Ancient History - Part 57: Slayers, Slavers, And Survivors

Not every tribe joined the Migrant Army. The Pulesati, for example, took one gander upon Egypt's fortifications and abandoned all cause to the multiconglomerate's land horde. This group instead chose to settle in Shepheleh, unclaimed land just outside of Palestine, where a century later found themselves at war with the Israelites, all of this supposedly referenced in the lost Book of Jasher.

Whilst the mighty empire of Egypt proved capable of repulsing these threats by land and sea, the Israelites were guaranteed no such safeguard. For centuries the Semitic people were subjected to being overrun and ruled by outsiders, first by the Hittites and Egyptians, and now extending to the Philistines, the Pulesati, and the Sea Peoples themselves.

Upon Egypt's defeat of the Sea Peoples (at the Battle of the Delta) and their Migrant Army (at the Battle of Djahy) the fates of many of the losing tribes varied. Two notable examples include:

• The Washasha tribe was one of the legions that was captured and enslaved to Egypt, sentenced to lifelong servitude, in the form of hard labor.
• A lesser known tribe, the Zakaray, disappeared for nearly a century before the last remnants of their civilization was found by Egyptian tradesmen, resettled in a field to the north.

Countless other tribes who fought amongst the Migrant Army are listed in the Harris Papyrus which heavily focuses upon these wartime events and documents the enemies of Egypt by name, though many are never referenced again in history, as they scattered and split apart into obscurity in the aftermath of the two battles.

The Sea Peoples successfully conquered many nations in their migration towards Egypt. Whilst the cultures of Syria and Israel survived, many other societies who lacked a system of commerce to serve up in offering, were eradicated mercilessly. Egypt and Israel's strengths by its people were not to cave to pressure, despite the seething array of threats by this foreign enemy. Whilst the power demonstrated by Egypt to defeat this opposition is the peak of the era's events, Israel's continued survival against overwhelming odds should not be overshadowed either.

[HARRIS PAPYRUS: Primary source for the events during Ramses III's reign]

Ancient History - Part 56: For Those Who Would Be Egyptian

[DARDANELLES - Entry point of the Bryges invasion of Asia Minor]

The initial migration of the Sea Peoples through the Levant differs greatly than their engagements compared to when the Hittites ruled the region. Those slow-building attacks whether by battlefield or sea piracy, largely endured by the indigenous Hittite allies, were not a forced march that Egypt had to later contend with in the aftermath of Hatta's fall. The Bryges, inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula, first invaded Thrace, and later crossed the Dardanelles to carve out a piece of Anatolia, and upon doing so, renamed themselves as "Phrygians".

This is how Egypt believed the kingdom of the Hittites fell.

Next, the Philistines fell to the newly renamed Phrygians, and Egypt began to suffer direct attacks from this new opposition, the same conquerors of Thrace and Hatta. Yet, there was one key difference: Egypt was aware of this pending invasion well in advance. This foresight allowed Egypt to prepare for war, but the opposition she faced was a challenge unlike any the Empire of the Nile had ever contended with before.

Since the dawn of the Middle Kingdom's inception, this New Kingdom of Egypt's wars of the past all dealt with her own foreign excursions and military adventurism of her day. She recognized the ripe lands of the Fertile Crescent and the lands beyond the Levant and fought many rival kingdoms over these interests. But no foreign entity ever struck precisely at the heart of Egypt, and with the Phrygians marching southward along the coasts of Cilicia, with many other allied tribes joining the ranks, the Migrant Army aimed to do just that.

Soon, Egypt stared across the lines upon an enemy horde. 

Preparation for war is always difficult. This not due to any actor being inept of their own duties that necessarily leads to the folly of ill decision-making, but rather the challenge of utilizing a short window of opportunity that quickly closes. Does one strike while the iron is hot? Or shall he rest in patient vigilance within the safety of his walls, waiting for a better development? Big talk is cheap when the battle is over with all critique now bearing the benefit of hindsight, and Egypt held no such benefit then against the continuing existential threats that plagued her kingdom's people.

[Typical Phrygian garb]

Ancient History - Part 55: A Deeper Look Into The Sea Peoples

Let us take an introspective look upon when this troublesome mass migration from the westerners began, leading up to Egypt's successful battlefield engagements against them. The Pisidians who dwelt from Sagalassos along with the feather-crested battle-armored Lycians of Lycia and Carians of Caria (all geographically located throughout modern day Turkey) gathered and pushed southwestward.

According to Egyptian record, no land could stand against this massive horde, and upon their departure from Anatolia, one-by-one the Syrian city-states began to fall. There were two notable divisions amongst this threat to the Near East: 

The shipmen and the land-horde.

First it was Alashiya that was attacked, overrun by shipmen who assaulted from the sea. Upon victory, the migrant fleet next completely overtook the Syrian Gulf of Issus, permanently circling its coastline in its callous occupation. 

The land-horde however marched into Syria en masse. Arvad, Cappadocia, and of course the legendary historic city of Carchemish were not spared. These places of import, their beauty first desecrated, were largely destroyed by this land-horde, with many citizens likely losing their lives as foreign invasions of this nature rarely offer much in the ways of mercy.

The Amurru kingdom (Palestine) was next attacked and leveled, and it was here that the massive push was halted. We know what came next with the battles between Egypt and the Sea Peoples, but massive damage had been done to Egypt's subjects, and the Near East now bore a literal culture war on its hands between the native kingdoms and the invaders.

When you fear nothing, doubt is eliminated. If your enemies project weakness, then the time to attack is immediate. Thusly, the doubtless hordes of the west immediately attacked the Syrian princes, who'd in the past always relied upon the protections of either the Hittites or the Egyptians, themselves noticeably possessing no desire to fight. And it all fell apart. Trade was displaced and there was no preventing the trail that was blazed right through their land. 

This is not to overshadow the achievements of Egypt in defeating the Sea Peoples when it eventually came to thwarting direct attack, but if one thing can be ascertained about Ancient Egypt it is that defending her subjects was not one of her strengths, if the Upper Levant region is any indication.

[THE FORTRESS OF ARVAD]

Ancient History - Part 52: New Players In Town

Upon the collapse of the Hittite Empire, the former lands of her domain fell into the hands of the local princes and lords of the Levant region, most notably in the case of the Philistines, who up to that point began to settle in Palestine. The necessary documentation required for this era of recorded history for the events that followed relies largely upon Egyptian reports dating back to 1190 BC.

In addition to the Philistines, the Aegeans, or the Kleftians, as the Egyptians preferred to name the Mediterranean seafaring peoples, began to enter Asia Minor and colonize upon Cyprus and other uncontested coastal shores along Anatolia, Syria, and Lebanon. However contrary to ancient Egyptian presumptions, these were more than merely tribes migrating from what we know as modern day Greece, but tribes also originating from Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, and the rest of modern day Italy. Egypt lumped the "People of the Sea" as Greek in origin, but latter-day historians of the age of Great Britain have since matched the names of several deceased as varying all throughout the Mediterranean.

Egypt was firmly placed into the uncomfortable position of seeing foreigners pushing into the lands she once occupied, yet powerless to oppose the rapid changing of the times. New cultures would dominate and carve out boundaries to establish strong heterogenous states, while the empires of old, would follow into the footsteps of Hatta on the long downhill road towards decay.

Egypt's pharaoh, Ramses III thusly felt obligated to act against these new players in town, but the Philistines eagerly awaited this pending challenge, and his army was met and repulsed by a stalwart force of Philistine defenders. Upon defeating the once-great Egyptian power, the new migration seamlessly integrated vast swaths of territory, pathing the way for other tribes to follow. For the first time in centuries, the Semitic peoples were permitted to establish their own leadership to rule themselves, this valiant stand put on full display as a warning for any future would-be conquerors. 

The Achilles' heel to every empire is a loss on the battlefield to a lesser enemy for all to witness. One could argue that with the defeat of Egypt, the Philistines did not merely claim their independence, but signaled the end of Egyptian polity of the Near East, created by Thutmose centuries earlier, once and for all. 

[THE PHILISTINES as depicted by Egypt]

Ancient History - Part 51: The Iron Age Is Born

The aforementioned horde that consumed Hatta was restricted to Cappadocia, including the Hittites' capital city, Hattusa. All of Syria was left untouched by this damning incursion. The Egyptian records state that other nations who stood before this horde included the Amorite and the Kedi people, but like the Hattans before them, fell underfoot to this bloody conquest, any survivors press-ganged into the invading army's frontline.

Due to the outside nature of Egypt's perspective, the genetic and cultural identity of this horde remains an unknown. There is speculation that this was a maritime tribe whose warriors landed in the northwestern Anatolia region, newly discovering a weakened force of natives to oppose them. Others theorize that this horde was none other than a conglomeration of north Cappadocian people, who simply decided to march from their steep lands while the Hattic lands were undefended and ripe for plundering hands.

Whether they came from the west or the north, as well as the composition of soldiers, those details make little difference in the final result: Imperial Hatta as Asia Minor knew it ended by 1200 B.C.

Microregions broke apart following the collapse of this once great empire, where warlords and other would-be leaders raced to make their claim for power amongst the ashes of Hatta, but none of these client-states would amount to anything worthy of being called an empire until the days of Sargon II many centuries ahead.

Prior to his death, king Hattushil II ushered large deposits of iron shipments into Egypt, and thereby the Near East, as a whole. This is a monumental achievement that the Hittites do not receive enough credit for because in doing this, they birthed the beginning of the Iron Age. While their civilization and history is long dead and ended, this final act of the Hittites and their last great king is something very much alive and still felt by the modern world today. 

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 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 48: The Trouble With Peace

[HITTITE VERSION OF PEACE TREATY]

The context in which the treaty between Egypt and Hatta was formed is a matter of great significance. Whilst the Hattic king lowered his tone to a level of warmth in regards to a peaceful effort of mutual partnership, be it border-defenses or curbing the migratory shifting of adjacent populations, Hattushil still dictated his kingdom's needs with a firm hand, particularly in the matters of territorial dispute. And so the first drafting of this peace treaty was composed from the Hatta camp, not Ramses's.

The finely carved letter of cuneiform arrived by horseback upon a silver platter once presented to the pharaoh. Ramses counter-drafted with overtures of his own, agreeing to Hatta's ownership of four-fifths of Syria, listing the specific towns and provinces included, and etched the compromise in metal before sending it back.

In the end, both parties agreed that the other's border would be rendered immune from invasion by the opposing side, with many Egyptian deities quoted by Ramses's scribesmen as honoring the agreement with their divine eyes. Hattushil in turn gave ceremony in the traditional Hattic religious custom (public temple prayer and demonstrations of stately worship amongst both soldiery and citizen alike) before returning to Ramses's draft with an addendum.

Hatta recognized Egypt's sole province in the Near East as Palestine and only Palestine. The entirety of lands within Syria's borders would endure Hatta's dominion. Each of Syria's princes were consigned as traveling witnesses to these discussions, pawns and figure-heads who gladhanded with their overlord and former overlord alike, and in the end, fully accepted Hattushil's and his successors' leadership in all matters of future governance.

The key to knowing which buttons to press during diplomatic negotiations can be tremendously difficult to ascertain. However, when two rivals war with the another for a lengthy number of years, one begins to know thy enemy as well as they might a third hand. Hattushil used the familiarity of his enemy to know what was too much and what was not enough. He rightfully gambled that rather than risking a war with Hatta and her knew ally, Babylonia, it was in the Empire of the Nile's best interest to approve what would otherwise be a lesser deal under previous circumstances.

[EGYPT'S VERSION OF PEACE TREATY]

Ancient History - Part 47: A Changing of the Guard

Egypt and Hatta continued to battle along their Syrian borderlands, where one such engagement claimed the life of Muwatallis. Sensing the void in leadership, Ramses II mustered three more armies and began to reinforce the frontlines in preparation for another full-scale invasion from the south. Upon a civil war that erupted between rival leaders in Hattusa, king Hattushil II (III according to some modern historians) emerged. His reign lasted a great many years.

While Egypt managed to plague the Hattic kingdom's forces, Hatta still managed not to lose much ground, and once Hattushill II had fully ascended to the throne, still possessed a sphere of influence that running from northern Syria to the topmost border of Palestine. This fertile area continued to fund the entirety of the Hattic kingdom as its chief source of revenue.

Ruling with a firm hand, Hattushil eliminated the question as to who controlled Syria, and despite their vast forces, the pending Egyptian invasion never arrived, the territorial lines once again respected by the two superpowers of Hatta and Egypt. 

Later, the Kassite king of Babylonia corresponded with Hattushil regarding the migratory shift of the Amorite population fleeing Hittite-occupied Syria into the desert with some even making their way into Babylonia. A man of surprisingly great eloquence, Hattushil II transformed from a fiery war chief to a charming elder statesman, and in a successful exchange managed to curb Babylonia's cautiousness, offer explanation that the movement of peoples was not intentional but rather a side effect of the war. In the end, the Hattic king gained a powerful new alliance in this unforeseen friendship with the superpower of the southeast, Babylonia.

Egypt then followed the footsteps on Babylonia, sealing an agreement of friendship, and a new peace treaty was actualized with Hatta.

Some battles are won not by the sword, but by the pen (or the chisel by what 1300 B.C.'s cuneiform standards would suggest) and Hattushil managed to do what years of blood-soaked violence could not. Simply treating with the rival power of Babylonia was enough to intimidate a peaceful result with Egypt thus demonstrating that while no monarch's rule is infallible, a simple change in leadership followed by immediate action is usually enough to gain the attention of all friend and foe.

[KING MUWATALLIS REMEMBERED upon his death]

Ancient History - Part 46: The Blood Feud Begins

King Murshil's reign exemplified a non-aggression principle with areas outside of his domain that were previously the aim of conquest by Hatta left largely untouched. Whether this was due to an ill-desire of placing his people in the proximity of the growing Assyrian peril or merely a touch of benevolence still remains unclear.

Murshil is estimated to have died roughly around 1300 B.C., upon which his son, Muwatallis, assumed the Hittite throne. Almost immediately, the new king found himself in open-conflict with the Egyptian king, Seti I, whose armies not only encroached upon Hattic territory, but violently clashed with that of his own. As Egypt pushed with northward marches, Hatta responded in southward counter-marches culminating in bloody skirmishes. The days of being honor-bound to a treaty forged by their forebears soon lay buried in the past.

Warbound enemies once again, in the eighth year of Egyptian-Hittite armed conflict, Seti I died and before the throne had time to even pass to his successor, the Hattic forces successfully broke through, assuming the recently deceased pharoah's rich provinces, in a deadly path through Egypt's dominion. The death of a monarch is an ill-omen, and typically signals enemy forces with a ripe opportunity to attack a weakened nation's heart.

However, once the Egyptian throne officially passed onto Ramses II, the landscape would change. Five years later, the infamous Battle of Kadesh took place (a topic deserving of an in-depth analysis of its own post(s) potentially at a later date) where both embittered overlords of Syria clashed in what has been cemented as a storybook highlight of Egypt's proud history. Fragments exist from both the Egyptian and Hittite perspective on how the events of that fateful day unfolded.

Kadesh was a Hattic controlled city and Ramses II set out to overtake it. The core armed strengths of both superpowers' militaries were bound to face-off in a deadly culmination at this battle site and various ploys and intrigues took place prior to, during, and after the battle itself. 

In the end, despite proclaiming courage and victory, Ramses II and his army's attack on Kadesh (Qadesh) was repelled, quickly pivoting to withdraw to Palestine. There were many close encounters for the pharaoh on the battlefield that nearly sent him to an early crypt, who insisted that he, along with his elite guard, be placed in a precarious mid-line position in order to inspire his troop amidst the fighting.

While the battle-hungry Egyptian leader technically lost, the resulting aftermath had the king of Egypt declared the victor, and this is a profound example of how the presentation of information can manipulate a people's attitude and favor when efforts are made to obscure detection of the deceit. Ramses II's reign would continue many more years, some still in conflict with the Hittites, and yet that loss is still touted as a victory in some circles of Egypt's cultural heritage even to our present day. 

[KING RAMSES II, as depicted in battle]

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 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)]

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]

Ancient History - Part 38: Strength, Honor, and Respect

Shubbiluliuma came to the Hattic throne at 1400 B.C. and immediately sought to solve the longlasting problems which plagued his predecessor. He traveled by horse with his military into Cappadocia, fully restoring Hatti to its unquestionable seat of power. Admittedly, Hattushil faced an uphill battle with the set of challenges that plagued the latter part of his reign, but Shubbiluliuma displayed a level of strength in leadership that people could not help but find contagious.

With the hub of Cappadocia supporting his cause the young king next sought to resolve the Harrian Problem. A rival power that had opposed Hattushil congregated and took over the area of Kissuwadna. The initial clashes were bloody, but soon the local populace gave way to reason, and submitted to the greater power of the Hittite king's might. Kissuwadna and its people were not given a free pass, far from it, and the price for their revolt included increased taxes and the removal of their favored leaders from government.

And finally, the Tauric provincialities were beginning to develop sympathies with outside Hattan rivals, particularly Egypt and Assyria, whose traveling citizenry had now transformed into moderate migration. The prince who ruled one particular region, the westernmost of these states, Arzawa, preceded over what had effectively turned into an Egyptian proxy state. Knowing that if this potential issue was to exist as it stood, painful implications would threaten the remainder of the Hittite states, as the war-like Assyrians, in theory, might develop their own proxy state and as neighbors spelt out nothing less than death and destruction.

Arzawa was notable for having correspondence with Egypt, but the great king Shubbiluliuma did not let this dissuade him from what he needed to do. He fought and defeated the Arzawa state, fully absorbing it into Hattic power, expelling any foreigner, particularly those belonging to any nomadic tribe harboring semi-hostile sensibilities. And once all of this was accomplished, a message was sent to Egypt and Assyria where the boundaries lie and the internal issue with the Harri people also vanished simultaneously as Shubbiluliuma's Hittite kingdom kicked off the next millennia.

The overwhelming confidence by which certain leaders exude often rings peculiar to the eyes and ears of people looking to the past. But it stands so powerfully within the region of Asia Minor during this time of antiquity that might was often right, strength and power was respected, and he who made the least mistakes was welcomed as the greatest leader of men. It may be difficult for modern eyes to understand but this simple lesson puts on display that this was a time and place where the difference between a strong king and a weak king meant life or death, feast or famine, freedom or subjugation. 

And the Hittites rightfully and proudly decided: Shubbiluliuma was to be their strong king.

[An example of Arzawa stone art-relief of one of their local kings]

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]

Ancient History - Part 32: Assyrian Conquest Continues

Assyria continued her brutal demonstration into rebellious territory, tribes and countries refusing to submit to new taxes and authority soon bent the knee, finding themselves subdued. It wasn't long until Assyria found herself deeply meadowed within the former lands of the Hittite Empire. The once mighty empire now consisted of Hittite blooded natives intermixed with the different migrations of the previous two generations that had since moved into its ruins.

Of these new residents of Hatta, referred to in text as "soldiers of the lands of Hatta", four thousand stood tall against the pending onslaught that mighty Assyria had brought with her.

Upon the sight of the eastern superpower's forces, four thousand surrendered, without so much as a drop of bloodshed spent. King Tiglath-pileser wisely kept his aims upon the outskirts of the former Hittite lands, poaching from smaller parcels where his numbers were greatest and security most intact.

Satisfied with a campaign that overwhelmingly resulted in Assyria's favor, Tiglath-pileser collected over a hundred chariots, wagons, and other wheel-vehicles of miscellaneous type, returning home to tribute Ashur, his godly deity of the capital city's namesake.

It is here that we must raise the question of whether or not facing Assyrian incursion with resistance during this period was nothing but a fool's bargain. The Assyrian kingdom was rapidly expanding into a formidable empire and to stand in the way of its imperialism of the Near East guaranteed a prize of. . . nothing. As the four thousand strong (Kashkai) who stared down the armed forces of their conquerors would attest, their interception of the enemy only promised their doom.

The worst experience for a soldier on the battlefield is not necessarily the fear of death itself, but the realization that one's sacrifice bears his country nothing to gain.

[LANDS OF THE HITTITES AT ITS FORMER EMPIRE'S PEAK]