer 1998, the museum continued the excavations, but could find no other parts of the work.

Statue

The carved limestone figure wears a headdress with tassels, including a hoop with two horns, identifying them as God. The long straight hair, trimmed beard, and eyes and ears are clearly visible. The upper body is clothed with a cloak, the short sleeves close above the elbow from. Around the hips is a strap that is attached to a reaching from the left shoulder to the bottom ribbon. The clothing below the waist is difficult to see. Before breast hold hands a not -to-interpret object in his right hand there are eight small holes that may served for attachment of another object.

The god stands on a chariot drawn by two bulls. These parts of the image are made of basalt. From left bull 's head is broken off at the eyes, the rest is in good condition including the yoke. The right draft animal lacking to a residual of the left hind leg. The animals are depicted in motion, muscles, veins, hooves, a long braided tail and other body parts are clearly visible. The wheels of the carriage, eight spokes, however, are only partially preserved. The stand hole of the statue measures 40 × 40 cm and is 30 cm deep. Before the stand-on platform walls can be seen with three towers, which may symbolize the Kingdom of Awarik, considered the originator of the statue.

There is general consensus that is depicted in the statue of the Hittite weather god Tarhunzas, which is mentioned several times in the Luwian text of the inscription. In the Phoenician part of it, as also identified in bilingual from Karatepe, as Baal. The monument is created by neo- Hittite standards, but it shows loud Giovanni Lanfranchi in hair, beard and clothing Assyrian influences.

Inscription

Between the legs of the bulls as well as on the base plate are inscriptions in hieroglyphic Luwian and Phoenician, which form a bilingual. The author of the inscription is known from Assyrian writings king Awarikus ( Urikki ) of Qu'e (r. 738-732 BC). As is common in ancient Near Eastern royal inscriptions, it consists of two parts, being presented in the first author and he is in the second part of a report of his deeds.

First is Awarik - in the Luwian text Wariki, in Phoenician only the first letter of W is obtained - with name, titulary and descent before and two epithets, which bring him to the weather gods Tarhunzas and the sun god in conjunction. He leads his lineage, as does also Azatiwada of Karatepe in the local inscription on the house of Muk ( a) sas, in the Phoenician MPs back, which is equated with the general opinion with the legendary Greek seer and founder of the city Mopsos. In the text Awarik describes achievements and contributions to his country. He reported on the enlargement of his kingdom and the army as well as the progress that he has brought to the country with divine help. He praises the fusion of Qu'e with the Assyrian Empire and boasts of the destruction and construction of fortresses in unnamed, remote areas.

The Kingdom Qu'e corresponds approximately to the Kizzuwatna the Hittite Empire period and thus roughly the flat Cilicia ( Cilicia Pedias ) the later period. It is in the Luwian part of the Karatepe - text Adanawa and the inhabitants of the Phoenician part, as well as here, called Danunäer. In the part of the Luwian inscription Cineköy the country is referred to as Hiyawa. This name is associated with the Bronze Age Hittite texts in many emerging Aḫḫijavā, which is often, however, quite controversial, equated with the Greek Achaia, or at least brought to the Achaeans, so Greeks or Mycenaeans, in context. This connection would support the hypothesis of a migration from the west through Asia Minor to Cilicia in the early Iron Age, which also represented Recai Tekoğlu and André Lemaire.