A view from the Frontier – The Political and Cultural Geography of Hiyawa Portrayed at Azatiwataya
As of 2000, an interest in the polity of Hiyawa located in Southern Anatolia was instilled and propelled with the publication of the well-known Çineköy inscription, a monument on a basalt base in the form of a pair of bulls pulling the chariot of one manifestation of the Storm God. In the light of this, the res gestae type of inscription and the sculpted images juxtaposed in the two main gates leading in and out of the Iron Age fortress Karatepe-Aslantaş or Azatiwataya, as it was designated by its patron in the early first millennium BCE, adds more food for thought on aspects of cultural geography at Hiyawa. Last, but not least, the location of the frontier stronghold may also contribute towards a better understanding of the layered geographical circumstances of this polity. I propose to revisit these well-known gate monuments to undertake a study of the political and cultural geography of Hiyawa as gleaned from the text and imagery of a citadel situated on the frontier of this small, yet intriguing kingdom.