The Karabel rock monument is located on the south-facing slope of a hill at the Karabel pass on the Kemalpaşa-Torbalı road. The relief carved into a niche measuring approximately 2,5 meters by 1,5 meters is of a male figure holding a spear in his left hand and a bow in his right hand. In the area between the figure's head and spear is a 3-line, badly worn and barely visible Luwian inscription (Karabel A). The relief was vandalized by treasure hunters in 2017 and 2019, with the lower half almost completely destroyed.

This monument may be one of those claimed by the historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC, to depict the Egyptian king Sesostris: “… there are two images of this person carved in rocks in Ionia, one on the road from Ephesus to Phocaea, the other on the road from Sardis to Smyrna. In both places, carved in rock, there is a man, four and a half cubits high, carrying a spear in his right hand and a bow and arrows in his left hand, … and across his chest from one shoulder to the other, is an inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphics: 'I conquered this country on my own shoulders.'” (Herodotus II.106). The Kemalpaşa pass is close to the ancient Sard-Smyrna road, but not on it. On the contrary, it is on the Sard-Ephesus road. Herodotus may have been mistaken in this description, and it is also possible that he was talking about different monuments similar to the one in Karabel. Although it could not be read for a long time due to its erosion, it was known for a long time among historians that the relief was written in Luwian and that the monument belonged to the Hittite period. The most satisfactory translation of the inscription was given by David Hawkins in 1998 as follows:

Tarkasnawa, king of Mira (country),
[Son of] Alantalli, the king of the land of Mira,
Grandson of the king of Mira country...

The name Alantalli is not definite. Although the grandfather's name cannot be read, it is thought to be Kupanta-Kuruntiya. The name Tarkasnawa is also known from Hittite documents and seals found in Boğazköy. The country of Mira was a vassal kingdom of the Hittites and it is known that King Alantalli was contemporary with the Hittite King IV. Tuthaliya. Therefore, Tarkasnawa, the son(?) of Alantalli, can be dated to the last years of Tuthaliya and/or the reign of II. Suppiluliuma, i.e. the end of the 13th century BC.

About 100 metres north of the Karabel monument was another similar relief (Karabel B) and two separate hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions (Karabel C1 and C2). These three monuments were completely destroyed during road construction sometime between 1977 and 1982. The second relief, which is in a more eroded state, also shows a figure carrying a spear and possibly a bow. Only the word "king" can be read in the eroded inscription next to it.

The other two inscriptions were also found on the same rock a few meters north of the second relief. The more legible of these, C1, can be read partially as “King Tarkasnawa.” The C2 inscription is even less legible, but the first line of the three-line inscription probably contains the names of King Tarkasnawa and King Alantalli.

Hittite Monuments – Karabel Reliefs and Inscriptions

✶ Media

✶ Related Places

✶ Resources