• Titles Great King, My Sun

• Parentage The text which speaks of the murder of Muwatalli I also speaks of the potential murder of “the queen, your mother”. Who is this text addressing? The next king? If so, then is Tudhaliya II the son of Muwatalli I? For the text, see Otten (1987) 29. The theory that Tudhaliya introduced a Hurrian line seems unlikely, though. He actually fought against Hurrians in order to secure his throne. So he was, in all likelihood, related to the current royal line. Nevertheless, since his filiation is never specifically, or at least certainly, stated, Tudhaliya presents a second gap in the blood line. It will be the last gap of sufficient uncertainty to present a possible break in the blood line.

(Contemporary of Šauštatar of Mittanni and Niqmepa of Alalah)

The War for the Throne

The succession struggle to the throne is only hinted at in the extant documents. After Great King Muwattalli I had been assassinated, Muwa, Chief of the Royal Bodyguard and probably the brother of the dead king, fled to the Hurrians and solicited their help. On the other side of the struggle Kantuzzili, one of Muwattalli’s murderers, joined forces with a man named Tudhaliya. The two factions met in battle, and Tudhaliya and Kantuzzili emerged victorious. Of the conspirators, it was Tudhaliya’s who became Great King (KBo 32.185 rev. 12. See Beal, Diss. 333).

The Hittite victory over the Hurrian forces resulted in a brief reconfiguration of political alliances in Syria. Upon Tudhaliya’s victorious accession to the throne, the king of Halap went over to the Hittite side and made peace with Tudhaliya. But the move proved premature. In spite of the momentary setback that Tudhaliya had inflicted on his Hurrian neighbors, the Hurrian kingdom known as Mittanni was by no means a thing of the past. Halap was quickly forced back into the Hurrian fold.

Muwa is mentioned in one other text fragment, that which speaks of the murder of Muwattalli, saying, “Muwa will kill the queen, your mother...” Is Tudhaliya being addressed? And when was this written? We don’t know.

The Influence of Hurrian Culture on the Hittite Dynasty

Tudhaliya’s queen, Nikal-mati, is the first recorded member of the royal family to bear a Hurrian name.

Madduwatta of Mt. Zippašla

Trouble on the western frontier gave Tudhaliya the opportunity to expand his kingdom in this direction. A man named Madduwatta, who may have been the ruler of Mt. Zippašla, came into conflict with Attariššiya, the ruler of Ahhiya. Madduwatta was unable to stand before him, and he and his wives, sons, and troops were forced to flee from their land. Even this did not cause the Ahhiyan to relent, and he continued to pursue the fugitives. Their plight was worsened by the fact that Madduwatta did not have enough supplies to sustain his followers. Driven from his land and in desperate need of assistance, he sent to Tudhaliya in hopes of gaining his support.

Tudhaliya chose to help him - for a price. Madduwatta would not be permitted to forget this assistance. Later he would be reminded of this time when “dogs would have devoured you out of hunger. Even if you had escaped from Attariššiya, you would have died from hunger” (HDT #27 §3). Tudhaliya gave him chariots, foodstuffs, fresh wine (aged wine was not desirable in an time before the glass bottle had been invented) and other beverages. He also offered him dominion over the land of Mt. Hariyati, which would have placed him closer to Hatti than the land of Mt. Zippašla. But Madduwatta was not interested in that territory, instead his heart seems to have been set on Mt. Zippašla. Satisfied with this, Tudhaliya sent forth an army that drove Attariššiya out of Zippašla. In return for the Hittites’ aid, Madduwatta became Tudhaliya’s vassal in the land of Mt. Zippašla, which he was expressly forbidden to use as a base for further conquests. Tudhaliya’s kingdom now extended far into western Anatolia.

But Tudhaliya was not finished. Part of Madduwatta’s treaty terms was that he had to be the enemy of Kupanta-Kurunta, king of Arzawa, who Tudhaliya considered to be his own enemy and who he had plans of waging war upon. Madduwatta was also forbidden to communicate with Attariššiya of Ahhiya.

But Madduwatta was too ambitious to remain quitely in his mountain fastness. He gathered together troops and marched against Kupanta-Kurunta on his own initiative. The result was total defeat. Kupanta-Kurunta gathered up his army and successfully seized Madduwatta’s household, wives, sons, civilian captives, and all of his possessions. Only Madduwatta and a few men escaped, and even these few men were soon disposed of by the Arzawans.

It was up to the Hittites to save him once again. Tudhaliya sent forth two Hittite officers, Pišeni and Puškurunuwa, along with infantry and chariotry, to his salvation. Kupanta-Kurunta had situated himself in the city of Šallawašši, which the Hittite troops duly attacked. They victoriously entered the city, where they discovered not only Madduwatta’s stolen people and goods, but also the wives, sons, civilian captives, and goods of Kupanta-Kurunta, all of which were generously given to Madduwatta. In a poetic reversal (probably too poetic to be believed), it was now Kupanta-Kurunta who escaped alone. As for Madduwatta, in spite of his foolishness he was once again installed in his place.

Co-regency, for a while, with his successor, Arnuwanda I.

Foreign Relations

The empire under Tudhaliya II. The king of Ahhiyawa was active in western Anatolia, but it is not known what sort of territory he might have possessed there. The Kaška first appear during Tudhaliya's reign, ushering in a long era of confusion when trying to articulate Hatti's northern border.

Ahhiyawa: (= Achaea) In the West, Attarišiya, the man of Ahhiya, was active. He conquered the territory of a ruler called Madduwatta. Madduwatta fled to Tudhaliya II, who protected him from Attarišiya, and saved him from starvation. He then installed him as a vassal in the mountain country of Zippašla. (See The Indictment of Madduwatta).

Aleppo: He took Aleppo and defeated Mittanni. Annexed Waššukanni to Kizzuwatna?

Arzawa: Conquered Arzawa (1st campaign: Hapalla and Šeha River Land) and Aššuwa (2nd campaign: Wilušiya and Taruiša (Ilios and Troy) listed among the Aššuwan lands) in the west. At some point, Kupanta-Kurunta was the king of Arzawa and an enemy of Tudhaliya II’s (See The Indictment of Madduwatta.). Muwattalli II said that, after Tudhaliya II, Hittite kings often had to campaign in Arzawan lands. See The Treaty with Alakšandu of Wiluša. Comissioned swords in commemoration of this campaign, one of which has been discovered.

Egypt: A treaty known as the Kuruštama treaty may date to this reign and have been made with Amenhotep II (1428-1400). This is the earliest known Hittite-Egyptian pact. In this as yet unattested treaty (or is it? Laroche, CTH, ascribes three fragments to this treaty (CTH #134)), the people of the Hittite town Kuruštama were resettled in Egptian territory.

Išuwa: (Located in eastern Anatolia, north of Mittanni) Revolted during Tudhaliya’s reign. After being defeated by the Hittite king, they sided with the Hurrians. The Hurrian king claimed that during his grandfather’s reign, Išuwa had belonged to the Hurrians, and even though they later fled to Hatti, they were now definitely in the Hurrian sphere (“The cattle have chosen their stable”). Tudhaliya couldn’t recapture Išuwa, so he (successfully) attacked Kizzuwatna, a Hurrian possession, instead. See The Šunaššura of Kizzuwatna Treaty.

Kaškans: During Tudhaliya's reign the Kaškan tribes established? themselves in north-eastern Anatolia for the first time(?). While Tudhaliya was invading Aššuwa (see above), the Kaškans invaded Hatti. Tudhaliya’s 3rd campaign was against the Kaškans.

Kizzuwatna: In the time of Tudhaliya’s grandfather (Zidanta II?), Kizzuwatna had been allied with the Hittites, but at some later point it defected to the land of the Hurrians. Tudhaliya's 4th campaign against Išuwa resulted in the conquest of Kizzuwatna. He must have reincorporated it into the Hittite realm, since he moved one of its deities from the city of Kizzuwatna to Šamuha. See Beal (1986) 439f. This would place the Šunaššura of Kizzuwatna Treaty in his reign. So Tudhaliya captured Kizzuwatna from the Mitannian king in response to the Hurrian king’s capture of Išuwa. See The Šunaššura of Kizzuwatna Treaty.

The treaty he made with Šunaššura is interesting in that it is the first indication we get for a change in the purpose of treaties. As we have seen, earlier treaties with Kizzuwatna were strict parity treaties. So when Tudhaliya made his treaty with Šunaššura, he speaks as if he is restoring Kizzuwatna’s independence and friendship with Hatti. But it is a thinly disguised illusion. The language is that of equality, but the terms are not:

“The Hurrians call Šunaššura a subject, but My Sun has now made him a true king. Šunaššura must come before My Sun and look upon the face of My Sun. As soon as he comes before My Sun, the Great Men of My Sun <will rise> from their seats. No one will remain seated above him. As soon as <he wishes>, he may go back to the land of Kizzuwatna.

“Whenever My Sun summons him, ‘Come before me!’ - if he does not wish to come, whichever of his sons My Sun designates must come before My Sun. But he will definitely not have to pay tribute to My Sun!” (HDT #2 §9-10)

The rest of the treaty begins with a long section of terms which are parallel in almost all respects, reminiscent of the earlier treaties between the two lands. But after this section the true nature of the relationship becomes perfectly clear. Šunaššura was a vassal of the Hittite king. This is almost explicitely stated at one point:

“[If] the King of Hurri renounces his claim(?) on Šunaššura, saying as follows, ‘The land of Kizzuwatna belongs to My Sun. I! will indeed have no illicit relations(?) [with] the land of Kizzuwatna.’” (HDT #2 §51)

The terms of the treaty flesh out this theoretical supremacy. If Tudhaliya were to march against a foreign land, then Šunaššura would have to provide 100 chariots and 1,000 foot soldiers, and he would have to personally accompagny the Hittite ruler. Šunaššura was forbidden to send his messengers to the land of Hurri, or to receive messengers from that land.

Further instructions concerning messengers were given which are significant for understanding the position of messengers in general. Since messengers conveyed tablets bearing the ruler’s instructions it was important that what the messenger said matched what was written on the tablet,

“In regard to a tablet which I, My Sun, send you - a tablet upon which words have been set down - and the words <of> the messenger, which he speaks orally in response to you - if the words of the messenger are in agreement with the words of the tablet, trust that messenger, Oh Šunaššura. But if the words of the speech of the messenger are not in agreement with the words of the tablet, you, Šunaššura, shall certainly not trust the messenger and shall certainly not take to heart the evil content of that report of his.” (HDT #2 §59)

The importance of the spoken messege matching the written word can be seen in an actual example where this condition did not hold true from the reign of Hattušili III in his correspondence with Rameses II.

Reformation

Tudhaliya’s extensive military conquests occupied most of his reign. His attention to the military had served him well, but it was not enough to maintain an empire. The end of his Aššuwa campaign signalled the beginning of a new phase in his reign.

“When I had destroyed Aššuwa and had returned to Hattuša, I performed (the festivals) of the gods and the whole Hittite population began to pay homage to me and they spoke as follows: ‘My Sun, you, our lord, are a warrior(?), but you were unable to administer justice.’” (Translation Houwink ten Cate (1970) 62)

So Tudhaliya began to reform the law. This concern for justice, so typical of Hittite kings, would blossom in the reign of his son-in-law and hand-picked successor, Arnuwanda I.

Mittanni: Tudhaliya II defeated Mittanni in battle. He took Kizzuwatna away from Mittanni and apparently annexed Waššukanni, later known to be the Mitannian capital, to Kizzuwatna. The result of this Hittite re-emergence was the peace established between Mittanni and Amenhotep II (1428-1400).