Arnuwandas II

Arnuwanda II was a Hittite great king who reigned in the late 14th century BC, perhaps in c. 1322–1321 BC. His reign was a briefly interlude between those of his father Šuppiluliuma I and younger brother Muršili II.

Early Life

Arnuwanda was the eldest surviving son of the Hittite great king Šuppiluliuma I and his first wife, Ḫenti, herself apparently the daughter of Tudḫaliya III (sometimes called Tudḫaliya II) and granddaughter of Arnuwanda I.

Crown Prince

Arnuwanda was declared his father's heir apparent (''tuḫkanti'') and is attested as such in references to several events taking place during Šuppiluliuma's reign. Arnuwanda's absence from the record in the earliest events of his father's reign suggests he was too young to participate in them at the time. Together with his father, mother, and uncle Zida, Arnuwanda was mentioned in the description of the formal installation of his younger brother Telipinu as priest (and governor) of Kizzuwatna.

The Great Syrian Wars

By the time of the Six-Year War against Tushratta of the Mittanians, Arnuwanda was ready for military command. When the Mittanians defeated a Hittite contingent in northern Syria, Šuppiluliuma dispatched against them advance forces under Arnuwanda and his uncle Zida; they chased off the enemy, allowing Šuppiluliuma to undertake the ultimately successful siege of Carchemish. Following the murder of Arnuwanda’s younger brother Zannanza en route to become king of Egypt, Šuppiluluma sent Arnuwanda to raid and pillage the Egyptian possessions in southern Syria. Arnuwanda met with success, but the large number of captives that he brought back with him carried with them plague, which would ravage Hittite society for at least two decades, according to the ''Plague Prayers'' of Arnuwanda’s brother and eventual successor Muršili II.

Reign

In 1322 BC, Arnuwanda II seems to have succeeded his father Šuppiluliuma I on the Hittite throne without incident, having long been the recognized heir apparent, and having been entrusted with military command in the conflicts with Mittani and Egypt. Because his stepmother, the Babylonian Tawananna (Malnigal?), was still alive when Arnuwanda became king, she continued to occupy the position of chief queen throughout his brief reign and into that of his successor. Once king, Arnuwanda was forced to attend to the Kaška threat on northern frontier, which had preoccupied Šuppiluliuma's last years. Apparently already ill, Arnuwanda seems to have intended conferring that command to his father's veteran general Ḫannutti, but the latter died soon after meeting with the king. Fragmentary texts suggest Arnuwanda renewed the treaties of vassalage that his father had concluded with his younger brothers, particularly Piyaššili (Šarri-Kušuḫ) of Carchemish. Like his father Šuppiluliuma and his younger brother Muršili II, Arnuwanda seems to have interceded on behalf of the exiled ruler of the Šeḫa River Land Manapa-Tarḫunta with his hosts in Karkiša; later, Muršili would restore Manapa-Tarḫunta to his throne as a vassal king, and forgive him a subsequent rebellion.

Most modern scholars assume, from the contemporary attestation of plague and the premature death of Arnuwanda, that both Šuppiluliuma and Arnuwanda contracted the disease and succumbed to it. It is uncertain whether Arnuwanda left any children, but at any rate he was succeeded by his younger brother Muršili II.

Family Tree

In fiction

* Janet Morris wrote a detailed biographical novel, ''I, the Sun'', whose subject was Suppiluliuma I. Arnuwanda II is an important figure in this novel, in which all characters are from the historical record, which Dr. Jerry Pournelle called "a masterpiece of historical fiction" and about which O.M. Gurney, Hittite scholar and author of ''The Hittites'', commented that "the author is familiar with every aspect of Hittite culture".''I, the Sun'', Janet Morris, Dell, 1983 Morris' book was republished by The Perseid Press in April 2013.
* He is also a character in Chie Shinohara's historical manga '' Red River'' or Anatolia Story. In this manga he is a frail-bodied man who appoints Yuri's boyfriend, his half-brother Mursili, as his successor. He is later murdered in very shady circumstances, and Yuri is falsely accused of killing him but her maid Ursula claims that she's the true murderer and is executed. The culprit isn't found until much later.
* Arnuwanda II also appears in the Historical novel, "Amarna Book I: Book of Ida" by Grea Alexander. In it, he is pitted against his brother, Mursili II, who is protecting Queen Ankhesenamun's emissary, Idaten, following the murder of their brother Prince Zannanza. This book was published by SeaMonkey Ink, LLC in 2012 and is the first of a three part trilogy.

See also

* History of the Hittites
* Hittite plague

References

Bibliography

* Beckman, Gary (1996), ''Hittite Diplomatic Texts'', Atlanta.
* Beckman, Gary (1997), "Plague Prayers of Muršili II (I.60)," in William H. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger Jr., eds., ''The Context of Scripture'', vol. 1, Leiden.
* Bilgin, Tayfun (2018), ''Official and Administration in the Hittite World'', Berlin.
* Bryce, Trevor (2005), ''The Kingdom of the Hittites'', Oxford.
* Freu, Jacques, and Michel Mazoyer (2007b), ''Les débuts du nouvel empire hittite'', Paris.
* Freu, Jacques, and Michel Mazoyer (2008), ''L'apogée du nouvel empire hittite'', Paris.
* Güterbock, Hans G. (1956), "The Deeds of Suppiluliuma as Told by His Son, Mursili II," ''Journal of Cuneiform Studies'' 10 (1956) 107-130.
* Klengel, Horst (1999), ''Geschichte des Hethitischen Reiches'', Leiden.
* Kuhrt, Amélie (1995), ''The Ancient Near East c. 3000–330 BC'', vol. 1., London.
* Stavi, Boaz (2011), "The Genealogy of Suppiluliuma I," ''Altorientalische Forschungen'' 38 (2011) 226–239
online
* Taracha, Piotr (2016), "Tudhaliya III's Queens, Šuppiluliuma's Accession and Related Issues," in Sedat Erkut and Özlem Sir Gavaz (eds.), ''Studies in Honour of Ahmet Ünal Armağanı'', Istanbul: 489–498
online
* Weeden, Mark (2022), "The Hittite Empire," in Karen Radner et al. (eds.), ''The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East'', vol. 3 (From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC), Oxford: 529-622.

External links

{{Hittite kings

14th-century BC deaths
Hittite kings
Year of birth unknown
14th-century BC monarchs