tribal confederation · Anatolia and the Levant

Lukka

1450 BCE – 1180 BCE (approx.)

Lukka, a land of independent communities in south-western Anatolia, known as raiders and seafarers in Hittite and Egyptian texts.

Origins

The Lukka lands lay in the coastal mountains of south-western Anatolia, in later Lycia and Pisidia. Hittite records from the 15th century BCE show them as Luwian-speaking communities without a single king, outside or at the edge of Hittite authority.

Rule and society

Lukka people served the Hittite Empire as troops, fighting at Kadesh, and raided neighbours by sea; an Amarna letter from the king of Alashiya complains of their yearly attacks. They had no central government, which made them hard to control.

Decline and legacy

Lukka appear among the Sea Peoples who attacked Egypt under Merneptah in the late 13th century BCE. After the Hittite collapse their land became the heartland of the later Lycians, whose name continues theirs.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lukka. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lukka
MLA
“Lukka.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lukka. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Lukka.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lukka.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lukka’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lukka (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻