Kupanta-Kurunta was the first recorded

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 ...

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 ...

, in the late 15th century BC. He was defeated by

Tudhaliya I 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He then attacked Arnuwanda's restive vassal Madduwatta at Zippasla. He had a daughter, who married Madduwatta.

Kupanta-Kurunta of Mira

Another Kupanta-Kurunta was born in the 1330s or 1320s BC at

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 vari ...

in 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 ...

, in one of the princely families. His father joined a coup against king Mašḫuiluwa. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma I married Mašḫuiluwa to his daughter Muwatti and reinstalled him. Kupanta-Kurunta's father apparently died or was exiled soon after. Mašḫuiluwa then asked Suppiluliuma's successor

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 Mursi ...

if he could adopt Kupanta-Kurunta as a son. Mira remained a Hittite ally against Uhha-Ziti of Arzawa; but two years after

Mursili's eclipse The solar eclipse mentioned in a text dating to the reign of Mursili II could be of great importance for the absolute chronology of the Hittite Empire within the chronology of the Ancient Near East. The text records that in the tenth year of ...

(which would mean 1310 BC) Mira rebelled under influence from "Great-House-Father" (probably an adventurer from Masa). Mursili quashed this rebellion, transferred Mašḫuiluwa to a priesthood in Hittite territory, and installed Kupanta-Kurunta as king. In the early 13th century BC,

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 Murs ...

signed a treaty with Alaksandu of

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

. In it, he informed Alaksandu that he viewed Kupanta-Kurunta as the son of Muwatti and so a member of the Hittite royal family. Kupanta-Kurunta is possibly the recipient of the

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 ...

. Kupanta-Kurunta apparently supported

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 (Laba ...

over Hattusili's nephew Urhi-Tessup, "

Mursili III Mursili III, also known as Urhi-Teshub, was a king of the Hittites who assumed the throne of the Hittite empire (New Kingdom) at Tarhuntassa upon his father's death. He was a cousin of Tudhaliya IV and Queen Maathorneferure. He ruled ca. 1282– ...

". After Hattusili attained the kingdom, Kupanta-Kurunta received a letter from Pharaoh

Rameses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as t ...

which was copied to Hattusili. In it, the Pharaoh reassured Kupanta-Kurunta that

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

remained a full ally of Hatti and entertained no plans to aid Urhi-Tessup in any further adventures.''Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East'' by

Trevor Bryce Trevor Robert Bryce (; born 1940) is an Australian Hittitologist specializing in ancient and classical Near-eastern history. He is semi-retired and lives in Brisbane. His book, ''The Kingdom of the Hittites'', is popular among English-speakin ...

References

{{Reflist 14th-century BC births Year of death unknown Kings of Arzawa 15th-century BC people