Vassal Treaties Of The Hittites With The Syrian Kingdoms

Year 2024, Volume: 16 Issue: 4, 537 - 553, 10.11.2024

Mehtap Dinçer

https://doi.org/10.9737/historystudies.1492958

Abstract

Before the written history, people probably preferred to make compromises on many issues. However, after the beginning of the historical ages, compromises and treaties were transformed into written texts. Therefore, although we cannot have much information on the subject in prehistoric periods, the texts from historical periods provide us with information about the subjects, parties and conditions of the treaty. When it comes to treaties and treaty texts, the Hittite State comes to mind first in the history of the Ancient Age. The Hittite State, which carried out its interstate politics mainly within this framework, generally conducted its relations with the contemporary great states through binding treaties with vassal states. Among the vassal treaties, the treaties made with the relatively small states of the period, located in the territory of present-day Syria, occupy a large place. At that time, Syria was in a position that the great states such as Egypt, Mitanni and Hittite wanted to dominate due to its underground and aboveground riches and strategic location. For this reason, the states in Syria, which became an area of struggle, also took their share of this struggle and carried out a policy of balance between the great states in order to maintain their existence. This article analyses the vassal treaties between these states and the Hittite Empire in terms of traditional typology and content, and examines their impact on the determination of the international policies of the period.

Keywords

Hittite, Aleppo, Ugarit, Amurru, Nuḫḫašše

Hititlerin Suriye Krallıkları İle Yaptıkları Vassal Antlaşmalar

Abstract

Yazılı tarih öncesinde de muhtemelen insanlar birçok konuda uzlaşı sağlama yolunu tercih etmişlerdir. Ancak tarihi çağlar başladıktan sonra, uzlaşma ve antlaşmalar yazılı metinlere aktarılmıştır. Dolayısıyla tarih öncesi dönemlerde konu hakkında çok fazla bilgi sahibi olamasak da tarihi dönemlerden kalan metinler bize uzlaşı sağlanan konular, antlaşmanın tarafları ve koşulları hakkında bilgi sağlamaktadır. Antlaşmalar ve antlaşma metinleri dendiğinde Eski Çağ tarihinde ilk akla gelen Hitit Devleti olmaktadır. Devletlerarası siyasetini ağırlıklı olarak bu çerçevede yürüten Hitit Devleti çağdaşı olan büyük devletlerle olan ilişkilerini genellikle vassal devletlerle yapılan bağlayıcı antlaşmalar üstünden yürütülmüştür. Vassal antlaşmaları içerisinde de, günümüz Suriye’sinin topraklarında konumlanmış, dönemin nispeten küçük devletleri ile yapılan antlaşmalar geniş yer tutmaktadır. Suriye o dönemde, sahip olduğu yer altı ve yer üstü zenginlikleri ve stratejik konumu nedeniyle Mısır, Mitanni ve Hitit gibi büyük devletlerin hâkimiyet altına almak istedikleri bir konumda olmuştur. Bu nedenle mücadele alanı haline gelen Suriye’deki devletler de bu mücadeleden paylarına düşeni almışlar, varlıklarını devam ettirebilmek adına büyük devletler arasında denge politikası yürütmüşlerdir. Bu makale, bahse konu devletlerle Hitit Devleti arasında düzenlenen vassal antlaşmaları geleneksel tipoloji ve içerik bakımından inceleyerek, dönemin uluslararası politikalarının belirlenmesindeki etkilerini ortaya koymak amacıyla hazırlanmıştır.

Keywords

Hitit, Halep, Ugarit, Amurru

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