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Purushanda (also variously Puruskhanda, Purushhattum, Purushhatum or Burushattum) was an kingdom of the early second millennium prior to the common era. It was conquered by the Hittites circa 1700 BC. The name disappears from history soon thereafter.
In the late 3rd millennium BCE, Acemhöyük was an important node in the Anatolian Trade Network.
A text known as the "King of Battle" dating to the 14th century BC recounts the fictional expedition of Akkadian Empire king Sargon (r. 2334-2279 BCE) against Purushanda and its ruler, Nur-Dagan (or Nur-Daggal). (2025). 9780631235804, Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9780631235804 An even older legend - the "Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin" - implies that Purushanda belonged to Sargon's grandson.1. Lewy H. Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Period. In: Edwards IES, Gadd CJ, Hammond NGL, eds. The Cambridge Ancient History. The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press; 1971:707-728. Both works are anachronistic and ahistorical but may hint at a relationship between the Akkadians and Proto-Luwians in the twenty-fourth and twenty-third centuries BC before the latter's immigration to Anatolia.
Linguistic models suggest the existence of a common Luwian-speaking region circa 2000 BC, stretching from the central Anatolian plateau (modern Konya province) northward to the western bend of the Maraššantiya (where modern Ankara Province, Kırıkkale and Kırşehir provinces meet).Yakubovich, Ilya. (2011). Luwian and the Luwians. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), p. 535. Spain: OUP USA. Google Books.Yakubovich, Ilya. (2011). In Search of Luwiya, the Original Luwian-speaking Area. Journal of Ancient History, Vol. 4, p. 295. http://vdi.igh.ru This region was dominated by the kingdom of Purushanda,Blasweiler, Joost. (2016). The kingdom of Purušhanda in the land Luwiya, pp. 31-38. Arnhem, Arnhem (NL) Bronze Age. Academia.edu the etymology of which suggests a takeover of Hattic lands by Luwian elites. History of Humanity: From the third millennium to the seventh century B.C., p. 549. United Kingdom: Routledge, 1994. It is believed Purushanda would have functioned as "copper clearinghouse" between central and western Anatolia between 1974–1836 BC, with evidence of monumental structures dating to the 1900s BC at the end of the early Bronze Age.Efe, Turan. (2021) The Early Bronze Age in Western Anatolia. Eds. Laura Harrison, Nejat Bilgen and Asuman Kapuci. United Kingdom: State University of New York Press.
Purushanda is first mentioned toward the end of the 19th century BCE in the records of Mari. Subsequent seals found at Acemhöyük suggest substantial trade between the two kingdoms as well as the possibility of dynastic intermarriage between the two royal houses. Syrian cylinder seals appear to be the dominant style during this period and resemble the seal of Matruna, the daughter of the king Aplahanda of Carchemish who reigned 1786-1766 BC. Some scholarship says that "that city was associated with an Anatolian or North Syrian network in which the Assyrians did not participate," Stephen Paul Lumsden. (1990). Symbols of Power: Hittite Royal Iconography in Seal, 87. Also Briggs Buchanan 1969, The end of the Assyrian Colonies: The evidence of the seal, JAOS 89.4, 762.Özgüç, Nimet: "Excavations at Acemhöyük“, Anadolu (Anatolia) 10 (1966) while others state it "formed the westernmost limit of Assyrian commercial activity."Wilhelm, G. (2008). Ha̮ttuša-Boğazköy: das Hethiterreich im Spannungsfeld des Alten Orients : 6. Internationales Colloquium der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, 22.-24. März 2006, Würzburg. Germany: Harrassowitz. Academia.edu
Purushanda features again in the stories of the campaigns of the 17th century BC Hittite ruler Anitta. The Purushandan kingdom appears to have been a significant rival of Kanesh, the kingdom ruled by Anitta. The Hittite king launched a war against Purushanda but according to the Anitta Text, a Hittite account of later date, the Purushandan king surrendered to the Hittite army:Bryce, p. 39
The text indicates that the right to rule over Purushanda's territory – symbolised by the regalia of office, the throne and sceptre – was surrendered to Anitta. Its king was reduced to the status of a privileged vassal, entitled to join Anitta at the court in Kanesh in recognition of his voluntary surrender and his high-born status. The kingdom itself probably ceased to exist at this point and was absorbed into Hittite-ruled territory.
| + ! Ruler | Comment |
| legendary great king contemporary with Sargon of Akkad. | |
| *Conquered the kingdom with the Rise of the Hittite Old Kingdom. | |
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