Hapalla ( Hittite: 𒄩𒁄𒆷 ''Hapalla'' or ''Haballa''), also written as Haballa, was a kingdom in central-western

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

around the middle of the 14th century

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

. Inhabited by speakers of the

Luwian language Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...

, Hapalla was one of the

Arzawa Arzawa was a region and a political entity (a "kingdom" or a federation of local powers) in Western Anatolia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (roughly from the late 15th century BC until the beginning of the 12th century BC). The core o ...

states, of which it was the easternmost. The kingdom of Hapalla existed until at least the end of the 13th century BCE. It remained a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

to 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 ...

for much of this time. The area was conquered by the

Sea Peoples The Sea Peoples are a hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE).. Quote: "First coined in 1881 by the Fren ...

in 1180 BCE.

History

The first mention of Hapalla is when

Arnuwanda I Arnuwanda I was a king of the Hittite Empire. He became a ruler by marriage and was very religious. He ruled c. 1390–1380 BC (middle chronology). Biography Arnuwanda became a king by marriage. His wife was Ašmu-nikal, daughter of king Tudha ...

asks for help against a local uprising there. He bestows this duty to his vassal Madduwata, who betrays him by taking Hapalla for himself. After threats from Arnuwanda, Madduwata yields and hands it back to the Hittites. Later, when the Hittites are retaking their lands under Suppiluliuma I, he sends his army into Hapalla, whose capital is burnt down and inhabitants deported. In 1340 BC, an independent

Seha River Land The Seha River Land was a kingdom in Western Anatolia in the Late Bronze Age known from Hittite texts. Part of Arzawa, it was located north of Mira and south of Wilusa, and at one point controlled the island of Lazpa. History The Seha River L ...

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a varia ...

, and Hapalla are carved out of Arzawa, who only retain their capital,

Apasa Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in ...

, and the surrounding land. The first sovereign known to us from Hapalla was Targasnalli who, after the failure of the uprising of

Uhha-Ziti Uhha-Ziti was the last independent king of Arzawa, a Bronze Age kingdom of western Anatolia. Uhha-Ziti had two recorded children, Piyama-Kurunta and Tapalazunauli, who were of fighting age as of 1322 BC. The Hittite king Mursili II in his secon ...

against Hittite monarch

Muršili II Mursili II (also spelled Mursilis II) was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom) c. 1330–1295 BC (middle chronology) or 1321–1295 BC (short chronology). King of the Hittites Mursili was the third born son of King Suppiluliuma I, one of ...

(1319 BC), agreed to submit again to the authority of Hattuša and therefore was "''...re-installed on the throne of Hapalla by the Hittite ruler''". From the subsequent treaty of Kupanta-Kurunta, we learn that Targasnalli was still on the throne of Hapalla around 1310 BC. The second ruler of Hapalla, a certain Ura-Hattusa, who appears in

Alaksandu Alaksandu, ( Hittite: 𒀀𒆷𒀝𒊭𒀭𒁺𒍑 ''Alâkšândûš'') alternatively called Alakasandu or Alaksandus was a king of Wilusa who sealed a treaty with Hittite king Muwatalli II ca. 1280 BC. This treaty implies that Alaksandu had prev ...

's treaty of 1280 BC, where the Hittite ruler

Muwatalli II :''See also Muwatalli I'' Muwatalli II (also Muwatallis, or Muwatallish) was a king of the New Kingdom of the Hittite empire c. 1295–1282 (middle chronology) and 1295–1272 BC in the short chronology. Biography He was the eldest son of Mursil ...

, son of Mursili, lists the four sovereigns of the surviving Arzawa kingdoms (What remained of Arzawa had been annexed by Mira) mentioning Ura-Hattusa as king of Hapalla. It is uncertain whether the two rulers came from the same family. After this treaty, there are no more references to the kingdom of Hapalla. It is now believed by scholars that towards the end of the Hittite empire (1230–25 BC approx.), before the Sea Peoples, King

Tudhaliya Tudhaliya is the name of several Hittite kings: *Tudhaliya (also Tudhaliya I) is a hypothetic pre-Empire king of the Hittites. He would have reigned in the late 17th century BC (short chronology). Forlanini (1993) conjectures that this king corresp ...

IV established the State of Mira as the regional supervisor of Western Anatolia, Hapalla most likely as much a vassal to Mira as they were to the Hittites.

Geography

All we know about Hapalla comes from Hittite royal archives. It bordered to the west by Mira, to the east by the

Lower Land Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...

, and to the south by the land of Tarhuntassa,Bryce, Trevor (1999). ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. p. 43. . .https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Kingdom_of_the_Hittites.html?id=Agg5-lpVI2MC thus Hapalla may correspond to the classical region of

Pisidia Pisidia (; grc-gre, Πισιδία, ; tr, Pisidya) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of An ...

. Because of its position so close to the heart of the empire, it was often paid more attention by the Hittites, which considered it a bit like a buffer between the motherland and its Arzawa vassals.

Kings of Hapalla

References

External links

Deeds of Suppiluliuma I

Treaty with Targasnalli, king of Hapalla

The Arzawa letters in recent perspective
{{Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia States and territories established in the 14th century BC States and territories disestablished in the 12th century BC Arzawa Former kingdoms Historical regions of Anatolia