Papers by N. Ilgi Gercek
“A Community of Peoples” Studies on Society and Politics in the Bible and Ancient Near East in Honor of Daniel E. Fleming, 2022
Citizenship in Antiquity Civic Communities in the Ancient Mediterranean, 2023
The textual record of the Late Bronze Age Hittite state (also called Ḫatti) comprises roughly 30,... more The textual record of the Late Bronze Age Hittite state (also called Ḫatti) comprises roughly 30,000 cuneiform documents, the majority of which come from the state’s capital Hattuša (in modern Çorum). Seemingly, all these documents have been produced by and for the state, generating a considerable body of scholarship on the state and its administrative apparatus, emphasizing the role of the king as absolute ruler and the possessor of all political power. The rest of the people, it has often been stated, are not represented in the textual record and have consequently not been the focus of scholarly inquiry. This has led to modern histories of Ḫatti in which the state and its ‘subjects’ – for the people of Ḫatti are rarely, if ever, referred to as ‘citizens’ in modern scholarship – are viewed as polar opposites, with the underlying assumption that the latter were not politically active. This chapter moves beyond this assumption, and studies Hittite textual evidence to explore the conceptualization(s) and operational reality of citizenship in Ḫatti. It argues for the existence in Hittite Anatolia of different modes and scales of political affiliation and community membership which we can characterize as citizenship – both in the general sense of an individual’s political affiliation, and in the particular sense of a free member of a polity who bore certain rights and duties in relation to the state and participated in government. The discussion focuses on the designations ‘men/sons of Ḫatti’ and ‘men of the town’ as expressions of two distinct modes of membership in a political community. It then considers the role that citizens play in politics and the government of their community, as well as the criteria and qualifications for citizenship.
Cult, Temple, Sacred Spaces: Cult Practices and Cult Spaces in Hittite Anatolia and Neighboring Cultures, 2020
Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, 2017
Hittite archives are remarkably rich in geographical data. A diverse array of documents has yield... more Hittite archives are remarkably rich in geographical data. A diverse array of documents has yielded, aside from thousands of geographical names (of towns, territories, mountains, and rivers), detailed descriptions of the Hittite state's frontiers and depictions of landscape and topography. Historical geography has, as a result, occupied a central place in Hittitological research since the beginnings of the field. The primary aim of scholarship in this area has been to locate (precisely) or localize (approximately) regions, towns, and other geographical features, matching Hittite geographical names with archaeological sites, unexcavated mounds, and—whenever possible—with geographical names from the classical period. At the same time, comparatively little work has been done on geographical thinking in Hittite Anatolia: how and for what purpose(s) was geographical information collected, organized, and presented? How did those who produce the texts imagine their world and their homeland, " the Land of Hatti? " How did they characterize other lands and peoples they came into contact with? Concentrating on these questions, the present paper aims to extract from Hittite written sources their writers' geographical conceptions and practices. It is argued that the acquisition and management of geographical information was an essential component of the Hittite Empire's administrative infrastructure and that geographical knowledge was central to the creation of a Hittite homeland.
Eds.): Questions, Approaches, and Dialogues in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology. Studies in Hono... more Eds.): Questions, Approaches, and Dialogues in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology. Studies in Honor of Marie-Henriette and Charles Gates Alter Orient und Altes Testament 445 © 2017 Ugarit-Verlag -Buch-und Medienhandel Münster w w w . u g a r i t -v e r l a g . c o m A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . N o p a r t o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, e l e c t r o n i c , m e c h a n i c a l , photo-copying, recording, or otherwise, w i t h o u t t h e p r i o r p e r m ission of the publisher. P r i n t e d i n G e r m a n y I S B N 9 7 8 -3 -8 6 8 3 5 -251-1
Talks by N. Ilgi Gercek
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Papers by N. Ilgi Gercek
Talks by N. Ilgi Gercek
Book Reviews by N. Ilgi Gercek