doi: 10.2143/AWE.14.0.3108187 AWE 14 (2015) 23-49 MUŠKI REVISITED* CECILY GRACE Abstract Assyrian literary sources from the reign of Sargon II frequently refer to King Mitâ of Muški. Mitâ has been identified as King Midas of Phrygia, due to evidence suggesting these kings reigned at the same time, in the same geographical region. While the Mitâ/Midas identifica- tion is widely accepted, conflicting evidence about the locations of Muški and Phrygia has precluded a conclusive understanding of the link between the two kingdoms. Evidence for the locations of Muški and Phrygia will here be reconsidered and a new interpretation of the connection between the kingdoms during the late 8th century BC is offered. Introduction The identification of Mitâ of Muški and Midas of Phrygia is of great significance for Phrygian studies. It allows the Assyrian evidence for Mitâ’s political activities in south-east Anatolia to provide much needed historical information about Midas’ reign. Chronological and geographical considerations are central here: did Mitâ and Midas rule at the same time, and were Muški and Phrygia located in the same ter- ritory? The first question can be answered affirmatively and will not be the focus of this article.1 However, uncertainties remain regarding the geographical extent of Muški and Phrygia, which have cast doubt on the identification of these kingdoms. This article will revisit evidence for the locations of Phrygia and Muški during the * This article forms part of my PhD thesis. I would like to thank Gocha Tsetskhladze for his dedicated, generous and patient supervision. I would also like to express my appreciation to Hyun Jin Kim for his stimulating discussions, and to the three anonymous referees of AWE for their detailed and informative comments. Any remaining errors are, of course, my own. 1 Assyrian literary sources demonstrate that Mitâ had a minimum reign of 718–709 BC (collected and discussed in Grace forthcoming). These dates are reasonably compatible with Herodotus’ informa- tion (1. 14. 1–2), that Midas ruled before Gyges ascended the Lydian throne in 680 BC. Furthermore, evidence from the Neo-Hittite kingdom of Tyana suggests that both Mitâ and Midas simultaneously had diplomatic links with king Warpalawas who ruled ca. 738–709 BC (for discussion, see Fiedler 2005; van Dongen 2014, 702–03; also see below). Other somewhat inconsistent information about when Midas ruled is provided by later ancient authors. This information has been the focus of a study by Berndt-Ersöz (2008). While she interprets the inconsistencies as indicating that multiple kings named Midas ruled Phrygia, they may also be the result of a lengthy process of adaptation and extra- polation of Herodotus’ pre-680 BC date for Midas. 997901.indb7901.indb 2233 114/09/154/09/15 009:449:44 24 C. GRACE 8th century BC when Mitâ/Midas reigned. An attempt will be made to reconcile this evidence with the quite different locations reported for the kingdoms prior to the 8th century BC. Finally, a new proposal for the link between the Phrygian and Muški kingdoms will be offered. The Location of Phrygia during the 8th Century BC At the time of Midas’ reign during the late 8th century BC, the Phrygian heartland was located in western Anatolia, extending between Eskişehir in the north, Gordion in the east, Afyonkarahisar in the south and Kütahya in the west.2 Beyond this heartland region, the extent of the Phrygian kingdom is unclear.3 Some 8th-century BC Phrygian archaeological material has appeared as far as Daskyleion to the north- west, Boǧazköy to the north-east, Konya to the south-east and at several sites to the east including Kaman Kalehöyük, Alacahöyük, Alişar Höyük and Çadir Höyük.4 It should not be assumed, however, that the spread of Phrygian material culture is representative of Phrygian political borders.5 This is demonstrated by the Phry- gian material discovered in the kingdom of Tyana.6 This includes an Old Phrygian inscription mentioning Midas’ name found at Kemerhisar, near Niǧde, and 2 Sivas 2012, 112; Berndt-Ersöz 2006, 1; Mellink 1981, 96. The delineation of the Phrygian heartland derives in part from the large number of Phrygian rock cut monuments found in this area. Berndt-Ersöz (2006, 1–3) has pointed out, however, that ‘no survey with the focus on Phrygian rock- cut monuments has been conducted outside the Highlands’. It is therefore possible that the Phrygian heartland extended further than is commonly thought. Also see van Dongen 2014, 698. 3 Genz 2011, 361; Kealhofer et al. 2009, 277; Grave et al. 2012, 379; Berndt-Ersöz 2006, xx–xxi; Sivas 2007, 11; Wittke 2014, 752. 4 Discussion and description of this evidence are here listed by site. For Boǧazköy, see Gates 1996, 297; Anderson 2012, 184; Mellink 1981, 96; 1991, 630; 1993, 293–98; Berndt-Ersöz 2006, 2; Sams 1994, xxix–xxx; 1995, 1157. For Konya, see Sivas 2007, 11. For Kaman Kalehöyük, see Anderson 2012, 184; Gates 1996, 297; Summers 1994, 241–44. For Daskyleion, see Roller 2011, 562; Berndt- Ersöz 2006, 1–2; Vassileva 2005a, 230. For Alişar Höyük, see Bryce 2009, 30; von der Osten 1933, 9–10; Sams 1994, xxix. For Alacahöyük, see Sams 1994, xxx. A Phrygian cult monument has also been found at Karahisar, just north of Alacahöyük (Berndt-Ersöz 2006, 2; Sams 1994, xxx). For Çadir Höyük, see Gorny et al. 2000, 158; Gorny 2003–04, 19, 23. Note that while the common grey pot- tery typical of Middle Phrygian Gordion has also been found at most of these sites, due to its distribu- tion beyond Phrygian territory, this pottery cannot be deemed specifically Phrygian, but rather ‘inner- west Anatolian’ (Bahar 1999, 1; Tsetskhladze 2012, 236; Vassileva 2005a, 231–32). It is also necessary to mention the site of Kerkenes Daǧ, as it was a large Phrygian centre. However, it is believed Kerkenes (later possibly Pteria) was established no earlier than the mid-7th century BC and hence the city can- not have been included in Midas’ kingdom (Summers and Summers 2012a, 26; 2012b, 162–63; Wittke 2014). 5 Summers 1994, 241; Mellink 1993, 293–94; Berndt-Ersöz 2006, xx–xxi. 6 Summers 1994, 241; Fiedler 2005, 392; Mellink 1979. 997901.indb7901.indb 2244 114/09/154/09/15 009:449:44 MUŠKI REVISITED 25 Phrygian artefacts dating to the 8th century BC found in the Kaynarca tumulus.7 Also, king Warpalawas of Tyana is depicted wearing a Phrygian belt and fibula on the İvris 1 relief at Niǧde.8 If Phrygian political borders did extend some distance beyond the heartland region, these borders are likely to have shifted as a conse- quence of small political changes.9 The Location of Muški during the 8th Century BC Assyrian and Urartian literary sources provide information about the location of Muški during the late 8th century BC. The Assyrian sources, which comprise sev- eral inscriptions and a letter of Sargon II (721–705 BC), provide four pointers as to the location of Muški. 1. Muški marked an Assyrian frontier. In Sargon’s Great Summary Inscription, Assyria is described as extending ‘as far as the border of Egypt and the land of the Muški’.10 2. Muški bordered Tabal. In the Clay Cylinder Inscription, Sargon is recorded as having conquered various kingdoms including Tabal ‘up to the land of Muški’.11 During Sargon’s reign, Tabal was the Assyrian administrative title for a cluster of small Neo-Hittite kingdoms positioned east of the Phrygian heartland, extending from modern Ereǧli in the south, to Aksaray in the north.12 7 For a translation of the inscription, see Orel 1997, 310, T-02b; Brixhe and Lejeune 1984, 260, 264–66, T-02b. For the Kaynarca tumulus, see Akkaya 1991, 25–27, pls. 1–3; Crespin 1999, 69; Fiedler 2005, 391–92. 8 For the İvris 1 relief, see Hawkins 2000b, 516–18; Berges 1998, 185–86, tafel 9. Phrygian artefacts found in the Bayındır tumulus, near Elmalı in southern Anatolia, also provide evidence of Phrygian material culture beyond the borders of the kingdom (Muscarella 2012, 109; Mellink 1991, 625; 1993, 298; Varinlioǧlu 1992, 10–20). 9 Also, the connection between the ‘greater-Phrygian’ region and the Phrygian heartland is unknown, as the nature and frequency of inter-regional Phrygian interaction has not been studied in detail. See Grave et al. 2012; van Dongen 2010, 231; Mellink 1993, 293–98; Wittke 2014, 752–54. 10 Luckenbill 1927, 26, no. 54. See also Threshold Inscription 5 (Luckenbill 1927, 48, no. 96; Fuchs 1994, 362, lines 14–16) and the Summary Inscription from Room 14 (Luckenbill 1927, 41, no. 82; Fuchs 1994, 309, line 22). 11 Luckenbill 1927, 61, no. 118; Fuchs 1994, 290, lines 14–15. 12 Aro 1998, 131–44; Hawkins and Postgate 1988, 38; Hawkins 2000b, 425; Melville 2010, 87; Parpola and Porter 2001, 1–2; D’Alfonso 2012, 186. 997901.indb7901.indb 2255 114/09/154/09/15 009:449:44 26 C. GRACE 3. Muški and the Assyrian province of Que were located on different sides of Tabal. In his letter (ND 2759) to the governor of Que, Aššur-šarru-uṣur, Sargon wrote (line 48): ‘what can all the kings of Tabal do henceforth? You will press them from this side and the Phrygian from that side so that (in no time) you will “snap your belt” on them.’13 The province of Que (later Plain Cilicia), centring on modern Adana, was north of the Mediterranean Sea and south of Tabal.14 4. Muški neighboured the land of Kammanu. In the Annals, it is recorded that after Sargon annexed the land of Kammanu in 712 BC, he built ‘ten strong fortresses…around it’, three of which were ‘on the border of the land of Muški’.15 The land of Kammanu, with its capital city at Melid (Malatya), was bordered by the River Euphrates in the east and by Tabal in the west.16 Using these four points, one borderline of the kingdom of Muški can be drawn from the north-west of Kammanu, westwards across the northern border of the kingdom of Bît-Burutaš to the north-west and west of Tabal.17 Muški would accordingly have marked an Assyrian frontier and been positioned on a different side of Tabal to Que.