Šuppiluliuma I

Suppiluliuma I (/ˌsʌpɪlʌlɪˈuːmə/) or Suppiluliumas I (/ˌsʌpɪlʌlɪˈuːməs/^[1]) was king of the Hittites (r. c. 1344–1322 BC (short chronology)). He achieved fame as a great warrior and statesman, successfully challenging the then-dominant Egyptian empire for control of the lands between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates.

The Hittite Empire at its greatest extent under Suppiluliuma I (c. 1350–1322 BC)

Early life

Suppiluliuma was the son of Tudhaliya II and Queen Daduhepa.^[2] He began his career as the chief advisor and general to Tudhaliya II, then based at Samuha. In this capacity, he defeated the Hittites' enemies among the Azzi-Hayasa and the Kaskas. Both enemies then united around charismatic leaders to counter him; of these Karanni founded a semblance of a royal court in Hayasa, and Piyapili failed to do likewise for the Kaska. Suppiluliuma and Tudhaliya defeated these threats in turn, to the extent that the Hittite court could settle in Hattusa again.

When Tudhaliya II died, Tudhaliya III succeeded to the throne. Soon after his accession, however, he was overthrown and succeeded by his younger brother Suppiluliuma. Some of the Hittite priests later reported this to Suppiluliumas's son, successor, and biographer Mursili II, holding it out as an outstanding crime of the whole dynasty.

Reign

Suppiluliuma married a sister to the Hayasan king Hukkana, and his daughter Muwatti to Maskhuiluwa of the Arzawan state Mira. He also married a Babylonian princess and retook Arzawan territory as far as Hapalla. His most permanent victory was against the Mitanni kingdom, which he reduced to a client state under his son-in-law Shattiwazza. He was also a master builder of large stone structures decorated with stone reliefs. It was during his reign that concepts of the sacred nature of royal leaders developed.

Suppiluliuma then took advantage of the tumultuous reign of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and seized control of Egyptian territory in Syria, inciting many Egyptian vassals to revolt.

His success encouraged the widow (who is called Dakhamunzu in the annals) of the Egyptian king Nibhururiya (usually identified with Tutankhamun) to write to him, asking him to send one of his sons to be her husband and rule Egypt, since she had no heir and was on the verge of being forced to marry "a servant", usually thought to be the Egyptian general Horemheb or her late husband's vizier Ay. Suppiluliuma dispatched an ambassador to Egypt to investigate; he reported that the situation was accurately described, and the king decided to take advantage of this windfall; unfortunately, Prince Zannanza died on the way, and the marriage alliance never was consummated. Angry letters were exchanged between Suppiluliuma and the Pharaoh Ay, who had assumed the Egyptian throne, over the circumstances of Zannanza's death.

Suppililiuma was furious at this turn of events and unleashed his armies against Egypt's vassal states in Canaan and Northern Syria, capturing much territory.

Unfortunately, many of the Egyptian prisoners carried a plague which would eventually ravage the Hittite heartland and lead to the deaths of both Suppiluliuma I and his successor, Arnuwanda II.

Family

Suppiluliuma had two wives. The first wife who served as his queen was a woman named Henti. A badly damaged text from the reign of her son Mursili II implies that Queen Henti may have been banished by her husband to the land of Ahhiyawa. An advantageous marriage with a Babylonian Princess might have resulted in her banishment.^[2] She is likely the mother of all of Suppiluliuma's sons.

Arnuwanda II a king of the Hittite Empire (new kingdom) c. 1322–1321 BC
Telipinu, who is known from a decree appointing him as a priest of Kizzuwadna.^[2]
Piyassili, later known as Sarri-Kusuh and governor of the former territory of Hanigabat west of the Euphrates
Mursili II a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom) c. 1321–1295 BC
Zannanza, the Hittite Prince who was sent to Egypt in response to the Dakhamunzu letter and possibly murdered en route.

After Henti's disappearance the next queen is a Babylonian princess named Malignal. She is the daughter of King Burna-Buriash II. Malignal adopts the title Tawananna as her personal name.^[2]

Suppiluliuma is known to have had at least one daughter. Her name was Muwatti.^[2]

Hittite New Kingdom royal family tree

Himuili?^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Tudhaliya I/II^{[lower-alpha 2]}

Nikkalmati^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Arnuwanda I^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Asmunikal^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Hattusili II?^{[lower-alpha 4]}

Tudhaliya III^{[lower-alpha 5]}

Daduhepa^{[lower-alpha 6]}

Zida^{[lower-alpha 7]}

Tudhaliya the Young^{[lower-alpha 8]}

Henti^{[lower-alpha 7]} (1)

Suppiluliuma I^{[lower-alpha 8]}

(2) Tawananna^{[lower-alpha 9]}

Arnuwanda II^{[lower-alpha 7]}

Telipinu^{[lower-alpha 10]}

Sarri-Kusuh^{[lower-alpha 11]}^{[lower-alpha 12]}

Zannanza^{[lower-alpha 13]}

Gassulawiya^{[lower-alpha 14]} (1)

Mursili II^{[lower-alpha 7]}

(2) Tanuhepa^{[lower-alpha 15]}

Talmi-Sarruma^{[lower-alpha 16]}

Sahurunuwa^{[lower-alpha 11]}^{[lower-alpha 17]}

Muwatalli II^{[lower-alpha 15]}

Halpasulupi^{[lower-alpha 18]}

Massanauzzi^{[lower-alpha 19]}

Hattusili III^{[lower-alpha 20]}

Puduhepa^{[lower-alpha 21]}

Ini-Tesub^{[lower-alpha 11]}^{[lower-alpha 22]}

Urhi-Tesub^{[lower-alpha 15]}

Kurunta^{[lower-alpha 23]}

Nerikkaili^{[lower-alpha 24]}

numerous daughters^{[lower-alpha 25]} and sons^{[lower-alpha 26]}

Tudhaliya IV^{[lower-alpha 27]}

Talmi-Tesub^{[lower-alpha 11]}^{[lower-alpha 28]}

Hartapu^{[lower-alpha 29]}

Arnuwanda III^{[lower-alpha 30]}

Suppiluliuma II^{[lower-alpha 30]}^{[lower-alpha 31]}

Kuzi-Tesub^{[lower-alpha 32]}

(1) = 1st spouse
(2) = 2nd spouse
Small caps indicates a Great King (LUGAL.GAL) of the Land of Hatti; italic small caps indicates a Great Queen or Tawananna.
Dashed lines indicate adoption.
Solid lines indicate marriage (if horizontal) or parentage (if vertical).

References:

Trevor Bryce (1997). The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
Trevor Bryce (2012). The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Volkert Haas (2006). Die hethitische Literatur. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter.

Notes:

↑ Scholars have suggested that Tudhaliya I/II was the son of Himuili and thus a grandson of the Hittite king Huzziya II (Bryce 1997, p. 131).
↑ Bryce (1997) does not consider it clear whether Tudhaliya I/II was one king or two (p. 133).
1 2 3 Bryce (1997), p. 139.
↑ The existence of Hattusili II is doubtful (Bryce 1997, pp. 153–154).
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 158.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 172.
1 2 3 4 Bryce (1997), p. 174.
1 2 Bryce (1997), p. 168.
↑ Also known as Malnigal; daughter of Burnaburias II of Babylonia (Bryce 1997, p. 173).
↑ ‘Great priest’ in Kizzuwadna and king (lugal) of Aleppo (Bryce 1997, p. 174).
1 2 3 4 King (lugal) of Carchemish.
↑ Bryce (1997), pp. 174, 203–204.
↑ Zannanza died on his way to Egypt to marry a pharaoh's widow, probably Ankhesenpaaten, the widow of Tutankhamun (Bryce 1997, pp. 196–198).
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 227.
1 2 3 Bryce (1997), p. 230.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 220.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 222.
↑ Haas (2006), p. 91.
↑ Massanauzzi married Masturi, king of the Seha River Land (Bryce 1997, p. 313).
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 296.
↑ Puduhepa was the daughter of the Kizzuwadnan priest Pentipsarri (Bryce 1997, p. 273).
↑ Bryce (1997), pp. 346, 363.
↑ King (lugal) of Tarhuntassa (Bryce 1997, p. 296); apparently later Great King of Hatti (Bryce 1997, p. 354).
↑ Nerikkaili married a daughter of Bentesina, king of Amurru (Bryce 1997, p. 294).
↑ Two daughters of Hattusili III were married to the pharaoh Ramesses II; one was given the Egyptian name Ma(hor)nefrure. Another, Gassuwaliya, married into the royal house of Amurru. Kilushepa was married to a king of Isuwa. A daughter married into the royal family of Babylon. A sister of Tudhaliya IV married Sausgamuwa, king of Amurru after his father Bentesina. From Bryce (1997), pp. 294 and 312.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 332.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 363. Tudhaliya IV probably married a Babylonian princess, known by her title of Great Princess (dumu.sal gal) (Bryce 1997, pp. 294, 331).
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 363.
↑ Great King of Tarhuntassa; son of Mursili, the Great King, who is likely identical with Mursili III/Urhi-Tesub (Bryce 2012, p. 21 f.).
1 2 Bryce (1997), p. 361.
↑ Last documented Great King of the Land of Hatti.
↑ King and then Great King of Carchemish (Bryce 1997, pp. 384–385).

Sources

The Deeds of Suppiluliuma, compiled after his death by his son Mursili, is an important primary source for the king's reign. One of Suppiluliuma's letters, addressed to Akhenaten, was preserved in the Amarna letters (EA 41) archive at Akhetaten. It expresses his hope that the good relations which existed between Egypt and Hatti under Akhenaten's father (Amenhotep III) would continue into Akhenaten's new reign.

In fiction

To the non-specialist general public, Suppiluliuma I is mainly known from the best-selling historical novel The Egyptian by Mika Waltari, in which the Hittite king is presented as the ultimate villain, a ruthless conqueror and utterly tyrannical ruler. Popular culture researcher Abe Brown notes that "As Waltari's book was written during the Second World War, Suppiluliuma's depiction is likely to be at least in part inspired by Hitler, rather than by historical facts. Unlike quite a few other historical figures of many times and places who got cast in the role of Hitler, Suppiluliuma has not yet attracted the attention of any historical novelist to write a bit more nuanced popular account—though his life certainly offers rich untapped material".^[3]

Janet Morris wrote a detailed biographical novel, I, the Sun, whose subject was Suppiluliuma I, in which all characters are from the historical record, about which O.M. Gurney, Hittite scholar and author of The Hittites,^[4] commented that "the author is familiar with every aspect of Hittite culture".^[5]^[6]

Suppiluliuma appears in a minor role in the novel 'The Shadow Prince' by Philip Armstrong, as the grandfather of the hero, Tupiluliuma, in which he is Tudhaliyas 's nephew and adopted son. It is explained that he was reluctantly forced to take the throne and exclude his adoptive brother, the younger Tudhaliyas, as a result of his predecessor's descent into madness. He is regarded as one of the greatest of the Great Kings of Hatti, but is not a man to be crossed lightly.^[7]

He is also a character in the historical fiction manga Red River.

Suppilulima may be depicted in the 'Nantucket' novels of S.M. Stirling, but under an alternative name, with a son called Kalkash.

References

↑ "Suppiluliumas I". Collins Dictionary. n.d. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
1 2 3 4 5 Trevor Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University Press, 1999
↑ Abe Brown,"Hitler's fictional avatars", p. 53
↑ The Hittites, O.M. Gurney, Penguin, 1952
↑ I, the Sun by Janet Morris (biographical novel of Suppiluliuma I), Dell, 1983; Perseid Press, 2014
↑ Janet Morris I, the Sun ISBN 978-0991465453
↑ Philip Armstrong, 'The Shadow Prince' ISBN 978-1533673503

Literature

Beckman, Gary (1996). Harry A. Hoffner, ed. Hittite Diplomatic Texts. Scholars Press. ISBN 978-0788505515.

External links

Reign of Suppiluliuma I at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 July 2013)
Translation of the Deeds of Suppiluliuma at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 February 2012)
"Suppiluliuma (Hittite) – Shattiwaza (Mitanni) Treaty Excerpts". Zoroastrial Heritage. K. E. Eduljee. Retrieved 17 November 2015.

Regnal titles
Preceded by Tudhaliya III	Hittite king ca. 1344–1322 BC	Succeeded by Arnuwanda II

Hittite kings

Hattic kings

c. 23rd–18th centuries BC	Pamba Pithana Piyusti Anitta Tudhaliya PU-Sarruma

Old Kingdom

c. 16th–15th centuries BC	Labarna I Hattusili I Mursili I Hantili I Zidanta I Ammuna Huzziya I Telipinu

Middle Kingdom

c. mid-to-late 15th century BC	Alluwamna Tahurwaili Hantili II Zidanta II Huzziya II Muwatalli I

New Kingdom

c. 14th–12th centuries BC	Tudhaliya I Arnuwanda I Hattusili II Tudhaliya II Tudhaliya III Suppiluliuma I Arnuwanda II Mursili II Muwatalli II Mursili III Hattusili III Tudhaliya IV Arnuwanda III Suppiluliuma II

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