Ancient History - Part 40: The Banners Are Raised

While his intention may have been only to conquer and control northern Syria, Shubbiluliuma found himself in a rare strategic position. This new territory allowed access to even greater parts beyond the Euphrates to the east. And so, he consulted with the relocated Harri, of whose new land he'd now broach to cross, and these riverfolk banded together to join the favored king in battle as brothers once more.

For their participation, the levies against the Harri had been lifted, and the enlarged army crossed the Euphrates and into the lands of the Mitanni in a grand scale attack, first entering and overtaking Ishuwa, a prized area previously eyed by his predecessor, Hattushil. But the Hattic army did not stop there, moving next into Alshe, the adjacent province, and soon threatened encroachment upon the heart of the Mitanni kingdom.

King Tushratta of the Mitanni, tied directly to the Egyptian throne by marriage (brother-in-law to Amenhotep III) raised his banners and set to meet Shubbiluliuma's invaders in the field. In response, the king of Carchemish (unnamed thus far by historic record) of Syria, joined his forces to the invading Shubbiluliuma's, gaining favor above his fellow princes. Records do show however that Carchemish in the many years to follow would have direct Hittite bloodlines, hinting that this Syrian city-state did indeed become the favored nation amongst the Hattic king's new allies.

Reenforced by both auxiliary armies of the Harri and now the soldiers of Carchemish, the inevitable drumbeat began to sound as the Hattic forces neared their first massive battle with the Mitanni, led by Tushratta. The call by the defending forces' king beckoned that every last man must ride or die, their freedoms to perish along with any resulting failure. Their security threatened, both proud leaders set their sights upon the dawn in a prelude of their inevitable confrontation.

[IMPERIAL SEAL OF THE MITANNI]

Ancient History - Part 39: War and Peace

[A united Hattic Kingdom under Shubbiluliuma]

Shubbiluliuma removed the Harri people from Kissuwadna, confining them to the other side of the Euphrates, where they adopted the lifestyle of riverfolk. In the days that followed, the Hattic king's favorable treatment earned their obedience. The fatal mistakes that monarch-kings often make tend to be leaving problems unsolved, ones that continue to fester, and Shubbiluliuma's handling of Harri in a way that did not result in mass genocide or civil war was something the world took note of.

Next, he traveled to Syria to treat with the princes who ruled from their impressively rich city-states. This entire area bore spheres of influence that included princes aligned with the Mitanni and others with Egypt. In the case of the Mitanni, the Syrian princes were offered protection; with Egypt, innovation; but in the case of Hatta? War.

Shubbiluliuma did not enter Syria with peaceful intentions and carried the near full force of his armies into their lands. The Hattic king wisely chose to leave his internal struggles almost bloodless, but the opposite was true for the external challenge of staking a claim in Syria to form a new dynasty under his one rule. This move was unprecedented and a brutal one, taking Syria itself, along with its new allies in the Egyptians and Mitanni, completely unawares.

It is a fool's bargain to believe in others blindly fighting your battles for you upon nothing more than their word, and when the Hattic soldiers began their raids, Egypt and Mitanni occupied areas also fell to Shubbiluliuma's grasp. The local chieftains quickly submitted and before the Near End knew it, the Hattic nation now possessed all of northern Syria. King Shubbiluliuma's people remembered the old days written and told via oral tradition of the fierceness of the Assyria, and establishing this foothold in upper Syria was considered an effective posture against any notion of western expansion.

Just as one country might absorb another in order to create a buffer of sorts, this was the will of Shubbiluliuma's people, however, his own two reasons were entirely different.

Legacy and power.

[THE DEEDS OF SHUBBILULIUMA]