Ancient History - Part 50: The Fall Of Hatta

By the middle of the 13th century BC, warm relations grew to see Hatta become the chief supplier of iron to Egypt, this resource soon to rapidly spread throughout Asia Minor by the time Hattushil II passed. Two decades later, the venerable Ramses II followed. Hattushil's son, Dudkhalia II, named after the original Dudkhalia, the Great Uniter of the Hattic peoples, inherited the throne. Sadly, much historic record is missing, that which might have covered both his reign, and the life of his son, prince Arandas.

One thing that we know for certain about these lost years is that Carchemish and Aleppo, who historians theorize the Hittites lost control of, were firmly back in the possession of the Hattic empire, if they were ever lost to begin with. Carchemish was a focal city and absorbed into the greater part of Hattusa's capital, whereas Aleppo remained within Hatta's sphere of influence, its prince a loyal subject to his king.

During Ramses III's time, there is record that accounts for a great horde who conquered and ended Hattusa, with Dudkhalia possibly being the last ruling king, though internet sources, i.e. Wikipedia, dispute this and list Shubbiluliuma II as the Hittites' final monarch. Some suggest that both kings were one and the same. But as to the ultimate fate of the Hittites, the fact remains that Ancient Egyptian sources cite a wave of devastation in this unnamed horde who engulfed the entirety of the Cilician Plain, including Carchemish, Alashiya, and Arwad, and the Hittite people and their empire with it.

It has been covered previously that Assyria defeated both the Hittites followed by Babylonia, when the latter failed to arrive to her ally's aid. This call-to-arms, or rather, lack thereof, resulted in Assyria shattering the military of Hatta, leaving her indefensible to the savage hordes of the upper northern plains of Cappadocia, and later, Assyria's rule and total conquest of Babylonia.

Egypt opted not to aid nor abet, acting merely as a witness to the fall of her once enemy turned ally. The once great Empire of the Nile's full attention was heavily weighed by the rapid decline from within her own borders as internal decay began to rot down to the core. One positive for future nations that would spawn from this era of the collapsing dynasties is an emphasis placed upon the importance of border-security, in the forms of mitigation of the great migrations of people, as well as protection against organized foreign attack.

[DUDKHALIA II - The forgotten king]

Ancient History - Part 45: The Syrian Principalities

The Hand of Nergal, a deadly plague, engulfed the lands of the Hittites, and by 1360 B.C. king Shubbiluliuma had fallen ill and died. His firstborn son and heir, Arnuwandash, too, succumbed and passed, thus the kingship was left to Murshil, Shubbiluliuma's second son and sole remaining male heir. Murshil's constitution prevailed and he soon ascended to the throne.

The first decade of Murshil's reign focused primarily on visits throughout Syria and engagements with local matters of state. There are several references etched upon cuneiform, recovered from Bogazkale, detailing the princes of Syria treating with the new king. Carchemish (Karkemish) appeared to be the most favorable amongst his subjects, though Aleppo (Alep) proudly reminded its citizens of their friendship with the ruler of Hatta.

Securing warm relations with his freshly conquered subjects was a matter of deep importance to Murshil, though in the case of Kissuwadna, vast effort was required. Shubbiluliuma severely chastened the prince and his people, but agreed to allow the city its autonomy if an alliance was drawn that Hatta's allies and enemies would be mirrored by Kissuwadna. After much deliberation, assurances were made and the city's loyalty and its alliance to Hatta remained intact with this younger king.

Following their betrayal, the Harri had scattered to the winds, relocating to various Syrian cities, and the wiser princes promised that should Murshil require reinforcements in future-wars, the Harri populace would be the first lines of enlistment. Murshil retained the friendship of Syria by agreeing to abolish the frontier fortifications that separated the border-states, especially now that his father's campaign against them had ended.

Lastly, outside of Syria and Hattic territory, Murshil adopted his late-father's stance toward the Mitanni. He understood the value placed on their continual existence as a buffer-state between Hatta and Assyria. As Assyrian power grew and threatened all that touched its ever expanding borders, an attack on the Mitanni would act as an alarm system, signaling danger to the greater Hittite state. Thusly, Murshil warranted that the Mitanni people would be permitted freedom to dwell and use the Tigris and the riverlands around it as their own.

A back door is a security flaw designed to directly admit the safe passage to the creator and by maintaining an ally with the Mitanni, it was a strategy that meant that the Hattic king could theoretically move an army through Hanigalbat lands to strike at a growing enemy, should the need arise, particularly, an Assyrian enemy.

[MURSHIL'S PRAYER TO THE GODS TO END THE HAND OF NERGAL]

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 37: Hittite Imperial Power

[EMPIRES OF 1300 B.C. (BY COLOR) - HITTITE; EGYPTIAN; ASSYRIAN-BABYLONIAN; MYCENAEAN]

Moving backwards and with an introspective eye on the former Hittite empire:

The Hittite civilization dwelled primarily in eastern Turkey (specifically, Anatolia), northern Syria, expanding throughout the 15th to 13th centuries to the Euphrates and the Mycenaean coastal waters. The power of the Hattic capital stood within Cappadocia.

It was from this power center around 1450 B.C. that king Dudkhalia established correspondence with the surrounding powers. These included but were not limited to Hanigalbat and Aleppo. Impressed by the Hittite king's shrewd attitude along with a willingness to share in the wealth that his friendship might suggest, Dudkhalia united a region known for its warworn history without ever firing a single arrow.

Upon Dudkhalia's passing, the throne went to Hattushil, a man who clashed for control against an opposing faction within the Hattic lands. This faction, ethnically Harrian, were supported by both northern Syrian people as well as the native riverfolk of the Euphrates. While the historic details might be described by some as sketchy at best, the following generations were predominently Hattic in nature, ushering in the imperial period of the Hittite empire, and thus signifying Hattushil's victory amid this struggle.

The last bastion of hope for the opposing Harrian leadership was towards the end of Hattushil's reign (1415), which saw a revival of sorts rebel against the Hattic king. At the far south, within a place called Kissuwadna, the Harrians rallied the surrounding southern lands in revolution. Simultaneously, Assyria's soldiery began to encroach from across the Euphrates and into Tauric territory (Crimean migrant lands) from the east. This started a fifteen year trajectory of growing opposition for Hattushil's successor, his son, and most famous of the Hittite kingly line, Shubbiluliuma.

All empires crumble sooner or later, finger pointing aside, the same pattern remains ever prevalent to this day. But the beauty and awe of an empire at its peak is still something for a historian to behold. Hattusa, Hittite, Hatti, Hattic, Hatta, Hattan... These are all variations describing a people who existed a long time ago primarily in what we now consider the country of Turkey who had many kings of impressive measure, though more than a few who suffered significant missteps in focal decision-making. Our retrospective on the Hittites and the rise and fall of their kingdom begins henceforth.

[HITTITE METALWORK]