699: Quwê to Assyria - Scroll Down for more details

"The Vassal's Tribute: Quwê's Submission to Assyria in 699 BCE"

Content:

In 699 BCE, the kingdom of Quwê (also known as Que or Adanawa in Hittite-Luwian texts, located in southeastern Anatolia, near modern-day Adana, Turkey) formally submitted to the Neo-Assyrian Empire, likely under the reign of King Sennacherib (705-681 BCE). This event was part of Assyria's broader campaign to secure control over the volatile vassal states in Anatolia and northern Syria.

Historical Context:

• Quwê was a Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittite state that had previously resisted Assyrian domination.
  
• Assyria, under Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727 BCE) and Sargon II (722-705 BCE), had already campaigned in the region, but local rulers often rebelled when Assyrian forces were distracted.
  
• By 699 BCE, Sennacherib was consolidating power after suppressing revolts in Babylon and the Levant. Quwê's submission may have been a preemptive move to avoid punitive campaigns.

The Nature of Submission:

• Tribute Payment: Vassal states like Quwê were required to send gold, silver, timber, horses, and other goods to Assyria as a sign of loyalty.
  
• Political Control: The Assyrians likely installed a pro-Assyrian ruler or enforced an oath of allegiance (adê) to ensure compliance.
  
• Strategic Importance: Quwê was valuable for its access to Cilician metal resources, trade routes, and military buffer zones against Urartu and Phrygia.

Aftermath:

• Quwê remained under Assyrian hegemony until the empire's collapse in the late 7th century BCE.
  
• Later, the region fell under Babylonian and then Persian control.

Limitations of Knowledge:
- Exact details of the 699 BCE event are sparse, as Assyrian annals from this period are fragmentary.
- The submission may have been part of a larger campaign, but no major military clash is recorded for this specific year.

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