Скачать или смотреть Aysegul Yelkenci: An archaeoastronomical overview of Hittites geography

An archaeoastronomical overview of Hittites geography

Ayşegül F. Yelkenci and İlayda Yeşilyurt - Istanbul Kültür University, University of Lucerne

The Hittites, who appeared on the stage of history at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, is an important Anatolian empire that left its mark both with its written documents and monumental architectural remains and arts. Although it is known that the Hittites, who became stronger with the reign of Hattušili I and his successor Mursili I from approximately 1650 B.C. onwards, ruled in the 2nd millennium B.C. in the capital city of Hattusa, the origin of this people is still unknown. When both mythological texts and feast texts of the Hittites are analyzed, it is seen that the people of the Hatti country attach great importance to seasonal cycles. The cult ceremonies and festivals organized by the Hittites to please their gods included specific periods, routes and days. The festivals were organized according to a specific calendar and certain calculations were made based on seasonal cycles. The written documents describing the cult trips on certain days of the year and the celebration of certain festivals actually describe a distinct celestial and seasonal route.

In the Hittite geography, the Sun god manifests itself in monumental architecture as an effect of the Sun cult. In the Eflatun Pınar monument, the solar emphasis of the Hittite cosmogony manifests itself most clearly. The gates of important Hittite settlements such as the capital Hattuša and Alaca Höyük, were used for purposes other than defense. At the Yerkapı in the Upper City of Hattuša, the inclination of the two southern corners of the building is precisely 32°. This corresponds to the maximum height of Sirius in the sky at the time the city was built. The 32° angle used on both the horizontal and vertical axes shows that the northern entrance of Yerkapı was determined by the position of Sirius in the sky.

When the directions and angles of the north entrance of Yerkapı and the southeast and southwest corners were measured, it is seen that the other buildings of the city were also positioned according to the annual apparent motion of the Sun. The southern corners of the Yerkapı were oriented according to the rising and setting points of the Sun at the summer solstice and winter solstice, and the eastern gate of the city, the King's Gate, and the western gate, the Lion Gate, were also built to be located on these directions. A similar connection is also found at Alaca Höyük. The Sphinxed Gate of Alaca Höyük is the southern gate of the city and it is thought to be con