Tudḫaliya III.

Tudḫaliya III. was great king of the Hittite Empire .

Tudḫaliya was the son of Tudḫaliyas II and shortly before his death was recognized by the nobility, especially his brother Šuppiluliuma , as heir to the throne by oath. Šuppiluliuma was a successful general for many years at the time of his father's reign and was probably no longer satisfied with a subordinate role. He conspired after Tudḫaliya II. Around 1355 BC. Died and Tudḫaliya III. Having become great king, with a large part of the upper class, Tudḫaliya murdered, possibly after a civil war, in the same year and became great king himself. Since Šuppiluliuma had large parts of the nobility behind him, Tudḫaliya may have been unable to rule. This is also indicated by another source, which can also be translated in such a way that Šuppiluliuma reprimanded his brother for an offense. The usurpation of Šuppiluliuma is not mentioned in any official documents from this time, but only appears in the plague prayers of Muršili II , in which the latter interprets an epidemic as a punishment from the gods for the murder of Tudḫaliyas.

Tudḫaliya, or his father of the same name, is depicted on a silver fist vessel offering a libation to the weather god .

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.

Individual evidence

↑ 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

Jörg Klinger: The Hittites. Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-406-53625-5 , p. 53
Birgit Brandau, Hartmut Schickert: Hittite The Unknown World Power , Piper, 2001.

predecessor	Office	successor
Tudḫaliya II	Hittite great king approx. 1355 BC Chr.	Šuppiluliuma I.

personal data
SURNAME	Tudḫaliya III.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Hittite great king
DATE OF BIRTH	15th century BC BC or 14th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	around 1355 BC Chr.

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

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