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
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]
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
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 HittitologistTrevor 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]
Small caps indicates a Great King (LUGAL.GAL) of the Land of Hatti; italic small caps indicates a Great Queen or Tawananna.
Dashed lines indicate adoption.
Solid lines indicate marriage (if horizontal) or parentage (if vertical).
References:
Trevor Bryce (1997). The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
Trevor Bryce (2005). The Kingdom of the Hittites (new edition). Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
Trevor Bryce (2012). The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Jacques Freu (2007). Les débuts du nouvel empire hittite. Paris, France: L'Harmattan.
Volkert Haas (2006). Die hethitische Literatur. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter.
Notes:
^Scholars have suggested that Tudhaliya I/II was possibly a grandson of the Hittite king Huzziya II; the first Tudhaliya is now known to be the son of Kantuzzili (Bryce 1997, p. 131 suggested Himuili, but the new edition, Bryce 2005, p. 122, indicated Kantuzzili).
^Bryce (1997) does not consider it clear whether Tudhaliya I/II was one king or two (p. 133); the link points to Tudhaliya II. Among those who identify distinct kings Tudhaliya I and Tudhaliya II, Freu (2007) has Kantuzzili—his son Tudhaliya I—his son Hattusili II—his son Tudhaliya II (p. 311).
^The existence of Hattusili II is doubted by many scholars (Bryce 1997, pp. 153–154; Bryce 2005, p. 141). Among those who accept the existence of Hattusili II, Freu (2007), p. 311, has Tudhaliya I—his son Hattusili II—his son Tudhaliya II.
^King (lugal) of Tarhuntassa (Bryce 1997, p. 296); apparently later Great King of Hatti (Bryce 1997, p. 354).
^Nerikkaili married a daughter of Bentesina, king of Amurru (Bryce 1997, p. 294).
^Two daughters of Hattusili III were married to the pharaoh Ramesses II; one was given the Egyptian name Ma(hor)nefrure. Another, Gassuwaliya, married into the royal house of Amurru. Kilushepa was married to a king of Isuwa. A daughter married into the royal family of Babylon. A sister of Tudhaliya IV married Sausgamuwa, king of Amurru after his father Bentesina. From Bryce (1997), pp. 294 and 312.
^Bryce (1997), p. 363. Tudhaliya IV probably married a Babylonian princess, known by her title of Great Princess (dumu.sal gal) (Bryce 1997, pp. 294, 331).
^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.
^Freu 2007b: 198-201; Stavi 2011: 228-230; Taracha 2016: 492-493, who believes there was a formal adoption of Šuppiluliuma by Tudḫaliya III.
^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.
^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.
^William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992, p. 101
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.
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