OANNES - Uluslararası Eskiçağ Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi

Yazarlar: Kürşat BARDAKCI

Konular:Arkeoloji, Tarih

Anahtar Kelimeler:Kaškas,Hittites,Luwians,Socio-economy,Culture

Özet: Kaškas is one of the peoples who were described as “barbarian” in ancient history. Information about them comes from cuneiform Hittite texts. According to these texts, the Kaškas attack Hatti country at every oppurtunity they find; it loot the agricultural lands. The looting movements of the Kaška are directly related to the structure of the geography in which they are located. As a matter of fact, there are few agricultural areas in the country of Kaška. Existing agricultural areas are also undergoing grasshopper invasions. For these reasons, Kaškas wants to reach the foodstuffs they need easily by looting the fertile agricultural lands in the north of Hattuša. However, livestock farming is more important than agriculture for Kaškas who have a transhumance lifestyle. In addition mining should have an important place for Kaškas. As a matter of fact, the land of Kaška is rich in mineral resources. The commercial lives of the Kaškas were restricted by the Hittites. The professions they mostly deal with are shepherding, weaving and professional military service. We also know the existence of Kaška soldiers who served in the Hittite army. Culturally, the Kaškas have a diffeent belief system form the Hittites. In this study, by following a different method, we will try to reveal the socio-economic and cultural structure of the Kaškas in comparison with their contemporaries (Hittite-Luwian).

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