Ḫattušili I.

Ḫattušili I († in Kuššara ) was a Hittite great king in the 16th or late 17th century BC. Under his rule the Hittite Empire gained a status that comes close to that of a great power. However, the conquests were lost among his successors, as it came to regicide and associated unrest. Furthermore, he took on the title of Labarna and made Ḫattuša the capital, which remained this, with short interruptions, until the end of the Hittite Empire.

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The source for the reign of Ḫattušili is a text ( Annals of Ḫattušili ), which deals with the campaigns of Ḫattušili. It was written during his reign and deals with undated (dates are generally uncommon in Hittite texts) campaigns in a six-year period.

Another source is a text that was written during attušili's death and deals with the problems of succession. A letter from Ḫattušili to Tunip-Teššup is also known.

Dating

Ultra-short chronology	Brief chronology	Middle chronology
1533 BC Chr. – 1508 BC Chr.	1565 BC Chr. – 1540 BC Chr.	1629 BC Chr. – 1604 BC Chr.

Life

Origin and campaigns

According to an annal text of Ḫattušilis he was a close relative or nephew of the Tawananna , the wife of the Hittite ruler Labarna , whose identity is unclear. Around 1565 BC BC (according to short chronology) he became great king and, like all his successors, bore the title Labarna . He came from Kuššara. Since Ḫattušili was not a direct descendant of Labarna, irregularities in the accession to the throne cannot be ruled out. However, he counted himself to the family of the Pitḫana . At the beginning of his campaigns he besieged the city of Šanaḫuitta , which had already risen against his grandfather.

“... marched against Šanaḫuitta. He did not destroy it, he only devastated the country. " (Excerpt from Hittite source)

Presumably, however, this campaign led to a defeat, which was later glossed over, as the city existed and Ḫattušili received no gifts from it, which would have been the least if they had won. It should be noted that Ḫattušili's wars were more like forays, the success of which was based on the element of surprise.

Ḫattusili also destroyed the city of Zalpa , located at the mouth of the Maraššanta (Halys) in the Black Sea , and brought many gifts back home for the gods.

The target of his next raids in the 4th year of the campaigns was probably the empire of Jamchad with the capital Ḫalpa in Syria, which controlled the trade routes of the tin , which probably came from the area of ​​today's Uzbekistan . Tin was important in bronze making. The kingdom of Jamchad had probably not been exposed to any threats from the Taurus so far and therefore Ḫattusili seems to have hardly encountered any resistance at first. The vassal city Ḫalpas, Alalaḫ , which was located near the Mediterranean and controlled its western trade routes, was destroyed. This destruction seems to be proven archaeologically through the discovery of devastation in Layer VII of this city. Before troops from Ḫalpa could come to the rescue, Ḫattušili withdrew to the northeast. On the way he destroyed the cities of Ikakali , Tanšiniya and Waršiwa . According to another text, the latter is said to have been difficult to conquer because the siege ring was permeable (i.e. food procurers and enemy spies could pass unhindered) and even the Hittite battering ram was destroyed. However, it is not certain whether it is the same campaign.

Another campaign was directed against Arzawa in the west the following year . The area there consisted of a multitude of small kingdoms.

“The following year I marched against Arzawa and took cattle and sheep.” (Excerpt from Hittite source)

Regardless of whether it was a punitive expedition or a campaign of conquest, the fact that the cited annals only speak of cattle and sheep is an indication of a possible failure. If he had conquered more, he would certainly have stated it.

This failure is due to the fact that the empire of Ḫalpa allied itself with the Hurrites (later the empire Mitanni ) and together sent an army to the Hittite heartland. Probably in response to this, the Anatolian princes of Ḫattušili fell away, so that he spent a few months fighting the Hurrites before they withdrew and most of the apostate vassals surrendered again. The city of Ulma (or Ullamma), which denied him suzerainty, was destroyed and its reconstruction prohibited. Sanahuitte held out for a full year, but was eventually conquered.

In his subsequent military undertakings, attušili seems to have increasingly resorted to diplomacy. For example, a letter written in Akkadian by ilattušilis to a certain Tunip-Teššup , the prince of the city of Tikunani , is known in which he wants to induce him to undertake a joint campaign against his neighbors and share the booty.

Another campaign to Syria followed, probably because Ḫalpa was now the focus of Ḫattušili's campaigns. Zaruna was destroyed and Ḫaššuwa was conquered after crossing the Puruna river , despite Ḫalpa's help against the Hittites. The same fate happened to Zippašna and Ḫaḫḫa . The rulers of Ḫaḫḫa and Ḫaššuwa were harnessed to an ox cart and great booty was taken:

"... twice two wagons were loaded with silver." (Excerpt from Hittite source)

Most of the cities in question have not yet been precisely located. What is certain, however, is that Ḫattušili turned east over the Taurus Mountains and then crossed the Euphrates in the south. He particularly emphasized this deed, since it was last achieved by the Sargon of Akkad , who ruled 500 years earlier , whose empire was as extensive as the Ḫattušilis.

Relocation of the residence to Ḫattuša and Tod

Ḫattušili (translated: "that of Ḫattuša") moved the capital from Kuššara to Ḫattuša , although neither the exact time nor the reason for the move nor the structure of Ḫattuša is known before the move. Ḫattuša remained, with brief interruptions, the capital until the end of the Hittite rule.

Family tree Ḫattušilis I.                                         Ḫattušili I.       Sister Ḫattušilis I.                                               Son of Ḫattušili I.   Labarna   further siblings of Labarna                                     Mursili I.   Ḫarapšili   Ḫantili I.                           Daughter of Muršilis I.   Zidanta I.                                         Ammuna

In his last years he convened the panku (a kind of aristocratic assembly or councilor), at which the succession should be decided. After two of his sons and his daughter who had been appointed governor had rebelled in the capital, after their defeat he first saw his nephew as his successor. However, this soon aroused his displeasure and was banished. Eventually his grandson Muršili , whom he advised in the text mentioned above to adhere to the Panku's instructions as long as he was a minor, became heir to the throne. This text is linguistically rich in stylistic means such as literal speech and metaphors. The core of the document is the appointment of Muršili as successor.

"[In my family] nobody has followed my will until now. [You are me] in [son,] Muršili! Follow him. Respect [the father's word] rt. [...] And Ḫattuša will stand upright and mine." The land will then be [in peace]. But if you disregard the word of the king, you will not live [long] and perish. "

Ḫattušili died in Kuššara .

literature

• Birgit Brandau, Hartmut Schickert: Hittites - The Unknown World Power
• Jörg Klinger: Die Hittiter , Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-406-53625-5 , pp. 27, 35-40, 49, 62, 65, 77, 87.

Notes and evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jörg Klinger: Die Hittiter , Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 39–40.
2. ↑ Jörg Klinger: Die Hittiter, Verlag CH Beck oHG, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53625-0
3. ↑ Johannes Lehmann: The Hittites, People of a Thousand Gods , C. Bertelsmann Verlag, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-570-02610-8
4. ^ Waltraud Sperlich: The Hittites, The forgotten people , Jan Thorbecke Verlag GmbH, Ostfildern 2003, ISBN 3-7995-7982-6

predecessor	Office	successor
Labarna I.	Hittite great king see date	Mursili I.