Taḫnaka

From ArchaeoWiki

Representative writings and transliterations
Akkadian	Taḫn[ak]a
Egyptian	[&]nk
NW Semitic	תענך (Taʿanakh)
Greek
Latin
Arabic	Tell Taʿannek
Other	Taanach
Contemporary	Tell Taʿannek

The cuneiform toponym Taḫnaka is identified with Taʿanakh at the site of Tell Taʿannek.

The toponym is represented in Egyptian hieroglyphic sources as:

1 Location
2 Status
3 Leadership
4 Primary Sources
5 Secondary Sources
6 Discussion
7 Observations
8 Bibliography

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Location

Central Jezreel Valley: southern edge, close to the interface with the Dothan Valley.

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Status

City-state and territory

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Leadership

Rewašur (late 15th century BCE)
Yašdata (Amarna period, late 14th century BCE) - subsequently deposed by his subjects

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Primary Sources

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Secondary Sources

Thutmose III Karnak §42

(A, B, C)

pHermitage 1116A vs 72
EA 245:11ff (Biridiya of Magidda to Pharaoh)

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Discussion

Yašdata fails explicitly to identify his city, but states that the men of Taḫn[ak]a took his belongings, slaughtered his cattle and drove him from his city, whereupon he found refuge with Biridiya, ruler of Magidda. Taḫn[ak]a, of course, precisely replicates Biblical Taʿanakh, the large 4.5 ha mound located 8 km SE of Megiddo. Arguments identifying Taḫn[ak]a as Yašdata's erstwhile capital may be summarised thus (Naʿaman 1997a:616-617): 1. the presence of a late 15th century BCE cuneiform archive at the site; 2. reference to a messenger from Taʿanakh in pHermitage 1116A; 3. Yašdata's close proximity within the events he describes at Taḫn[ak]a and Magidda, no other site befitting a city-state other than Magidda and Taḫn[ak]a; 4. the presence of Myceneanean IIA1, IIIA2 and early IIIB ceramics at the site, indicating 14th century BCE occupation. (It should be noted that some scholars reject recognising Taḫn[ak]a as the capital of a separate city-state at the time of writing, on archaeological grounds [Finkelstein ..... ]).

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Observations

Petrographic analysis confirms that EA 248 was sent from Magidda, where Yašdata locates himself after expulsion from his own city. (Biridiya probably his actual brother?? cf EA 245:2; EA 248:3)

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