[FLEUVES] Performing Imperial Cult: The Archaeological Survey of Fasıllar and its contribution to Hittite Cult Practices

Anatolian Rivers between East and West

Axes and Frontiers Geographical, economical and cultural aspects of the human-environment interactions between the Hebros and Tigris Rivers in ancient times The Cultural Aspects of Rivers 28th September-1st October 2017 Istanbul (French Institute of Anatolian Studies) Enez (Enez Excavations Directorate)

http://www.transfers.ens.fr/anatolian-rivers-between-east-and-west-axes-and-frontiers

Perceptions and Representations of Western Asiatic Rivers

Yigit Erbil (Hacettepe University, yigiterbil@gmail.com)Performing Imperial Cult: The Archaeological Survey of Fasıllar and its contribution to Hittite Cult Practices

From 2012, five archaeological surveys have been completed around the so-called Fasıllar Monument and its surrounding area. Since its discovery, this monument has intrigued the scientific community, as it lies on its own with no Hittite archaeological settlement nearby. The general aims of the Fasıllar Regional Archaeological Project are threefold: to determine the general historical and geographical contexts of the Fasıllar Monument; to reconsider the function of the seemingly unfinished Hittite monument at Fasıllar and its exact location withrespect to Tarhuntašša; and to understand cult places in the Hittite Period.According to Ancient Near East beliefs, all nature and natural events are considered individual entities that act with consciousness. In practices of cult, these reflections of nature are personalized through images of great gods. Early religions of Anatolia, similar to other parts of the world, were based on interaction among humans and the nature. The roots of Hittite religion can be traced back to such early concepts. Cult practices emerging from many changes and additions that occurred in a long period of time were based on a system of reward and punishment. Both secular and religious messages co-existed focusing on the satisfaction ofgods and providing social messages. As such, Hittite cult practices reveal their interconnection between religion and state and this dynamic reveals itself in ceremonies involving the cycle of the seasons and communication with the gods of the underworld and the cults of the dead as well as the ancestors. In this presentation, the historical geography of ancient Anatolia will be evaluated in respect of Fasıllar survey archaeological data, in order to understand more about religiously charged geographies in the natural landscape in the last quarter of the 2nd Millennium BC.