Anitta, son of
Pitḫana, reigned ca. 1740–1725 BC (
middle chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
), and was a king of
Kuššara, a city that has yet to be identified. He is the earliest known ruler to compose a text in the
Hittite language
Hittite (natively / "the language of Neša", or ''nešumnili'' / "the language of the people of Neša"), also known as Nesite (''Nešite'' / Neshite, Nessite), is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken by the Hittites, a peopl ...
.
His high official, or ''rabi simmiltim'', was named Peruwa.
Biography
Anitta, according to the
middle chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
, reigned c. 1740–1725 BC, or alternatively in the 17th century BC (
short chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
), and is the author of the ''Anitta text'' (
CTH 1.A, edited in
StBoT 18, 1974), the oldest known text in the
Hittite language
Hittite (natively / "the language of Neša", or ''nešumnili'' / "the language of the people of Neša"), also known as Nesite (''Nešite'' / Neshite, Nessite), is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken by the Hittites, a peopl ...
, also classified as "cushion-shaped" tablet KBo 3.22, being the oldest known text in an
Indo-European language
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Du ...
altogether. This text seems to represent a cuneiform record of Anitta's inscriptions at
Kanesh, perhaps compiled by
Hattusili I, one of the earliest Hittite kings of
Hattusa
Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of ...
.
The Anitta text indicates that Anitta's father conquered Neša (Kanesh,
Kültepe
Kültepe ( Turkish: ''ash-hill''), also known as Kanesh or Nesha, is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey, inhabited from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, in the Early Bronze Age.Kloekhorst, Alwin, (2019)Kanišite Hittite: ...
), which became an important city within the kingdom of
Kuššara. During his own reign, Anitta defeated
Huzziya, the last recorded king of
Zalpuwa
Zalpuwa, also Zalpa, was a still-undiscovered Bronze Age city in Anatolia of around the 18th century BC. Its history is largely known from the Proclamation of Anitta, CTH 1. But the Zalpa mentioned in the Annals of Hattusili I, CTH 4, is now c ...
, and the Hattic king
Piyusti and then conquered his capital at the site of the future Hittite capital of
Hattusa
Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of ...
. He then destroyed the city, sowed the ground with weeds, and laid a curse on the site.
[.]
Anitta's name appears on an inscription on a dagger found in Kültepe and also, together with the name of his father, on various Kültepe texts, as well as in later Hittite tradition.
See also
*
History of the Hittites
The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...
Notes
External links
The Anitta text*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anitta
Kings of Kussara
17th-century BC rulers