The ''gal mesedi'' was a
Hittite military and administrative
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
literally meaning "chief of the royal bodyguards". He was in charge of the
Mesedi, the personal bodyguard of the Hittite king.
[Burney p.234-235] It is considered to be one of the most important and prestigious posts of the
Hittite Kingdom
The Hittites () were an Anatolian Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in modern-day Turkey in the early 2nd millen ...
.
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History
The ''gal mesedi'' was a commander responsible for the safety of the king himself. On most cases he was a member of the royal family and sometimes the brother of the king, whom he sometimes succeeded as in the case of Hattusili III Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings:
* Hattusili I (Labarna II)
* Hattusili II
* Hattusili III
It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings:
* Hattusili I (Kummuh)
* Hattus ...
, who before becoming a king was the ''gal mesedi'' of his brother, King Muwatalli II
Muwatalli II (also Muwatallis, or Muwatallish; meaning "mighty") was a king of the New Kingdom of the Hittite empire c. 1295–1282 ( middle chronology) and 1295–1272 BC in the short chronology.
Biography
He was the eldest son of Mursili II ...
.[Bryce p.22] A ''gal mesedi'' could also at times command independent military units that weren't under the king's jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
.
See also
*'' Gal dubsar''
*'' Gal gestin''
Sources
;Notes
;References
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Military ranks
Hittite titles