Sapinuwa - History

History

Focus on Ortakoy writes, "The strategic location of Shapinuwa is very important. The mountains surrounding the city, the plateau ascending in terraces on the Amasya Plain, and the fortification facilities starting as far as 5 km enable the city to be easily defendable. Since the city has a key location in between Alaca and Amasya plains, as long as the city, which is two-days distance from Hattusas, stands still, the roads to Bogazkoy - Hattusas are under control. As well as there are traces of military and religious architecture of the upper city on the hills to the west, the need for water and timber were being supplied from these hills."

The Hittites commonly invoked the Storm God of Sapinuwa alongside the Storm God of Nerik. Since Hattusa was to the south and Nerik likely further north, both initially Hattic-speaking; given the presence of the Hattic language in the Sapinuwa archive (and apparent paucity of the Palaic language); and given that its name makes sense in Hattic as a theophoric (sapi, "god"; Sapinuwa, " of the god"): it is likely that Hattians founded Sapinuwa as well. In that case, the Nesian-speaking people would have taken over Sapinuwa at the same time they took Nerik and Hattusa, in the 17th century BC.

The Hittites' enemy at that frontier during the 15th century BC were the Kaskas.

Oguz Soysal wrote, "The excavators of Ortaköy believe that this city was a second capital of the Hittites or a royal residence, for a specific period, namely during the Middle Hittite Kingdom, ca. late 15th century B.C." However, "Most of the epigraphic finds are dated to the last phase of the Hittite Middle Kingdom (ca. 1400-1380 B.C.)", contemporary with Tudhaliya I and the archive at Maşat Höyük.

It is presumed that the Kaska were responsible for the 14th century BC burnings which turned some of the building materials into coal. The Hittite court moved away, probably to Samuha, and did not rebuild Sapinuwa.