Asˇsˇur, Carchemish is described as being “in the hands of the king of Ebla” (Pettinato
1981 : 103 ).
The extent of Eblaite enterprise deeper into EBA Anatolia is more difficult to assess.
Pettinato ( 1981 : 106 – 107 , 1991 : 160 ) makes regular references to a kingdom called kà-
ni-sˇu, which is recorded as belonging to a larger network of fifty-two townships
dependent on the Eblaite trade center of Lu’atum located to the north. It is also listed
among seventeen kingdoms that are “in the hands of Ebla.” Pettinato ( 1981 : 106 , 1991 :
160 ) equates kà-ni-sˇuwith the later Assyrian trading enclave of kanisˇ (modern Kültepe
in Cappadocia, Figure 26. 1 ), suggesting that kà-ni-sˇudemonstrates the imperial reach
of Ebla into Anatolia. Further, the fifty-two outposts of the Lu’atum network, if
extending into Anatolia, suggest an extensive trading enterprise deep into the peninsula
(Pettinato 1991 : 160 ), not unlike the MBA Assyrian trading networks.
However, as Diakanoff ( 1990 : 5 , n. 3 ) observes, none of the numerous other place
names listed in the Lu’atum network can be identified with an Anatolian toponym.
Similarly, attempts to identify a township named kà-kà-ni-sˇum in an Old Akkadian
text with Kültepe-Kanisˇ (Westenholz 1998 : 11 ) have met with deep scepticism (see Van
De Mieroop 2000 : 142 – 143 , n. 40 ). Until the toponyms of ka-ni-sˇu and kà-kà-ni-sˇum
can be convincingly located in a region approximating Cappadocia in a third
millennium text, Syrian or Mesopotamian interest in the EBA citadel of Kültepe
remains speculative, but not improbable.
Historical–literary traditions of Akkadian kings
The destruction at Ebla that preserved the Palace G archives is widely attributed to
Akkadian expansion and aggression. A royal inscription of Sargon is often (if
uncritically used to delineate the northern extent of the territory ruled by Akkadian
kings. The end of the inscription reads:^1He (the god Daga ̄n)
gave to him (Sargon) the Upper
Land: Mari, Irmuti, and Ebla
as far as the Cedar Forest
and the Silver Mountains.
( 20 – 28 )There is general agreement that the “Silver Mountains” are to be placed somewhere
within the eastern Taurus or Anti-Taurus mountain range (see Yener 1980 : 52 , located
north of Carchemish on Figure 26. 1 ), and the “Cedar Forests” in the Amanus
Mountains (see Steinkeller 1998 : 90 , located at Zincirli on Figure 26. 1 ).
The most frequently cited and evocative textual evidence for communication
between the two regions is a pair of literary traditions that narrate the heroism of the
Akkadian kings Sargon and Naram-Sin, respectively. One recounts an Anatolian
campaign of Sargon, the other a rebellion including Anatolian kingdoms against his
grandson Naram-Sin. The “King of Battle” narrative is attested in both Akkadian and
Hittite; the Akkadian versions are recorded on Old Babylonian tablets from Asˇsˇur and
Nineveh, and on tablets recovered from the site of el-Amarna, in Egypt ( 1353 – 1335 BC).
The Hittite narrative more or less follows the Akkadian, accounting for considerable
variation in phraseology (Westenholz 1997 : 102 ).
–– Christoph Bachhuber ––