By The Archaeologist Editor Group
Anatolia, or Asia Minor, boasts a complex linguistic history, with its landscapes sown by numerous cultures and empires over millennia. From the Hittites to the Phrygians, this vast peninsula has been a cradle of myriad languages, some of which are Indo-European, while others hail from different linguistic families. Here’s a journey through the ancient languages of Anatolian cultures known until now.
Hattic
Antecedent to the Hittites in Anatolia were the Hatti, speaking a language we now refer to as Hattic. Hattic was maybe a non-Indo-European language and is known to us primarily through Hittite texts, where it was preserved in religious and cultic contexts. The Hittites, upon establishing themselves in Anatolia, seemingly absorbed various aspects of Hattic culture and religion, venerating Hattic deities and maintaining Hattic rituals. The language itself is known from a plethora of Hittite texts, which contain Hattic loanwords and phrases. Though Hattic was eventually eclipsed by the Indo-European Hittite language, its impact lingered in Hittite religious practice and nomenclature.
Hittite
The Hittites inhabited Anatolia from the 18th to the 12th centuries BCE, establishing a formidable empire in the region. Their language, Hittite, belonging to the Indo-European family, has been deciphered from the abundant cuneiform tablets found at the capital, Hattusa. This language provided early linguists with one of the first glimpses into the Indo-European linguistic past due to its conservative characteristics.
Luwian
Luwian was another significant language in ancient Anatolia, spoken by the Luwians, who occupied southern and western Anatolia. Luwian was inscribed in both cuneiform and an indigenous hieroglyphic script. It was contemporaneous with Hittite and was also an Indo-European language, yet it outlived Hittite, playing a pivotal role in the post-Hittite era.
The Sultanhan monument is a stele with Luwian hieroglyphic inscription; found at Sultanhan; Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey
Palaic
Palaic was spoken in the northern region of Anatolia and is known from tablets found in the Hittite capital, indicating it was preserved for liturgical purposes. While Palaic is also of the Indo-European lineage, it is scantily attested, thus shrouding many aspects of this language in mystery.
Lydian
In western Anatolia, the Kingdom of Lydia flourished from the 15th to the 6th century BCE. Lydian, an Indo-European language, was utilized by the Lydians and is primarily known from funerary inscriptions. Notably, Lydia was renowned for its innovations in economic systems, being among the first to utilize coinage.
The Sardis bilingual inscription was the "Rosetta Stone" for the Lydian language.
Lycian
Lycia, on the southern coast of Anatolia, birthed the Lycian language, another member of the Indo-European family. Lycian is known from a number of inscriptions, revealing a society that operated a unique federation system, which is often alluded to in its texts.
Phrygian
The Phrygians, originating from the Balkans, made their home in central Anatolia and spoke Phrygian. It is an Indo-European language and has a fair amount of inscriptions that illuminate aspects of Phrygian culture, mythology, and religious practices.
Urartian
Urartu, in the eastern part of Anatolia, spoke Urartian, a language that was not part of the Indo-European family. Instead, it belonged to the Hurro-Urartian family. Urartian is known from numerous inscriptions that provide a lens into the lives, wars, and religious beliefs of the Urartians.
Carian
The Carians, who occupied the southwestern part of Anatolia, spoke Carian, a language that still puzzles linguists due to its elusive features. While considered to be part of the Anatolian subgroup of Indo-European languages, much about Carian remains to be uncovered.
Hans van Deukeren - Own work
Map showing locations where inscriptions in the Carian language have been found, in Caria proper, Egypt, or Mainland Greece. Map is based on data in I.J. Adiego, The Carian Language (Handbuch der Orientalistik) (2007).
Kashkian
The enigma that is Kashkian remains shrouded in mystery to this day. The Kashka people, believed to have lived in northern Anatolia, were persistent adversaries of the Hittite Empire. In the Hittite annals, the Kashka are frequently referenced as troublesome neighbors, perpetually launching incursions into Hittite territory. However, little is known about their language, Kashkian, due to the scarcity of direct textual evidence. The Kashkian language and its possible affiliation with any known language family, including Kartvelian, remain speculative and unclear. Many aspects of their language and culture remain speculative and hinge on future archaeological and linguistic discoveries.
Pisidian
Pisidia, situated in the mountainous region of southern Anatolia, housed a myriad of ancient cities like Termessos and Sagalassos. Pisidian, the language of this region, is relatively obscure, owing to the limited corpus of inscriptions. The inscriptions we do possess are often bilingual, offering texts in both Greek and Pisidian, which has facilitated partial understanding. Notwithstanding, Pisidian remains an elusive language. Its classification is still a matter of debate among scholars, with theories vacillating between affiliations with the Hittite-Luwian subgroup and those with the wider Anatolian language family. The understanding of Pisidian culture and language might significantly benefit from further research and archaeological findings.
Anatolia has been a vibrant mosaic of languages and cultures throughout history, bridging the East and the West. While many aspects of these ancient languages have been deciphered, countless mysteries still slumber beneath the Anatolian soil, waiting to be unearthed and explored. This rich and varied linguistic history underscores the diverse array of peoples and societies that have called Anatolia home, each contributing threads to the intricate tapestry of its historical narrative.
