Puduḫepa or Pudu-Kheba (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

13th century BC) was a Hittite

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, married to the King

Hattusili III Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Labarna II) * Hattusili II * Hattusili III It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Kummuh) * Hattus ...

. She has been referred to as "one of the most influential women known from the

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization, spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran (or Persia), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Nea ...

Biography

Early life and marriage

Puduḫepa was born at the beginning of the 13th century BC in the city of Lawazantiya in

Kizzuwatna Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode'') was an ancient Anatolian kingdom, attested in written sources from the end of the 16th century BC onwards, but though its origins are still obscure, the Middle Bronze Age in Cili ...

(i.e.

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, a region south of the Hittite kingdom). Her father Bentepsharri was the head

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the tutelary

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

of the city, Shaushka (identified with the Mesopotamian

Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

), and Puduḫepa grew up to exercise the function of

ess of this same

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

. On his return from the

Battle of Kadesh The Battle of Kadesh took place in the 13th century BC between the New Kingdom of Egypt, Egyptian Empire led by pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittites, Hittite Empire led by king Muwatalli II. Their armies engaged each other at the Orontes River, ...

, the Hittite

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Hattusili met Puduḫepa and, it was said, Ishtar instructed him to find in her love and companionship, decreeing that they would enjoy the 'love of being a spouse to each other.' She accompanied him then to the kingdom of Hapissa. For Puduḫepa it was an advantageous match. Although Hattusili was most likely much older than her and already had numerous lovers and concubines, Puduḫepa became first among them all. When her spouse successfully rose to the Hittite throne by defeating his nephew

Mursili III 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 ...

in a civil war instigated by Hattusili around 1286 BC, Puduḫepa ascended the throne with him, becoming ''tawananna'', or queen.

Reign

Puduḫepa had an important

role A role (also rôle or social role) is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by people in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behavior and may have a given indi ...

in the Hittite

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

and international

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

of the period. She would appear constantly by the side of her spouse as he made his rulings and decisions. It appears, however, that she was portrayed reigning hand in hand with her spouse rather than subservient to the king. Puduḫepa had the use of her own seal, controlled the domestic arrangements of the royal palaces, and judged court cases. Blending religion and politics, she reorganized the vast pantheon of Hittite deities. From the royal palace in the newly rebuilt capital city of Hattusa, Puduḫepa used her sons and daughters to ensure Hittite ascendancy and to cement alliances. This was a role that had never been performed by a Hittite queen before. She played an important role in diplomacy with

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

. Extensive correspondence bearing Puduḫepa's seal survives, communicating several times with the king of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

as he signed a peace treaty with Hattusili, in which Hattusili agrees that two of his daughters should go to Egypt to marry Ramesses. A diplomatic marriage between King Kadashman-Enlil II of

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

may have been in the offing with Puduḫepa matchmaking Kadashman-Enlil's betrothal to one of her daughters. A

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

was married into the Hittite

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. This would have been a

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show r ...

or sister of King Kudur-Enlil and the news elicited contempt from

, who apparently no longer regarded Babylon as politically significant. Puduḫepa replied in a letter, ‘If you say "The

king of Babylon The king of Babylon ( Akkadian: , later also ) was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon and its kingdom, Babylonia, which existed as an independent realm from the 19th century BC to its fall in the 6th century BC. For the majority ...

is not a Great King," then you do not know the status of Babylon.’ After the death of Hattusili, the role of Puduḫepa expanded under the reign of her son Tudhaliya IV, under the title of goddess-queen. She was involved in judicial matters to the point of intervening in

legal case Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' ...

s. She was also a priestess who worked on organising and rationalising

Hittite religion Hittite mythology and Hittite religion were the religion, religious beliefs and practices of the Hittites, who created an empire centered in Anatolia from . Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that w ...

. Her daughters were Queen

Maathorneferure Maathorneferure (Hieroglyphic: ''Mȝʿt-Ḥr-nfrw-Rʿ'', Maʿat-ḥōr-nefrurēʿ) was an ancient Egyptian queen, the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II (1279–1213 BC, according to the standard "Low Chronology" for Egypt). Family Maathornefer ...

of Egypt and Princess Kiluš-Ḫepa.

Nefertari and Puduḫepa

Letter of friendship from Naptera to Puduhepa

Queen

Nefertari Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wife, Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women ...

of Egypt sent

gift A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...

s to Puduḫepa:

The great Queen Naptera (Nefertari) of the land of Egypt speaks thus: ʻSpeak to my sister Puduḫepa, the Great Queen of the Hatti land. I, your sister, (also) be well!! May your country be well. Now, I have learned that you, my sister, have written to me asking after my health. You have written to me because of the good friendship and brotherly relationship between your brother, the king of Egypt, The Great and the
Storm God A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of ...
will bring about
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
, and he will make the brotherly relationship between the Egyptian king, the Great King, and his brother, the Hatti King, the Great King, last for ever... See, I have sent you a gift, in order to greet you, my sister... for your neck (a
necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as sy ...
) of pure
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
, composed of 12 bands and weighing 88
shekel A shekel or sheqel (; , , plural , ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly 11 grams (0.35 ozt)—and became currency in ancient Tyre, Carthage and Hasmonean Judea. Name The wo ...
s, coloured
linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
maklalu-material, for one royal dress for the king... A total of 12 linen garments.’ WEIDNER 1917, 78; FRIEDRICH 1925, 23; Ün 1989, 3-6, via

Sources

External links

Queen Puduḫepa
{{Authority control Ancient priestesses Hittite queens 13th-century BC women 13th-century BC clergy Queen mothers