Piyamaradu (also spelled ''Piyama-Radu'', ''Piyama Radu'', ''Piyamaradus'', ''Piyamaraduš'') was a warlord mentioned in Hittite documents from the middle and late 13th century BC. As an ally of the

Ahhiyawa The Achaeans (; grc, Ἀχαιοί ''Akhaioí,'' "the Achaeans" or "of Achaea") is one of the names in Homer which is used to refer to the Greeks collectively. The term "Achaean" is believed to be related to the Hittite term Ahhiyawa and t ...

, he led or supported insurrections against the Hittites in Western Anatolia. His history is of particular interest since his area of activity may have included

Wilusa Wilusa ( hit, ) or Wilusiya was a Late Bronze Age city in western Anatolia known from references in fragmentary Hittites, Hittite records. The city is notable for its identification with the archaeological site of Troy, and thus its potential con ...

, thus suggesting a potential connection to the myth of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

Meaning of the name

The name appears to be a compound with

Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fa ...

''piyama'' "gift" as its first part. Other Luwian names containing the same word are attested, such as

Piyama-Kurunta {{Portal, Asia Piyama-Kurunta was a prince and regent for the last independent king of Arzawa, a Bronze Age kingdom of western Anatolia. The king of Arzawa Uhha-Ziti named his son "Gift of the god Kurunta", after a god (or hero) whose name had feat ...

. The second part of the word was earlier believed to be an unknown

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...

*''Radu'', but since Luwian words do not start with an ''r'', it must be ''aradu'', which may be a noun meaning "devotee", derived "from *''arada-'' 'religious community (vel sim.)', itself a derivative of *''ara-'' 'associate' (cf. Hittite ''ara-'' 'id.').

The identity and exploits of Piyamaradu

Piyamaradu's renegade activities are remarkable for their duration, having spanned at least 35 years, during which time he posed a considerable threat to three Hittite kings:

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 ...

Hattusili III 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

Tudhaliya IV 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 corres ...

. Popular conjecture proposes that Piyamaradu was the legitimate heir 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 ...

, a previous king of

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 ...

who was dethroned by the Hittite king

Mursili II There were three Hittite kings called Mursili: *Mursili I, ca. 1556–1526 BCE (short chronology), and was likely a grandson of his predecessor, Hattusili I. His sister was Ḫarapšili and his wife was queen Kali. *Mursili II, (also spelled Mursil ...

, and probably the son of his son

, although this is entirely speculative, and he is nowhere referred to as a prince. Bryce and Sommers prefer to describe him as a "rebellious Hittite dignitary". His attacks and raiding activities on the Hittite vassal states in Western Anatolia of

, Seha, Lazpa (

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

) and

(

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

) have been interpreted by some scholars as an attempt to reassert his own dynastic claim. This he probably did in concert with an application to the

Great King Great king, and the equivalent in many languages, refers to historical titles of certain monarchs, suggesting an elevated status among the host of kings and princes. This title is most usually associated with the ''shahanshah'' (shah of shahs, ...

of Hatti to be accepted into Hittite vassal status as a sub-king. When his application was deprecated, he rebelled, wishing to assert his putative dynastic rights. The Great King of Hatti suppressed him through the agency of a certain other trusted vassal,

Manapa-Tarhunta Manapa-Tarhunta was a king in western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. Manapa-Tarhunta is known through the archives of the kings of Hattusas. He was a younger son of King Muwa-Walwis of the Seha River Land, born ca. the 1330s BC. Exile M ...

. Piyamaradu, on the other hand, allied with the Great King of

(

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

, i.e.

Mycenean Greece Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainlan ...

), and married his daughter to Atpa, the vassal ruler of Millawanda (

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

). Because he had asserted himself against the Great King of Hatti, and allied himself with the Great King of

, his characterization in the Hittite archives is that of "troublemaker", "adventurer", "freebooter", or "mercenary"; from his own point of view he may have considered himself merely to be asserting his own rightful (hereditary?) status. The salience of his exploits in the record, together with his name and claim, render dynastic parameters plausible, but still entirely speculative.

Identification with Homeric personages

Piyamaradu has been conjectured by some, to correspond to the archetype embodied in the epic/legendary

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; grc-gre, Πρίαμος, ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Mo ...

in the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

Hittite archives

The relevant Hittite archival correspondence referring to him include: *

Manapa-Tarhunta letter The Manapa-Tarhunta letter ( CTH 191; KUB 19.5 + KBo 19.79) is a tablet in Luwian/Hittite language from the thirteenth century BC, which has come down to us in a fairly good state of conservation. It was discovered in the 1980s. It was written by ...

"...a notorious local troublemaker called Piyamaradu is harrying Wilusiya, a land of the

Assuwa Assuwa ( hit, 𒀸𒋗𒉿, translit=aš-šu-wa, link=yes; gmy, 𐀀𐀯𐀹𐀊, translit=a-si-wi-ja, link=yes) was a confederation of 22 states in western Anatolia around 1400 BC. The confederation formed to oppose the Hittite Empire, but was def ...

federation loosely allied with the Hittite Empire. The Hittite king has apparently ordered Manapa-Tarhunda to drive out Piyamaradu himself, but Manapa-Tarhunda's attempt has failed, so that a Hittite force is now sent out to deal with the problem." *

Tawagalawa letter The Tawagalawa letter ( CTH 181) is a fragmentary Hittite text from the mid 13th century BC. It is notable for providing a window into relations between Hittites and Greeks during the Late Bronze Age and for its mention of a prior disagreement con ...

"The letter would be more appropriately known as the 'Piyama-Radu letter'". *

Milawata letter The Milawata letter (CTH 182) is an item of diplomatic correspondence from a Hittite king at Hattusa to a client king in western Anatolia around 1240 BC. It constitutes an important piece of evidence in the debate concerning the historicity of Home ...

"Like the Tawagalawa letter and also the Manapa-Tarhunta letter, the Milawata letter mentions the infamous adventurer Piyama-Radu; but as a figure of the past." *Letter from a King of Hatti (Hattusili III?) to another Great King. Includes a reference to Piyamaradu along with the King of

, but the text is too fragmentary for interpretation. * Votive Prayer of Puduhepa, consort of

and chief priestess. Dated to the mid-thirteenth century B.C.E., Puduhepa has traveled to the sea to make an offering in return for the sea god's intervention in apprehending Piyamaradu. One other god is appealed to, but the reference to the god's name is fragmentary.Gary M. Beckman, Trevor R. Bryce, and Eric H. Cline ''The Ahhijawa Texts'' 2011, Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, pp.248-252.

References

Bibliography

{{Portal, Asia
''American Journal of Archaeology Online Forum:'' "The Importance of Troy in the Late Bronze Age 2005--03-10"
*Heinhold-Krahmer, Susanne. **1986. "Untersuchungen zu Piyamaradu (Teil II)." ''Orientalia'' 55.47-62. **1983. "Untersuchungen zu Piyamaradu (Teil I)." ''Orientalia'' 52.81-97. *Gurney, Oliver 2002. "The authorship of the Tawagalawas Letter." ''Silva Anatolica'' Vol. 2002, pp. 133–141. *Beckman, Gary M., Bryce, Trevor R., Cline, Eric H. ''The Ahhijawa Texts'' 2011, Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature. *Hoffner, Harry A., and Beckman, Gary M., ''Letters from the Hittite Kingdom'' 2009, Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature * Max Gander (2014)
An Alternative View on the Location of Arzawa.
Hittitology today: Studies on Hittite and Neo-Hittite Anatolia in Honor of Emmanuel Laroche’s 100th Birthday. Alice Mouton, ed. p. 163-190

External sites

Università degli Studi di Firenze - sagas.unifi.it 13th-century BC rulers People of the Trojan War Priam