6 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A bronze tablet from 2000 years ago proves that Greek was spoken in Anatolia and that a multicultural life existed ‘Anisa tablet’

The Anisa bronze tablet proves that Greek was used in Anatolia 2000 years ago and that a multicultural life existed.

Anisa was an ancient Cappadocian city located 19 km northeast of Caesarea on the site of Kültepe-Karahöyük. Assyrian texts from the 19th century BC mention the Hittite city of Kaniş (or Kaneş), from whence the word Anisa most likely originated.

Kültepe (ash-hill) is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Türkiye, inhabited from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, in the Early Bronze Age. The nearest modern city to Kültepe is Kayseri, about 20km southwest. The discovery of roughly 10,000 clay cuneiform tablets at Kültepe—dubbed “Cappadocian tablets”—made the site famous.

A city coin from the third century BC is the oldest piece of known evidence for the Greek name Anisa. While no ancient writer mentions Anisa, it is known from an inscription (ενΑνίσoις) carved on a bronze plate surrounded by relief decor that was discovered at Kültepe-Karahöyük. It is an honorary decree of the city of Anisa dated to the late 2nd or early 1st BC.

Kültepe Excavation Head Prof Dr Fikri Kulakoğlu; said that this important artefact is now in the Berlin Museum. Professor Fikri Kulakoğlu added that a council decision was written on the tablet and it was decided to hang this text in a temple in the city.

Prof. Dr. Kulakoğlu; “Kültepe is not a place known only for its tablets. During the excavations in Kültepe, a settlement sequence dating back to at least 6 thousand years ago was identified and excavations are continuing towards earlier periods.”

Kültepe (ash-hill) is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey, inhabited from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, in the Early Bronze Age.
Kültepe (ash-hill) is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey, inhabited from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, in the Early Bronze Age.

“The most interesting part is that there are very interesting data belonging to what we call the ‘Hellenistic period’, that is, the period after the 300s. We know from the excavations and research that there is a dense Hellenistic Period settlement in Kültepe. Structures related to this were also identified. Various sculptor artifacts and beautiful ceramics belonging to that period were found in what should have been a sacred building.”

The professor stated that the tablet was smuggled to Berlin by an antiquarian in the 1880s. This bronze tablet, which we call the Anisa Plate, is today in the Berlin Museum. It dates back to approximately 160-150 BC,” he said.

Prof. Dr. Kulakoğlu gave information about the characteristics of the tablet; “A council decision was written on this tablet. It was decided to hang this text in a temple here. This decision was taken by a city council in Kayseri. According to this text, it is understood that there was a city in Kaniş, Kültepe, whose name at that time was Anisa. In this decree, there is a decision to honor a high-level administrator.”

“In that sense, it is understood that Kültepe still had the status of a city, especially in later periods. Greek seems to have been the language of the city at that time. On the other hand, it is understood from the names mentioned in the tablet that there was also a Persian culture here.”

“Especially when we look at the father names of the people living here, we can understand that a truly multicultural society lived in this period,” he said.

Photo: İHA

Underlining that it is very important to exhibit a sample of the plate in Kayseri, Kültepe Excavation Head Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu said; “I think it would be important for both Kayseri and Kültepe to meet with friends in Berlin and at least take a mould of it and display it in the museum to be established in or near Kültepe.”

The Anisa Plate and Anisa coins are among the most important data providing information about the Hellenistic Period of Kültepe. The decree on the Anisa Plate, dated between 160-150 BC, is very important as it provides information about the legal practices and social life of both Kültepe and the Cappadocia Region.

The subject of the decree, written in Greek, is the honoring of Apollonios, the son of Abbas, the administrator of the city of Anisa, with the title of ‘benefactor’ by the city council and the people’s assembly in Anisa.

Anisa’s bronze tablet contained the names of officials as well as various institutions. The tablet, which was said to be stored at the city’s temple of Astarte, also commemorated an act by the Cappadocian king Ariarathes granting the citizens of Anisa a new constitution.

The aforementioned decree had been offered at the city’s most revered sanctuary, which was devoted to the goddess Astarte. The Assyrian goddess Ishtar, who is frequently mentioned in the “Cappadocian tablets,” is identified with Astarte. Even though Astarte was not often worshipped in Asia Minor, the Hittite state was where the cult was most prevalent.

Related Articles

700-Year-Old Church Becomes a Museum

31 January 2021

31 January 2021

It was learned that the 7-century-old church in Akçaabat, Trabzon will serve as a museum from now on. St. The...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

A Ribat Mosque shares space with the Roman sanctuary dedicated to Sun and Ocean was discovered in Portugal

2 November 2023

2 November 2023

The ruins of a second Islamic ‘ribat’ mosque dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries have been discovered at...

A 3800-year-old cylinder seal was discovered at Turkey’s Tepebag Mound excavations

8 July 2022

8 July 2022

In the 2022 excavations of Tepebag Mound, located around Taşköprü, the center of Adana province in Turkey’s Mediterranean Region, a...

A Newly Found 12,000-year-old Burial in Türkiye May Belong to a Female ‘Shaman’

28 July 2024

28 July 2024

A recently published study suggests that a woman buried in the upper reaches of the Tigris River in south-eastern Türkiye...

Archaeologists have found an intriguing Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered an interesting ancient Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds, which was marked out by meticulously placed...

The place where John the Baptist was martyred

4 February 2022

4 February 2022

The infamous birthday banquet of Herod Antipas, which culminated in the beheading of St John the Baptist — a preacher...

The Bronze Sacred Sanxingdui Tree Number 3 is Being Restored

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

According to the announcement of the Sanxingdui Museum, archaeologists have begun to assemble and restore the No. 3 bronze sacred...

Contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia the Indus Valley Civilization city of ‘Mohenjo Daro’: Skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

The Indus River Valley (or Harappan) civilization (3300-1300 BCE) lasted 2,000 years and spanned northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest...

Olmec reliefs show Ancient Olmec Leaders In Trance-Like State Roaring Like Jaguars

14 August 2022

14 August 2022

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered two carved reliefs from the late Olmec period (900-400 B.C.) in Villahermosa, Tabasco, southeastern Mexico...

A rare statue of K’awiil, Mayan god of Lighting have uncovered in Mexico

1 May 2023

1 May 2023

In southeastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail...

Archaeologists say they have found the lost city of Natounia, belonging to the Parthian Empire

20 July 2022

20 July 2022

Researchers suggest they may have identified the lost Parthian city of Natounia in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Although...

Excavations at Körzüt Castle unearth 2 cuneiform inscriptions and a new Urartian Susi temple

25 October 2023

25 October 2023

During the rescue excavations carried out at the Körzüt Castle in the Muradiye district of Van province in eastern Turkey,...

The University of Aberdeen is to Return a Benin Bronze

5 April 2021

5 April 2021

Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Nigeria has been calling for the return of stolen Benin bronzes (including brass reliefs,...

Mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep ‘unwrapped’ for the first time in 3,500 years!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Egyptian scientists have digitally unwrapped the 3,500-year-old mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I. For the first time, a team in Egypt...