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]