HARZEMŞAHLAR STATE

HARZEMŞAHLAR STATE

 Establishment of the Harzemşahlar State

 Considered the ancestor of the Harzemshah State, Anuş Tigin was taken as a prisoner by Bilge Tigin, one of the Seljuk Emir, as a Turkish youth from Harezm and started to receive education and training in the Seljuk Palace.  Anuş Tigin, who worked as a servant in the Seljuk Palace, rose to the task of Taştdar in time and started to work as a pitcher for the Sultan to take ablution and wash his hands.

  The palace duty, which started with pitcher, continued with the rise of the state in time.

 With his success in state affairs and his intelligence, he was appointed governor of Harezm, where he was taken captive by Bilge Tigin at a young age (1092).  After this date, the Harezm governors, who would become the future sultans of the Harzemshah State, were descended from Anush Tigin.  For this reason, Anuş Tigin is considered to be the founder of the Harzemshah State and the ancestor of the sultanate.

 Harezm region was governed by governors as a province affiliated to the Great Seljuk State.  However, the Seljuk State was divided and weakened in 1092.  As a result of the divisions, the Great Seljuk State, which continued its dominance in the Iraq-Iran line, was ruling this region from a distance with the governor it appointed in the Harezm region.  After the Anuş Tigin period, the administration of the Harezm continued from the Anuş Tigin lineage, and as a result of this, the Anuş Tigin family ruled the Harezm region with its reign and laid the foundations of the Harzemshah state.  Anuş Tigin successfully fulfilled his duty as the governor of Harezm and gained the respect and obedience of his people by adhering to the Great Seljuk State, which was going through difficult times.  Seeing this, Seljuk Sultan Sencer appointed his son Kudbeddin Muhammed as the governor of Harezm after the death of Anuş Tigin (1097).

 The Period of Kudbeddin Muhammad (1097 - 1127)

 After the death of Anuş Tigin, Kudbeddin Muhammed, who was appointed as the governor of Harezm by the Seljuk Sultan Sencer, grew up in the Seljuk Palace like his father, received the sciences of palace dressing and state administration, and rose with his success as his father.  Kudbeddin Muhammed, who was appointed as the governor of Harezm upon the death of Anuş Tigin, gained the respect and dignity of the people of Harezm by treating his people fairly and fairly.

 With this haze, the notables of Harezm started to see Kudbeddin Muhammed as an undisputed leader.  The trade that developed with the Seljuk State also developed the people of Harezm economically, and the people of Harezm, who lived a prosperous life, remained loyal to their governor Kudbeddin Muhammed.  The Great Seljuk State, which was going through difficult times in the period of Kudbeddin Muhammed, was ruling the Harezm region from a distance due to the political manifestations in the region, and Kudbeddin Muhammed, a loyal governor, who was a proved of age and undertook the administration of the Harezm region without direct instruction from the central administration.  Hence, the Harezm region was administered semi-independently, but remained under the Great Seljuk State.  Kudbeddin Muhammed successfully fulfilled this duty for a long time like 30 years and passed away in 1127.  The Seljuk Sultan Sencer appointed Atsız, the son of Kudbeddin Muhammed, who was also educated in the palace, as the governor of Harezm, as expected.

 The Horseless Period (1127 - 1156)

 Atsız grew up in the Seljuk Palace like his father and grandfather, and proved his age in order to be employed in high positions with his education in science and state affairs.  So much so that, due to his success and loyalty, he had the favor of Sultan Sencer himself.  In this respect, Atsız, who was appointed as the governor of Harezm instead of his father Kudbeddin Muhammed, gained the long-standing loyalty and respect of the people of Harezm and was welcomed as a respected leader just like his father and grandfather.  In addition to his successful statesmanship, Atsız, who was a powerful commander, had a great share in many successes by taking part in the army of Sencer with the army he formed in Harezm.

 Although Atsız had the title of governor, the people of Harezm showed high loyalty and loyalty to the lineage that they ruled for 35 years from the Anush Tigin period, and with this chastity they saw himself not only as a governor, but as an undisputed leader and sultan.  Moreover, his father Kudbeddin Muhammed started to act semi-independently with his loyalty to the Seljuk Sultan and the trust felt towards him.

 In this respect, he himself had very high powers in the administration of the Harezm region.  However, Asız, like his father and grandfather, did not remain unconditionally loyal to the Seljuk Sultan and intended to act independently and even oppose the Seljuk Sultan.  As a result of this independence movement, which he embarked on in order to benefit from the weakening of the Great Seljuk State by taking advantage of the loyalty of the people of Harezm to him, he attacked Cend and Mangışlak regions with his forces and included them in the domain of rule.

  Atsız's autonomous act made Sultan Sencer very angry.  When Sencer criticized and warned him, he abolished his loyalty to the Great Seljuk State and declared himself Sultan as a result of the friction that arose.  This act of Atsız meant the actual establishment of the State of Harzemshah (1138).

 Sultan Sencer personally took charge of his army and marched on Atsız in order not to lose the dominance of the Harezm region in the face of Atsız's action.  Atsız's first attempt for independence failed.  Although the Great Seljuk State was weakened and was going through difficult times, Sultan Sencer took over the army and defeated the armies of Atsız and re-annexed the Harezm region.  He returned to Merv by appointing Suleiman Bin Muhammad as governor instead of Atsız.

 Sultan Sencer had to retreat to Khorasan upon the siege of Merv.  Atsız also attacked Nishapur in order to consolidate his victory and took it under his control (1142).  He gave sermons to his name in order to consolidate his rule and began to see himself as the ruler of the Great Seljuk State.

 Sultan Sencer strengthened his army and power and reappeared during his stay in Khorasan.  Atsız left Merv, fearing Sencer's forces and declared his loyalty to Sultan Sencer again.  Atsız tried to defeat Sencer whenever he had the opportunity, and when he failed, he tried to make peace by declaring his loyalty.  In order to eliminate this problem completely, Sencer refused to accept the loyalty of Atsız and attacked the city of Harezm.  When he conquered the Hazarasp castle, the most strategic point of the Harezm, the fall of Gürgane, the center of Atsız's reign, and the victory of Sencer became inevitable.

 Atsız declared his loyalty to him and offered to make peace.  When Sencer did not accept this offer, one of the respected clergymen of the Khorezm region asked him not to shed Muslim blood and returned to accept Atsız's devotion.  Atsız was once again defeated by Sencer and declared his loyalty and managed to keep the administration of the Harezm region.

 Atsız was not subjected to the Seljuk Threat for a long time after Sencer's last attack.  Because Sultan Sencer had to struggle with other problems of his state and the administration of the Khwarezm region continued its existence de facto independently, although it was not recognized by Sencer.  Atsız passed away in 1156 and was replaced by his brother's son İlarslan.

 İlarslan Period (1156 - 1172)

 Atsız succeeded his uncle Atsız as heir but the sons of Atsız and his rivals who could claim rights in the sultanate were in a position to threaten the sultanate.  To remove these dangers, he eliminated all his rivals by killing his uncle and his brothers.  The sovereignty of Ilarslan was recognized by the Great Seljuk State Sultan Sencer.  Because the Seljuk State was having a hard time, Sencer could no longer control the Harezm region.  Having survived the Seljuk threat, İlarslan has now made the Harzemshah State indisputable and fully independent.

 The Great Seljuk State was weakened, and the Seljuk Sultan Sencer was quite old.  Despite everything, the presence of Sencer was an obstacle to the growth of the Harzemshahs.  Because the Rearing of the Harzemşahs was possible after the death of Sultan Sencer.  The Great Seljuk State, which had already been weakened when Sencer passed away in 1157, disappeared from the stage of history.  The domains of the Great Seljuk State began to come under the control of the Harzemshahs, who saw themselves as the inheritors of the Great Seljuk State.

  First of all, the Eastern Iran region and the immediate surroundings of the Khwarezm region came under the control of the Harzemshah State.  Later, Atsız strengthened the state organization in the regions he conquered and the sovereignty of the regions he conquered, and turned the State of Harzemshah into a fully prosperous empire.

 The Harzemshahs had become an empire that had proved its worth as a fully independent and powerful authority in its region.  Atsız expanded the borders of the Harzemşahlar State and took Tus, Bistam and Damgan regions under his rule (1170).  Atsız had enabled the Harzemşahs to rise and become stronger, but the Karahitaylar threat in the east did not allow the state to become stronger.  Atsız, who had to pay taxes to the Karahitay and was worried about the possible threat of Karahitay, declared that he would not pay taxes to the Karahitay ambassador who came to collect taxes after completing his preparations in the army and when he was ready to fight against the Karahitay.

 The Karahitays attacked as expected and set out for Nishapur.  When Atsız, who was difficult to fight against the people of Karahitay in terms of his military power, turned the route to be attacked by the Karahitayli into a swamp with floods, they had to stop the attack and return.  Atsız had not been able to defeat the Karahıtaylılar, but still had eliminated the Karahıtay threat in a while.  Atsız passed away shortly after this incident.  After the death of Atsız, sultanate struggles started.

 Alaeddin Tekiş Period (1172 - 1200)

 Tekish, the heir to the sultanate, was located outside the city of Nishapur.  His younger son Sultan Shah took this opportunity and declared himself the Sultan of the Harzemshahs and the Great Khan.  Tekiş, the eldest son of Atsız, did not accept his brother's sovereignty, but it was not possible for him to fight alone against Sultan Shah, who took the royal army behind him because he acted first.  He sought support from his ancient enemies, the Karahitay, to depose his brother.  Karahitays, who had hostile aspirations on the Harzemşahs, would of course take this opportunity.  Tekiş, who took the head of the army sent by the Karahitans for support, entered Nishapur and dethroned his brother and declared himself Sultan by taking the position of sultanate.  Sultan Shah could not resist the Karahitay army and had to flee from the city.  After a year or so, Sultan Shah, who entered into a sultanate struggle again, agreed with Ayaba, the deputy ruler of the Iraqi Seljuks, and entered Nishapur to take Tekish again.  This attempt of Sultan Shah failed and Ayaba was killed in battle.  Sultan Shah gave up the sultanate and fled to Dihistan (1174)

  The areas of domination of the Iraqi Seljuks, who continued their existence in the geography dominated by the Great Seljuk State, were included in the borders of the Harzemshah State (1194).

 After this victory, the Harzemshahs reached the widest borders of their history and became dominant in Iraq, Iran and Khorasan regions.

 Tekiş Khan, after assuming the guardianship of the Caliph, slowed down his expansion policies and concentrated on this task and spent his remaining life serving the Caliphate.  When he passed away in 1200, his son Muhammad replaced him.

 Alaeddin Muhammad Period (1200 - 1220)

 When Muhammad Khan took the throne of the Harzemshahs upon the death of his father Tekiş Khan, the groups who wanted to gain their independence rebelled as in every reign.  The first insurgents were the Guris living in large numbers in the Afghanistan region.  Some Turkish principalities and owners followed them.  Muhammad, who had to protect his sultanate and authority, first neutralized the small meliks and principalities.  Even though he could not go on the rebelling Gur, he entered Harat upon the death of the Gur sultan and he confirmed his rule here (1207).  Muhammad Han had eliminated the internal unrest, but the Karahitay people who were eliminated during the Tekish period got stronger and started pillaging activities in the regions under the control of the Harzemshahs.  He attacked the Karahitay people who were in control of Bukhara and took this place under his control (1207).  The people of Karahitay, who threatened the Turkish Yurts for almost 200 years, could not be successful against the Harzemshahs and were exposed to the Mongol invasions led by Genghis Khan rising from the east.  When the Naymans who escaped from Genghis Khan's armies attacked the regions under the control of the Karahitay people, the Karahitay people, who were weakened, had to accept the domination of the Harzemshahs with the defeat of Bukhara (1212).

 Muhammed Han, who got stronger with the disappearance of the danger of the people of Karahitay, took Ghazna under his control in 1215 and left it to his son Celaleddin and returned to Harezm.  The Azarbajian and Persian atabeys of Sassanid origin, who lost their domination area during this period, became stronger and became the border neighbors of the Harzemshahs.  When Muhammad Khan, who wanted to expand his borders to the Azarbeycan line, was defeated as a result of this expedition in heavy winter conditions, difficult times began for the Harzemshahs (1217).

 Weakening and Destruction of Harzemşahs

 The threat of Karahitayli, which had been going on for 200 years, has now disappeared, and the Mongolian originated Karahitay people have become subjects of the Harzemshahs.  However, a greater Mongol Threat, advancing westward behind the Qarahitay people, arose.  The Mongols, united under the leadership of Genghis Khan, first conquered China and then headed west with great brutality, plundering and plundering every city they encountered.  Muhammed Han understood that he could not resist the Mongols and had good relations by improving his trade relations.  However, these good relations, which could last for a few years, broke down after the appearance of one of the spies that Genghis Khan sent along with the trade caravans to the region of the Harzemshahs.

 Genghis Khan's strategies formed a whole, not only on the battlefield, but with espionage activities before and after the war.  Using the trade agreements made with the Harzemshahs, he was collecting information from the spies he served in trade caravans, and these spies and Harzemshahs were buying government officials by promising bribes and benefits.  When one of these spies was caught in Harezm, the Governor of Harezm İnalcık sent the caravan that was spying, burned the beards of the spies and sent it back.  As a result of this event, which is known as the Otrar Case in history, the good relations between the Harzemshahs and the Mongols came to an end.

  This movement of İnalcık would undoubtedly attract the anger of Genghis Khan and spoil the good relations developed with the Mongols.  However, it was known that the Mongols would attack the Harzemshahs in any case.  Genghis Khan sent his envoy, demanding the compensation of the goods and the delivery of Inalcık, the governor of Harezm.  When Muhammad Khan refused this request of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Invasion began, which prepared the end of the Harzemshahs (1219).

 Genghis Khan, who set off with a huge army of 200 thousand people, took the cities in front of him under his feet and burned and started to advance towards the lands of Harezm.  In a short time, Bukhara, Samarkand, Otrar, Sığnak, Berakend and Hocend were invaded by the Mongols.  Trying to wear off the crowded Mongolian army with hit-and-run tactics, Mohammed Khan was defeated in his last fight and fled to an island in Abiskun.

  The Harzemshahs were destroyed, unable to resist the Mongol invasions.  He had to retreat in the Northern Iran, Khorasan and Ghazna regions he controlled.  Since there was no ruler at the head of the state, the rebels in Iraq and Baghdad regions claimed the authority of the Harzemshahs in the region and the Harzemshahs wiped out the state of history.  When Muhammad Khan, who escaped after the Mongolian defeat, passed away in 1220, his son Celaleddin took the seat of the sultanate left from his father ...

 Celaleddin Period (1220 - 1231)

 Celaleddin took over the Harzemshah State, which had become a great Empire, in a despicable and devastated state.  His father, Muhammed Han, declared his elder son Uzluğşah as heir.  For this reason, the commanders of the Harzemshah army and the notables of the state supported his brother Uzluğşah to become the ruler.  Celaleddin transferred from Gazne to Ürgenç, which was given to him in order to become the sultanate left from his father.  However, when the armies of Genghis Khan's sons Çağatay and Ögeday besieged Ürgenç in 1221, instead of fighting with the Mongol Army, they went to Afghanistan with the thought that the army commanders might betray them because they supported his brother Uzluğşah.  From there, he went to Gazne and prepared to fight against Genghis Khan's armies with the army he had formed.

 Celaleddin Harzemşah prepared an army of 30 thousand people in Gazne and started a fight with the army of Kutugu Noyan, one of the powerful commanders of Genghis Khan, and once again won against the Mongols.  Celaleddin Harzemshah ended the invincibility of Genghis Khan's army with successive victories against the Mongols and became the only ruler and commander who could win against the mighty Mongol Army.

 REFERENCES

 Kafesoğlu, İbrahim;  Harezmşahlar State History (485-618 / 1092-1221), AKDTYK-TTK, Ankara 1992, p.  318 + 1 Map.

 Necip Asım (Unhappy);  Celâlüttin Harezemşah, Ministry of National Education, Istanbul 1934, p.  160.

 Taneri, Aydin;  Celâlü'd-din Hârizmşâh Ve Zaman, T.C.  Ministry of Culture, Ankara 1977, p.  208.

KUMANS - WHO ARE KIPPETS?

KUMANS - WHO ARE KIPPETS?

 The Kipchaks and Cumans, the two unions of Turkish origin, united.  Along with this period, it was impossible to determine a difference between the various names applied to the same tribe alliance.The Kipchaks, who were among the Western Gokturks, established the Kipchak Khanate in the north of the Black Sea in the 11th century (1098-1239).

 Kipchaks are a society known as Kuman-Kipchak common name in history.

  It emerged when the two important Turkish tribes, the Cumans and Kipchaks, came together and joined forces.

  During a 1000-year history, it migrated from Ötüken to Europe and gained an important place in Turkish History with its Cultures and Civilization.

 The Kipchaks were named by Byzantines and Latins as "Kumanos, Cumanus, Komani", Russians "Polovets Kipchaki" (Ferganskiye), Germans and other Western nations "Falben, Valani, Pallidi", Armenians "Khartes", Hungarians "Kun".

 The common meaning of these names is "yellow, yellowish, pale".  A definite conclusion could not be reached about the etymology of the word which is used as "Kıbcâk, Kıbşâk, Kıfçak" in Islamic sources and "Kifşak, Hifşah" in Georgian sources.  It is emphasized that the Kipchaks are from the same tribe as Turkmen, Pecheneg and Uzlar in Russian annals in which the name is mentioned for the first time.

 From 1061 onwards, the Kipchaks began capturing the Russian steppes.  They besieged Edirne with the Pechenegs who rebelled against Byzantium in 1078.  From this date on, they made raids against Byzantium in 1083-1096 and 1109-1114.  They spread their dominance from the Balkaş lake-Talas region to the mouth of the Danube, especially in the Don-Dniester basins in the 1080s.

 Including the Kuban region in the Caucasus, this land stretched along the Oka-Sura rivers in the north, to the border of the Idil Bulgarians.

  The Kuman-Kipchak area, which covers the entire Eastern Europe-West Siberian steppe regions, has been called "Deşt-i Kıpçak" (Kıpçak Bozkırı) in Islamic sources since then.

 In this period when Russian, Bulgarian, Alan, Burtas, Khazar and Vlachs lived under the Kipchak subjugation, the Kipchak country was divided into five regions called Central Asia, Itil-Churn, Don-Donets, Lower Dnieper and Danube.

 The Kipchaks lived in these regions under the rule of their own chiefs.

 The Kipchaks, who entered Hungary in 1091 and Poland in 1092, appeared in Byzantine lands in 1093.  The Russians had a great success against the Kipchaks in 1103, and the Kipchaks responded with violent raids at short intervals between 1105 and 1111.  While some of the Danube Kipchaks went to Hungary, the Dnieper Kipchaks attacked the Pereyaslavl Knezha (1177-1179).

 The Kipchaks, who flocked to the vicinity of Kiev, along the Aksu river, were defeated by the army formed by all the southern Russian principalities under the Kiev Knezi Svyatoslav (1184).  Novgorod-Seversk Knezi Igor Svyatoslaviç, who did not participate in this expedition, went on a campaign against the Kipchaks in 1185, but was surrounded and destroyed by the Kayali river in the Lower Don area.  This expedition of Igor Svyatoslaviç is described in "The Legend of the Igor Division", which is regarded as the masterpiece of Russian literature.

 Famous for the beauty of the Kipchak chief Atrak, his daughter's Georgian King Bagratli II.  After his marriage to David, close relations were established between the Kipchaks of Don-Kuban clan and Georgians.  In 1118, the Georgian king Coruh formed a perfect equestrian army of 40,000 people from the Cuman Kipchaks who settled around Kür.  The Georgians resisted the attacks of the Anatolian Seljuks thanks to these mounted Kipchak forces.  They organized successful expeditions to Şirvan, Iran and Irmîniye.

 Kipchak chief of Atrak returned home from Georgia in 1125.  However, most of the Kipchaks who went to Georgia with him did not return and stayed there and were placed in various places.  The Kipchaks around Lake Çıldır in Eastern Anatolia are their descendants.  Those who remained in the Crimean peninsula, from the Kipchaks, who completely emptied the Don tribes because they went to Georgia and partially emptied the Kuban region, settled in the cities in the region, and established some small towns.

 In the period of Queen Tamar, whose mother was Kipchak in 1185, under the leadership of Basbug Sevinc Han, 40,000 Kipchak families migrated to Georgia from Deşt-I Kipchak.  These new Kipchaks were inhabited by Queen Tamarta to the borders of the Trabzon Empire and in a way the western border was guaranteed.  Although the pagan warriors of Kipchaks often disturbed the Trabzon Greek State, they had close relations with the Georgian Principalities in the Erzurum and Gümüşhane Regions.  Trabzon Kipchak Turkey Turkish Republic was established after the Lausanne peace agreement should because they are Christian Greece of exchange posted by migration, some of them are making these days in Greece, Turkish as their form of worship they forget their Turkish.  This led to the loss of their culture over time by living as Christians in the Turkish tribe.

 When the Anatolian Seljuks captured the city of Sudak in Crimea, which was the biggest trade center of the Black Sea, in 1221, Kipchak and Russian forces acted together to recapture the city, but they could not be successful in the face of the Seljuk defense.

 Although the Kipchaks made military cooperation with the Russians again in the face of the Mongol invasion from the east, they could not avoid being defeated by the two Mongol military divisions under the command of Cebe-Noyan and Sübütay in the Kalka War that took place in 1223.

 In 1238, the north of Russia was completely captured by Batu Khan, Genghis's grandson.  The Kipchaks could not hold on to the Mongol army.  Kipchak forces under the command of Başbuğ Köten were destroyed in the Don and Donets basin, those who could escape took refuge in Hungary (1239).  During the Mongol invasion, most of the Kipchaks went to the forest area in the territory of the Idil Bulgarians.

 This event played a major role in the complete Kipchakization of the old Bulgarian country of Idil.  After the Mongol invasion of the Kipchak country and the establishment of the Golden Horde State in the region (1241), the Kipchaks had no role or power.  Some Kipchaks held important positions in the Mongol Empire.

 Kipchakogullari sovereignty in Iraq, which gained an independent identity when it was initially affiliated with the Seljuks, was sometimes independent, sometimes affiliated with the Mosul Atabegate or the Ayyubids.  (XIII.) Lasted until the end of the century.

  The method of using the troops of Turks in the palace guard troops, which was applied in the Arab-Islamic states, was also applied in the Ayyubids, the Kipchak and Oghuz youth were trained for this purpose, and the military power was gathered in the hands of their troops.  I

 The Mamluk State, which was established when zzeddin Aybeg put an end to the Ayyubid sultan in 1250 and declared himself a sultan in its place, passed into the hands of the Cuman-Kipchak element after a short while.  The sultans of this state are also of Kipchak origin.

 As was the case with other nomadic Turks, some of the Kipchaks, who were shamanists at the beginning, adopted Christianity in time and became attached to the Orthodox church, and some of them became Muslims as seen in the country of Crimea, Caucasus and Idil Bulgarians.

 The number of Kipchaks living in the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan was 33,502 according to the 1926 census (today's statistics do not give numbers on this issue).  One large tribe between Uzbek and Kyrgyz, and smaller groups among Bashkirt and Nogays are today called Kipchaks.

 There were many Turkish tribes, especially the Kang and the Kimeks, in the unity of tribes formed under the leadership of the Kipchaks.  However, these tribes could not emerge as a political union, as they spread widely.  After the migration of the Kipchaks, the only work that survived from these first places called "Deşt-i Kıpçak" is the Codex Cumanicus collection.  XII.  The Kipchaks, whose spread and dispersal accelerated with the increase of the Mongol raids towards the middle of the century, melted into various Balkan and Caucasian peoples, most of them in Hungary, and retreated from the stage of history.

THE LOST FACE OF MESOPOTAMIA: DEQ

THE LOST FACE OF MESOPOTAMIA: DEQ

 It is very difficult to say any exact data on the history of drawing permanent shapes on the body, because it dates back thousands of years.  The shapes on the bodies of Egyptian mummies made with reed and leaf dyes, BC.  It is said to belong to the 2000s.  There are many assumptions about the first application date of this tradition, which is called tattoo today;  but tattooing is done in Mesopotamia where mostly Kurds lived for thousands of years.  In ancient times in Mesopotamia, each tribe had a different tattoo.  There is certain information that each different religion has different symbols and each tribe has different tattoos.  Today, tattoos that are traditionally only seen on older Kurdish women in the region are not seen in young people.

 The tattoo, which is spoken in different ways and finds a different meaning in every language, is in the form of Deq, daq, vesm, tatun, in, daqi.

 DEQs MAKERS

 Tattoos;  It carries deep traces of shamanism, paganism, animism, sabism, Taoism, Buddhism, Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism.  Tattoo motifs and symbols actually tell a story, story and the glazed, mystical and mythological values ​​of the past.

 Tattooing is the art of embroidering a dye that is compatible with the body, on the lower surface of the skin in patterns that will not appear for a lifetime.  The people who do it are of a kind of Romani (Gypsy) origin, which is defined as "karaci" in the region.  These people are also known as people who came from the Karachi region of India and could not settle down.  They are mostly known for dance and playing musical instruments.  These people equip the local people with tattoos for a fee.  It has been observed that this culture, which is not popular nowadays but replaced by temporary and pressure tattoos, is still embroidered by young men.  It is not possible to come across with karachers who traveled from village to village and did this job before.  Tattoo art was a kind of livelihood.  These people, whom we have excluded in villages and cities, have lost their livelihoods in this way.

 Men who do tattoo work are called "dekkak", women are called "dekkabe", men who get tattoos are called "medkuk", women are called "medkuke".

 MAKING DEQS

 Tattoo paint is prepared, the raw material of this paint is obtained from the milk of the mother who gave birth to a baby girl, animal gall, the heat of the lamp and some additives.  Whichever part of the body the tattoo will be embroidered, its shape is drawn with a thin litter.  Then, with three, five, seven or nine needles, the top of the figure is pinned for hours.  It is passed under the skin and processed all over.  Then, these areas of the body need to be crusty for a week.  After the shell heals and lifts, the shape we call as tattoo or until appears.

 An indescribable pain is felt during tattoo making;  this is a pleasant pain.  This pain then adds beauty to your body.  "JIN" now carries the happiness, elegance and nobility of embroidering what he dreams of on his own body.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEQ MAKER

  * It should not be someone who is married and divorced.

  * It should be healthy,

  * Not someone who has given birth to a dead child or whose child has died

  * It is thought that the bad fate of the person who made it was passed on to the person who was tattooed, so it must be believed by the society that his destiny is beautiful.

 It is the primary choice of the person who has the tattoo done by an experienced person who has tattooed before.

 DEQ FOR MEN AND WOMEN

 Male and female tattoos are different.  The woman has Déq to show her elegance and beauty, and the man to show her strength and power.

 Déq is applied to different parts of the body in men and women.

 Usually tattoos on women;  It is applied between two eyebrows, on the cheek and nose, on the chin and throat area, on the toes, on the abdomen, back, ankle to knee area, lower jaw to nipples.

  Men are usually tattooed on the temple area and the outer part of the hands.

 WHY ARE WOMEN'S LOWER LIPS DYE BLUE

 Most women have tattoos on their lower jaws.  This means that in response to a concubine woman's lip being bitten by a man, all women covered their lower lips with tattoos.  After the act of painting her lips blue to protect the concubine, this tradition became commonplace.  We can call this event the first feminist action in history.

 PURPOSE OF MAKING THE DEQ

 The purposes for tattooing are also different.  Some of them work on their body to protect themselves from magic and evil eyes, some to immortalize their loved ones in their bodies, some because they are the hallmarks of their tribe, and others because they are mythological-religious ornaments.  Cultural interaction also has an effect on this.  Every motif and every figure engraved by women on their bodies is full of symbolic codes.  According to researchers, all of the shapes in tattoos are based in a way on the blessing of the mother goddess.  The source of life symbolizes the mother's fertility, offspring and fertility, the developmental stages of the fetus, and finally life and death.

 People have attributed special meanings to tattoo shapes.  Some people try to explain that they are beautiful with the sun and moon tattoos on their foreheads.  In gazelle-like tattoos, it means that the woman compares herself to a gazelle.  Tattoos that will cover the whole wrist on the hand mean loyalty and devotion.  Comb and scissor-shaped tattoos on the toes mean the opening of the fortune.  Some tattoos are seen in shapes such as cross, triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon.

 SOME OF THE MOTIFS MADE

 Moon motif: It symbolizes the source of life, the desire for eternal life.

 Ceren motif: It is a ceren motif starting from under the chin, continuing on the neck and shaped on two breasts.

 Comb and mirror motif: It is the comb and mirror shapes seen on the upper hand and ankles of women.

 Ring motif: Ring motifs on the ankles have an important place among tattoo designs.

 Cross motif: Although the cross motif is known as a symbol of Christianity, the history of this motif goes way back.  It is believed that it conveys auspicious direction with its colors and counteracts the effect of bad looks.  The circle pierced by the arrow pointing inward symbolizes fertility and fertility as an indicator of fertilization.

 Sun motif: Sun course made with nine points on the right temples of men, there are rumors that the person carrying it will always be discreet, wise and intelligent, and will not burn in the hereafter.  Common sun and moon motifs symbolize the source of life, the desire for eternal life.  The sun motif is usually seen on the foreheads of all Yazidi women, which is due to the belief in the sun.

 Tree of life motif: The tree of life motif descending from the neck to the chest of women originates from the belief of the Mother Goddess.  The source of life symbolizes the mother's fertility, the stages of fetal development and finally life and death.

URFA AND URFA NAMES IN THE OLD TIME;

URFA AND URFA NAMES IN THE OLD TIME;

 According to the rumors, it is said that the ancient Greeks Enoch (Enoch = Hermes = Idris) taught people to build cities and that 180 cities were established in his time, the smallest of which was Urhai, or Orhay, in other words, Urfa.

 According to this rumor, since the prophet Idris came before Noah, Urfa was established before the flood of Noah.  Like the whole world in Noah's Flood, Urfa was devastated.  But after the flood, the world was re-established and Urfa took its place in history.

 Again, as it is told, Nemrut, who ruled in Babylon after Noah's Flood, had built three cities.  One of them is the city of Urfa.  This city was named Arach first, and later Erech, Orhay, Edessa and Ruha over time.

 In the first ages of history, the people of Urfa were the ancient Chaldeans or the Arameans and Assyrians who were the extensions of the Babylonians.  The Arameans and Assyrians were descended from the Chaldeans and Babylonians.  The name Urhai or Orhay is the name given by the Aramaic-Assyrians, who were the first inhabitants of Urfa.

 The Helens who came to Urfa later gave the name Edessa.  The name Edessa given by the Hellenes means "plenty of water".  Urfa was a city with plenty of water due to the Karakoyun (Daysan) stream flowing through it and the boiling springs.

 Urfa is also named "Kaliruha", which means beautiful fountain in addition to the name of Edessa.  After the conquest of Islam, the Kali syllables of Kaliruha were omitted by the Muslim Arabs and only ―Ruha syllables were used.

 According to a second rumor, the word Orhay was changed slightly and it was called Ruha.  Thus, the city was called Ruha by the Muslims after the conquest of Islam.  It started to be called Urfa in the Ottoman period.

 In another rumor, the conversion of the name Orhay to Urfa seems more appropriate.  The windowsills of the churches in Urfa are decorated with the motif of snakes with two horns intertwined.  These snake motifs are seen in churches that are still intact today.

 It is accepted that such snake motifs show that there was also a snake cult in Urfa.  Therefore, it is even suggested by some historians that the founder of Urfa was "Orhay the son of the serpent".  Urfa was an important city of the old Osrhoene and the new Land-i Mudar.

 When Imadeddin Zengi (1127-1146) conquered Urfa in 1144, Basil Bar Şumana, who was the Yakubi Metropolitan of Urfa, was the first person to accept that the city called Orhay, that is Urfa, between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, was the city of Ur.

 Before him, no one had said that the city of Orhay (Urfa) was Ur of the Chaldeans.  "Ur" meant city, and "Chaldean Ur"

 It meant the city of the Chaldeans.  The people of Urfa of that period were also Chaldeans.

 It is seen that Urfa is a legendary city and its foundation was built by a mythology hero.

 It can be definitely considered that the Sumerians, who held Mesopotamia around 4000 BC, also ruled in Urfa.  Urfa,

 From the day it was founded until the period when it began to live in the kingdom (132 BC-244 AD), it gained a different appearance from other neighboring cities.

 Along with some states that lived and established in the region thousands of years ago, Urfa continued to exist as a city-state subject to the great state that dominated the region in the course of history.

 Urfa region, BC.  The Sumerians, Assyrians, Hittites, Chaldeans, Arameans, later Macedonians, Romans, Medes and Persians lived and dominated the period for centuries.

 During the excavations around Urfa, it was found that there are many mounds belonging to the old bronze age such as Kurban Höyük, Lidar Höyük, and Titriş Höyük.  These give us solid information about the history of Urfa.

 B.C.  III.  It is accepted that the city of Hurri, which was one of the cities of the Hurrians in the thousand years, is located in the place of today's Urfa City.  Therefore, the capital of the Hurrians is also Hurri City, Hurra (Urfa).

 It is said.

 So, Urfa was known as the capital of the Hurrians with the name Hurra about 1500 years ago.  Again BC.  II.  In the millennia, Urfa was conquered by the Mitanni who gained strength in the region.

 passed.  B.C.  II.  This region, which was dominated by the Hittites in the thousand years, was invaded by the Arameans after the collapse of the Hittites.  After the Assyrians gained strength, the Assyrian king III as Urfa (Osrhoene) region.  During the time of Salmanasar (859-824 BC) it became an Assyrian state in 857.

 Later, BC.  The Urfa region, which was dominated by the Medes in the VI century, followed by the Persians and whose people were Assyrians, came out of Persian rule when Alexander the Great invaded Urfa in 331 BC and came under Hellenic rule.  (To be continued)

 References;

 Gregory Abu‘l-Farac,

 Bar Hebraeus, History of Abü‘l-Farac.

 Aleppo Province Yearbook, 1310.

 Segal, ibid, p.  152

 E. Honigmann, ―Urfa Islamic Encyclopedia

 Segal, Edessa, translator.  Prof.  Dr.  Ahmet Arslan, Istanbul 2002

 Jun: Mazdek Al Hamadani

THE MYSTERY THAT THE WORLD CANNOT SOLVE: GÖBEKLİTEPE.

THE MYSTERY THAT THE WORLD CANNOT SOLVE: GÖBEKLİTEPE

 Anatolian lands are "cradle of civilizations".  The earliest and most sophisticated structures of Göbeklitepe, located close to the ancient city of Şanlıurfa, were built in England's BC.  It stood at least seven thousand years before the famous Stonehenge, built around 3000.  Some of the T-shaped obelisks in the megalithic building complex reach 5.5 meters in height and 15 tons in weight.  The people of Göbeklitepe managed to skillfully carve strange creatures that lived in the world twelve to ten thousand years ago into these stones;  Various bird species have been stylized and sculpted together, including fox, wolf, lion, snake and bison, hyenas, mountain goats, wild boars, insects and spiders, a crane, vulture, flamingo, and even a dodo-like non-flying bird.

 The style of Göbekli Tepe's carving art is surprising.  It is an incredible achievement that these sculptures were made by simple hunter and gatherer societies before the advent of agriculture and animal husbandry.  Professor Klaus Schmidt, the archaeologists of the Neolithic Revolution "golden triangle" in which he called as constituting a part of southeastern Turkey implies that arise as a reflection of the megalithic structures of this kind.

 In addition to animal husbandry, the domestication of wild grains and the melting and processing of metal first took place in the east of our country, northern Syria and Iraq, and the upper regions of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers covering the northwest of Iran.  Genetic scientists' discovery that sixty-eight modern cereal species have been derived from a wild grain called 'einkorn', which grows even today on the slopes of the Karaca Mountain, which is an extinct volcano in the northeast of Göbeklitepe, reveals that there has been a transition from hunting and gathering to settled farming in this geography.  The oldest baked and baked figurines were produced in this geography, and even the first linear and curvilinear structures, some of which contain ornamented obelisks and steles, were built on this land.  The "Terrazzo" mortar floor also appears here for the first time.  The first evidence that beer was fermented, and perhaps even wine was obtained from grapes, was also found in these lands.

 Göbekli Tepe, which is located in the earliest man-made cult architecture ever discovered, was deliberately filled with soil and raised.  These monumental structures, which were built by hunter-gatherers in the period called the Non-Pottery Neoithic after the last Ice Age, were built even earlier than the emergence of pottery.

 Among the structures unearthed at Göbekli Tepe, the earliest and most impressive ones are the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, i.e. 10 BC.  They are circular planned structures made of T-shaped obelisks dating to the millennium BC.  These gigantic obelisks, shaped from monolithic stone, are connected to each other by walls and benches and arranged facing the two large T-shaped obelisks in the center.

 Göbekli Tepe, the world's first known monumental temple site, almost challenges our interpretation power with its extraordinary structure in terms of belief, art and sociology.  Klaus Schmidt states that, in the light of the findings, Göbekli Tepe was used as a sacred space, not an earthly place.  In this context, it is thought that the rectangular upper part that forms the 'T' form of the T-shaped obelisks is an abstract depiction representing the human head, while the short side represents the human face.  K. Schmidt emphasizes that behind the anthropomorphic structure of T-shaped stones and the symbolic meaning of the motifs, there is a conscious choice and a common belief system accordingly.

 T-shaped stones should not be considered as exclusive to Göbekli Tepe.  It can also be found in other Neolithic Period settlement areas such as Nevali Çori in Diyarbakır, Çayönü, Hamzatepe near Şanlıurfa, Sefertepe, Taşlıtepe and Karahantepe in the ruins spread over the Southeast of our country.  Göbekli Tepe, besides art and belief, triggered the beginning of cultural agriculture and thus the transition to settled life.  Circular structures were abandoned around 8000 BC for an unknown reason, but consciously and quickly.  How tons of T-shaped stones can be transported from the quarry to Göbekli Tepe has not been fully elucidated yet;  There are only different opinions on this matter.  Tens of tons of limestone is cut or chipped in the quarry, and transported to the desired location requires perfect logistics.  In addition, technical skill is required to be able to design and process relief motifs using all the surfaces of these gigantic stones.

 In addition to the animal reliefs I mentioned above, abstract symbols such as H-shape, crescent, ring motifs and contrasting lines are also seen on T-shaped stones.  Also found are two human reliefs engraved on T-stones.  It is interesting that there is no mother goddess cult and female figure in Göbekli Tepe because half of the hundreds of human shaped clay figurines found in Nevali Çori belonging to the same age, while half are male, the other half are female figures.  According to the opinion of Klaus Schmidt, these T-shaped sculptures without faces were built with the thought of belonging to another world.  On the other hand, all T-shaped pillars in the circles can be considered to represent powerful and important people.  The pair of obelisks in the center should have been much more important to the people of that period, as these two are longer than the others and their surface is decorated in different styles.

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS I - LINES (2500-2200 BC)

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS I - LINES (2500-2200 BC)

 The oldest known name of the Anatolian peninsula is "Hatti Country".  This name was first used in writing in the Mesopotamian kingdoms of Akkads and Assyrians until 600 BC.  In other words, Anatolia was called the Land of Hatti for 1500 years.

 Even the Hindo-European tribe, who occupied the Hatti country in 2200 BC, continued to be referred to as Hatti by the philologists who first read the Hattusa (Boğazköy) tablets.  However, they called themselves "Generations" and the language they spoke was Nesice.

 The philologists could not name the descendants of the Hatties as Generation, but based on the words "Heth" and "Hittim" defined there, looking at the Old Testament, in German "Hethiter", English "The Hittites", French "Les Hittites" and Italian "Gli Ittiti.  "It was deemed appropriate to use.  Although "Eti" was used in Turkish for a while, now "Hittite" is settled.  The Hittites that came and settled later cannot be called Proto-Hatti because they are a very different tribe from the Hatties.

 Hatti is a protohistoric civilization.  In other words, it can be defined with the concept of pre-date, not belonging to the known written history.  Calligraphers did not use writing.  We learn all the information about the language, religion, customs and traditions they apply in social life through the Hittites that came later.

 We don't know much about the Hatti language.  According to what is learned from the tablets left over from the Hittites, there were also prayers in Hattic among the rituals that the Hittite priests performed in their own language during religious rites.  In the translations made, the statement "the priest is now speaking in Hattili" was found.  Hattus used a language that was formed in a completely different way to the language structure used by the Indo-European tribes.  Especially Prefix was a used language.  For example, Alum means God.  Wa means plural suffixes.  Shapu = God, Wasapu = means Gods.  In other words, if we apply it to Turkish, the God singular is the plural of the Laritan.

 The Gods of the Hittites are also taken from the Hatti Gods.  The Hittites were seriously affected by the Hatties in terms of language.  Many kings of the Hittites took their names from the Hattice mountain names.  Tuthaliya, Arnuvanda, and Ammuna are originally mountain names of Hatti origin, but they are also Hittir kings.  Hattus is the name of the capital city of the Hattus and it is Hattic.  The Hittites tried to translate it into their own language by adding a or ash to the end.  The suffix "ili" added to the end indicated that it belonged there.  So when Hattusili was mentioned, it meant Hattusha.  The Hittites used the suffixes "il, ul, al" in Hattic as "ili, ula, ala" in their own language.

 The Hatti also influenced the Hittites with their God.  The major Gods in the Hitti Pantheon were taken from the Hatties.  The Hittites' Sun Goddess, her husband the Storm God, and the children and grandchildren of these gods all continued their duties as the Hittite God.

 The presence of animals such as bulls and deer, which are also found in the sun discs, showed the existence of theriomorph (animal shaped) gods.  The bull was the symbol of their greatest god, the god Sky.  There is a possibility that these are from the Hittites.  Because the Gods of the Hatti were not animal-shaped but human-shaped gods.  So the Hatti gods were anthropomorphs (anthropomorphic).  Each of the Hatti gods had names and was depicted as male and female.  The animal-shaped gods resembled the Hittite gods with an interesting resemblance to the shapes of the Maikop Civilization gods from the South Russian civilizations, possibly where the Hittites came from.

 According to Hatti belief, the Earth was standing on the horns of an ox.  During the rituals, as the priests moved the Bull standing on a stick left and right, the ceramics on the bull figurine sounded and formed the music of the ritual.

 His myths named God of the Moon Falling from the Sky were written in both Hittite and Hatti language.  Actually the story came from the Hatti, but the Hittites did not hesitate to use it.  The myth briefly described the lunar eclipse and the subsequent downpour;

 “Kasku moon God fell from heaven.

 Now he fell on Kilammar (temple).

 However, nobody saw him.

 Now God (God of Sky) poured rain behind him.

 And he sent rain showers after him.

 Fear took him.

 Fear took him.

 Hapantalli went downstairs beside him,

 He spoke to him then

 Are you coming

 What are you doing?  “

 Since the Hatti did not have writings, they did not need literacy in their internal communications.  They only used Assyrian officials in communications and trade situations with other kingdoms and used Assyrian writing.

 Hatti did not come from anywhere.  They were the community that always lived in Anatolia.  Maybe they may be a community of many different cultures that came with eyes many years ago, but as a tribe, they did not come to Anatolia from outside like the Hittites, but they have always been there.

 In time, the Hatti grouped together and formed small principalities.  The Hittites established their own kingdom by seizing these principalities of the Hatti one by one in 2200 BC.  However, even though the administration was in the hands of the Hittite kings, the majority of the people were Hatti.  Perhaps that is why the Hatti influence continued to persist in religious rituals or languages.

 Hatti graves were not found during the excavations in Alacahöyük.  Approximately 13 tombs belonging to kings are thought to belong to the Hittites.  As we mentioned before, the tombs are similar to the Maikop Civilization in Southern Russia.  The dead were buried in tombs with pits dug into the soil 50-70 cm deep, 3-8 meters long and 2-5 meters wide.  The dead were buried in the hocker stance (squatting, a kind of squatting), on the right side and as if facing south.  They were buried with their dead clothes, gifts and personal belongings.  This means that the Hatti also believed that there was life after death.  For this reason, they also took with them the things they liked and valued.  The tomb was then surrounded by stones, and they first covered the grave with trees or firewood and then poured soil over them.  In this way, they ate the sacrifice they slaughtered at the beginning of the grave after the work of the tomb was finished and left the bones left over from it on the grave.  In this way, the burial was the same as the other Hindo + European civilizations, Maikop, Mycenaean, and Phrygis, aside from the posture of the deceased.

 A situation understood from the explanations above is as follows;  The Hittites came to Anatolia from the Caucasus.  However, when the Hittites came to Anatolia, although they were superior to the Hatties as a military power, the Hatti were superior to the Hittites in terms of civilization.  Therefore, the Hittites took many different practices in the Hatti Country they conquered into their own structures and were respectful to the Hatti.  The biggest difference of the Hittites from the Hatties was that they had structures and administrators that could form a state.

 Many valuable ancient artifacts belonging to the Hatties and of course the Hittites from Anatolian civilizations have been smuggled abroad in time by the enthusiasts who once studied and researched the region.  According to the researches on this subject, Koutoulakis, a Greek living in France who had a share in the exportation of the works between 1955 and 1957, but a German GE Von Aulock who previously collected coins in Anatolia with the permission of the official authorities, kept his house in Bebek and went abroad.  was able to remove.  These artifacts, called the Horoztepe Hoard, now consist of 41 pieces and are exhibited in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 Source: Anatolian Cultural History, Ekrem Akurgal p.15-34

ASUR - BABIL MYTHOLOGY

ASUR - BABIL MYTHOLOGY

 Semitic tribes, M.E.  They migrated from the south of Arabia to Mesopotamia between the years 3000-2000.  M.E.  It is seen that the influence of the Sami began to strengthen in the time of Sargon in 2732.  M.E.  In 1955, III.  This effect increased with the disappearance of the Ur dynasty, M.E.  This effect continued until 1000 BC when the Assyrians became the sole rulers of the region.

 The Babylonians were intellectuals and artists, while the Assyrians were warriors and harsh.  Despite this, the Assyrians dominated the Babylonian politics, but they had to accept their intellectual hegemony.  The ever-developing Assyrian State introduced this culture from Iran to the Mediterranean and from Palestine to Anatolia.

 M.E.  Since 3000 BC, the kings of Mesopotamia have established libraries and kept the tablets about the ceremonies in the temples in special archives.  The most important of these is the library of Assyrian King Ashurbanipal.  M.E.  Archaeologists 558-626 Rassam and George Smith found 2,000 tablets dealing with legends, prayers, magic methods, and astronomical rules.

 Also;  The reliefs, sculptures and depictions on coins enabled us to obtain more detailed information about the Assyrian-Babylonian beliefs, a form of the Sumerian religion enriched with Semitic elements.  Sumerian language in the scriptures, as the religious language M.E.  It continued to live until the Parthian age in the first century.

 In the time of the Sumerians, although Anu, Bel, Ea were the leading gods, the Babylonians highlighted their god, Marduk, and reworked the creation and flood myths as we know them today.  There were some 5,000 gods in the Assyrian-Babylonian Parteon.  The Assyrians did not put pressure on religion in the places they conquered and accepted the gods there.  However, the traditional Babylonian priests did not include Assyria, the official god of the victorious Assyria, in their official pantheon.

 In the Assyrian-Babylonian religion, two gods are seen as the Star-Earth (Fertility) god.  Although the origin of the god of fertility (Earth) is Sumerian, the star gods developed under the influence of the Semitic.  It developed under the extension of god.  It is understood that these two races have been together for many years, since this god has taken together for a long time.

 GREAT GODS

 Marduk

 Marduk, the son of Ea, represents the fertility brought by the waters.  This god acquired the kingdom of gods in the flood legend.  After his victory, the gods gave him fifty ranks.  Marduk has become a complete god, as each represents a distinct quality.

 The great gods had tablets of destiny.  When Storm-Bird Zu stole them one day, Anu promised great god-power to those who would bring them back.  Only Marduk was able to take back the tablets.

 Another time;  Marduk gave Sin-its former shine, whose light was turned off.

 Fighting evil, Marduk is represented when killing a dragon with a sword.  He is shown in this figure with his wife Sarpanit in the famous Babylonian temple Esapil.

 It is very interesting in the ceremonies held for Marduk.  On the same date each year, the statue of God was taken out of Esapil with a large crowd, taken to Akita in the countryside and entrusted to the congregation.  This ceremony, which lasted for ten days, with the return of the god returning from the shores of the sacred Euphrates to Esapil, represented the death, resurrection and marriage of the god.  Similar celebrations were held in Anu, Ishtar, and Nannar.

 Assyrian

 When the might of Babylon wiped out in front of Nineveh, Ashur, the chief god of the Assyrians, mingled with the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian gods, becoming the most powerful chief god.  Although his name meant benevolent, he was also known as a war god who led the army to victory.

 Ashur, which replaced Marduk and Ninurta, was sometimes represented as a winged disc, sometimes standing on a bull or flying in the air.  Since he is also the god of fertility, he is surrounded by branches and shown with a goat beside him.  His wife is the great goddess Ishtar.

 Star Gods

 Sin

 He is the moon god.  The sun god of War and the star of Merih Ishtar were his children.  Because the light was considered to come out of the night.  Sin was named Nannar in the city of Ur and was represented as an elder with a long lapis lazuli beard.  Every evening he would ride his boat and appear to people in the shape of the moon.  When it looked perfectly round it was called the crown of the god.

 Since Sin gives light in the dark, it would prevent those who want to do evil.  The evil spirits had prepared a rebellion against him because of this.  Because he was also a divider of time and was intelligent, other gods would take advice from him at the end of each month.  His wife's name is Ningal, besides Shamash and Ishtar, Nusku, the god of fire, was his other son.

 Shamash

 He is the sun god.  M.E.  II.  In one thousand, the Babylonian king Hammurabi had his famous laws dictated.  These laws consist of 282 articles.

 This god, who is confused with Marduk in these legends, lives in the eastern mountains, the scorpion men guarding the place open heavy doors every morning and take Shamash out.  Passing through the sky, the sun would bring his car closer to the western mountain, enter through a door there, and disappear into the depths of the earth.

 Courage and strength were the attributes of this god who missed winter and night.  His rule of enlightenment made him the god of justice in particular.  His temple in Babylon was called the Home of the World Judge.  At the same time, since he was the god of prophecy, he would inform the future through Baru: The Oracle.  He had a wife named Aya and children named Kettu: Justice, Mesaru: Hak, who was an abstract god.

 In the depictions, Shamash is depicted as a man sitting on his throne, with sun rays shining from his shoulders.  There were four pairs of horns on his crown, and with his right hand he held the scepter and ring, which are signs of domination and justice.  Shamash was worshiped especially in the city of Sippur.

 Ishtar

 She is the goddess of morning and evening.  It is the representation of the star of Merih.  Although the Assyrian Babylonians considered them to be goddesses, the Arabs considered God Attar.

 Known as the goddess of War and Love.  Ishtar was represented with a bow in his hand in a chariot pulled by 7 lions.  Since his habit is tough and authoritarian, he cannot tolerate his wishes.  Since holy prostitution belonged to Ishtar's cult, when he landed, holy prostitutes surrounded him.  She was the harlot of the gods, and it was the first time she felt the desires she awoke.  He has a lot of love.  He chose lovers from all kinds of creatures for him and would bring disaster to all of them.  The animals he loved were weakened and fell into the captivity of humans, while men turned to wild animals with jealousy and passion.  Ishtar's love would bring bad luck even to the gods.  The god of Agriculture, whom he loved in his youth, caused the death of July and cried a lot.  He went down to hell to bring him back, had the doors opened, and passed the seven chapters, leaving one cover at a time.  Although he finally arrived near Ereshkigal and attacked him, he called his deputy Namtaru, had Ishtar locked in the palace and attacked 60 diseases on top of it.  The disappearance of Ishtar caused great sorrow in the world, none of them reproduced as the living became sterile.  Upon Shamash and Sin’s complaint, Ea created Ashusunamiri to save Ishtar.  Ereshkigal could not bear the magic of this strange creature.  Ishtar came out of hell with Namtaru, taking his clothes, playing the flute in July, dressed in festive clothes, to facilitate the return.

 Thanks to Ishtar, who was not always a traitor, many kings ascended the throne.  He protected the Akkadian king Sargon and Ashurbanipal.  Being the ruler of the world with the power of love, Ishtar was the most favorite goddess of Assyria and Babylon.  Later, it was revered in Phenicia as Astarte and in Greece as Aphrodite.

 Nin - Urta

 He was the son of Enlil.  He became a god of war after being the god of fertility.  It was a mace with two serpents on his weapon.  Original is Sumerian and it is said that the storm - Bird Zu defeated him.  He was also suspected of killing July, taking the shape of a wild boar.  His warlike character made his whole nature hostile to him.  Some stones even turned against him.  After winning the fight, some stones became sought after by people.  Others, such as lapis lazuli, amethyst, were trampled under the feet.

 Gods of Nature

 Adad

 He is a storm god.  Standing on a bull is shown with lightning in his hand.  When he ordered the deluge, he did it.  It is loved because it also provides good wind and fertile rain.  He would represent prophecy with Shamash.

 Nusku

 Its symbol is a shoe shaped lamp.  It would represent the messenger of the gods and the sacred fire.

 Gibil

 He is the god of fire.  He is the son of Amu.

 Nina

 She is the goddess of water.  Its symbol is a floating vase with a fish inside.

 Isarra

 Her genus is the goddess of relationships.  She is represented by a scorpion she.

 July

 He is the god of earth.

Turkish Mythology - Formation, Creation and Gods.

Turkish Mythology - Formation, Creation and Gods

 Turkish Mythology

 As is known, the source of all mythologies in the world are epics.  Some are legends compiled from the public, while others are legends written down.  Turkish mythology also takes its source from epics as in other myths.

 However, it is observed that identifying the content of Turkish epics with real people in history causes a general misconception that Turkish epics are not Myths.

 In order to give an explanation to this subject, the studies on what mythology is and what is not should be looked at.  According to the results of these studies;  Legends belonging to people we know lived in history are called epics.

 Giving human qualities to natural beings, which are not mentioned in history, where great heroes take place, is called mythology.  According to this explanation, other Turkish epics such as the Creation Epic of the Altai-Yakut Turks, the Oghuz Epic of the Huns, the Gokturks, the Ergenekon and the Bozkurt Epic are generally Turkish mythology.

 Turkish mythology consists of different legends that are not developed around a single myth like Greek Mythology, which is well known in the world.  But in their origin they are all similar legends.  I want to tell you the most known of these myths today.

 Turkish Mythology - Creation

 Although there are many different Creation Myths, the most well-known and largest of these are the legends of the Altai Turks.  Since the Altai Turks remained under the Mongol rule for a long time, it can be thought that there were Mongolian influences in the Altai Creation Myth;  However, although traces of the Mongolian religion are not seen, more Iranian culture influence is observed.

 The reason for this is that there were Iranian influence and cultural relations with Iran among the Turks before the Göktürk era.  In addition, the element affecting the Altaic Creation Epic in the second degree is the Manichaeism religion.  But the most important effect on these is that it is fused with the old Central Asian customs and beliefs.

 There are many different accounts of the Altai Creation legend in Turkish mythology.  According to this legend, there are only two entities in the creation of the entire universe.  These are god Ulgen and Erlik.  In the epic, it is stated that the god Ulgen, the symbol of goodness, and Erlik, the symbol of evil, were flying while the universe was still nothing.

 According to a different interpretation of the Altai Creation Epic, it has been seen that Ulgen is not the great God himself.  It is known that he was the creator of the whole universe where Kayra Khan was before God Ulgen.  It is stated that Kayra Khan is located on the seventeenth floor of the sky.  Based on this information, Ülgen is mentioned as one of the three great gods in the sky.  A female spirit, Ak Mother, gave Ülgen the power to create.

 Ülgen and Erlik

 Returning to a different narrative again, Ülgen, a god of goodness;  lives above the moon, sun and stars.  It is stated that he lived in the sixteenth floor of the sky.  Ülgen, who has a golden gated palace and a golden throne, is generally depicted as a human.  It is seen that Ülgen has many attributes.

 In the prayers, expressions such as White Bright, Bright Hakan, noisy, burning, lightning were told.  The phrase Şimşekçi may remind us of Zeus from Greek Mythology.  God Ülgen plays a leading role in the creation of man and the world.  He created the sky, the sun and the moon.  He rules the stars by regulating the atmospheric events.  Ülgen has seven sons and nine daughters.

 Again, according to a different narration of the same legend, Erlik, who was with Ülgen even before the existence of the universe, was created by Ülgen in some others.  But in all the epics in Turkish mythology, Erlik is the devil himself.  Sometimes he sits in hell, sometimes on the fifth or ninth floor of the sky.

 It is the permanent symbol of all kinds of evil.  God is in constant opposition with Ülgen.  He is depicted in iron, with a sword and shield, usually as a human on a bull.  Erlik has 9 sons and 9 daughters.  After the Turks accepted Islam, Erlik was mostly united with beings such as Satan and Jin.

 While the creation of the universe and the first gods developed in this way in the Altai Creation epic, the myths of other gods and goddesses were mixed with different legends and developed scattered.

 Turkish Mythology Gods

 Generally known Turkish mythology God, Goddesses and holy spirits;  The Yenisey Inscriptions are derived from different narratives of the Göktürk myths, the Yakut Turks myths and the Altai Creation myths.  Some of these God-Goddesses and holy spirits are known as;

 WITH WATER

 Altai is the name of a spirit that protects people, according to the epic of Creation.  It was created from parts of water, moon and sun.  It protects people and lives among them.

 It has eyes that see as well as an eagle.  He is one of the spirits that serve Ülgen.  His job is to inform about what can happen in people's lives.  The spirit named Karlik is considered the closest friend of Sıla.

 KARLIK

 It is a spirit that appears with water and does the same thing as it.  It occurs with smoke.

 UTKUCI (UTKUUÇI)

 God is a holy spirit who takes the sacrifice presented to Ulgen, welcomes the Shaman in the sky and conveys his wishes to Ulgen.  It accompanies the shaman on his way.  The name means friendly welcoming.

 YO BLOOD

 It is one of the most powerful gods living on earth.  He lives in the center of the world where there is a pine that is thought to have reached Ülgen's house.  It is the protector of animals and nature.  This god, who is believed to be sitting on large beech trees and wandering in green areas in the form of a hurricane, has been said to cry very sadly at the damage to nature.

 TALAY KAN (YAYIK HAN)

 Talay Kan is the ruler of the seas, the protector of the dead and the god of all the waters on earth.  His house is where seventeen seas meet.  It corresponds to Poseidon in Greek mythology.

 AYIZIT

 Yakut is a mythological creature believed to protect children, give life to the child and come to the aid of the newborn woman.  He goes to the milk lake in the sky and brings a drop of water and milk from that lake and pours it into the child's throat.  This drop is the soul and soul of the child.

 Thus, thanks to the power of this goddess, the child begins his life.  According to the belief, when the pregnant woman is on the eve of childbirth, she comes down from the sky and stands next to the pregnant woman to relieve her labor pains.  He is depicted with a swan bird and a white crane, the color of holiness.

 UMAY

 Information about the Goddess Umay mostly comes from the Göktürk Inscriptions.  There are various epics about Umay in Turkish mythology.  It is similar to Ayızıt in the Mythology of Yakut Turks.  She is depicted in many places as a goddess who protects women, children and nature and ensures fertile lands.

 It was believed that puerperant women, also known as "al board" in Anatolian Turks, were protected by Umay from Al Wife who was believed to kidnap their children.

 Although it is also referred to as Mother Nature, it is mostly expressed as Humay in Azeri Turks.  In some sources, he is involved in the creation of the world with Ülgen.  The Huma bird has taken its place in many motifs with it.

 Elements of Turkish Mythology are not as precise and regular as the myths in other mythologies.  It consists of scattered and shamanist elements.  This is why we cannot give clear and detailed information about the subject as in Greek mythology.

 References;

  • Prof.  Dr.  Bahaeddin Ögel - Turkish Mythology Vol 1-2

  • Yaşar Çoruhlu - Outline of Turkish Mythology

  • Celal Beydili - Turkish Mythology Encyclopedic Dictionary

Astronomy in ancient civilizations.

Astronomy in ancient civilizations

 Babylonians:

 Today, Babylonians, who established one of the first civilizations in the lands where Iraq is located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, were engaged in agriculture as well as trade between the Far East, Europe and Egypt, and in this way, they carried out cultural exchange between the societies they trade.

 According to the records, BC.  They made the position observations of many stars in 2000 and recorded them (Picture 1).  They divided the sky into regions for systematic observations and gave each region the names of animals or objects formed by stars.  They make up more than half of the constellations we use today.  See the list of constellations at the end of the book and their location on the celestial chart.

 Babylonians have observed Mercury and Venus planets a lot.  Since their angle of extension with the sun was small, they increasingly concluded that they were moving around the Sun. Moreover, Babylonians showed the planet Venus with the double crescent symbol in their records. According to this, Babylonians probably knew that Venus showed phases.  The phases of Venus cannot be observed without tools today.

 According to the records of Venus showing phases, it was first by Galileo M.S.  It was observed with a telescope in 1610.  In one possibility, Babylonians observed that Venus showed phases with lens-like devices some 3000 years before Galileo, they understood that this was related to the reflection of sunlight and Venus made an orbital motion around the Sun.

 Most of the observation records pertaining to Babylon are for astrological purposes.  In addition to a large number of stars, the Moon, Sun, Mercury and Venus planets, positional observations of the movements of the then known planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were also made.  With these observations, the retrograde movements and conjunction periods of the planets in the sky from time to time were found.

 B.C.  Astronomy reached its highest level in Babylon in the 5th and 6th centuries.  They determined that the lunar and solar eclipses, which they observed systematically for a long time, were periodic and that this period, known as the Saros period, was 18 years and 10 days.

 Babylonian star calendar:

 The most important contribution of Babylonians to observational astronomy is M.O.  The Kidinnu charts regarding the positions of the Moon, which were completed and recorded in 380.  These charts are very important as they enable the calculation of the first appearance time of the Moon after the new-Moon phase.  These charts, which take into account the irregularities in the visible movement of the moon with great accuracy, have been written in BC.  The fact that it was built in 380 shows how advanced astronomy was in Babylonians.  (Picture 2)

 The advanced astronomical knowledge of Babylonians based on observations formed the basis of ancient Greek astronomy.  Although Babylonians adversely affected humanity by causing the birth and development of astrology, they formed the basis of science in this field with their contributions to modern astronomy.