Abstract:

With the downfall of the Hittite empire in ca 1200 the region enters what is commonly called the “Dark Age” With the exception of occasional references to the region in the annals of Neo Assyrian kings this period is characterized by an absence of archaeological and textual sources until ca 750 B C E Accordingly it is hardly convincing to assign responsibility for the destruction of the Hittites and other Near Eastern powers to the invasion of the so called Sea Peoples In the Neo Assyrian period Cilicia was divided into two sections: Que more or less Cilicia Pedias in the east; and Hilakku from which our designation “Cilicia” drives representing Cilicia Tracheia in the west It was Shalmaneser III who in the middle of the 9th century began conducting military expeditions to Que in an effort to subdue it But Shalmeneser it appears was content simply to plunder the cities he encountered; he hardly succeeded in subduing it as one inscription from Karaba’il clearly indicates It is possible however that in 834 3 he conquered Que as far as Tarzu modern Tarsus After Shalmaneser’s reign our records again lack any reference to Cilicia until the time of Tiglatpileser III and Sargon II and it appears that some kings in the region enjoyed relative freedom during this time Key Words: Hittites Cilicia Çukurova Assyrian Babylonia Que

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