It was occupied in the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze. The Hittites held it as sacred to a Storm-god who was the son of Wurušemu, Sun-goddess of Arinna. The weather god is associated or identified with Mount Zaliyanu near Nerik, responsible for bestowing rain on the city.
Hittite Old Kingdom
Nerik was founded by Hattic language speakers as Narak;[1] in the Hattusa archive, tablet CTH 737 records a Hattic incantation for a festival there. Under Hattusili I, the Nesite-speaking Hittites took over Nerik. They maintained a spring festival called "Puruli" in honor of the Storm-god of Nerik. In it, the celebrants recited the myth of the slaying of Illuyanka.
Under Hantili, Nerik was ruined and the Hittites had to relocate the Puruli festival to Hattusa.
Hittite Middle Kingdom
As of the reign of Tudhaliya I, Nerik's site was occupied by the barbarian Kaskas, whom the Hittites blamed for its initial destruction.[4]
Hittite New Kingdom
During Muwatalli II's reign (c. 1290 BC), his brother and appointed governor Hattusili III recaptured Nerik and rebuilt it as its High Priest. Hattusili named his firstborn son "Nerikkaili" in commemoration (although he later passed him over for the succession).
Seven years after Muwatalli's son Mursili III became king (c. 1270s BC), Mursili reassigned Nerik to another governor. Hattusili rebelled and became king himself.
Nerik disappeared from the historical record when the Hittite kingdom fell, ca. 1200 BC.
Excavations
In 2005, Rainer Maria Czichon and Jörg Klinger of the Free University of Berlin began excavating Oymaağaç Höyük. Thus far, this is the northernmost place of Anatolia with remains from the Hittite Empire, including "three fragments of tablets and a bulla with stamps of the scribe Sarini. In addition, mention of the mountains, in which Nerik was located, have been found at the site, as well as features suggestive of monumental Hittite architecture."[5] The team has published a number of articles related to their excavations.[6]
According to Czichon, who is currently[when?] in the archaeology faculty at Uşak University, many stone and loom artifacts were unearthed during the excavations. Mining tools were found for copper deposits situated at nearby Tavşan Mountain field. The most valuable artifacts are tablets with cuneiform script, which point out the site as Nerik. An inventory list showing tools, including silver trays and golden bullae contained in an unknown shrine, is also among the findings.[7]
^Bryce, Trevor (2005). Kingdom of the Hittites: New Edition. Oxford University Press. p. 113. ISBN0199281327.
^Piotr Taracha (2015). "Looking for Ziplanda. The Hittite Names of Kuşsaray and Kaletepe". In Anacleto D’Agostino; Valentina Orsi; Giulia Torri (eds.). Sacred Landscapes of Hittites and Luwians. Proceedings of the International Conference in Honour of Franca Pecchioli Daddi, Florence, February 6th-8th 2014. Firenze University Press. p. 57.
^Singer, Itamar (2007). "Who were the Kaška?". Phasis. 10 (II). Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University: 167. Archived from the original on 30 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
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