THE 'HILANI': A LATE BRONZE AGE AMUQ-CILICIAN OR SYRO-CILICIAN ARCHITECTURAL TRADITION?

Abstract

Though the term bilani refers to an architectural form occurring in northern Syria during the early centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, the Middle Bronze II Building E of Tilmen Hoyuk in the Islahiye Valley and the Late Bronze I palace of Alalakh IV (15th century BCE) in the Amuq are often given as the earliest examples or prototypes of bilani architecture. More recently, another Late Bronze I bilani has been excavated at Kinet Hoyuk, a seaport in eastern Plain Cilicia. The bilani of Kinet Hoyuk was built in the second half of the 16th century BCE. From the very beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE onwards, close contact between the Islahiye Valley, the Amuq and Plain Cilicia have been notably reflected in locally made painted pottery from the Middle Bronze Age. While the designation of such pottery as Syro-Cilician underscores the eastern cultural orientation of Plain Cilicia, the term Amuq-Cilician enhances the characteristics of the Amuq and Plain Cilicia. This raises the question of whether the bilani should be considered an Amuq-Cilician, Syro-Cilician or yet another architectural tradition. After reviewing the different uses of the term bilani in the scholarly literature, as well as the features that characterize it as an architectural form, the bilani of Kinet Hoyuk is presented in its archaeological context. As an important administrative building (hypothetically the seat of a political authority representing the state of Kizzuwatna), it is then suggested that the bilani of Kinet Period 15C originates from a north Syrian cultural influence. Conversely, the sudden appearance of Hittite-related pottery in Kinet Period 15C suggests that the economy of Kizzuwatna was under a certain degree of Hittite control. Economic and strategic interests would have therein motivated the establishment of such a Hittite maritime outpost in Kizzuwatna, while the Hittite diplomatic skills would explain the success of this takeover. Thus, the bilani of Kinet Period 15C would have served as an architectural expression of this diplomacy and recall a period in which the Hittite king was politically strong. In the second half of the 16th century BCE, the most likely royal candidate who embodied the requisite qualities would be Telipinu (according to the Middle Chronology) or Murshili I (according to the Low Chronology).