Ḫattušili III

Hattusili III (Hittite: "from Hattusa") was king of the Hittite empire (New Kingdom) c. 1275–1245 BC (middle chronology)^[1] or 1267–1237 BC (short chronology timeline).^[2]

Hattusili III
Rock relief of Hattusili III
King of the Hittites
Reign	c. 1275–1245 BC
Predecessor	Mursili III
Successor	Tudhaliya IV
Consort	Puduhepa
Issue	Tudhaliya IV Maathorneferure Kiluš-Ḫepa
Father	Mursili II
Mother	Gassulawiya
Religion	Hittite religion

Apology of Hattusili III

Early life and family

Much of what is known about the childhood of Hattusili III is gathered from a biographical account, written on a stone tablet during his reign, referred to as the Apology.^[3] Hattusili III was born the youngest of four children to the Hittite king Mursili II and queen Gassulawiya. According to Hattusili III himself, he was an ill and sickly child who was initially expected not to survive to adulthood.^[4] Hattusili III credited the goddess Ishtar with saving his life during this period, and would remain an ardent patron of Ishtar indefinitely.^[3][2] Due to his place as the youngest son, Hattusili III did not become king after the death of his father. Instead his older brother Muwattalli II ascended the throne.

Before becoming king, Hattusili III married Puduhepa, a priestess of Ishtar, who later became an important Hittite queen in her own right.^[5][6] With Puduhepa, Hattusili III had three children, including his successor Tudhaliya IV.

Rise to kingship and reign as king

See also: Hattusili's Civil War

When his brother Muwattalli II became king, Hattusili III was appointed to govern over the northern lands of the Hittite empire. While this initially caused minor controversy among the locals and the ousted governor, Hattusili III was quick to quash dissidence with military force^[7] and turned his eyes towards conquering new territories surrounding the northern Hittite lands. When the King made the decision to move the capital from Hattusa to Tarhuntassa, Hattusili III was left to quash the rebellions that arose due to this decision.^[2] Subsequently, Hattusili III was made King of the northern territories by his brother Muwattalli II.^[2]

Upon the death of Muwattalli II, Hattusili III's nephew Urhi-Teshub became king. There was controversy with this appointment, because Urhi-Teshub was the son of Muwattalli's concubine, not his wife. Despite his origins as a "second-rank son",^[2] Hattusili III initially supported Urhi-Teshub's kingship as it was the wish of Muwatalli II that Urhi-Teshub should rule. Urhi-Teshub ruled under the name Mursili III. Shortly after his accession to the throne, Mursili III had the capital moved from Tarhuntassa back to its original home of Hattussa. This effectively reduced much of Hattusili's power in the region and nullified his role as king of the northern territories.^[2] Hattusili III was also stripped of all of his territories aside from Hapkis and Nerik. This strained the relationship greatly, and upon having Nerik stripped of him as well, Hattusili III sought to usurp the throne.

After deposing Mursili III as king, Hattusili III exiled him to Syria.^[2][3] Hattusili III appointed Muwattalli II's other son Kurunta, whom he himself had raised, to govern Tarhuntassa in a similar capacity that Hattusili III himself had once held.^[2]

As king, Hattusili III sought to keep a correspondence with many different kingships in the surrounding areas. After his ascension to the throne, Hattusili III began a correspondence with Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II^[8] that culminated in the first ever recorded peace treaty, the Eternal Treaty (also known as the Treaty of Kadesh). This correspondence took place roughly fifteen years after the Battle of Kadesh.^[2]

Hattusili's reign as king is notable for the large collection of letters and written accounts unearthed from this period. Over two-hundred letters were unearthed at the site of the royal palace in Hattusa. These primary sources, including The Apology, the Tawagalawa letter, and the Arzawa letters, are considered among the very few primary sources available from the Hittite empire of the time.

See also

• Asia portal

• History of the Hittites

References

1. Kuhrt, Amélie (2020). The Ancient Near East: c.3000–330 BC, Volume One. Routledge. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-136-75548-4.
2. Bryce, Trevor (1998). The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-924010-4., pp.xiii-xiv
3. Andrew., Knapp (2015). Royal apologetic in the ancient Near East. SBL Press. ISBN 978-0884140757. OCLC 932049464.
4. "British Museum - Bryce". www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
5. Darga, Muhibbe. Women in the Historical Ages. In Women in Anatolia, 9000 Years of the History of the Anatolian Woman, Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture, Istanbul, 1993, page 30.
6. Letter from Ramses II of Egypt to Puduhepa, from Women in Anatolia, 9000 Years of the History of the Anatolian Woman, Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture, Istanbul, 1993.
7. Gurney, O. R. (December 1997). "The Annals of Hattusilis III". Anatolian Studies. 47: 127–139. doi:10.2307/3642903. ISSN 2048-0849. JSTOR 3642903.
8. A., Hoffner, Harry (2009). Letters from the Hittite Kingdom. Beckman, Gary M. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 9781589834149. OCLC 587445921.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• Reign of Hattusili III
• The Eternal Treaty from the Hittite perspective by Trevor Bryce, BMSAES 6 (2006), pp. 1–11
• The Apology of Hattusilis III Hittite text and English translation at UT Austin Linguistics Research Center

Regnal titles
Preceded by Mursili III	Hittite king c. 1275–1245 BC	Succeeded by Tudhaliya IV

v t e Hittite New Kingdom royal family tree according to Trevor Bryce
Kantuzilli[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 Younger[lower-alpha 8] Henti[lower-alpha 7] (1) Šuppiluliuma 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] Arnuwanda III[lower-alpha 29] Suppiluliuma II[lower-alpha 29][lower-alpha 30] Kuzi-Tesub[lower-alpha 31]
(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 (2005). The Kingdom of the Hittites (new edition). Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. Trevor Bryce (2012). The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Jacques Freu (2007). Les débuts du nouvel empire hittite. Paris, France: L'Harmattan. Volkert Haas (2006). Die hethitische Literatur. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter.
Notes: Scholars have suggested that Tudhaliya I/II was possibly a grandson of the Hittite king Huzziya II; the first Tudhaliya is now known to be the son of Kantuzzili (Bryce 1997, p. 131 suggested Himuili, but the new edition, Bryce 2005, p. 122, indicated Kantuzzili). Bryce (1997) does not consider it clear whether Tudhaliya I/II was one king or two (p. 133); the link points to Tudhaliya II. Among those who identify distinct kings Tudhaliya I and Tudhaliya II, Freu (2007) has Kantuzzili—his son Tudhaliya I—his son Hattusili II—his son Tudhaliya II (p. 311). Bryce (1997), p. 139. The existence of Hattusili II is doubted by many scholars (Bryce 1997, pp. 153–154; Bryce 2005, p. 141). Among those who accept the existence of Hattusili II, Freu (2007), p. 311, has Tudhaliya I—his son Hattusili II—his son Tudhaliya II. Bryce (1997), p. 158. Bryce (1997), p. 172. Bryce (1997), p. 174. 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). 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. 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. 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).