KAI 026

Inscription of Azitiwada from Karatepe (Cilicia)

Gibson 3:15

Metadata

Collection

Karatepe (Public)

Keyword

Inscription | Monumental

Language

Phoenician / Punic

Script

Phoenician

Find Type

Excavation

Material

Stone

Updated by

Cody Beasley, 2026-06-14

Date (Composition)

Gregorian -760 to -720

General Notes

The text survives in three exemplars, all discovered in 1946-1947 at Karatepe (eastern Turkey). The grammar and wording differ slightly between the portions of the exemplars that survive. Following Gibson 1988, a reading of the most complete exemplar is provided below (Gibson and KAI's "A" text), along with a portion of the second most complete exemplar (Gibson and KAI's "C"). Gibson reports that the most complete text (lines 1-62 below) "was apparently set up in one of the gates of the city and comprises three columns of text...distributed over four orthostats and the base of a fifth uninscribed one, ending with three lines...carved on the body of a stone lion" (1988, 41). The second most complete text (lines 63-96 below) was inscribed on a statue of Baal thought to have been at once a temple installation (Gibson 1988, 41). It should also be noted that the inscription survives as a bilingual, with a Luwian and Phoenician text.

Alt, Albrecht. “Ergänzungen Zu Den Phönikischen Inschriften von Karatepe.” Die Welt Des Orients 2, no. 2 (1955): 172–83. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25682502.

References: 172–183

Alt, Albrecht. “Die Phönikischen Inschriften von Karatepe.” Die Welt Des Orients 1, no. 4 (1950): 272–87. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25682485.

References: 272–287

Astour, Michael C. “The Danaans-Danunians.” In Hellenosemitica: An Ethnic and Cultural Study in West Semitic Impact on Mycenaean Greece, 1–112. Leiden: Brill, 1965. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004665316_005.

References: 1–112

Avishur, Yitsḥaḳ. Stylistic Studies of Word-Pairs in Biblical and Ancient Semitic Literatures. Alter Orient Und Altes Testament 210. Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker, 1984.

References: 9ff., 14, 16

Beasley, Cody, Wyatt Rider, Armand Rogers, and Justin Wheaton. “OSU Phoenician Class, Spring 2026.” Columbus, 2026.

Bekins, Peter. Inscriptions from the World of the Bible: A Reader And Introduction To Old Northwest Semitic. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Academic, 2020.

References: 64–78

Beyerlin, Walter. “North Semitic Texts from the First Millennium B.C.” In Near Eastern Religious Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 240ff. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978. http://archive.org/details/neareasternrelig0000unse_d1t2.

References: 240ff.

Bossert, Helmuth Th. “Die phönizischen Inschriften vom Karatepe nach dem Stande von Herbst 1953.” Türk Tarih Kurumu Belleten 17, no. 66 (1953): Figs. 1-6.

References: Figs. 1–6

Bossert, Helmuth Theodor, and U. Bhadir Alkim. Ausgrabungen auf dem Karatepe. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1950.

References: Taf. XIV, 70

Bossert, Helmuth Th., and U. Bhadir Alkim. Karatepe: Kadirli and Its Environments, 2. Preliminary Report. Istanbul: Üniversite Basimevi, 1947.

References: Pls. XXIX–XXXI, XL–XLIV

Bron, François. “Phénicien RS’T = ‘Vieillesse.’” Annali Dell’Istituto Universitario Orientale Di Napoli 35 (1975): 545–46.

References: 545–546

Çambel, Halet. “Karatepe: An Archeological Introduction to a Recently Discovered Hittite Site in Southern Anatolia.” Oriens 1, no. 1 (1948): 162, Taf. 1. https://doi.org/10.1163/19606028_014_01-15.

References: 162, Taf. 1

Dahood, M. “Karatepe Notes.” Biblica 44, no. 1 (1963): 70–73. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42637854.

References: 70–73

Donner, Herbert, and Wolfgang Röllig. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. 5th ed. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2002.

References: KAI 26

Donner, Herbert, and Wolfgang Röllig, eds. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. 5., erw. Und überarbeitete Aufl. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1971.

References: No. 26.

Dupont-Sommer, André. “Études Du Texte Phénicien Des Inscriptions de Karatepe.” Jahrbuch Für Kleinasiatische Forschung 1 (1951 1950): 216–306.

References: 216–306

Dupont-Sommer, André. “Études Du Texte Phénicien Des Inscriptions de Karatepe.” Jahrbuch Für Kleinasiatische Forschung 2 (1953 1952): 189–200.

References: 189–200

Edwards, I. E. S. History of the Middle East and the Aegean Region c. 1380–1000 B.C. 3rd ed. Vol. 2, pt. 2. The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975. http://archive.org/details/the-cambridge-ancient-history-vol.-2-part-2.

References: 338ff., 359ff., 507ff.

Ginsberg, Harold Louis. “Ugaritico-Phoenicia.” Orientalia 18 (1949): 134–41.

References: 134–141

Goetze, Albrecht. “Cilicians.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 16, no. 2 (1962): 48–58. https://doi.org/10.2307/1359333.

References: 48–58

Greenfield, Jonas C. “Scripture.” In Magnalia Dei—The Mighty Acts of God: Essays on the Bible and Archaeology in Memory of G. Ernest Wright, 265–68. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976.

References: 265–268

Haran, Menahem. “‘ZBḤ YMM’ in the Karatepe Inscription.” Vetus Testamentum 19, no. 3 (1969): 372–73. https://doi.org/10.2307/1516508.

References: 372–373

Harden, Donald B. The Phoenicians. New York: Praeger, 1962. http://archive.org/details/phoenicians0000hard.

References: Pl. 37

Hawkins, J. D., and A. Morpurgo Davies. “On the Problems of Karatepe: The Hieroglyphic Text.” Anatolian Studies 28 (1978): 103–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/3642746.

References: 103–119

Laroche, E. “Études Sur Les Hiéroglyphes Hittites.” Syria 35, no. 3/4 (1958): 263ff. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4197174.

References: 263ff.

Levi della Vida, Giorgio. “Observazioni All’iscrizione Fenicia Di Karatepe.” Rendiconti Della Classe Di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche, 8, 4 (1949): 273–90.

References: 273–290

Lipiński, Edward. “From Karatepe to Pyrgi: Middle Phoenician Miscellanea.” Rivista Di Studi Fenici 2, no. 1 (1974): 45–49.

References: 45–49

M. J. Mellink. “Karatepe: More Light on the Dark Ages.” Bibliotheca Orientalis 7 (1950): 141–50. http://archive.org/details/BiOr-7-1950.

References: 141–150

Magnanini, Pietro. Le iscrizioni fenicie dell’Oriente: Testi, traduzioni, glossari. Rome: Centro di Studi Semitici, Istituto di Studi del Vicino Oriente, 1973.

References: 51–57

Meriggi, Piero. Manuale Di Eteo-Geroglifico. Vol. 2. Rome: Edizioni dell’Ateneo, 1967. https://www.firenzelibri.net/en/libro/90683/Manuale-di-Eteo-Geroglifico-Parte-II-Testi-1a-serie-I-testi-Neo-Etei-piu-o-meno-completi.aspx.

References: 69–100

O’Callaghan, Roger T. “The Great Phoenician Portal Inscription from Karatepe.” Orientalia 18, no. 2 (1949): 173–205. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43072624.

References: 173–205

Otero, Andrés Piquer. “The ‘Narrative Infinitive’ in Phoenician and Its Background: A Discourse Analysis Approach.” In Linguistic Studies in Phoenician, 138–69. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013. https://www.eisenbrauns.org/books/titles/978-1-57506-266-2.html.

References: 138–169

Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691035031/ancient-near-eastern-texts-relating-to-the-old-testament-with.

References: 653f

Sola-Solé, J. M. L’infinitif Sémitique: Contribution à l’étude Des Formes et Des Fonctions Des Noms d’action et Des Infinitifs Sémitiques. Paris: C. Klincksieck, 1961. https://fr.scribd.com/document/850335210/L-Infinitif-Semitique-Contribution-a-l-Etude-Des-Formes-Et-Josep-M-Sola-Sole-Bibliotheque-de-l-Ecole-Pratique-Des-Hautes-Etudes-Section-13.

References: xxv–xxvii

Steinherr, Franz. “Zu Einigen Problemen von Karatepe.” Die Welt Des Orients 6, no. 2 (1971): 166–82. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25682697.

References: 166–182

Teixidor, Javier. “Bulletin d’épigraphie sémitique 1971.” Syria. Archéologie, Art et histoire 48, no. 3 (1971): 470–72. https://doi.org/10.3406/syria.1971.6261.

References: 470–472

Teixidor, Javier. “Bulletin d’épigraphie sémitique 1973.” Syria. Archéologie, Art et histoire 50, no. 3 (1973): 422–23. https://doi.org/10.3406/syria.1973.6409.

References: 422–423

Ussishkin, David. “The Date of the Neo-Hittite Enclosure in Karatepe.” Anatolian Studies 19 (1969): 121–23. https://doi.org/10.2307/3642619.

References: 121–123

Van den Branden, Albert. “Les Inscriptions Phéniciennes de Karatepe.” Melto: Recherches Orientales 1 (1965): 25–84.

References: 25–84

Weippert, Manfred. “Elemente Phönikischer Und Kilikischer Religion in Den Inschriften Vom Karatepe.” Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Supplement 1 (1969): 191–216.

References: 191–216

Images

Textual Notes

Line 3: On the function and distribution of the infinitive as a narrative past tense, see Krahmalkov 2001, 209 ff; and Otero 2013. Line 35: On the use of infinitive followed by suffixes, see Krahmalkov 2001, 202. Here, the suffix is anaphoric, referring to the city. Line 40: Narrative tense function of the infinitive, despite the fact that a 1cs independent pronoun is missing. Line 44: It is difficult to know where the suffix of the infinitive is resumptive or anticipatory. Although it would be possible to read it as resumptive, co-referential with the substantives preceding the infinitive, Krahmalkov describes this form as a jussive/optative and notes that the pronoun is anticipatory and co-referential with the following subject (2001, 207). Line 48: On the use of the short imperfect as a jussive, see Krahmalkov 2001, 185ff. Line 90: Likely a misspelling of מלכ "king."

Text and Translation

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Phoe. Class 2026 Last updated 07 April, 2026 by James D. Moore

I am AZTWD, the blesser of Baʿal, servant of

Baʿal, an honored man, AWRK, king of the Danunians.

Baʿal has made me a father and a mother to the Danunians. I revived

the Danunians, I expanded the land of the valley of Adana from the sun’s rising

to its setting. And in my days, the Danunians had all that was good,

abundance and prosperity. I filled the reservoirs of Paʿar and I acquired

horse upon horse and shield upon shield and army upon

army thanks to Baʿal and the gods. I have broken scorners

and eradicated all evil that was in the land. I erected

the house of my lord in prosperity and I did good for the root of my lord.

I sat upon the throne of my father, and I made peace with

every king, and moreover, every king made me as a father because of my righteousness,

my wisdom and the goodness of my heart. I built strong fortresses

at every edge on the borders, in the places where there were

evil men, leaders of gangs, none of whom was a servant

to the house of MPS. But I AZTWD placed them under my feet

and I built fortresses in those places to let the Danunians dwell

in the peace of their hearts. I conquered strong lands at the rising of

the sun, which none of the kings who were before me had conquered. But I

AZTWD conquered them. I brought them down, I settled them

at the edge of my borders at the rising of the sun and the Danunians,

I settled there. In my days, they were along every

border of the Valley of Adana from the rising of the sun

to its setting. And in the places that were

once dreaded, where a man was afraid to [even] walk [on]

a road, in my days a woman walk alone

without bodyguards, thanks to Baʿal and the gods.

And in all of my days, there was abundance, prosperity, a generous(29) share,

and peace of heart for the Danunians and the whole valley of

Adana. So I built this city, and I dedicated

its name as AZTWDY, for Baʿal and Resheph of

the he-goats commissioned me to build it. And I built it,

thanks to Baʿal and thanks to Resheph of the he-goats with abundance,

with prosperity, with a generous share and with peace of

heart. Let it be protection for the valley of Adana and for the house

of MPS. For in my days the land of the valley of Adana

had abundance and prosperity and the Danunians never had

night in my days. And I built this city, I(39) dedicated

its name AZTWDY. I made

Baʿal KRNTRYŠ dwell in it(39) and they led a sacrifice for every

seasonal sacrifice: the annual sacrifice of 1 ox and at [the time of p]lowing

1 sheep, and at the time of harvesting 1 sheep so may Baʿal KRNTRYŠ bless

AZTWD [with] life and peace

and [with] mighty strength upon every king. Let Baʿal KRNTRYŠ

and all the gods of the city give(44) AZTWD long days and many

years and generous old age and mighty strength upon every king.

Let this city be an owner of abundace and wine, and

this people(47) who dwell in it, let them be owners of oxen and owners of

sheep and owners of abundance and wine and let them bear many children

and let them become very powerful and let them greatly serve AZTWD

and the house of MPS by the favor of Baʿal and the gods.

And if a king among kings or a ruler among rulers or a man

who is a respected man erases the name of AZTWD

on this gate and puts up his name, or moreover desires

this city and pulls down this gate that AZTWD has made

and makes another gate and puts his name upon it;

if in love he pulls it down or if in hate and evil he pulls

this gate down, Baʿalshamem and El creator of the land

and the eternal sun and every generation of the sons of the gods shall erase(58) that kingdom and that king and

that man who is a respected man. However,

The name of AZTWD let it be forever like the name of

The sun and moon

… and there was

never night in my days for the Danunians. I built this(65) city

and dedicated its name AZTWDY and I made

this god Baʿal KRNTRYŠ dwell [in it.] And

Baʿal KRNTRYŠ blessed AZTWD with life

and with peace and with powerful strength over every king.

Let Baʿal KRNTRYŠ give to AZTWD

long days and many years and generous old age

and powerful strength upon every king.

And the sacrifice that they shall lead ◦◦ for the gods

are every seasonal sacrifice

[they are] this: the annual sacrifice of 1 ox and at

the time of ploughing 1 sheep and at the time of harvest

1 sheep. So let this city be an owner of

abundance and wine, and this people who

dwell in it let them be owners of oxen and owners

of sheep and owners of abundance and wine

and let them bear many children and become very powerful

and greatly serve AZTWD and the house

of MPS through the favor of Baʿal and the favor of the gods.

And if a king among kings or a ruler among rulers

or a man who is a man of name who says

to erase the name of AZTWD on the image

of this god and put his name if indeed he desires

this city and says, "I will make

another image and put my name upon it," and

the image of the gods that AZTWD had made,

Baʿal KRNTRYŠ who is at the entrance of the king at …

…

… however the name of

AZTWD, let it be forever like the name of

the sun and moon

Moore, James D., Cody Beasley, Armand Rogers. 'KAI 026.' DEAPS. 19 Feb, 2026. https://deaps.osu.edu/text_objects/11466. Accessed: 18 Jun, 2026.

KAI 026

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Text and Translation

Phoe. Class 2026 Last updated 07 April, 2026 by James D. Moore

Phoe. Class 2026 Last updated 07 April, 2026 by James D. Moore