The tree of life in Anatolia and Mesopotamia in the 1st millenium B.C.

This study examines the cult of the Tree of Life, which has found a place in numerous cultures and religious beliefs, within the chronological framework of the first millennium BCE and the geographical boundaries of Mesopotamia and Anatolia, with particular focus on the Assyrian, Urartian, and Phrygian societies. Beginning with its position within Sumerian culture, where the earliest concrete evidence of the Tree of Life cult in Mesopotamia appears, the transformation of the cult until the Neo-Assyrian Kingdom period has been evaluated in the light of archaeological findings. Within the scope of the first millennium BCE, the practices and narratives related to the Mesopotamian-origin Tree of Life cult were first examined in the context of the Assyrian Kingdom. Subsequently, the transmission of the cult to the Urartian Kingdom, which maintained close interaction with Assyria, and the transformations the cult underwent during this process were analyzed through archaeological data and previous scholarly studies. Thereafter, the place of the Tree of Life cult within the cultural structure of the Phrygian Kingdom, contemporary with the Urartian and Neo-Assyrian kingdoms, was evaluated, and its transmission to the Greek and Roman worlds through interactions between the Phrygians and western societies was discussed. The transformations experienced by the Tree of Life cult and its associated practices throughout this process were interpreted in light of archaeological evidence and academic studies. In addition, the reflections of the concepts of fertility, immortality, and sacredness associated with the Tree of Life within the monotheistic religions and Anatolian Turkish-Islamic culture were also examined. As a result of the research, it has been concluded that the Tree of Life motif was not merely a religious symbol, but also a common cultural element reflecting political legitimacy, cosmic order, and the understanding of cultural identity.