The book under review here is a revised edition of Kryszeń’s doctoral dissertation, written under the supervision of the distinguished Hittitologist P. Taracha of the University of Warsaw. Its aim is stated in the introduction (p. 1) as “to reconstruct the geographical relations of the major political and religious centres of the core region of the Hittite state”. It is pleasing to see at the outset that the investigation is primarily philological and it does not seek to provide any exact identifications that would allow us to pinpoint geographic names on the map (p. 1). Meanwhile my doctoral thesis at the University of Ankara in 2011 was published in 2012 as Cultic Travels of the Hittite Kings. Observations on Ceremonies, Visiting Centers, Roads and Localization. It is unfortunate, that on account of its being in Turkish, Kryszeń was not able to benefit from my study; the lack of co-ordination between universities is, even in the electronic age, astonishing! My study offers principally a thorough examination of itinerary texts narrating Kings' cultic journeys. We can confidently state that it is limited to the Central Anatolian core region, what Kryszeń calls the “heartland”. Both the qualification which my dissertation bears on the subject, and the applied methodology, deserve to be outlined and underlined here. First of all the territory and the sites have been visited meticulously by using 1 in 25,000 scale maps, and then localization proposals were made.
The study consists of six chapters: the first describes the history of geographical research of Hittite Anatolia; chapter 2 discusses the nature of the available written material and method of inquiry; (3) deals with the toponyms situated in the immediate vicinity or within one day's travel of Hattuša; (4) investigates cities located within a radius of a maximum of two days' travel from the capital; (5) looks at cities whose exact distance cannot be established; and (6) summarizes the results of current research.
Kryszeń categorizes the settlements around Hattuša considering their approximate distances from the city. Here, itinerary texts play a crucial role in determining approximate distances between settlements. However, because of the ambiguous nature of the texts, it is possible to estimate some settlements as being further away than they were in reality when we examine the itinerary texts describing cult trips. There are many reasons for this. While under normal circumstances the distance one person can cover in a short time may be longer since the entourages are magniloquent and crowded, the distance one can cover in a very short time could be extended during the sluggish moving retinues (Ö. Sir Gavaz, Hitit Krallarının Kült Gezileri, 2012, 210 ff.). For instance, according to cult trips, the city of Zippalanda, which was visited by the king for both nuntarriyašhaš and AN.TAH.ŠUMSAR festivals, is at most two days from Hattuša, as can be seen from a voyage of the king from Hattuša to Zippalanda, in which the king stops en route in Piškurunuwa Mountain and Haranašša. This does not tell us the real distance, and thus it might in fact be very close to Hattuša. There is a notable statement in KBo 23.103 obv. I 1: “When the King went to Zippalanda from Hattuša”, which could imply one-day's direct travel. For this reason, itinerary texts are not adequate to make definitive judgements about the issue of localization of Hittite settlements as the author of the book indicates.
Kryszeń laudably tries to place the settlements in most possible regions considering the relations between settlements of Hittite core region, and to contribute to the reconstruction of Hittite central geography, rather than marking exactly the old settlements on certain points on the map. He succeeded in this goal even if it is limited. I still think that the newly assigned positions of some settlements will pave the way for new discussions. It is remarkable that the author gathers almost all important settlements of the core region in the north of Hattuša (p. 392). Doubtless, these new approaches refresh Hittite historical geography and require us to put the subject under examination again. Nevertheless, some scepticism arises against this mass shifting of principal settlements. For instance, Kryszen places Ankuwa and Tahurpa very close to each other, although the texts demonstrate clearly that they are not directly connected except through the lists (p. 104) in which the goddesses of both cities appear together. On the other hand, the itinerary texts do not attest a voyage from Tahurpa to Ankuwa. Furthermore, festival texts including itineraries reveal at least two days' distance between the two cities. The same is also true for Arinna and Ankuwa. There is no transition to Ankuwa from Arinna or to Arinna via Ankuwa in texts. Although the author tries to draw attention to the connection between Ankuwa and Arinna from KUB 50.84 II7–11, this text clearly does not help to establish the distance between the two cities (p. 302). Again, the author places Zippalanda north-west of Šapinuwa on his map depicting the relative position of the settlements (pp. 393–4). However, the texts from Ortaköy point out little closeness to Zippalanda (A. Ünal, Hittite and Hurrian Cuneiform Tablets from Ortaköy, 1998; A. Süel, 5HitCongr, 2005: 679–85). Up to now, besides Popko's suggestion of locating Zippalanda at Alacahöyük (M. Popko, Zippalanda, 1994), this city has been searched south of Hattuša by many researchers (S. Mazzoni, Arkeoloji ve Sanat 148, 2015: 28 ff.). Kryszeń too admits that a position so far north of Hattuša is problematic (pp. 252, 284). But, except Hatt. III 32 (A. Ünal, Ḫattušili III, 1974: 225), Zippalanda is not mentioned among the cities localized to the north. Moreover, Zippalanda never appears among the settlements connected with Kaškaean territory (von Schuler, Die Kaškäer, 1965; see also KUB 17.2; KUB 23.115).
Kryszeń considers only the Hittite text references and disregards Kültepe texts when localizing Ankuwa to the north of Hattuša. Kültepe texts (P. Garelli, Les Assyriens en Cappadoce, 1963; G. Barjamovic, A Historical Geography of Anatolia in the Old Assyrian Colony Period, 2011: 312), when we examine them together with other cities on the trade route, reveal clearly that Ankuwa must be south of Hattuša.
The author discusses each settlement under different categories such as literature, introduction, attestations, name and status, texts and local cluster. Moreover, he delivers detailed analysis, and indicates precise relations between all settlements located or estimated to be in the core region. The meticulous study of individual settlements mentioned within the context of core land and their connection to other centres is critical for the reconstruction of the region's geography, and the study, in this respect too, has a guiding feature that is worthy of our admiration. Despite considerable disagreements on many points, and contrary suggestions on the basis of valid reasons in such a controversial field, I would like to emphasize that Kryszeń’s study is a solid and respectable opus. Therefore he deserves our gratitude.
