Kadesh and Kanesh

 

by

 Damien F. Mackey

  

The names Kadesh and Kanesh are virtually identical,

especially given that n and d are subject to a wide range of variations.

 

 The typical view of ancient Kanesh reads like this:

Kultepe | Turkey, Kanesh, Map, & History | Britannica

 

Kültepe, ancient mound covering the Bronze Age city of Kanesh, in central Turkey. Kültepe was known to archaeologists during the 19th century, but it began to attract particular attention as the reputed source of so-called Cappadocian tablets in Old Assyrian cuneiform writing and language.

 

Finally, in 1925, Bedřich Hrozný found the source of the tablets in a fortified crescent-shaped area to the south and southeast of the mound proper. That area, called Karum Kanesh by archaeologists, had been inhabited by a mixture of Assyrian merchants and native population.

 

The excavations, resumed in 1948, were continued annually by the Turkish Historical Society under the direction of Tahsin and Nimet Özgüç. Their excavations added thousands of new tablet finds, dating from early in the 2nd millennium bce, and included the first such discoveries in the city mound itself.

 

The texts—the earliest historical documents found in Anatolia—are of Old Assyrian type; similar texts have been discovered at Alişar Hüyük and at Boğazköy, the site of the Hittite capital. All the texts belong to what is called the “colony period” in central Anatolia. At that time, Indo-European Hittites had already settled in Anatolia and assimilated into the indigenous population. From about the 20th to the 18th century bce there existed a number of Assyrian karums (trade outposts, of which Kanesh was probably the most important), which served as end stations for the caravan shipments from and to Assyria and as distribution centres. Assyrian textiles and items transshipped from Babylonia were traded for Anatolian copper and silver.

 

The original Hittite language is now considered to have been Nesian, as reflected in the name Kanesh (Wikipedia):

 

Nesian language from kanesh

 

The Nesian language, also known as Neshaca, is the language of the ancient city of Kanesh/Nesha. This language is believed to be a non-Indo-European language that was used in the region during the time of the Hatti people. The Hatti, who inhabited the area around Kanesh, used cuneiform script for trade dealings and other official documents. 

The discovery of the Kültepe tablets, which are among the earliest written documents from Anatolia, provides valuable insights into the language and culture of the Hatti people. These tablets contain a mix of Hatti and Old Assyrian, and they are significant for understanding the linguistic connections between the ancient Near East and the modern Turkish language.

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However, with the land of the Hittites now geographically removed right out of Anatolia, and re-focussed around e.g. Kadesh on the Orontes:

 

Kadesh (Qadesh) as Hittite Hattush(a)?

 

(2) Kadesh (Qadesh) as Hittite Hattush(a)?

 

then the famous Hittite town of Kanesh, thought by archaeologists to be at Kültepe, must now likewise be shifted – as Hattusha was in the above article, from Boğazköy – to Kadesh in central Syria.

 

Crucial to that article was this biblical information: “Kadesh in the land of the Hittites” (2 Samuel 24:6).

The names Kadesh and Kanesh are virtually identical, especially given that n and d are subject to a wide range of variations.

 

Barry Curnock, discussing the Amurru, refers to a “Kinsa (on the southern Orontes)”, which name is a perfect likeness to Kanesh, and its location on the River Orontes (though he appears to have estimated it well too far to the south) is appropriate for Kadesh. In the process, he explains the term, Mukish: (2) Curnock Papers 2007-2024

 

On the other hand, the Hittite records locate Amurru further north; according to the treaty between Suppiluliumas I and Aziru (CTH 49), Amurru bordered on Mukish (the Amuq Plain), Kinsa (on the southern Orontes) and Nuhasse (south of Carchemish). This locates it north of Coele-Syria on the middle Orontes, somewhere close to Hamath. The latest treaty between Hatti and Amurru (CTH 105) forbade Greek trade from the north Syrian coast through Amurru to Assyria; appearing to confirm that Amurru must have been in northern Syria. When Suppiluliumas I captured Syria, he was opposed by Ariwana, the king of Apu, which was the area around Damascus (CTH 51). The Hittites won the ensuing battle. The Hittite texts stress that Amurru was not taken by force. These two pieces of information help to confirm that Amurru did not include Apu. ….

 

In the Amarna letters, Amurru appears to have been located south of Kinsa, whereas in the Hittite records of Suppiluliumas I and later Hittite kings, it appears to have been located north of Kinsa.

In passing, we note that the name Mukish is a prime example of how the same name, written in different languages and then transliterated by modern scholars, can appear in quite different forms. Only the consonants of the name are preserved. Mukish, Amka, Amuq all represent the same original name. ….

 

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See also my article:

 

Land of Nuhašše by other names

 

(3) Land of Nuhašše by other names