Šuppiluliuma I.

Šuppiluliuma I. was a Hittite great king of the 14th century BC. Chr .; one of several possible periods of his reign is 1350 to 1322 BC. In his time the empire of the Hittites - they called it Ḫatti - became a great power. He was married first to Ḫinti , then to Tawananna .

Dating

→ see also the eclipse of the Muršilis

A reliable dating of the reigns and length of the reigns of Hittite kings and rulers is not possible, as Hittite sources do not provide any reliable evidence. Letters with other kings and inscriptions only provide selective dating options that are also based on the "short" or "medium" chronology. Also mentions z. B. Muršili II. A solar eclipse in his 10th year of reign . Partial or total solar eclipses on January 8, 1340 BC were considered. Or on March 13, 1335 BC. BC and on June 14, 1312 or April 13, 1308 BC. In research, the date is June 14, 1312 BC. BC (total solar eclipse) preferred, partly also the date April 13th 1308 BC. BC (partial solar eclipse).

history

The beginnings

Šuppiluliuma was a son of the Great King Tudḫaliya II. During his reign, according to his son Muršili II , he led successful campaigns over a period of 20 years, including to Arzawa in West Asia Minor.

After the death of his father, his brother Tudḫaliya III came. on the throne. However, this was soon overthrown and murdered by Šuppiluliuma. This led to conflicts, possibly even to a civil war. Šuppiluliuma enlarged the Hittite capital Ḫattuša by almost three times. His first campaigns were directed against the mountain people of the Kaškäer , who lived north of the Hittite area, which protected the Hittite heartlands.

It is possible that Kizzuwatna was attacked from the west, for which armed conflicts in the area of the city of Tuwanuwa are considered evidence. An apparently unsuccessful attack by a Hittite military leader in the west was followed by an advance from Šuppiluliuma to Mira . The Hittites were supported in this by Kukkunni , a ruler of Wiluša .

After the consolidation of the Hittite sphere of power, conflicts arose with the strong Mitanni empire under King Tušratta . Šuppiluliuma signed a contract with the Azzi-Hajaša between Hatti and Mitanni . When Artatama II raised claims to the throne against Tušratta, he was supported by Assur and Šuppiluliuma. The latter undertook an attack on Mitanni's vassals and reached the capital Waššukanni . Šuppiluliuma challenged Tušratta, but this withdrew, so that Šuppiluliuma crossed the Euphrates in the west and besieged Karkemiš , which he could not conquer. Thereupon he subjugated other vassal states of the Mitanni empire in northern Syria.

The treaty with Niqmaddu II of Ugarit

The treaty of Šuppiluliuma I and the Ugaritic king Niqmaddu II was probably created at the end of the Hittite king's second Syrian campaign and is an important document for the chronological classification due to the other kings mentioned.

Plate Vs

“ ² When Itur-Addu , king of Mukiš , Addu-nerari , ³ king of Nuḫašše and Aki-Teššup , king of Nija , ⁴ of Šuppiluliuma fell away, ^{5 they} gathered their troops and ⁶ blackmailed Ugarit and ⁸ destroyed the country. ⁹ Niqmaddu turned to ¹⁰ the great king and king of Ḫatti and wrote: ¹¹ May my lord save me from the hand of the enemy. ¹⁴ The kings blackmail me. " ¹⁶ The great king sent princes and greats along with foot troops to ¹⁸ [The text breaks off here. However, the context reveals the restoration of the situation in Ugarit and the subsequent homage to Šuppiluliuma. The connection to panel Vs follows ]. ¹ and the Great King of Hatti ² saw Niqmaddus fidelity. ³ Now both have ⁴ a contract ⁵ closed. ⁶ If ⁷ future ⁸ refugees ¹⁰ from other countries ¹¹ to go away and ¹² in Ugarit ¹³ enter into the service of the king ¹⁵ may another king of another country ¹⁶ will not take them away from ¹⁷ the decree of Niqmaddu and ¹⁸ from the decree of his sons and grandchildren, ¹⁹ until distant times. "

- Excerpts from the contract text,

Further course

After the conclusion of the contract with Niqmaddu II. Šuppiluliuma created a viceroyalty in Ḫalpa for his son Telipinu . In another campaign, the Hittites destroyed Qatna , getting close to the Egyptian sphere of influence. Presumably in response to this, Egyptian chariots advanced against Kadesh , while troops from the Mitanni Empire drove the Hittites out of Murmuriga in northern Syria. Around the same time, Artatama Tušratta fell, who died. His son Šattiwazza fled to Šuppiluliuma, who married him to his daughter. In support of Šattiwazza's claim to the throne, an army under Šuppiluliuma's sons Zida and Arnuwanda moved to Mitanni. Under the command of two generals, another army moved against the Egyptians and continued the siege of Karkemish .

As a result, the so-called Dahamunzu affair occurred . The wife of the late Pharaoh asked for one of the sons of Suppiluliuma to marry him. Šuppiluliuma hesitated at first and increased the siege of Karkemish, which then fell. Šarri-Kušuḫ , a son of Šuppiluliuma, was installed here as viceroy, and most of the inhabitants were deported. After initial hesitation and a renewed Egyptian embassy in the following year, Šuppiluliuma sent his son Zannanza to Egypt, who, however, died under unclear circumstances. In response, the Hittites raided Egyptian territory in Syria. Those captured in this way brought an epidemic to iatti from which the country still suffered under Mursili II .

Sarri-Kušuḫ meanwhile continued the war against Mittani, whose Upper Mesopotamian territory was conquered. In addition, one set Šattiwazza as king in Mittani and concluded a contract with him.

Later on, Šuppiluliuma subjugated the lands of Azzi-Ḫajaša in eastern Anatolia and led campaigns against the Kaškäer. More detailed sources for the late reign of Šuppiluliuma are missing.

As a strategist and diplomat, he established the so-called Hittite empire as the second great power alongside Egypt .

Šuppiluliuma I. finally died of the introduced epidemic. His eldest son and successor Arnuwanda II also fell victim to her after a short reign. His successor was Šuppiluliuma's younger son, Muršili II, who recorded the life of his father in the annals of Šuppiluliuma I. Telipinus son Talmi-Šarruma and his descendants became kings of Ḫalpa and priests of Kizzuwatna as well as priests of the gods Teššup , Ḫepat and Šarruma .

family tree

The following family tree was created after publications by Volkert Haas and Jörg Klinger .

1. Ḫinti

2. Tawananna

Zida

Zannanza

1./2. Gaššulawiya

2nd / 3rd Danuḫepa

Mrs. Šattiwazzas

Mrs. Ammistamrus II.

Remarks

↑ So z. B. Trevor R. Bryce: The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press, revised new edition 2005, timetable p. XV; P. 154ff.
↑ Peter J. Huber : The Solar Omen of Muršili II. Journal of the American Oriental Society 121/4, 2001, pp. 640-644
↑ Volkert Haas : History of the Hittite Religion (= Handbook of Oriental Studies Volume 15). Brill, Leiden, 1994, p. 27.
↑ z. B. Trevor R. Bryce : The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press, revised new edition 2005, including p. XV chronology table
^ So Frank Starke : Chronological overview of the history of the Hittite Empire. In: The Hittites and their empire. The people of 1000 gods. Exhibition catalog of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany (2002), p. 314.
↑ See the complete version by Einar von Schuler: Contract between Šuppiluliuma I and Niqmaddu II. Von Ugarit In: Otto Kaiser (Hrsgb.): Texts from the environment of the Old Testament, Vol. 1 - Old Series - , Gütersloher Verlagshaus Gütersloh 1985, pp. 131-132.
↑ Volkert Haas: The Hittite literature. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-11-018877-6 , page 91,
↑ Jörg Klinger: The Hittites. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53625-0

literature

Horst Klengel: History of the Hittite Empire. Brill, Leiden / Boston / Cologne 1998, pp. 135ff. (with indication of the relevant sources)
Jörg Klinger: The Hittites. Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-406-53625-5 , pp. 48, 51-60, 65, 87, 95, 97 f., 101, 103, 111, 121

Web links

predecessor	Office	successor
Tudḫaliya II	Hittite great king around 1350–1322 BC Chr.	Arnuwanda II

personal data
SURNAME	Šuppiluliuma I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Hittite great king
DATE OF BIRTH	14th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	uncertain: 1322 BC Chr.
Place of death	Ḫattuša

[1] So z. B. Trevor R. Bryce: The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press, revised new edition 2005, timetable p. XV; P. 154ff.

[2] Peter J. Huber : The Solar Omen of Muršili II. Journal of the American Oriental Society 121/4, 2001, pp. 640-644

[3] Volkert Haas : History of the Hittite Religion (= Handbook of Oriental Studies Volume 15). Brill, Leiden, 1994, p. 27.

[4] z. B. Trevor R. Bryce : The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press, revised new edition 2005, including p. XV chronology table

[5] So Frank Starke : Chronological overview of the history of the Hittite Empire. In: The Hittites and their empire. The people of 1000 gods. Exhibition catalog of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany (2002), p. 314.

[6] See the complete version by Einar von Schuler: Contract between Šuppiluliuma I and Niqmaddu II. Von Ugarit In: Otto Kaiser (Hrsgb.): Texts from the environment of the Old Testament, Vol. 1 - Old Series - , Gütersloher Verlagshaus Gütersloh 1985, pp. 131-132.

[7] Volkert Haas: The Hittite literature. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-11-018877-6 , page 91,

[8] Jörg Klinger: The Hittites. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53625-0