Tabal
Tabal, a Neo-Hittite kingdom in Asia Minor during the 1st millennium BCE. According to ancient Near Eastern (Assyrian, Hieroglyphic-Luwian) written sources, it was situated within the territory of Greater Cappadocia (between the upper reaches of the Seyhan River and the middle reaches of the Halys River).
In Georgian historiography, "Tabal" was early on associated with the Kartvelian linguistic roots taba, tba, tiba, and tuba. There have been scholarly attempts to explain the phonetic variations attested in terms considered parallel forms of "Tabal" (such as Tubal, Thobel, Yabal, Yubal, and Tibareni) through the phonology of the Kartvelian languages (I. Javakhishvili, S. Janashia, A. Shanidze, G. Melikishvili, T. Mikeladze, G. Topuria, et al.).
"Tabal" is also linked to certain names within the Hittite-Luwian onomasticon (Hittite "Mount Tapala," "Deity of Mount Tapala"; Luwian Tapalazunauli, Tapalaziti, Tapala-Datta; Lydian Tabílos, etc.). Divergent views exist regarding the ethnic origin of the population of Tabal. As early as Josephus Flavius, an attempt was made to genetically link the biblical "Tubal"—the ethnarch of the Tubalians or the inhabitants of Tabal—to the Georgian world. He wrote: "Tubal founded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberians." Flavius's theory of the identity between Tubal and Iber was shared by later authors (Eustathius of Antioch, Bishop Theodoret, Leo Grammaticus, Joannes Zonaras, et al.). In the 19th century, the view regarding the Georgian origin of the Tabalian population became widely disseminated in both European and Georgian historiography (I. Javakhishvili, S. Janashia, et al.). According to G. Melikishvili, while it is impossible to speak decisively about the ethnic identity of the Tibarenian and Tabalian tribes, he conjectures that West-Georgian tribes constituted at least one component of the Tabalians. I. Diakonoff suggests that while Luwians made up the core of the population, it is not excluded that Thraco-Phrygian and Kartvelian tribes also resided there.
Agriculture, animal husbandry, and craftsmanship were well-developed in Tabal. Pottery reached a high level of advancement. The abundance of mountain ores (copper, silver, gold, lead, iron) and the metallurgical traditions of preceding eras enabled the population of Tabal to elevate metalworking to a high standard.
The advancement of Tabalian society is also evidenced by the widespread use of Hieroglyphic-Luwian (Hittite) script. The official pantheon of deities in Tabal was Hittite-Luwian.
ლიტ.: ხ ა ზ ა რ ა ძ ე ნ., აღმოსავლეთ მცირე აზიის ეთნიკური და პოლიტიკური გაერთიანებები ძვ. წ. I ათასწლეულის პირველ ნახევარში, თბ., 1978; მ ი ს ი ვ ე, საქართველოს ძველი ისტორიის ეთნოპოლიტიკური პრობლემები (მოსხები), თბ., 1984; ჯ ა ვ ა ხ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი ივ., ქართველი ერის ისტორია, წგ. 1, თბ., 1979 (თხზ. თორმეტ ტომად, ტ. 1); ჯ ა ნ ა შ ი ა ს., თუბალთაბალი, ტიბარენი, იბერი. – შრომები, ტ. 3, თბ., 1956; Дьяконов И. М., Предыстория армянского народа, Ер., 1968; Меликишвили Г. А., К истории древней Грузии, Тб., 1959; Хазарадзе Н. В., К истории термина «Табал» ассирийских письменных источников, «კავკასიურ-ახლოაღმოსავლური კრებული», VП, Тб., 1984.
N. Khazaradze
