Hantili II was a
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
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 ...
(Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC.
Reign
Hantili was a son of King
Alluwamna
Alluwamna was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC. He might be a successor of Telipinu as his son-in-law,''The Kingdom of the Hittites'' by Trevor Bryce, p. 119. after the reign of Tahurwaili.
Family
The wife of Alluw ...
, as attested in a land grant document from Alluwamna to his son, Hantili.
[''T.Bryce. The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University press, 1988''] His mother was likely Queen Harapšeki, the daughter of the King
Telipinu
Telipinu was the last king of the Hittites Old Kingdom, living in 16th century BC, reigned c. 1525-1500 BC in middle chronology. At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all ...
. Hantili is mentioned on the offering lists right after
Alluwamna
Alluwamna was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC. He might be a successor of Telipinu as his son-in-law,''The Kingdom of the Hittites'' by Trevor Bryce, p. 119. after the reign of Tahurwaili.
Family
The wife of Alluw ...
. The later king
Zidanta II
Zidanta II was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC.
Life
He was probably a nephew of Hantili II and had a wife Yaya. Zidanta made peace through the means of a parity treaty with a ruler named Pilliya, his counterpart ...
was possibly Hantili's nephew.
Hantili was the first great king in several generations to receive the
royal blood
A royal descent is a genealogy, genealogical Kinship and descent, line of descent from a past or present monarch.
Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic ...
from his father.
There is an alliance treaty with the king
Paddatishu of
Kizzuwatna
Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode''), was an ancient Anatolian kingdom in the 2nd millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of Ä°skenderun, in modern-day Turkey. It enc ...
with an unnamed Hittite king, who could be either Hantili II or his father
Alluwamna
Alluwamna was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC. He might be a successor of Telipinu as his son-in-law,''The Kingdom of the Hittites'' by Trevor Bryce, p. 119. after the reign of Tahurwaili.
Family
The wife of Alluw ...
.
It is unclear, though, whether Hantili reigned right after
Alluwamna
Alluwamna was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC. He might be a successor of Telipinu as his son-in-law,''The Kingdom of the Hittites'' by Trevor Bryce, p. 119. after the reign of Tahurwaili.
Family
The wife of Alluw ...
, or if an interloper
Tahurwaili
Tahurwaili was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom), c. early 15th century BC (middle chronology) or mid 15th century BC (short chronology timeline). He was a cousin of the King Telipinu.
Family
As a first cousin of Telipinu, must have been t ...
reigned in between. It is also possible that
Tahurwaili
Tahurwaili was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom), c. early 15th century BC (middle chronology) or mid 15th century BC (short chronology timeline). He was a cousin of the King Telipinu.
Family
As a first cousin of Telipinu, must have been t ...
reigned after Hantili II. Most likely, though, that Tahurwaili reigned before Aluwamna, and Hantili was succeeded by
Zidanta II
Zidanta II was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC.
Life
He was probably a nephew of Hantili II and had a wife Yaya. Zidanta made peace through the means of a parity treaty with a ruler named Pilliya, his counterpart ...
Endowment Inscription of Hantili II
![Endowment Tablet of Great King Hantili II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Endowment_Tablet_of_Great_King_Hantili_II.png)
Full text of Endowment Inscription of Hantili II from the Middle Hittite Age found in Boğazköy:
[Hitit Çağında Anadolu
Sedat Alp]
"The seal (sealed endowment document) of the Great King Tabana ("The Ruler"):
The Great King received from the uriyannis on the right (sitting to the right of the king at the meeting or on the right wing in the battle formation) and from, the head of the guard detachment ("harpooner's head"), Haššuili. And gave it to Haššuili, the head of the guard detachment ("harpooner's head"), as a gift. In the future, no one will be able to claim (for this endowment) from Haššuili and his grandchildren!
The word of the Great King Tabarna is of steel. It cannot be thrown aside and broken! Whoever changes it, they will be beheaded.
This tablet was written in Hatti land by the clerk Hannikuili in front of Iškunaššu, the head of the palace boys, Šarpa and the commander of the army inspectors."
The inscriptions around the eight-leaf rosette in the middle on the king's seal in front of the tablet in English:
On the outer ring: "The seal of the Great King Tabarna Hantili."
In the inner ring: "Whoever changes his word (tablet) will die!"
The Great King Tabarna referred in this inscription is Labarna II (
Hattusili I Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings:
* Ḫattušili I (Labarna II)
*Ḫattušili II
*Ḫattušili III
It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings:
* Ḫattušili I (Labarn ...
) and the word of the Great King Tabarna is
Testament of Hattusili I.
External links
Reign of Hantili II at Hittites.info
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hantili 02
Hittite kings
15th-century BC people