Isuwa is a Bronze Age Hittite kingdom founded by the Hurrians. Also called Išuwa or Ishuwa, it's one of the many states or kingdoms occupied by the relentless Hittites. Isuwa becomes a vassal state of the Hittite Empire c. 1600 BCE.
See also:
In the Bronze Age, Isuwa is on the eastern bank of the river Euphrates, opposite modern-day Malatya, in southeastern Turkey. The Euphrates has its source in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey.
The crossing of the River Euphrates from Malatya to Elazığ in eastern Anatolia is an important route mentioned in Hittite texts as the 'Isuwa crossing'. Ancient Isuwa is the rough range of today's eastern Turkish province Tunceli.
See also:
Receiving plentiful rains and water from springs and streams, the plains and Isuwa river valley has a mild and favorable climate for intensive agriculture. The earliest settlements in Isuwa show cultural contacts with southern groups.
Agriculture beings earlier than some regions due to the favorable climate. Isuwa is at right at the outskirts of the early Mesopotamian Uruk period culture.
The people of Isuwa are skilled in metallurgy, reaching the Bronze Age in the fourth millennium BC. Copper is first mixed with arsenic, later with tin. Early Bronze Age culture is associated with the Caucasus regions in northeast Anatolia.
In the Hittite period the culture of Isuwa shows evolution runs parallel to Central Anatolian and south Hurrian cultures. The people create monumental architecture influenced by Hittite rock carvings.
See also:
Field irrigation is basic and effective without a need for dams or canals. The river valley is well suited for intensive agriculture. Livestock such as sheep and goats thrive in the upper altitudes.
Abundant deposits of copper are mined in antiquity. The Isuwa River Valley develops agriculture early in the Neolithic period. Urban sites appear in the Upper Euphrates river valley c. 3000 BCE.
See also:
The first states are dated back to the 3rd millennium BCE. The name Isuwa is not known until the literate Hittite period a thousand years later. Primary source material about Isuwa and its people comes from Hittite texts.
The Isuwans leave no records. The lands have no written history beyond that of the Luwians. Etymologicaligist Aram Kosyan identifies Hittite, Luwian, Indo-Iranian (possibly connected to Mitanni), Hurrian and Kaskian personal names in Isuwa.
See also:
West of Isuwa, aggressive Hittites force boundaries. Records show the Hittite king Hattsili 1 (c. 1600 BCE) takes his army across the Euphrates and lays waste to habitations.
Archaeologists discover burnt destruction layers at town sites in Isuwa corresponding to this date. Hittite king Suppiluliuma I writes how in the time of his father, Tuhaliya II (c. 1400 BCE), the land of Isuwa grows hostile toward the Hittites.
See also:
Nearby, the warlike Hurrians occupy the kingdom of Mitanni. Hittite and Hurrian aggressions increase when Mitanni tries to form an alliance with Isuwa against the Hittites.
In a partial Hittite letter, the Mitanni King Shaushtatar is described as waging war against Hittite king Arnuwanda I (r. c. 1390 - 1380 BCE), with the support of Isuwa. These wars last into his son Suppiluliuma's own reign.
See also:
In c. 1350 BC Suppiluliuma I crosses the Euphrates and invades the land of Isuwa with his troops. He claims to have conquered Isuwa, and makes it his subject.
For many years, Isuwa is ruled by vassal Kings to the Hittites. A few names are recorded, such as Ehli-sharruma, Isuwa King in the13th century BCE. Also King Ari-sharruma is mentioned on a clay seal found at Korucutepe, an important early Copper Age site in Isuwa. The site is now flooded.
See also:
Also in the 13th century BCE, rumblings in the Earth foretell disaster. Periods of drought set in. Earthquake activity increases and so does migration. Seafaring people raze the Mediterranean coast.
In the Hittite Empire, internal rebellion grows bolder. Battles erupt between among settled and displaced people. Outlying territories fall into enemy hands.
See also:
Tribal aggressors like the Kaskians swarm south toward Hattusa, the capital. In c. 1190 BCE, the Kaska sack Hattussa. In c. 1187 BCE the Hittite Empire dies with the last of its Kings, Suppiluliuma II.
After the fall of the Hittites a new state emerges in Isuwa. The city of Melid becomes the capital of Kammanu, a Luwian state. Phrygians settle to the west. To the east the kingdom of Urartu is established.
See also:
Today the ancient Kingdom of Isuwa is almost completely underwater in the Euphrates River, due to several dams. High and dry, an important archaeologicial site is Arslantepe, across the river from the modern city of Malatya, in Eastern Anatolia.
See also: