During the so-called ‘Period of the Assyrian Colonies’ (1950-1750 BC) some large cities in Anatolia had a portion that was set aside by the local rulers for the Assyrian merchants who traded Anatolian copper, silver, gold, precious stones and wool for luxury items, foodstuffs and spices, woven fabrics and tin from the Assyrian homeland and from Elam.

These settlements were called ‘kârum’, which means ‘port’ in Akkadian (the lingua franca of the time), although it was extended to refer to any trading colony whether or not it bordered water. Except for the merchants and their family, the ‘kârum’ was also inhabited by Assyrian soldiers, who had to protect the caravans. The most important of these kârums was the ‘merchant-colony city of Kaneš’ (now Kültepe, near Kayseri); several other cities in Anatolia also had a ‘kârum’, such as Hatuş (Boğazkale), the later Hittit capital. The Assyrians and their ‘kârum’ enjoyed the protection of the local lords, and paid taxes in return when exporting or importing goods.

These ‘local lords’ were kings ruling city-states. In Central-Anatolia they were generally autochthonous Hatti (or: Hattian), although a few cities fell into Hittite hands over time. Because of this particular political landscape, this period is sometimes also called ‘Period of the Anatolian City-States’, which permits to include other cultural centers of the 1950-1750 BC period, such as Troy, that had no ‘kârum’ and was not ruled by Hatti, nor by Hittites.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: Website of ‘hattuscha.de’ & Wikipedia.