Kashtariti

Kashtariti (Akkadian: Kaš-ta-ri-ti, Old Persian: Khshathrita; fl. 670s BCE) was a Median chieftain. He is mentioned as "King of the Medes" in an inscription dated 678 BCE.[1] His lands were presumably located along the northeastern border of Assyria. Amongst his possessions was the city of Karkašši.[2] Kashtariti forged an alliance with the Gimirrites (Cimmerians), Mannaeans, Medes and Scythians against Assyria.

Not to be confused with Phraortes.

Assyrian texts mention Kashtariti's incursions into Assyria, then under leadership of Esarhaddon. Oracles were commonly sought by Assyrian rulers for such occasions, invoking the gods to assess the situation and guide them towards help. Esarhaddon was no stranger to such practice, frequently turning to these oracles for advice. Before decisions could be made by these oracles, animals would be sacrificed and omens would then be interpreted based on the positions of the carcasses. Decisions would then be made based on these omens.[3] In this instance, Esarhaddon turned to a priest of the sun god, Shamash, for guidance.[4] Tablets dating from the 7th-century BCE, mostly found in Nineveh, describe multiple "oracle requests" in relation to Kashtariti in particular.[5] Among the questions raised to Shamash during these oracle requests were whether Kashtariti was a threat to the Assyrians, and whether he would conquer several Assyrian cities.[6] Kashtariti had asked another Median chieftain, Mamitiarshu, for assistance in attacking the Assyrian city of Kishsassu.[7] One recorded oracle request purports that Esarhaddon feared the loss of the city to the Medians.[8] Kashtariti also planned a raid on the Assyrian town of Kilmân with the Mannaeans and Saparda.[9]

It is clear that Kashtariti's incursions were not a sole occurrence as Esarhaddon had constantly sought oracles to help deal with his bothersome campaign into Assyrian territories.[10] One oracle request suggests that Kashtariti attempted to make peace with the Assyrians. He sent a messenger to the Assyrian royal court, in the hopes of creating a treaty. Esarhaddon pleaded to Shamash, asking whether he should agree to the peace[11] or interrogate the messenger and kill him.[12] A subsequent oracle request suggests that peace was never achieved. Instead, the Assyrians possibly mounted a retaliation against Kashtariti and his forces, with the intention of finally ending attacks from Kashtariti.[13] Kashtariti's alliance was divided due to internal disagreements, and Kashtariti's campaign in Assyria ended before 673 BCE. Some Scythian tribes continued attacks into Assyria. Other Scythian tribes, under the leadership of Bartatua, sought to marry Esarhaddon's daughter to create an alliance with Esarhaddon as a means to end the hostilities. Other Median tribes in Kashtariti's alliance also settled peace with the Assyrians.[14]

It has been suggested that Kashtariti can be identified as Median king Phraortes. Some scholars, however, deny such a connection based on historical evidence and linguistic differences in the native Iranian names of the two rulers.

References

1. Howorth 1892, p. 375: "In an inscription dated in 678 B.C., Kash-tariti, according to Boscawen, is called "King of the Medes".
2. Dandamayev: "KASHTARITI (kaš-ta-ri-ti, the Old Iranian Khshathrita), a city lord of Karkashshi which was located in the Central Zagros mountains."
3. Jastrow 1898, p. 333
4. Jastrow 1898, p. 334: "Esarhaddon, being hard pressed by a group of nations to the northeast of Assyria, led by a certain Kashtariti, and among whose followers the Gimirrites, the Medes, and Manneans are the most prominent, asks for an oracle from Shamash as to the outcome of the situation."
5. Kuhrt 2007, p. 28: "[...] All come from Nineveh (Kouyundjik) and belong to the category of 'oracle requests' addressed to the Mesopotamian sun god, Shamash.
6. Dandamayev: "In one query Esarhaddon asks whether a Median chieftain by the name of Mamitiarshu and Kashtariti would become hostile to the Assyrians [...] In several questions Esarhaddon asks whether Kashtariti with his troops, as well as his Cimmerian, Median and Mannean allies would conquer some particular cities."
7. Maspero 1900, pp. 353–354: "On one occasion it was Kashtariti, the regent of Karkashshi, who wrote to Mamitiarshu, one of the Median princes, to induce him to make common cause with himself in attacking the fortress of Kishshashshu on the eastern border of the empire."
8. Jastrow 1898, p. 334
9. Maspero 1900, p. 354: "At another time we find the same chief plotting with the Mannai and the Saparda to raid the town of Kilmân, and Esarhaddon implores the god to show him how the place may be saved from their machinations."
10. Jastrow 1898, p. 338
11. Kuhrt 2007, p. 28
12. Kuhrt 2007, p. 28: "[Shamash grea]t [lord, give me a f]irm, positive answer to what I am ask[ing you! Should Esarhad]don, ki[ng of Assyria, send] the messenger of his choice [to Kash]tar[itu, the city ruler] of Karkashshi? [And if Esarhaddo]n , king of Assyria, [sends his messenger to K]ashtaritu, [will he, on the advice of his advi]sors, [seize] that messenger, [question him], kill him?"
13. Kuhrt 2007, pp. 28–29
14. Goodspeed 1902, pp. 292–293

Sources

• Howorth, Henry H. (16 April 1892), "The Beginnings of Persian History", The Academy, London, XLI, retrieved 8 June 2015
• Maspero, Gaston (1900), Sayce, Archibald Henry (ed.), The Passing of the Empires: 850 B.C. to 330 B.C., London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, retrieved 7 June 2015
• Dandamayev, M., Kashtariti, Encyclopædia Iranica, retrieved 7 June 2015
• Jastrow, Morris (1898), The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, Boston: Ginn & Co., retrieved 6 June 2015
• Kuhrt, Amélie (2007), The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period, Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge, retrieved 7 June 2015
• Goodspeed, George Stephen (1902), A History of the Babylonians and Assyrians, New York: C. Scribner's Sons, retrieved 8 June 2015

Regnal titles
Preceded by unknown	Lord of Karkašši fl. 670s BCE	Succeeded by Deioces as King of Medes