Ḫattušili I
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Hattusili I (''Ḫattušili'' I) was a
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
of the
Hittite Old Kingdom The Hittites () were an Anatolian Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in modern-day Turkey in the early 2nd millen ...
. He reigned ca. 1650–1620 BC (
middle chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
), or ca. 1640–1610 BC (low middle chronology).


Family

Ḫattušili was possibly a nephew of his predecessor Labarna's wife,
Tawananna Tawananna is the title for the queen of the Hittites, the king's consort, as long as she was living. Upon her death the title ''Tawananna'' passed to her daughter or the new king's consort, whichever was available to ascend. The Hittites were rul ...
(the title was apparently used as a given name). Tawananna was a daughter of
PU-Sarruma PU-Sarruma (PU-lugal, LUGAL-ma, mPU-''Šàr-(rù)-ma'', possibly representing ''Hišmi-Šarruma'') is a conjectured List of Hittite kings, pre-Empire king of the Hittites. The conjecture was forwarded by Emil Forrer and is not commonly accepted. H ...
(Hišmi-Sarruma), and one brother is known, Papahdilmah, who fought with Labarna for the throne and lost. Papahdilmah could possibly be the father of Ḫattušili, but another brother of Tawananna could have been as well, due to lack of evidence. Ḫattušili's wife was named Kadduši and his grandson was Muršili I, who succeeded him, having been chosen as heir instead of Ḫattušili's nephew.


Reign

Excavations in Zincirli Höyük, Southern Turkey, suggest that a complex there was destroyed in the mid to late 17th century BC, possibly by Hattusili I in a military campaign, which could confirm the middle chronology dating for his reign.Herrmann, Virginia, et al., (2020)
"Iron Age Urbanization and Middle Bronze Age Networks at Zincirli Höyük: Recent Results from the Chicago-Tübingen Excavations"
in ASOR 2020 Annual Meeting.
This destruction was recently radiocarbon-dated to sometime between 1632 and 1610 BC. This event could have been part of Ḫattušili's campaign against Zalpa in order to disrupt an exchange network connected to
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
that previously linked the Euphrates, North Syria, and Central Anatolia. Aslihan K. Yener dates destruction of Level VII Palace at nearby
Alalakh Alalakh (''Tell Atchana''; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished as an urban settlement in the Middle and Late Bronze Age ...
, located around 100 km southeast of Tilmen Höyük, in the second year of Hattusili's reign, 1628 BC.Yener, Aslihan K., (2021)
"Some Thoughts about Middle Bronze Age Alalakh and Ugarit: Reassessing an Alalakh Wall Painting with Archival Data"
in: Ougarit, un anniversaire, Bilans et recherches en cours, Peeters, Leuven-Paris-Bristol, p. 579: "...the Level VII Palace as destroyedby Hattusili I in his second year, 1628 BC (middle chronology)..."
He used the title of Labarna at the beginning of his reign. It is uncertain whether he is the second king so identified, making him Labarna II, or whether he is identical to
Labarna I Labarna was the traditional first king of the Hittites, (middle chronology), the most accepted chronology nowadays. He was the traditional founder of the Hittite Old Kingdom (fl. c. 1680(?)-1650 BC). His wife was Tawannanna. The existence of La ...
, who is treated as his predecessor in Hittite chronologies. During his reign, he moved the capital from Neša (Kaneš, near modern
Kültepe Kültepe ( Turkish: ), also known under its ancient name Kaneš (Kanesh, sometimes also Kaniš/Kanish) or Neša (Nesha), is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey. It was already a major settlement at the beginning of the 3rd mille ...
) to
Ḫattuša Hattusa, also Hattuşa, Ḫattuša, Hattusas, or Hattusha, was the capital of the Hittites, Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age during two distinct periods. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey (originally Boğazköy) within the great ...
(near modern
Boğazkale Boğazkale ("Gorge Fortress") is a town of Çorum Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, located from the city of Çorum. It is the seat of Boğazkale District.Kuššara Kussara (''Kuššar'') was a Middle Bronze Age kingdom in Anatolia. The kingdom, though apparently important at one time, is mostly remembered today as the origin of the dynasty that would form the Old Hittite Kingdom. Location Kussara is occasion ...
", a reference to the prehistoric capital and home of the Hittites, before they had occupied Neša.


Annals of Ḫattušili I

A cuneiform tablet found in 1957 written in both the Hittite and the
Akkadian language Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218–280 was an East Semitic language that is attested ...
, known as Annals of Hattusili I, provides details of five years of his reign, and is considered by Trevor R. Bryce as a copy, after the lifetime of this king, written in 13th century BC.Bryce, Trevor R., (2018)
"The Annals and Lost Golden Statue of the Hittite King Hattusili I"
in Gephyra 16, November 2018, pp. 1-12.
In it, he claims to have extended the Hittite domain to the sea. In the first year of campaign he reached the cities of Sanahuitta and Zalpa, he failed to conquer the former but sacked the later. And in the second year, he claimed to have subdued Alalakh and other cities in Syria, located west of Euphrates and north of
Carchemish Carchemish ( or ), also spelled Karkemish (), was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its history the city was independent, but it was also part of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo-Assyrian ...
, which were allied to
Yamhad Yamhad (Yamḫad) was an ancient Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking kingdom centered on Ḥalab (Aleppo) in Syria (region), Syria. The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC and was ruled by the Yamhad dynasty, who counted on both mi ...
kingdom. In the third year, he campaigned against
Arzawa Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital wa ...
in western Anatolia, as the Annals only say he: "went to the land of Arzawa and took away its cattle and sheep." In the fourth year, he finally captured Sanahuitta after five months of siege. In the fifth year, the last of his campaigns, the Annals recorded a long list of conquered cities and lands when he crossed the Euphrates, claiming that no one did it before but king Sargon of Akkad, who crossed the river in the opposite direction.


Last days

The end of his reign is of historical importance because of his Succession Proclamation. This document, written in first person, tells of Ḫattušili coming back wounded from his last military campaign. On his deathbed he is enraged by the attitude of his heir and how he is conspiring with his mother and cousins. Ḫattušili then explains that for these reasons Mursili, his grandson, will be the next king instead, and urges the army and public servants to obey him. The arguments are in a tablet, classified as CTH 6, also known as the "Testament of Hattusili I," in which he rejects his nephew as his successor, and designates his grandson Muršili I to occupy the throne. This Testament as well as the Annals survived only as a late 13th century BC copy. This apparently worked since Muršili indeed became king and continued Ḫattušili's military campaigns, finally conquering Aleppo and sacking Babylon.


See also

*
History of the Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in modern-day Turkey in the early 2nd millen ...


References


External links


Reign of Hattusili I
{{Authority control Hittite kings 16th-century BC monarchs