Hantili I was a king 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-centra ...

during the Hittite Old Kingdom. His reign lasted for 30 years, from c. 1590 to c. 1560 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 ...

Biography

Rise to power

According to the

Telepinu Proclamation Telipinu (or Telepinu) Proclamation is a Hittite language, Hittite edict, written during the reign of King Telipinu, c. 1525-1500 BCE. The text is classified as CTH 19 in the Hittite inscriptions, Catalogue of Hittite Texts. The edict is significan ...

, Hantili was the royal

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

Mursili I Mursili I (also known as Mursilis; sometimes transcribed as Murshili) was a king of the Hittites 1620-1590 BC, as per the middle chronology, the most accepted chronology in our times, (or alternatively c. 1556–1526 BC, short chronology), and wa ...

, king of the Hittites. Hantili was married to

Ḫarapšili Ḫarapšili (or Ḫarapsili, Harapšili; "š" is pronounced as "s" in "sun") was a Hittite queen during the Old Kingdom of Hittites. Biography Family Ḫarapšili was probably a daughter of princess Ḫaštayara and a man called Maratti. Her ...

, Mursili's sister. Around the year 1590 B.C., Hantili, with the help of Zidanta, his son-in-law,

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

Mursili. Afterwards, Hantili succeeded him as king of the Hittites.

Reign

There are only a few scattered sources left that describe the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...

of Hantili. During his reign, he continued the

militaristic Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

traditions of the kings before him. One of Hantili's main concerns was maintaining Hittite control in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. He journeyed to the city of

Carchemish Carchemish ( Turkish: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ; Hieroglyphic Luwian: , /; Akkadian: ; Egyptian: ; Hebrew: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its ...

to conduct a

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from the ...

, most likely against the

Hurrians The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Mes ...

, longtime enemies of the Hittites. The success of this campaign is unknown. After the conclusion of this campaign, he made his return journey to

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 t ...

, the Hittite

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

. While on this journey, he reached the city of

Tegarama Tegarama (Old Assyria: Tergarma; Hittite: Takarama, Luwian: Lakarma/Lukarma) was a city in Anatolia during the Bronze Age. It is often identified with Gürün and biblical Togarmah. A fortified city in Kammanu (on the border of Tabal) mentioned in ...

, which is possibly the modern-day

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

city of

Gürün Gürün is a town and a district of Sivas Province of Turkey. The mayor is Nami Çiftçi ( MHP). History Toponymy The current name Gürün is most probably a corruption of the ancient name Tegarama, a city in Anatolia during the Bronze Age. ...

. At this point, the ''Telepinu Proclamation'' states that Hantili started to regret that he had killed Mursili, saying to himself, "What is this (that) I have done? hydid I listen to

he words of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

Zidanta, my on-in-law As soon as] he reigned

s king S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histor ...

the

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

sought (

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

for) the

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

of Muršili."''Telepinu Proclamation'', §13

Family

Hantili's parents are not known. His wife was Queen

, and they had at least one daughter. Hantili's grandson was

Ammuna Ammuna was a King of the Hittites ca. 1550–1530 BC (middle chronology) or 1486–1466 BC (short chronology timeline). The land seems to have suffered badly during his reign, and he lost a considerable amount of territory. Biography Family ...

, who killed Zidanta.

Notes

External links