Tudhaliya III was a king of the

Hittite Empire The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centr ...

. In academic literature, this name can refer to two separate individuals. One is known under the Hurrian name ''Tasmi-Sarri''. He could also be referred to as

Tudhaliya II Tudhaliya II (also Tudhaliya III; Hurrian name ''Tasmi-Sarri'') was a king of the Hittite empire (New kingdom) c. 1380–1370 BC (middle chronology) or 1360? – 1344 BC (short chronology). He was the son of King Arnuwanda I and Ašmu-nikal. Tudh ...

or Tudhaliya III. The other was a short-lived king of the

(New Kingdom) ca. 1370 BC (

middle chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

) or 1344 BC ( short chronology) also known as Tudhaliya the Younger (Amelie Kuhrt refers to him as Tudhaliya III). This Tudhaliya the Younger was the son of

Arnuwanda I Arnuwanda I was a king of the Hittite Empire. He became a ruler by marriage and was very religious. He ruled c. 1390–1380 BC (middle chronology). Biography Arnuwanda became a king by marriage. His wife was Ašmu-nikal, daughter of king Tudha ...

, and the brother of Suppiluliuma I. He is not explicitly known to have been king at all. According to Kuhrt (2020), Tudhaliya III (or II) was the successor of

. Further, Suppiluliuma I was the son and eventual heir of Tudhaliya II/III.

Tudhaliya II or III

Military situation

At the time Tudhaliya II/III inherited the kingdom, the Hittites were under attack. While still at

Hattusa Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of ...

, Tudhaliya wrote some letters to Masat Huyuk. Masat was later destroyed during Tudhaliya's reign, but it was then rebuilt under Suppiluliuma I. Two documents were found there that bear his seal together with the name of Great Queen Šatandu-Ḫepa, his first wife ( :it:Satanduhepa). His second wife Tadu-Ḫepa is better known, and she survived as Great Queen into the reign of Suppiluliuma I. It seems that it was at some point during Tudhaliya’s reign that the capital was burnt down by the enemies of

Kaska The Kaska or Kaska Dena are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living mainly in northern British Columbia and the southeastern Yukon in Canada. The Kaska language, originally spoken by the Kaska, is an Athabas ...

, and he had to move the capital elsewhere. This was the time known in literature as the ‘concentric invasions’ of Hatti. Tudhaliya chose to make the city of

Samuha Šamuḫa is an ancient settlement near the village of Kayalı Pinar, c. 40 km west of Sivas, in the Sivas Province of Turkey. Located on the northern bank of Kizil Irmak river, it was a city of the Hittites, a religious centre and, for a ...

, "an important cult centre located on the upper course of the Marassantiya river" It should be mentioned that Bryce's Tudhaliya III is equivalent to Wikipedia's

. There is some disagreement among Hittitologists over the precise number of kings named Tudhaliya. 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

Hayasa-Azzi Hayasa-Azzi or Azzi-Hayasa ( hit, URUḪaiaša-, hy, Հայասա) was a Late Bronze Age confederation in the Armenian Highlands and/or Pontic region of Asia Minor. The Hayasa-Azzi confederation was in conflict with the Hittite Empire in t ...

and other enemies of his state. Nevertheless, Samuha too was, in its turn, seized by the forces from the country of Azzi, so the capital had to be moved to

Sapinuwa Sapinuwa (sometimes Shapinuwa; Hittite: ''Šapinuwa'') was a Bronze Age Hittite city at the location of modern Ortaköy in the province Çorum in Turkey. It was one of the major Hittite religious and administrative centres, a military base an ...

. 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 country of Hattusa is paralysed." (EA 31, 26–27) However, Tudhaliya 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.

Defeat of Hayasa-Azzi

Tudhaliya sent his general Suppiluliuma, who would later serve as king himself under the title Suppiluliuma I, to Hatti's northeastern frontiers, to defeat

. The Hayasans initially retreated from a direct battle with the Hittite commander. The

Hittitologist Hittitology is the study of the Hittites, an ancient Anatolian people that established an empire around Hattusa in the 2nd millennium BCE. It combines aspects of the archaeology, history, philology, and art history of the Hittite civilisation. ...

Trevor R. Bryce notes, however, that Tudhaliya and Suppiluliuma 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. The Hayasans were now obliged to repatriate all captured Hittite subjects and cede "the border erritorywhich Suppiluliuma claimed belonged to the Land of Hatti."

Tudhaliya the Younger

Some Hittite texts also refer to 'Tudhaliya the child' or, as an alternate translation, 'Tudhaliya the Young(er)'. According to Bilgin (2018) (based on the words of

Mursili II There were three Hittite kings called Mursili: * Mursili I, ca. 1556–1526 BCE (short chronology), and was likely a grandson of his predecessor, Hattusili I. His sister was Ḫarapšili and his wife was queen Kali. *Mursili II, (also spelled Mursi ...

), Tudhaliya the Younger, was the son and the intended heir of Tudhaliya II/III. Yet he was ‘eliminated’ by his brother Suppiluliuma I on his way to kingship. And so he was killed by a group of officers that included his successor Suppiluliuma I.Tayfun Bilgin (2018)
Officials and Administration in the Hittite World.
ISBN 9781501509773, 1501509772. 523 pp. De Gruyter. p.29 So Tudhaliya the Younger was the brother of Suppiluliuma. There is some difficulty concerning numbering of the

Tudhaliya Tudhaliya is the name of several Hittite kings: *Tudhaliya (also Tudhaliya I) is a hypothetic pre-Empire king of the Hittites. He would have reigned in the late 17th century BC (short chronology). Forlanini (1993) conjectures that this king corres ...

s (and Hattusilis) of the Hittite empire. This Tudhaliya the Younger is normally not included in Hittite king lists; his father will often be seen listed in modern literature as Tudhaliya II or III.

References

External links