Ancient History - Part 44: An Empire At Its Peak

Upon the defeat of prince Aki-izzi's league of Semitic and Harri rebels, Shubbiluliuma next turned his conquest toward central Syria, occupied and controlled by the Amorites. Much like northern Syria had Aleppo as its crown jewel, central Syria bore Kadesh, the most prestigious power center of the region, and the Hattic king reasoned that should it fall, the surrounding areas would be quick to follow. A theory that proved correct.

With the success of his Campaign of Syria thus far and central Syria fallen, Shubbiluliuma knew that there were greater riches extending beyond Syria, whose resources were quite matched in wealth and would see grand results in the eventual trade from it that would follow the war. The most fertile lands that he eyed with a hunger, lay southward, the lands of Aziru (Lebanon) and Palestine, specifically.

Syria, Aziru, and Palestine are collectively known as the Fertile Crescent, an area desired throughout history by many competing powerful kingdoms.

According to the Amarna letters, Shubbiluliuma's forces overwhelmed and defeated the remaining Amorite regions of Syria with ease, but once it came time to annex Aziru, were met by a fiercely unexpected resistance. Be it city-street or countryside, the defenders, though few, simply would not surrender. Despite his heightened interest in conquering the former Egyptian-satellite nations, upon Aziru's eventual submission (and compliance to a heavy monthly tribute that would lessen over time), the Hattic king ended his conquest here.

In the aftermath of the Hittite Empire's violent expansion, two empires now encroached upon the other. Hatta and Egypt. This was a most sensitive political situation and the first instance in a span of many years when two superpowers of the Near East directly bordered the other in such a confrontational manner.

The Hattic king treated with the Egyptian Pharoah and the battlefield changed from a clash of swords to a conversational war of words. Perhaps heated at first, in the end, Shubbiluliuma and Amenhotep III signed a peace treaty. Hatta would retain control over Aziru whilst Egypt would retain control over Palestine, and neither empire would take arms against the other, as far as both monarchs ruled.

And while all agreements prove temporary over time, neither side challenged the limit of the treaty, with much to gain from mutual obeyance. The Hittite forces bore wartime exhaustion and the Egyptian empire was in a state of rapid decline which extended to the waning size and scope of their once mighty military. For a lengthy period, the security measures were respected by both nations, peace terms held intact.

[LETTER BETWEEN EGYPT AND AZIRU]

Ancient History - Part 43: The Last Redoubts

[SYRIA=YELLOW: THE LANDS OF SHUBBILULILUMI'S CONQUEST]

As Shubbiluliuma asserted his dominance over northern Syria, the remaining of independent regions fought tooth-and-nail in defiance:

• Shaizar and Rukhizzi: Twin settlement communities of towns and common folk. There was little in the way of military activity here, but the lands were no less rich, and the Hattic army took them with ease to supply the major war efforts of the much more defensible regions that lay south.
• Abina: A small province full of Mitanni loyalists, thought to be located on the eastern border of Syria. After a crushing engagement in the field, Abina narrowly avoided a Hattic raid, sending messengers to greet their would-be invaders, signaling a willingness in shifting allegiance. 
• Qatna: A Semitic state, harboring a people who despite small numbers, may have proven themselves the most heavily resistant challenge. Rather than relinquish liberty for the call of safety, the prince, Aki-izzi, openly maintained independence, at one point even calling upon Egypt's Pharoah, Amenhotep IV, for support. (Predictably, such pleas were ignored and prince Aki-izzi's people waited for a Hattic attack that never arrived. Shubbiluliuma instead left Qatna to be taken lastly, intending to appeal to the prince and his people's surrender only after the entirety of its neighboring region had been conquered)
• Kinza: A populous state worth noting that whilst successfully repelling invaders, switched sides none too long thereafter. The ruling prince, Shutatarra, and his refusal to submit to Hittite authority was then ousted by his son, Aitakkama, and his new regime. In an interesting development, Aitakkama of Kinza became a close friend and ally to Shubbiluliuma, and was instrumental in carrying out his new king's will as the growing Hittite Empire's leading agent.
• Aleppo: The king of the Hittites amassed the bulk of his forces in the Kowaik basin where he subjected the grandest city of Syria to a large-scale siege, clashing against Aleppo's defenders within the city's walls, well-armed Mitanni legions. Upon victory, Shubbiluliuma installed one of his own sons to the city's seat, to establish order whilst ruling in his name.

Once Syria had wholly fallen, Shubbiluliuma turned back to Qatna. However, his desire to appeal to prince Aki-izzi with reason was met with a disastrous discovery: 

The prince had secretly engaged in a successful conspiracy in spurring a fire within the ancestral rivals of Hatta, the Harri people, to defect, stoking a revolt within the Hittite army. Perhaps a less sane ruler might have reacted emotionally, but recognizing an opportunity, Shubbiluliuma enlisted his new ally, Aitakkama, and his forces to prove themselves, who defeated the prince and his assortment of local chiefs and traitors in battle, allowing the last redoubt, Qatna, to be annexed.

Despite the interference and setbacks that occurred, Shubbiluliuma's lengthy Campaign of Syria was a profound success.

[ALEPPO CITADEL - THE SITE WHERE MITANNI DEFENDERS WERE OVERTAKEN BY HATTIC FORCES]

Ancient History - Part 42: Hail To The King

After defeating Hanigalbat and her Mitanni, Shubbiluliuma returned to Syria with his soldiers to attack the last holdout, Aleppo, whose level of national will kept the prince's city independent up until that point. But Shubbiluliuma's army had grown so large compared to his early raids upon Syria, that this time, they'd little opposition and marched right into the heart of the city. Whether by means of migration or war, the nations of the Near East has a history of knowing no borders, nor the concept of freedom for other peoples.

With both rivals (Egypt & Hanigalbat) removed, Shubbiluliuma continued to conquer and impose his imperial rule over Syria in many steps:

1. Kingdom of Niy: A largely Semitic population bordering southern Hanigalbat, a regional prince, Shutatarra, refused Shubbiluliuma's offer to show allegiance. Thus, the son, Aitakkama, killed his father (much in the same manner as the Mitanni king was slain by his own) and became a loyal agent to the Hattic king. Aitakkama actually led the attacks for Shubbiluliuma upon the Mitanni, with many successful raids persisting against Tushratta's successor.
2. Tunip: A once Egyptian territory was taken by the Hittites, and the labors of the farms and fisheries spread to the benefit of the Hattic kingdom. Decadence and fear had spread across Egypt, weaknesses Shubbiluliuma sensed and correctly predicted no significant retaliation.
3. Province of Kilis: The regional prince, Sharrupshi, remained loyal to his Egyptian suzerain, but that all changed once Aleppo fell. Just neighboring Aleppo at the northwest, rather than repeat the cycle of violent sieges for his cities to endure, he'd signed a treaty, bowing down his region to the Hattic king.
4. Lebanon: This wealthy swath of land's Egyptian/Mitannian overlords had abandoned this region and rather than taste freedom, the Semitic peoples traded one familiar group of overlords for unfamiliar new group.

The Hattic king effectively disseminated the elite feudal-style ruling system that Egypt had set-up over Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria and quickly replaced the old with the new, inserting their own people as the ones bearing the whip. Whilst not making it as far as Palestine (still under Egyptian control) Shubbiluliuma still pushed against against defenses for as long as he could.

[SIGNED TREATY - Between Sharrupshi and Shubbiluliuma]

Ancient History - Part 41: The Two Betrayals

King Tushratta of the Mitanni was no easy opponent, winning a great many of the initial engagements against the invading Hattic forces. For the entirety of his reign, Tushratta and his people were staunch loyalists to the Egyptian crown, and he reasoned that if his kingdom could demonstrate vigilance in the face of those who sought to destroy them, the Kingdom of Nile would surely embolster his defending nation.

Egypt, as we know however, was on the decline, and did anything but reinforce her Mitannian allies. Not only did the ill-prepared Egyptian forces fail to assist the Mitanni, but retreated from their occupied Syria soils at the first sightings of the Hattic enemy. Thus, despite winning on the field, king Tushratta ordered a tactical retreat back to his seat within Washukanni, the capital city of Hanigalbat that sat on the embankments of the Euphrates.

The king of the Mitanni dispelled any false notions of Egyptian rescue, for many months hearing from a distance how the Hattic army ravaged his land. Upon a brief deliberation, Tushratta recognized that his communication with Egypt was cutoff entirely, and was forced to consider suing for peace with Shubbiluliuma, rather than risk further annihilation. But the proud king was not to be swayed, this was a violation of property that he refused to throw out due to fear.

But the growing sentimentalities amongst his followers had morphed into dissension, and whilst his fighting spirit was undoubtedly hinged on the shoulders of honor and duty, a rebellious new faction was formed. This very faction, led by his own son Artatami II, betrayed the king, and the son violently slayed the father within his own palace walls, by way of razor, thus usurping the throne.

Hanigalbat then submitted to king Shubbiluliuma as overlord and by the time Tushratta's successor, Mattiuaza, assumed the throne, his entire kingdom was overrun by the Hittites of the west followed by the Assyrians of the east.

What strong leaders sometimes fail to recognize is that the the standard to which they hold themselves to does not necessarily apply to others. Tushratta reasoned that together with Egypt, they would expel the Hattic enemy, completely blind to the possibility of Egypt acting in cowardice. His capital stronghold being situated on an everflowing river, where he fortified knowing Washukanni impenetrable, could outlast the invasion. And yet his treacherous supporters and family murdered him.

History would have played out so very differently had only Tushratta simply continued to fight and trusted no one, holding true to the abilities of his own leadership and desire for his nation to remain independent.

[METHOD OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HANIGALBAT AND EGYPT (Amarna Letter, above)]