MOVING BORDERS BETWEEN CAPPADOCIA AND CILICIA? THE CASE OF THE PORSUK HÖYÜK FORTRESS (NİĞDE) IN THE 2ND MILLENNIUM BCE

Located in southern Cappadocia, the Porsuk fortress was established during the second half of the 17th century BCE, shortly after the emergence of the Hittite kingdom. Its strategic location explains the choice of the site, overlooking a major route linking Cappadocia to Cilicia, near Bulgarmaden, as a control point overseeing the metal trade and as a processing centre. The defensive architecture suggests that the Hittites founded the city. Porsuk must have been particularly important to Hatti between the late 16th and late 15th centuries BCE, when Kizzuwatna served as a buffer state against the expansion of Mittani. However, the significant changes observed between the first and second construction phases of the fortification uncovered in the northwestern sector of the site suggest a cultural change, for which the Hittites would be responsible, while the founding of the city would be attributed to a southern power. Since the earliest attestations of Kizzuwatna date to the late 16th century BCE, the southern power would perhaps be the “Land of Adaniya”. If this hypothesis were to be confirmed, Porsuk would have passed from the “Land of Adaniya” to the “Lower Land”, becoming a key case for understanding the shifting borders between Cappadocia and Cilicia.