The ancient bilingual inscriptions of Karatepe Aslantas Open-Air Museum in Osmaniye, Türkiye, have been officially inscribed into the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register.This is good news. The article has more information on the award, the importance of the inscriptions, and their significance for tourism and cultural heritage. All good.These inscriptions, written in both Anatolian Hieroglyphic and Phoenician scripts, highlight one of the earliest known examples of bilingual writing in the ancient Near East and provide invaluable insights into the linguistic and cultural landscape of the first millennium B.C.
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But, oddly, it never gets around to telling us what the inscriptions say. I am sometimes bemused by the questions that (some, not all) journalists ask and don't ask.
Luckily for you, readers, PaleoJudaica is here for you. The lapidary biligual Karatepe Phoenician/Luvian inscriptions are also known as the Azatiwada inscriptions, after the name of the 8th century BCE Cicilian local king who erected them. They tell of his accomplishments and his service to his patron overlord. You can read more about Azatiwada and his inscription, with an English translation of the latter, at Wikipedia's Karatepe bilingual entry.
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