Telepinu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Telepinu or (Telepinus) was the name of a king of the Hittites c. 1500 BC. At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all of its conquests, made in the former era under Hattusili I and Mursili I -- to Arzawa in the West, Mitanni in the East, the Kaskas in the North, and Kizzuwatna in the South. Telepinu was able to recover a little ground from the Hurrians of Mitanni, by forming an alliance with the Hurrians of Kizzuwatna; however, with the end of his reign, the Hittite Empire enters a temporary "Dark Ages", the Middle Kingdom, lasting around 70 years, when records become too scanty to draw many conclusions.
| Preceded by Huzziya I |
Hittite king | Succeeded by Aluwamna(?) |
Telepinu was also the name of the Hittite god of farming. He was the son of the weather and fertility god according to their mythology. In one story, he grew angry at the world and set out for the world, causing the crops to fail. Hannahannas, the mother goddess, sent a bee to find him; when the bee did, stinging Telepinu and smearing wax on him, the god grew angry and began to wreak destruction on the world. Finally, Kamrusepa, goddess of magic, calmed Telepinu by giving his anger to the Doorkeeper of the Underworld.
