Ancient Oriental Works of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum – Chapter 2

Ancient Oriental Works of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum – Chapter 2,

Today Turkish experts can both discover and read these tablets. There are extremely interesting examples of tablets among those in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. For example the tablet of the famous Kades Treaty of 1269 BC between the Hittite King Hatusilis II and the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, according to which both states were to live in friendship and defend one another against enemies. Political criminals escaping from either country were to be deported back. As the first written record of a political treaty between states, the Kades Treaty tablet was exhibited in the United Nations building in New York a few years ago. Commercial agreements are also valuable records. Most of these are letters sent by Assyrian traders to Anatolian traders. From these tablets, it has ‘been learned what ores were mined, what food was eaten and what clothes worn, the cloth which was woven, what weapons were used, the life of the people and the economic situation. A tablet found in Kultepe which was sent to Kanis from Assyria 4 thousand years ago mentions a case of smuggling through customs. This is perhaps the earliest known case of smuggling. The Assyrian trade, after telling his friend that the smuggled goods were discovered at the border and the matter being followed up, said to his friend: If anyone ever asks you to give them your tin and cloth and promises to smuggle them for you, beware not to listen, because they are all accomplices there”. Another tablet is a moving love letter, in which the lover asks why his loved one has left him all alone. In another letter, the writer says to his loved one “I love you like hot olive oil’. And on another, in the form of a poem, is written: “My precious caresses are sweeter than honey. Come to my bridegroom and let me caress you” These words are probably the first passions poured out in cuneiform by a fiery lover. These few examples will have to suffice here… Yes… There is a historical treasure house that most of us are unaware of in Istanbul Archaeological Museum. The world’s first written documents. They’re worth.cannot be measured in millions. The voices of the first writers, using a language that today only experts can understand, who brought civilization to the world and are only now letting the world know their names and fame, who established a stable legal and commercial system, who longed to live in peace, who loved and were loved.