During the Middle Bronze Age, from 1900-1700 BCE, a trade network based in Assyria increased the importance of the scattered city-states of central Anatolia. Eventually a dynasty arose consisting of a warlord named Pithana who was followed by his son Anita. These two men destabilized the region in their attempt to carve out a kingdom. The Assyrian colonies that supported trade were soon abandoned and the region was plunged into warfare between the city-states.
Labarna
According to the Hittites own accounts the man who finally united central Anatolia into a single kingdom was named Labarna. Labarna was based out of Kussara (southeast of Nesa) which had previously been a hub of the Assyrian trade network. Over the coming decades the name Labarna would become an imperial title much in the way Caesar would during the early years Roman Empire.
The extent of Labarna’s conquests were limited to central Anatolia, however he succeeded in uniting an area which had never before been united. His family is reported to have been the base of his power but whether one of his sons ever succeeded him to the throne is unknown. The next king in the Hittite accounts was likely Labarna’s grandson.
Hattussili
Labarna’s grandson’s birth name is a mystery but he appears to have taken on the name Labarna as a title. He renamed himself Hattussili, which means man from Hattussa, after establishing the city of Hattussa as the kingdom’s new capital. He made this move in spite of a curse placed on the land by King Anita. Decades prior, after defeating the people of Hattussa in battle, Anita had totally destroyed the city and pronounced a curse on any who inhabited the spot in the future.
Hattussili disregarded the curse and began to build a mighty citadel on the series of rocky hills that served as a foundation for the city. The tallest hill housed the royal compound while other hills were used for temple precincts and fortifications. Natural spring water was easily available to keep the city well watered. Although the land today is barren it was then covered by forests which made timber easily available for use as frames in mud brick homes or as roof beams in the stone buildings.
With his ancestral city of Kussara, and the new city of Hattussa firmly in his control, Hattussili had established a base to launch further conquests in the region. However, at first the new king had to contend himself with consolidating his grandfather’s conquests.
Sanahuitta
In a document known as the Testament, Hattussili describes a rebellion that took place during his grandfather’s time. The first Labarna had appointed one of his sons to rule over a city called Sanahuitta, located to the east of Hattussa, but the son had rebelled and established his own kingdom. By announcing this justification for conflict Hattussili followed a pattern that is found throughout Hittite history in that he declared a legal right to go to war.
The establishment of Hattussa as a capital gave Hattussili a natural staging point to launch campaigns against Sanahuitta. His first campaign succeeded in raiding the land but the city was left intact. However, after a more successful campaign against the city of Zalpa the Hittite King had firmly established control in central Anatolia.
Invasion of Syria
Syria was at this time dominated by the kingdom of Yamhad which had its capital in Aleppo, known to the Hittites as Halab. Syria had become somewhat isolated from Anatolia since the collapse of the Assyrian trade network but the Hittites knew that to secure their own kingdom into the future Syria’s wealth, particularly the tin trade, would have to be tapped.
Although Yamhad was too powerful for Hattussili to attack directly he was able to conquer one of its vassals in the west, a city known as Alalah. It is possible that the people of Alalah had been trying to break away from Yamhad so they were unable to call upon aid from their fellow Syrians.
Hattussili then marched across Syria raiding additional lands and besieging some cities. The campaign ended in a frustrating siege of the Hurrian city of Urshu. After attempting to starve the city the Hittites realized they were unable to secure the perimeter and stop the flow of supplies to Urshu. After receiving these reports the King ordered his men to construct a battering ram and build up the earthworks around the city. Following repeated assaults the city finally succumbed to the Hittite attack but the campaign season, which ended as snows closed the mountain passes, was over.
Attack Against Arzawa
The year following his campaign in Syria saw Hattussili marching his armies to the west. Here in western and south western Anatolia a complex of territories, known as Arzawa, first enters the historical record. Over the coming centuries they would become one of the Hittites most implacable enemies. Hattussili’s first campaign against them was cut short by news that the Hurrians had crossed the kingdom’s eastern frontier.
Rebellion and Invasion
Perhaps in retaliation for the destruction of Urshu, the Hurrians had seized on the opportunity of Hattussili’s campaign in the west to attack him in the east. According to the Hittite document known as the Annals the Hurrian invasion of the Hittite homeland caused every vassal city to rebel. Before long the only city left to Hattussili was Hatussa.
Undaunted the Hittite king set about conquering the rebellious territories and driving the Hurrians back into the east. Hattussili used a strategy that would be adopted by Hittite Kings in the future. He offered generous terms to any city that would merely open its gates willingly; these cities would not be harmed. Any city that chose to resist would be destroyed and its occupants would be marched off to Hattussa to serve as slaves.
Over the period of a few years the Hittites conquered the rebellious lands with many territories willingly submitting rather than facing harsh retribution for resisting. The final victory of this campaign came with the capture of the city of Sanahuitta. The city that had held out for many years against Hittite justice was finally brought to heel.
The Second Syrian Invasion
After successfully rebuffing an invasion and putting down a rebellion Hattussili was ready to attack Syria a second time. The Hittite army marched across Syria to the Euphrates where a fierce battle was fought for the city of Zippasna which was near Carchemish. After the defenders rallied to defend their breached gates three times the Hittites finally prevailed. The Hittites then attacked the cities of Hassuwa and Hahha which were also destroyed. The captured kings of these cities were harnessed to wagons as a demonstration of their humiliating defeat.
After theses victories Hattussili was ready for his final stroke, the crossing of the Euphrates River itself. Hattussili compared himself to Sargon the Great who, 700 years before, had marched his army across Syria and crossed the Euphrates to the west. Hattussili had now emulated the greatest conqueror of history by his own crossing albeit from the opposite direction.
The Final Years
The final campaigns of Hattussili are only vaguely mentioned in the ancient accounts. The Hittite King appears to have mounted an extensive campaign against Arzawa but most of his efforts were directed at Syria. Hattussili led his army into battle against the forces of the kingdom of Yamhad and slowly drained that kingdom’s strength. However when Hattussili finished his final campaign the city of Allepo was still unconquered.
The aged king could have been wounded in his final battle, or other ailments may have beset him. Whatever the cause of his weakened condition the King had enough time before his death to call an assembly of the most powerful people in the kingdom, a group known as the panku. The king was near death as the panku witnessed his dictation of the document we refer to as the Testament.
With his final breathes Hattussili told how all of his sons and daughters had betrayed him. He had entrusted them with positions of authority and they had each used their position to challenge their father’s power. The king then chose a nephew to be his heir but this new heir proved to be treacherous as well and so unpopular as to spark rebellion. The king is quoted as saying,
“My enemies abroad I have conquered with the sword and I have brought peace and tranquility to my land. It shall not happen that he[the nephew] will in the end plunge my land into turmoil.”
After being forced to put his nephew aside Hattussili vowed that the treacherous prince would not be harmed as there had already been enough bloodshed. Then Hattussili announced that his grandson Mursili, who was still a child, would inherit the throne. After a plea to the panku to help the young heir as he rules the kingdom, the dying king makes a request that his body be washed and protected from the earth; a request that refers to the tradition of cremating the remains Hittite kings.
“Wash me well! Protect me on your bosom from the earth.”
With these final words the king passed, leaving a dynasty that would last for four hundred years.
Source
Bryce, Trevor (The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005)
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