Ancient History - Part 49: The Lion In The Room

Surprisingly, Carchemish was left off the Treaty of Kadesh. This has to led to some speculation that either a non-Hittite entity (such as Assyria) had absorbed the city during the negotiations between Hatta and Egypt, or more likely, Carchemish had already become a recognized part of king Hattushil's home capital, thereby needing no such formally written recognition in the agreement.

During this period, Shalmaneser I, the king of Assyria, had reached the Middle Euphrates, with his armies frequently setting raids from across the water. The target of these raids primarily included Hatta's ally, the Mitanni, who sustained the brunt of these attacks, and included their capital, Hanigalbat. Thusly, it is not unreasonable to put Assyrian occupation of Carchemish outside the realm of possibility here.

Whilst previously Egypt was frantic to accept swift Hattic friendship due to pressure from their alliance with Babylonia, it was soon the Hittite people's turn to ask the same of their former enemy. As westward expansion by Assyria encroached upon their lands, Hattushil drew upon letters to Babylonia and Egypt both, reporting aggressive movements of this powerful new threat. However, as we know, not much was done in the manner to curb the Hattic king's worry.

Even still, thirteen years after signing the Treaty of Kadesh, Hattushil concentrated on fulfilling strategic maneuvers to strengthen the bonds with his allies, and began by marrying one of his daughters to Egypt's pharaoh, Ramses, who would join his Royal Harem. The correspondence at this junction actually included Hattushil's queen, Pudukhipa, directly addressing matters concerning her daughter and the Egyptian lifestyle, and also Ramses asked for large supplies of smelted iron from his new kingly friend.

Generally speaking, it is very difficult to create a reasonably sized conglomerate of allied nations to defend against the level of danger that the war-hungry Assyrian army posed to the rest of the Near East. Egypt and Babylonia did not appear to treat this threat with the same manner of heightened care that Hatta did, and instead demonstrated clumsy foresight by the hands of Babylonia's king, and an agnostic interest at best on behalf of Egypt's, due to distance.

It's a reasonable basis in hindsight that the Hittites and their king were correct in fearing Assyrian expansion, but unfortunately their voices were drowned out in a sea of disinterest, a price all players with the exception of perhaps Elam, in the far east, would later pay at a supreme cost.

[KING HATTUSHIL II]

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 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]