Tudhaliya III

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Tudhaliya III
Reignc. 1380–c. 1350 BC
PredecessorArnuwanda I
SuccessorŠuppiluliuma I
SpouseŠatandu-Ḫeba, Tadu-Ḫeba
IssueTudḫaliya the Younger
Ḫenti
FatherArnuwanda I
MotherAšmu-Nikkal

Tudḫaliya III (sometimes designated Tudḫaliya II), with the additional Hurrian name Tašmi-Šarri,[1] was a Hittite great king in Anatolia during the Late Bronze in the 14th century BC, in c. 1380–1350 BC.[2][3]: 230, 252  He was the son and successor of Arnuwanda I [4] and the predecessor, father-in-law, and adoptive father of Šuppiluliuma I.[5]

The numbering of Hittite kings named Tudḫaliya varies between scholars because of debate over the identity (or not) between the first two bearers of the name.[6] Accordingly, some scholars designate Tudḫaliya III as "Tudḫaliya II" and apply the designation "Tudḫaliya III" to his son Tudḫaliya the Younger instead. While Tudḫaliya the Younger appears to have been the designated heir of Tudḫaliya III, it is not clear if he ever reigned before being eliminated by his brother-in-law Šuppiluliuma I.[7]

Texts from the reign of Tudḫaliya III's grandson Muršili II and great-grandson Ḫattušili III portray the Hittite Kingdom on the brink of collapse under concentric attacks from the outside during his reign, and there is some evidence for such setbacks, although the dire situation might have been exaggerated for rhetorical purposes.[8]

Family[edit]

Tudḫaliya III, originally or additionally named Tašmi-Šarri, was the son of Arnuwanda I and his wife Ašmu-Nikkal.[9] [10]: 252  Tudḫaliya III married twice, first to Šatandu-Ḫeba, and then to Tadu-Ḫeba.[11] Perhaps by Tadu-Ḫeba or lower-ranking consorts, Tudḫaliya III had several sons, including Tudḫaliya the Younger, who might have been young or underage when their father died, and were killed or exiled by the supporters of Šuppiluliuma.[12] Additionally, Tudḫaliya III had at least one daughter, Ḫenti, who was the first queen of Tudḫaliya III's successor Šuppiluliuma I. Šuppiluliuma, long considered the son of Tudḫaliya III,[13] [14] was therefore his son-in-law and possibly adopted son.[15]

Reign[edit]

While still at Hattusa, Tudḫaliya III wrote some letters to Tapikka. Tapikka was later destroyed during Tudḫaliya III's reign, but it was subsequently rebuilt under Šuppiluliuma I.[16] Two documents were found there that bear his seal together with the name of Great Queen Šatandu-Ḫeba, his first wife (it:Satanduhepa). His second wife Tadu-Ḫeba is better known, and she survived as Great Queen into the reign of Suppiluliuma I. It seems that it was at some point during Tudḫaliya's reign that the capital was burnt down by the enemies of Kaska, and he had to move the capital elsewhere. This was the time known in literature as the ‘concentric invasions’ of Hatti.[17]

Tudḫaliya III chose to make the city of Šamuḫa, "an important cult centre located on the upper course of the Marassantiya river" his residence,[18] as a temporary home for the Hittite royal court sometime after his abandonment of Hattusa in the face of attacks against his kingdom by the Kaška, Hayasa-Azzi and other enemies of his state.

Nevertheless, Šamuḫa too was, in its turn, seized by the forces from the country of Azzi,[19] so the capital had to be moved to Šapinuwa.[20]

At this time, the kingdom of Hatti was so besieged by fierce attacks from its enemies that many neighbouring powers expected it to soon collapse. The Egyptian pharaoh, Amenhotep III, even wrote to Tarhundaradu, king of Arzawa: "I have heard that everything is finished and that the land of Hattusa is paralysed." (EA 31, 26–27)[21]

However, Tudḫaliya managed to rally his forces; indeed, the speed and determination of the Hittite king may have surprised Hatti's enemies including the Kaska and Hayasa-Azzi.[22]

Defeat of Hayasa-Azzi[edit]

Tudḫaliya III sent his general Šuppiluliuma, who would later become king, to Hatti's northeastern frontiers, to defeat Hayasa-Azzi. The Hayasans initially retreated from a direct battle with the Hittite commander. The Hittitologist Trevor R. Bryce notes, however, that Tudḫaliya and Šuppiluliuma eventually:

... invaded Hayasa-Azzi and forced a showdown with its king Karanni (or Lanni) near the city of Kumaha. The passage (in the 'Deeds of Suppiluliuma') recording the outcome of this battle is missing. But almost certainly, the Hittite campaign resulted in the conquest of Hayasa-Azzi, for subsequently Suppiluliuma established it as a Hittite vassal state, drawing up a treaty with Hakkana, its current ruler.[23][24]

The Hayasans were now obliged to repatriate all captured Hittite subjects and cede "the border [territory] which Šuppiluliuma claimed belonged to the Land of Hatti."[25]


See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Freu 2007b: 155, 161-162; Taracha 2016: 490.
  2. ^ Freu 2007b: 311, the beginning of the reign adjusted following Taracha 2016: 490-491 on dendrochronological evidence for the changeover between Arnuwanda I and Tudḫaliya III.
  3. ^ Kuhrt, Amélie (2020). The Ancient Near East: c.3000–330 BC, Volume One. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-75548-4.
  4. ^ Bryce 2005: 145.
  5. ^ Freu 2007b: 198-201; Stavi 2011: 228-230; Taracha 2016: 492-493, who believes there was a formal adoption of Šuppiluliuma by Tudḫaliya III.
  6. ^ Bryce 2005: 122-123, inclining towards a single person, whom he designates Tudḫaliya I/II; Freu 2007b: 18-45, considers Tudḫaliya I and Tudḫaliya II separate kings, grandfather and grandson, separated by the short reign of Ḫattušili II.
  7. ^ Beckman 2000: 24; Bryce 2005: 154-155.
  8. ^ Weeden 2022: 571-573.
  9. ^ Weeden 2022: 569-570.
  10. ^ Kuhrt, Amélie (2020). The Ancient Near East: c.3000–330 BC, Volume One. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-75548-4.
  11. ^ Taracha 2016: 490-491; Weeden 2022: 570; Freu 2007b: 161-162 considers these names variants, referring to one and the same queen.
  12. ^ Taracha 2016: 490.
  13. ^ E.g., Kuhrt 1995: 252; Klengel 1999: 127-129; Bryce 2005: 148-155.
  14. ^ Tayfun Bilgin (2018), Officials and Administration in the Hittite World. ISBN 9781501509773, 1501509772. 523 pp. De Gruyter. p.29
  15. ^ Freu 2007b: 198-201; Stavi 2011: 228-230; Taracha 2016: 492-493, who believes there was a formal adoption of Šuppiluliuma by Tudḫaliya III.
  16. ^ Karen Radner, Nadine Moeller, D. T. Potts, eds (2022), The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: Volume III: From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC. Oxford University Press - Dassow, p.571
  17. ^ Middle Empire history -- hittites.info (2007), at archive.org
  18. ^ Bryce 2005: 147.
  19. ^ Bryce 2005: 149
  20. ^ It should be mentioned that there is some disagreement on the order in which Šamuḫa and Šapinuwa became capitals. Šamuḫa could have been the first substitute capital, and then Šapinuwa – or it could have been the other way around.
  21. ^ William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992, p. 101
  22. ^ Bryce 2005: 148-150.
  23. ^ CTH 42
  24. ^ Bryce 2005: 149-150.
  25. ^ Bryce 2005: 150.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Beckman, Gary (2000), "Hittite Chronology," Akkadica 119-120 (2000) 19–32.
  • Bryce, Trevor (2005), The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford.
  • Freu, Jacques, and Michel Mazoyer (2007b), Les débuts du nouvel empire hittite, Paris.
  • Klengel, Horst (1999), Geschichte des Hethitischen Reiches, Leiden.
  • Stavi, Boaz (2011), "The Genealogy of Suppiluliuma I," Altorientalische Forschungen 38 (2011) 226–239. online
  • Taracha, Piotr (2016), "Tudhaliya III's Queens, Šuppiluliuma's Accession and Related Issues," in Sedat Erkut and Özlem Sir Gavaz (eds.), Studies in Honour of Ahmet Ünal Armağanı, Istanbul: 489-498.
  • Weeden, Mark (2022), "The Hittite Empire," in Karen Radner et al. (eds.), The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, vol. 3 (From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC), Oxford: 529–622.

External links[edit]

Regnal titles
Preceded by Hittite king
c. 1380–c. 1350 BC 		Succeeded by
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