aplu-, ap-lu or apluša-

This form is attested only once with a gloss marker in a LNS document of an uncertain text type. It has been analysed as a kind of treaty or instruction of a Hittite king (Tudḫaliya IV or Šuppiluliuma II), maybe in the form of a letter addressed to a vassal (cf. Fuscagni 2014a with further literature).

[A.B.]

acc. sg. c. ?

ap-lu-/=ša-an?!

KBo 4.14  rev. iv 68’

(CTH 123, LNS)

The attestation follows HW (2nd ed.):192, CLL:5, Laroche 1959a:29 (cf. Rosenkranz 1950a:190, van den Hout 2007a:244, Ünal 2007a:42 and Ünal 2016a:72). The transliteration has been checked against the photo of the Mainzer Fotoarchiv.

The formal analysis is opaque. First of all, it is unclear if it is a an Akkadogram, since it is preceded by the Akkadographic sequence ša lugal. This would be a rare exception as Akkadograms in Hittite texts are not usually attested as Glossenkeilwörter. If it is an Akkadogram, it is uninflected except for the use of complements. However, the use of complementation with Akkadograms is very rare, too, and rather appears in older documents (cf. Weeden 2011b:351). For a possible reading as an Akkadogram with clitics, see under Meaning.

If the form includes clitics, it would have to be analyzed as ap-lu=ša-an and the sequence -ša-an could represent Hittite or Luwian enclitics. In Hittite ša-an would either represent the local particle -šan or a Hittite enclitic possessive pronoun (3rd.sg in the acc.sg.c.). Both would fit in the context (see under Meaning), but the latter would not be expected to appear in a (originally) late text (cf. Hoffner & Melchert 2008a:137–141). Alternatively, a Luwian possessive pronoun -ša- is identified by CLL:183 in a NS Luwian incantation at KBo 13.260 obv. ii 1–4 and rev. iii 12, but the use and distribution of Luwian possessive pronouns needs further research.

If the form is to be taken as one morphological word without clitics (aplušan) and the reading of the AN-sign is correct (cf. under Graphic Features), it probably represents an inflected word and could be either a nom./acc.sg.n. or an acc.sg.c.

[A.B.]

Rosenkranz 1950a:190 put a question mark behind the LU-sign. On the photo of the Mainzer Fotoarchiv, however, it deviates very little from the other LU-signs on the same tablet.

Despite the hand copy, the photo of the Mainzer Fotoarchiv shows that the AN-sign in this sequence has an unusual form (compare the different AN-sign in line 66’ above).

[A.B.]

The form has not been assigned a meaning yet, and its formal analysis has been left open as well (for possiblities cf. under Forms and below). The context of KBo 4.14 rev. iv 62’–75’  (transliteration is based on and photo of the Mainzer Fotoarchiv, additionally the hand copy as well as the transliteration and translation of Fuscagni 2014a have been taken into account) shows:

(66’)[... -ḫ]a-ḫa-ri-ma gùb-la nu-kán úš-an (67’)[... ]x-ta-iz-zi zi-ik-ma mud bal (68’)[... -]x-aḫ-ti ša lugal ap-lu-ša-an (69’)[... -]ti zi-ni-ta na-ak-ki-i-iš (70’)[... ]x ḫul zi-za e-ep-ti

(66’-67’)[…] I stand on the left side. Death [...] he will [re]move?. But you […] the blood of the uprising [...]. (68’)the king’s aplu(ša) you […]. (69’)In your? soul (it is) heavy. (70’)[…] you seize evil with/from the soul.

As noted under Forms, ap-lu-ša-an could represent a direct object in this context. But a Hittite or Luwian word apluša- is otherwise unknown.

The other option is that -ša-an represents a clitic (cf. under Forms) connected to the word ap-lu. The Glossenkeilwort appears in an Akkadographic sequence and one could also consider the Akkadian word aplu- ‘heir’ (cf.CAD A2:173–177). This solution would fit in the context that mentions an uprising: (the king^?) standing on the left side (the side of death) and the addressee doing something (verb unclear) to the king’s ap-lu^?! (´heir´ ?). Ünal 2007a:42 (cf. Ünal 2016a:72) lists ap-lu as Akkadogram (though without attestation). However, ap-lu does not actually seem to be otherwise attested as an Akkadogram in Hittite texts at all (and it is not listed in any other Hittite lexicon).

Alternatively, aplu- could represent an uninflected foreign word from a different source – it remains unclear which at the moment (see under Origin).

[A.B.]

The form ap-lu-ša-an is assumed to be of Luwian origin by Laroche 1959a:29, CLL:23, Tischler 2008a:21 and Tischler 2016a:21, it appears in the list of Luwianisms by Melchert 2005a:451 and van den Hout 2007a:244. However, the only clue for this classification is the gloss marker, which does not represent a decisive criterion for Luwianisms in Hittite texts (cf. Schwartz 1938a:75,78; Melchert 2005a:445 and Yakubovich 2010d:378–386).

The analysis of ap-lu-ša-an remains unclear. The stem could be apluša- or aplu- (with clitics). In case of an uninflected form, a foreign word is likely and an Akkadogram cannot be excluded. If the form is inflected, it is an otherwise unattested Hittite word, probably a loanword of unknown origin.

[A.B.]