TOPADA INSCRIPTION (WRITTEN ROCK)

The monument, written in Luwian hieroglyphs from the Late Hittite period, is located near Ağıllı village in Acıgöl (formerly Topada) district of Nevşehir. Engraved on the smoothed surface of a protruding rock on the eastern side of a low plateau surrounded by approximately 5-meter high cliffs, the inscription consists of 8 lines separated by lines. On the right side of this rock, there was a signature line belonging to the scribe, separate from the main text, but this fragment was destroyed before 1986. The inscription, which is quite well preserved, belongs to the Tabal period of the Late Hittite kingdoms. The first line of the inscription begins: "Heroic Great King Wasusarma, son of Heroic Great King Tuwati." The monument recounts the military successes of King Wasusarma of Tabal, and especially his struggle against the city of Parzuta. Wasusarma's name also appears on monuments in Sivasa, Sultanhanı, Göstesin, and Kayseri. Wasusarma lists three other kings as his allies: Warpalawa (Bor, Ivriz, Bulgarmaden), Kiyakiya (Aksaray), and Ruwata. The use of cavalry units in the battle is also emphasized several times. The Tabal king Wasusarma is referred to as Wassurme in Assyrian sources, and it is known that he was defeated and deposed by the Assyrian king Tiglath Pileser III around 730 BC. Therefore, the monument is dated to the second half of the 8th century BC.