Mira (kingdom) in the context of Late Bronze Age II A


Mira (kingdom) in the context of Late Bronze Age II A

⭐ Core Definition: Mira (kingdom)

Mira (ca. 1330–1190 BC), in the Late Bronze Age, was one of the semi-autonomous vassal state kingdoms that emerged in western Anatolia (Asia Minor) following the defeat and partition of the larger kingdom of Arzawa by the victorious Suppiluliuma I of the Hittite Empire. A significantly smaller Arzawa continued, centered on Apasa (Ephesus), with Mira to the east.

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Mira (kingdom) in the context of Arzawa

Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital was at Apasa, is often referred to as Arzawa Minor or Arzawa Proper, while the other Arzawa lands included Mira, Hapalla, Wilusa, and the Seha River Land.

Arzawa is known from contemporary texts documenting its political and military relationships with Egypt and the Hittite Empire. The kingdom had a tumultuous relationship with the Hittites, sometimes allied with them but other times opposing them, in particular in concert with Mycenaean Greece which corresponds to Ahhiyawa of the Hittite sources. During the Amarna Period, Arzawa had achieved sufficient independence that Egypt opened direct diplomatic relations, addressing the Arzawan king Tarhuntaradu as "great king", a title reserved for peers. However, the kingdom was fully subjugated by Mursili II around 1300 BC.

View the full Wikipedia page for Arzawa
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