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Alalakh ( Tell Atchana; Hittite language: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished as an urban settlement in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, c. 2000–1200 BC. The city contained palaces, temples, private houses and fortifications. The remains of Alalakh have formed an extensive mound covering around 22 hectares.Riehl, Simone, (2022). "Late Bronze Age Tell Atchana", Tubingen University. In the Late Bronze Age, Alalakh was the capital of the local kingdom of Mukiš.Yener, K. Aslıhan, (2007). "The Anatolian Middle Bronze Age kingdoms and Alalakh: Mukish, Kanesh and trade", Anatolian Studies 57, pp. 151−160.
The first palace was built around 2000 BC, and likely destroyed in the 12th century BC. The site was thought to have never been reoccupied after that, but archaeologist Timothy Harrison showed, in a (2022) lecture's graphic, it was inhabited also in Amuq Phases N-O, Iron Age, c. 1200–600 BC.Harrison, Timothy, Lynn Welton, and Stanley Klassen, (13 July 2022). "Highway to Science: The Tayinat and CRANE Projects", ARWA Association, Lecture min. 6:58, in: "Iron Age, Ca. 1200-600 BCE, Amuq Phases N-O...Primary Site: Tell Tayinat, Other Excavated Sites: Tell Atchana..."
Human settlements in Amik Valley date back to the Neolithic period as early as 6000 BC. Many other ancient archaeological sites are located in this area, such as Tell Tayinat, which was recently excavated.Batiuk, S., (2015). 'Map of the Amuq Plain showing the location of Tell Tayinat and other principal settlements', in: Lynn Welton, "The Amuq Plain and Tell Tayinat in the Third Millennium BCE: The Historical and Socio-Political Context", CSMS Journal, Volume 6, Figure 1, p. 16. Tell Atchana is located only about 700m southeast of Tell Tayinat within the flood plain of the Orontes River, where the river enters the Amuq Plain.Harrison, Thimothy P., (2014). "Recent Discoveries at Tayinat (Ancient Kunulua/Calno) and Their Biblical Implications", in: Congress Volume Munich 2013, Brill, p. 397: "...Tell Tayinat forms a large low-lying mound approximately one kilometer north of the current course of the Orontes River, and some 700 m northwest of Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh), its Bronze Age sister settlement. Tayinat sits within the flood plain of the Orontes River, at the point where the river enters the Amuq Plain before working its way westward toward Antakya and the Mediterranean coast..." Chatal Huyuk (Amuq) is another major site that is located in the area. A map of Amuq valley during the Bronze Age with the locations of major archaeological sites. by S. Batiuk - researchgate.net; in
Chronology of Alalakh, related to other sites in the Lake Amik region, is as follows:Akar, Murat, (9 May 2022). "From Petty Kingdoms to Empires: The Changing Social and Political Dynamics from Middle to Late Bronze Ages in Southeastern Anatolia. A Point of View from the Amuq Valley of Hatay", ARWA Association Lecture, min. 5:54.
| Terminal Early Bronze Age | Late J | 2050-2000 |
| Middle and Late Bronze Ages | K, L, M | 2000-1150 |
| Iron Age I | N | 1150-900 |
| Iron Age II | O (Early-Middle.) | 900-738 |
Middle Bronze Age is divided in two periods: Middle Bronze Age I (c. 2000-1800 BC), and Middle Bronze Age II (c. 1800-1600 BC).Tell Atchana, Alalakh Excavations. "Project", Retrieved: 21 November 2024.
The recorded history of the site may begin under the name Alakhtum, with tablets from Mari in the 18th century BC, when the city was part of the kingdom of Yamhad (modern Aleppo). A dossier of tablets records that King Sumu-Epuh (c. 1810-1780 BCE) sold the territory of Alakhtum to his son-in-law Zimri-Lim, king of Mari, retaining for himself overlordship. After the fall of Mari in 1765 BC, Alalakh seems to have come under the direct rule of Yamhad again.
King Abba-El I of Aleppo (c. 1750 BC) bestowed the city upon his brother Yarim-Lim of Alalakh, to replace the city of Irridu. Abba-El had destroyed the latter after it revolted against Yarim-Lim.Donald J. Wiseman, Abban and Alalah, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 12, pp. 124-129, 1958 In the 18th to 17th centuries period transition, Alalakh was under the reign of Yarim-Lim, and was the capital of the city-state of Mukiš and vassal to Yamhad, centered in modern Aleppo.Johnson, Michael Alexander, (2020). Crafting Culture at Alalakh: Tell Atchana and the Political Economy of Metallurgy, The University of Chicago, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, p. 1.
Destruction. Under the hegemony of Aleppo, a dynasty of Yarim-Lim's descendants was founded; it lasted to the second half of 17th century BC. At that time Alalakh was destroyed, possibly by Hittites Hattusili I, in the second year of his campaigns. As per middle chronology and publications by archaeologist K. A. Yener, destruction of Alalakh can be located as a "Fire and Conflagration" around 1650 BC.Ingman, Tara, et al., (2020). "Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh) during the 2nd millennium BC: integration of isotopic and genomic evidence", in bioRxiv preprint, Table 1. Chronology of Tell Atchana, pp. 6-7.Ingman, Tara, et al., (2021). "Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence", in PLoS ONE 16(6), 30 June 2021, Table 1. Chronology of Tell Atchana. A recent Yener's paper considers Palace's Level VII destruction by Hattusili I to have taken place in his second year, in 1628 BC.Yener, Aslihan K., (2021). "Some Thoughts about Middle Bronze Age Alalakh and Ugarit: Reassessing an Alalakh Wall Painting with Archival Data", in: Ougarit, un anniversaire, Bilans et recherches en cours, Peeters, Leuven-Paris-Bristol: "...the use of the Level VII Palace and its destruction by Hattusili I in his second year, 1628 BC (middle chronology)..."
However, according to the archaeological site report, this statue was discovered in a level of occupation dating several centuries after the time that Idrimi lived. But recently, archaeologist Jacob Lauinger considers the statue and inscription can be dated to Woolley's Level III (/II), c. 1400-1350 BC, around 50 to 100 years after Idrimi's lifetime.Lauinger, Jacob, (2021). "Imperial and Local: Audience and Identity in the Idrimi Inscriptions", in Studia Orientalia Electronica, Vol. 9, No. 2, Finnish Oriental Society, p. 31. There has been much scholarly debate as to its historicity. Archaeologically-dated tablets recount that Idrimi's son Niqmepuh was contemporaneous with the Mitanni king Saushtatar. This seems to support the inscription on the statue claiming that Idrimi was contemporaneous with Barattarna, Saushtatar's predecessor.
The socio-economic history of Alalakh during the reign of Idrimi's son and grandson, Niqmepuh and Ilim-Ilimma I, is well documented by tablets excavated from the site. Idrimi is referred to rarely in these tablets.
In the mid-14th century BC, the Hittite Suppiluliuma I defeated king Tushratta of Mitanni and assumed control of northern Syria, then including Alalakh, which he incorporated into the Hittite Empire. A tablet records his grant of much of Mukish's land (that is, Alalakh's) to Ugarit, after the king of Ugarit alerted the Hittite king to a revolt by the kingdoms of Mukish, Nuhassa, and Niye.
According to Eric Cline, the city was largely abandoned by 1300 BC.Eric H. Cline, , p. 124 A small Hittite post was known to be there during the reign of Ammištamru (II) of Ugarit, who ruled c. 1260-1235. The Kingdom of Mukish was no more. But according to D'Alfonso (2007), there were two major phases in the Hittite administration of their new northern Syrian territories. The first one dates to the reign of Mursili II. Apparently, "one feature of this phase was the prominent role of the court of Aleppo as bench for the Syrian legal cases." The second was a mature phase that started around 1270 BC after some period of uncertainty. During this phase, the main court of jurisdiction had shifted from Aleppo to Karkemis, which then seems to have acquired even greater powers.Lorenzo d' Alfonso 2007, Talmi-sarruma judge? Some thoughts on the jurisdiction of the kings of Aleppo during the Hittite Empire. Studi micenei ed egeo-anatolici, ISSN 1126-6651, Vol. 49, Nº. 1, 2007, págs. 159-169
During the 14th and 13th centuries BC, great quantities of Mycenaean pottery had arrived to Syria-Palestine, a lot of it from Cyprus. Alalakh was the northernmost location where this Mycenaean IIIA:2-III:B pottery is found, along with Ugarit. Significant quantities of this pottery have been discovered in Alalakh.Garth Gilmour 1992, MYCENAEAN IIIA AND IIIB POTTERY IN THE LEVANT AND CYPRUS. academia.edu
The Hittite tablet CTH 136, also known as KBo 13.55, is a fragmentary text that may represent a treaty of emperor Šuppiluliuma I with Mukiš. This view is favoured by Elena Devecchi.Elena Devecchi 2007, A Fragment of a Treaty with Mukis. In: Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, 2007, 207-216 She relates this text to the conquests that Suppiluliuma made in Syria as a result of his "one-year campaign".
Elena Devecchi interprets this text as a legal document or a judicial verdict.Elena Devecchi 2010, RS 17.62 + RS 17.237 (CTH 64). Treaty, Edict or Verdict?
After several years' surveys beginning in 1995, the University of Chicago team had its first full season of excavation in 2003 directed by K. Aslihan Yener. In 2004, the team had a short excavation and study season in order to process finds.[22] K. Aslihan Yener, Alalakh: A Late Bronze Age Capital In The Amuq Valley, Southern Turkey, Oriental Institute, 2001[23] K. Aslihan Yener, "Tell Atchana (Ancient Alalakh) Survey 2001," in Oriental Institute 2001-2002 Annual Report, pp. 13–19, 2002[24] K. Aslihan Yener, Amuq Valley Regional Projects: Tell Atchana (Alalakh) 2002, Oriental Institute, 2003[25] Yener et al., Reliving the Legend: The Expedition to Alalakh 2003, Oriental Institute, 2004Yener KA, editor. The Amuq Valley Regional Projects: Excavations in the Plain of Antioch: Tell Atchana, Ancient Alalakh, Vol. 1: The 2003–2004 Excavation Seasons. Istanbul: Koç University; 2010 In 2006, the project changed sponsorship and resumed excavations directed by K. Aslihan Yener under the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Mustafa Kemal University in Antakya.Yener KA, Akar M, Horowitz MT, editors. Tell Atchana, Alalakh. Volume 2: The Late Bronze II City, the 2006–2010 Excavation Seasons. Istanbul: Koç University Press; 2019.Yener KA. New Excavations at Alalakh: The 14th - 12th centuries BC. In: Yener KA, editor. Across the Border: Late Bronze-Iron Age Relations Between Syria and Anatolia Proceedings of a Symposium Held at the Research Center of Anatolian Studies, Koc University, Istanbul, 31 May – 1 June 2010. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement. Leuven: Peeters; 2013. p. 11–35.
About 500 cuneiform tablets were retrieved at Level VII, (Middle Bronze Age) and Level IV (Late Bronze Age).Jesse Casana, Alalakh and the Archaeological Landscape of Mukish: The Political Geography and Population of a Late Bronze Age Kingdom, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 353 , pp. 7-37, (February 2009) The inscribed statue of Idrimi, a king of Alalakh c. early 15th century BC, has provided a unique autobiography of Idrimi's youth, his rise to power, and his military and other successes. The statue is now held in the British Museum. Akkadian texts from Alalakh primarily consist of juridical tablets, which record the ruling family's control over land and the income that followed, and administrative documents, which record the flow of commodities in and out of the palace. In addition, there are a few word lists, astrological omens and conjurations.
Many examples of Nuzi ware, a high quality ceramics associated with the Mitanni period, have been discovered in Alalakh. This type of ceramics, as found at Alalakh/Atchana, is sometimes described as Atchana ware, or as Atchana-Nuzi ware.
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