In the classical interpretation, the Hurrians, established as asianic people, raiding to the ancient Near East with the indoeuropeans invasion, at 2nd millennium BC, making the demographical basis of the Kingdom of Mitanni as soon as many princedoms in Syria, Palestine, and northeastern Anatolia. Later, in 13th century BC, they dissappear as historical entity. But, this is only a short span of time for your participation as ethnocultural agent in the region, and, in my opinion, mistakenly explained.
In relation with the hurrian problem I am collecting many evidences by middle of them would be possible to build an alternative hypothesis with regard to their historical role.
Opposedly to the theory of the indoeuropean invasion, I consider that these population's movements would be an refluence East to West (started around early 3000 BC, from Iran-Turkestan region) of a prior demographical movement that, as it would be tested by the prehistoric archaeology(1), seems to have had place between 6000-4000 C.; an displacement of protoanatolian population whose possible original point of departure was in Konya's plateau, going , by the Transcaucasian regions, to the region between Caspian Sea and Amu Darya river, - where is attested the prehistoric farming of barley and wheat and the horse's utilization -. At same time, seemed that another branch departed to the West, going to Aegean Sea and Dnieper-Danube's basins. This movement is named the wave of advance model of farming and cattle breeding(2).
"It has demonstrated mathematically that if this phenomenon of the growth of population coincides with a model of migrant local activity, with aleatory trends, this will be produce a wave of demographical expansion that will advance in a radial constant rhythm."
"The demographic density of the farmers-stockmen would reach, according to the model, an average of five settlers/Km2, and in the first phase of occupation of an area the population would grow to a rhythm that to be duplicated it every eighteen years period. It's supposed that the distance of the migrant local activity -that is the distance of the displacement of the settlement, in aleatory trend- is of some eighteen Km by each generation of 25 years old. In these conditions, the rhythm of migration of the advance's wave would be 1 Km by year"(3)
If, according Renfrew, we remember that this movement started between 6500-6000 BC and are reminding that the approximate distance between the Konya's plateau and the region between Caspian Sea and Amu-Dary river is some 2000 Km, we could calculate, according to themathematician model, a span of 2000 years (between 4500-4000 BC) so that thewave of advance might reach this region. It would be confirmed by any evidences.
Probably existed a meaningful difference between the speed of the flow and the ebb of the wave because:
In the Iran-Turkestan region the protoanatolians, already becomes anatolian-caucasians peoples, afterwards your raiding by southern Caucasus, would have remained during almost a millennium in contact with steparian and iranian populations; I believe that here had probably origins the hurrians as ethnic group. Nearby the 3rd millennium, the archaeology show a disappearance of settlements that would indicate a new movement of populations: one branch toward the Indus valley (the indo-iranians as is called currently, but I suggest to nominate "irano-steparian"); the other branch going down to the west was caucasian-steparians peoples (hurrians?). They composed that I prefer to nominate as the reflux of the wave.
The reflux of the wave of advance will be scattered in northern Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, southern Caucasus, northeastern Anatolia and probably Antolia itself, along the 3rd millennium BC.
An important proof of the hurrian antiquity in this region are the researches carried out from 1976, by D. and J. Oates at Tell Brak(4). The stratigraphic summary of the site show the CH7 area (2400 BC), with destruction levels of the pre-akkadian Nagar and another seven levels of buildings corresponding to 3rd millennium BC; furthermore the CH, SS, FS and ER areas (c.2100) has remains of a post-akkadian Hurrian Kingdom. In the building's levels of CH area it has four of its that corresponding to the Naram-Sin palace. Two of those levels belong to the later time of the akkadian occupation of the place, one of them corresponding, in all or partly, to the Hurrian Kingdom of Urkish (Mozan) and Nawar/Nagar(Brak).
At this evidences must be added that D. Matthews and J. Eidem(5), considering that exist good possibilities to identify Brak as Nagar/ Nawar after having realized a new study of a seal impression finding in this place and published by Mallowan in 1947 (IRAQ IX).
Starting from comparative analysys of some elements with the stratigraphic summary above mentioned I believe that" if we bear in mind that Nagar can be the only great city in the Khabur bassin mentioned in the Ebla records(6), - a proof of the site.s importance-, it=92s enough probably that the pre-akkadian Nagar.s level (2400 BC) also belong to a hurrian settlement of early second half of the 3rd millennium."(7)
I arrived at this conclusion in comparing Oates researches in Brak with the M. Kelly-Buccellati's studies on the Outer Fertil Crescent culture(8). This cultural construct refer to the mountainous area to the north of the Fertile Crescent. As said the author "this is...more than terminological in its import, since it serves as a pointer toward the impressive cultural homogeneity which ties those lands together durind the third millennium BC. Syria and Palestine form a part of this new cultural construct lying as they do at the extreme southwestern end of the pertinent geographical configuration"(9)
In Kelly-Buccellati opinion the southern Caucasus region would be the original place of development of this culture in the early 3rd millennium BC. "From this initial area it spread around the wide montainous arc, developing different paterns in the different geographical zones. The pattern were each conditioned by a variety of factors. Some of these included the initial reasons for its spread to eash particular area: these differ for each area but include such factors as the search for raw materials, new markets and center over the routes or new homelands. The Outer Fertile Crescent culture was also influenced by existing local cultural forces where they occur or lack of them where they were absent...The internal development within these diverse areas was at the same time affected by the distance from the starting point, i.e. the Caucasus."(10)
"One of the most visible characteristic of the Outer Fertile Crescent culture, which links Syria a Palestine with the Caucasus and other region are deburnished ceramics...A variation of this type is the widely known black and red "Khirbet Kerak" type vessels from Syria a Palestine"(11). Similar links are in architectural components in houses, hearths, silo pits, etc.
The motives of the expansion of this culture are in coincidence with the wave of advance movement, and itself may be a consequence of it. In my opinion, it have good reasons for the unity in the diversity; the aleatory movement of the wave, as I pointed above, also explain the scattering of architectural and domestic patterns. On the other hand the ebb of the wave struck not only with centers of high civilization, but with the itself ancestors, members of the first West-East migration. This must produce new changes by assimilation and crossing that originated, of course, new ethnic groups.
"In the literature on the Hurrians -says I.M. Diakonoff- it has been repeatedly stated that no proof of any dialectal division in the Hurrian language exists. If that were so, the Hurrian must have been an undivided ethnic unity. Such a unity might have emerged either as the results of inhabiting a particular area under uniform socio-political conditions for a very considerable period of time (hundreds or even thousands of years), or the results of a recent and swift occupation of an area by an ethnic mass having developed as a unity elsewhere. Neither of the hypothesis looks plausible from the historical point of view."(12)
Diakonoff teaches that there are two possibles ways to establish the existence of ethnic subdivisions among the Hurrians. One of them is by means of morfology. For it he apply M. L. Kacikyan's studies(13) that shown that the morphonology of the Hurrians texts is changed in very perceptibly mode from one text group to another. Therefore is possible to distinguish seven different groups; among them it have one group that isn't identified but is the most ancient and archaic that is founded in Syrian-Palestine region (Ugarit).
The other way is by the comparison of pantheons in the differents hurrians cities that shown similar types of changes. I believe that this variety is a good proof of the existence of Kelly-Buccellati's cultural construction, and is another support of my hypothesis on the reflux of the wave.
As support of my point of view I consider very important the Diakonoff's conclusion:
"The Hurrians, say him, came to the Fertile Crescent from the East or, to be more precise, from the North-East, probably during the 3rd millennium BC. The earliest wave of the Hurrian tribal migration, leaving its trace in the textualevidence of the Sumero-Hurrian vocabulary of the HAR-ra - hubullu type found at Ras Shamra. This is the unidentified eastermost dialect, very archaic and differing from the other Hurrian dialects in many respects. The tribes in question may possibly be identified with the bearers of the Kur-Araxes culture (also called Eastern Anatolian Early Bronze) who might have brought it in the form of the Khirbet Kerak culture to southern Syria and Palestine; or the dialect may have been that of the "Eteocypriote" population of Alashia-Cyprus, if we are to assume that the latter were liguistically akin to the Hurrian"(14)
Toward the end of 1995, it was achieved a new archaeological find that show the antiquity of the hurrians in Ancient Near East(15). This evidence is supply by G. Buccellati & M. Kelly-Buccellati excavations at Tel Mozan (Syria); during this season they achieved to identify this site with Urkish, until today a hurrian mythical kingdom.
The discovery of the Tell Mozan/Urkish relation has been made possible through the study of more than 600 seals impressions found scattered on the floor of a room in a royal storehouse, dated to the 23rd century BC. The sealings were affixed to containers that stored goods belonging to a "queen of Urkish" named Uniqtum, and some of her retainers, including her son's nurse Zamena -a Hurrian name- and her cook. The vast majority of the seals impressions belonged in fact to her or individuals associated with her exclusively.
Only a few seals impressions belong to the king: he bear the Hurrian title endan, which can be understood as "ruler" or "king". The name ofthe new king is Hurrian (Tupkish) while that of the queen is Akkadian. This duality may well imply intermarriages between different ethnic groups, even at the top of the political level.
This new evidence is a very important support that show, as I'm sustaining, that the hurrians were already well established in Syria in early date.
As seemed suggest by E. A. Speiser long time ago(16) I believe also that a branch of wave of advance arrived in Anatolia at early date, This would be supported by the find of Aygul Suel at Ortakoy (Turkey)(17). The site is located in the bend of the Kizil Irmak (Halys river) near 50 km. to the northeast of Boghaz-kfi. Here the archaeologist are uncovering a monumental complex -calling by them Building A.- were was found approximately 2000 cuneiform tablets. In the complex it has many elements that attesting its violent destruction and the date of the Building A are near 1304+-37 BC. The really astounding fact is that most of the archival records and omen text were written in Hurrian language. These texts further suggest that the ancient name of the site was Sapinuwa, which is known from Hittite texts for its Hurrian religious elements.
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Last modified: Thurs Dec 10, 1998