Mittani

Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) with Indo-Aryan linguistic and political influences. Since no histories, royal annals or chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts.

The Hurrians were in the region as of the late 3rd millennium BC. A king of Urkesh with a Hurrian name, Tupkish, was found on a clay sealing dated at Tell Mozan.Salvini, Mirjo. "The earliest evidences of the Hurrians before the formation of the reign of Mittanni." Urkesh and the Hurrians Studies in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen. Urkesh/Mozan Studies Bibliotheca Mesopotamica. Malibu: Undena Publications (1998): 99-115 The first recorded inscription of their language was of Tish-atal (), king of Urkesh. Later on, Hurrians made up the main population of Mitanni, which was firstly known as ''Ḫabigalbat'', at Babylonia, in two texts of the late Old Babylonian period, during the reign of Ammi-Saduqa, (–1618 BC), in low middle chronology.

The Mitanni Empire was a strong regional power limited by the Hittites to the north, Egyptians to the west, Kassites to the south, and later by the Assyrians to the east. At its maximum extent Mitanni ranged as far west as Kizzuwatna by the Taurus Mountains, Tunip in the south, Arraphe in the east, and north to Lake Van.von Dassow, Eva, (2014).
Levantine Polities under Mittanian Hegemony
. In: Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Nicole Brisch and Jesper Eidem (eds.). ''Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State''. pp. 11-32. Their sphere of influence is shown in Hurrian place names, personal names and the spread through Syria and the Levant of a distinct pottery type, Nuzi ware.

Etymology

The name "Mitanni"

The earliest recorded form of the name of this state is . This has usually been explained as a derivation with the Hurrian suffix from a stem borrowed from Indo-Aryan, , which is cognate with the Sanskrit verb (; ). The name thus meant the . Paralleling the change of Proto-Indo-Aryan into Sanskrit (), with monophthongization of Proto-Indo-Aryan ''*ay'' into Sanskrit ''e'', the name may have changed into the later form , where the stem may have changed to , with monophthongization of ''ai'' into ''i''.

However, Gernot Wilhelm (1997) and Andrea Trameri (2024) have instead suggested that that ''Maitani'' means , the name of "an individual leader (or clan), and not a territory or population".

The name "Ḫani-Rabbat"

The Mitanni kingdom was firstly known as ''Ḫabingalbat'' before 1600 BC in Babylonia, during the reign of Ammi-Saduqa, attested as ''ḫa-bi-in-gal-ba-ti-i'', and ''ḫa-bi-in-ga-al-ba-at'', in two texts of the late Old Babylonian period.van Koppen, Frans, (2004)
"The Geography of the Slave Trade and Northern Mesopotamia in the Late Old Babylonian Period"
in: H. Hunger and R. Pruzsinszky (eds.), ''Mesopotamian Dark Age Revisited'', Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna, p. 21, and footnote 65: "An unpublished Old Babylonian text dated to Ammi-saduqa (circa 1600 B.C.), the knowledge of which I owe to the kindness of Mr. Douglas Kennedy of the Centre National de Recherches de Paris, deals with the issue of beer to the tu-ur-gu-ma-an-ni ša éren ḫa-bi-in-gal-ba-ti-i ‘the dragomans of the Hanigalbatian soldiers/workers’" uoting Gelb 1968: 97 and "...A personnel register, probably also from the reign of Ammisaduqa, mentions the person ib-ba-tum éren ḫa-bi-in-ga-al-ba-at (BM96955 iii 9)..." Egyptians referred to it as '' Naharin'' and ''Mitanni'', it was ''Ḫurri'' to the Hittites, and ''Ḫanigalbat'' or ''Ḫani-Rabbat'' to the Assyrians. These names seem to have referred to the same kingdom and were often used interchangeably, according to Michael C. Astour. Hittite annals mention a people called ''Hurri'' ('), located in northeastern Syria. A Hittite fragment, probably from the time of Mursili I, mentions a "King of the Hurri," and the Assyro-Akkadian version of the text renders "Hurri" as ''Hanigalbat''. Tushratta, who styles himself "king of Mitanni" in his Akkadian Amarna letters, refers to his kingdom as Hanigalbat.

The earliest attestation of the term ''Ḫanigalbat'' can be read in Akkadian, along with the Hittite version mentioning "the Hurrian enemy," in a copy from the 13th century BC of the "Annals of Ḫattušili I,"Bryce, Trevor R., (2018)
"The Annals and Lost Golden Statue of the Hittite King Hattusili I"
in Gephyra 16, November 2018, p. 3: "Like most other Hittite documents, the Annals have survived only in a late 13th century copy, the last in a line of copies made over several centuries. There are generally only minor variations between the Hittite and Akkadian versions of the text. Consistent with van den Hout's proposals, I have suggested that the document was first composed in Akkadian and later translated into Hittite – contra the suggestions that both versions were composed at the same time or that the Akkadian version was translated from an original Hittite one." who possibly reigned after 1630 BC.

The reading of the Assyrian term ''Ḫanigalbat'' has a history of multiple renderings. The first portion has been connected to, " '," "Hanu" or "Hana," first attested in Mari to describe nomadic inhabitants along the southern shore of the northern Euphrates region, near the vicinity of Terqa (capital of the Kingdom of Hana) and the Khabur River. The term developed into more than just a designation for a people group, but also took on a topographic aspect as well. In the Middle Assyrian period, a phrase "" "'," "cities of the Upper Hanu" has suggested that there was a distinction between two different Hanu's, likely across each side of the river. This northern side designation spans much of the core territory of Mitanni state.

The two signs that have led to variant readings are " '" and its alternative form " '". The first attempts at decipherment in the late 19th century rendered forms interpreting "''gal''," meaning "great" in Sumerian, as a logogram for Akkadian "''rab''" having the same meaning; "Ḫani-Rabbat" denoting "the Great Hani". J. A. Knudtzon, and E. A. Speiser after him, supported instead the reading of "''gal''" on the basis of its alternative spelling with "''gal₉''", which has since become the majority view.

There is still a difficulty to explain the suffix "''-bat''" if the first sign did not end in "''b''," or the apparent similarity to the Semitic feminine ending "''-at''," if derived from a Hurrian word. More recently, in 2011, scholar Miguel Valério, then at the New University of Lisbon provided detailed support in favor of the older reading ''Hani-Rabbat''. The re-reading makes an argument on the basis of frequency, where "''gal''" not "''gal₉''," is far more numerous; the later being the deviation found in six documents, all from the periphery of the Akkadian sphere of influence. It is additionally argued that although they are graphically distinct, there is a high degree of overlap between the two signs, as "''gal₉''" denotes "''dannum''" or ""strong"" opposed to "great", easily being used as synonyms. Both signs also represent correlative readings; alternative readings of "''gal₉''" include "''rib''" and "''rip''," just like "''gal''" being read as "''rab''."

The situation is complicated by there being, according to linguists, three separate dialects of Hurrian, central-western, northern, and eastern.

The Egyptians considered the Euphrates River to form the boundary between Syria and ''Naharain''.

History

Early Kingdom

As early as Akkadian times, Hurrians are known to have lived east of the river Tigris on the northern rim of Mesopotamia, and in the Khabur Valley. The group which became Mitanni gradually moved south into Mesopotamia before the 17th century BC. It was already a powerful kingdom at the end of the 17th century or in the first half of the 16th century BC, and its beginnings date to well before the time of Thutmose I, dating actually to the time of the Hittite sovereigns Hattusili I and Mursili I.De Martino, Stefano, (2014)
"The Mittani State: The Formation of the Kingdom of Mittani"
in Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space in Upper Mesopotamia: The Emergence of the Mittani State, De Gruyter, Berlin, Boston, p. 61.

Hurrians are mentioned in the private Nuzi texts, in Ugarit, and the Hittite archives in Hattusa ( Boğazköy). Cuneiform texts from Mari mention rulers of city-states in upper Mesopotamia with both ''Amurru'' (Amorite) and Hurrian names. Rulers with Hurrian names are also attested for Urshum and Hassum, and tablets from Alalakh (layer VII, from the later part of the Old Babylonian period) mention people with Hurrian names at the mouth of the Orontes. There is no evidence for any invasion from the North-east. Generally, these onomastic sources have been taken as evidence for a Hurrian expansion to the South and the West.

A Hittite fragment, probably from the time of Mursili I, mentions a "King of the Hurrians" (''LUGAL ERÍN.MEŠ Hurri''). This terminology was last used for King Tushratta of Mitanni, in a letter in the Amarna archives. The normal title of the king was 'King of the Hurri-men' (without the determinative ''KUR'' indicating a country).

The Egyptian official astronomer and clockmaker Amenemhet (Amen-hemet) apparently ordered to be written on his tomb that he returned from the "foreign country called ''Mtn'' (''Mi-ti-ni'')," but Alexandra von Lieven (2016) and Eva von Dassow (2022) consider that the expedition to Mitanni could have taken place in pharaoh Ahmose I's reign (–1525 BC), actually by Amenemhet's father. During the reign of pharaoh Thutmose I (1506–1493 BC), the names Mitanni and Naharin are among the reminiscences of several of the pharaoh's officers. One of them, Ahmose si-Abina, wrote: "...His Majesty arrived at Naharin..." Another one, Ahmose pa-Nekhbit, recorded: "...when I captured for him in the land of Naharin..."

After the Battle of Megiddo, an officer of pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC), in the pharaoh's 22 regnal year, reported: "That retchedenemy of Kadesh has come and has entered into Megiddo. He is hereat this moment. He has gathered to him the princes of veryforeign country hich had beenloyal to Egypt, as well as (those) as far as Naharin and M tanni them of Hurru, them of Kode, their horses, their armies." In several later military campaigns the Annals of Thutmose III mention Naharin, in particular those of his regnal years 33, 35, and 42. After that time, records become more available from local sources until the empire's end in the mid-13th century BC.

The first known use of Indo-Aryan names for Mitanni rulers begins with Shuttarna I, who succeeded his father Kirta on the throne.De Martino, Stefano, (2014)
"The Mittani State: The Formation of the Kingdom of Mittani"
in Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space in Upper Mesopotamia: The Emergence of the Mittani State, De Gruyter, Berlin, Boston, p. 69. King Barattarna of Mitanni expanded the kingdom west to Aleppo and made the Amorite king Idrimi of Alalakh his vassal, and five generations seems to separate this king (also known as Parattarna) from the rise of Mitanni kingdom. The state of Kizzuwatna in the west also shifted its allegiance to Mitanni, and Assyria in the east had become largely a Mitannian vassal state by the mid-15th century BC. The nation grew stronger during the reign of Shaushtatar, but the Hurrians were keen to keep the Hittites inside the Anatolian highland. Kizzuwatna in the west and Ishuwa in the north were important allies against the hostile Hittites.

Mitanni's major rival was Egypt under the Thutmosids. However, with the ascent of the Hittite Empire, Mitanni and Egypt struck an alliance to protect their mutual interests from the threat of Hittite domination. After a few successful clashes with the Egyptians over the control of Syria, Mitanni sought peace with them, and an alliance was formed. During the reign of Shuttarna II, in the early 14th century BC, the relationship was very amicable, and he sent his daughter Gilu-Hepa to Egypt for marriage with Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Mitanni was now at its peak of power.

However, by the reign of Eriba-Adad I (1390–1366 BC) Mitanni influence over Assyria was on the wane. Eriba-Adad I became involved in a dynastic battle between Tushratta and his brother Artatama II and after this his son Shuttarna II, who called himself king of the Hurri while seeking support from the Assyrians. A pro-Hurri/Assyria faction appeared at the royal Mitanni court. Eriba-Adad I had thus loosened Mitanni influence over Assyria, and in turn had now made Assyria an influence over Mitanni affairs. King Ashur-uballit I (1365–1330 BC) of Assyria attacked Shuttarna and annexed Mitanni territory in the middle of the 14th century BC, making Assyria once more a great power.

At the death of Shuttarna, Mitanni was ravaged by a war of succession. Eventually Tushratta, a son of Shuttarna, ascended the throne, but the kingdom had been weakened considerably and both the Hittite and Assyrian threats increased. At the same time, the diplomatic relationship with Egypt went cold, the Egyptians fearing the growing power of the Hittites and Assyrians. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma I invaded the Mitanni vassal states in northern Syria and replaced them with loyal subjects.

Great Syrian War

The War waged by Suppiluliuma on Tushrata's Mitanni was called 'the Great Syrian War'. The war goals were the Destruction of the Mitanni Heartlands and conquest of its Syrian vassal states. This included persuading Ugarit to join the side of Suppiluliuma. Mukish and Nuhašši retaliated against Ugarit, but once Suppiluliuma arrived, they were defeated by the Hittite-Ugaritic alliance, and Ugarit got a significant portion of their lands annexed to it. Suppiluliuma then crossed the Euphrates and sacking Washukanni, Tushrata escaping with some of his troops before the sack. After which Suppiluliuma turned back to Syria and subjugated Aleppo, Mukish, Niya, Arahtu, Qatna and Nuhašši. This campaign was fought in 1345 BC. A number of years later in 1327 BC Carchemish too was taken after an siege and Tushratta got murdered sometime after the war by Mitannians.

After the war

In the capital Washukanni, a new power struggle broke out. The Hittites and the Assyrians supported different pretenders to the throne. Finally a Hittite army conquered the capital Washukanni and installed Shattiwaza, the son of Tushratta, as their vassal king of Mitanni in the late 14th century BC.Devecchi, Elena. "Details That Make the Difference: The Akkadian Manuscripts of the ‘Šattiwaza Treaties.’" Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 48, no. 1, 2018, pp. 72–95 The kingdom had by now been reduced to the Khabur Valley. The Assyrians had not given up their claim on Mitanni, and in the 13th century BC, Shalmaneser I annexed the kingdom.

The Mitanni dynasty had ruled over the northern Euphrates-Tigris region between and 1350 BC,Novák, Mirko, (2013)
"Upper Mesopotamia in the Mittani Period"
in Archéologie et Histoire de la Syrie I, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, p. 349. but succumbed to Hittite and later Assyrian attacks, and Mitanni was reduced to the status of a province of the Middle Assyrian Empire between and 1260 BC.

After the fall of Mitanni

With the final decline of the Mitanni Empire the western portions of its territory came under direct control of the Hittites and the eastern portions came under direct control of the Assyrians. The middle part continued on as the rump state of Hanigalbat. Eventually, under Shalmaneser I, that remaining part of the former Mitanni territory came under direct Assyrian control. This continued until the decline of Middle Assyrian power after the death of Tukulti-Ninurta I.

While under direct Assyrian control Hanigalbat was ruled by appointed governors such as the Assyrian grand-vizier Ilī-padâ, father of Ninurta-apal-Ekur (1191–1179), who took the title of King of Hanigalbat. He resided in the newly built (over an existing Mitanni tower and residence) Assyrian administrative centre at Tell Sabi Abyad.

The Babylonian Kings List A names the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib (705–681 BC) and his son Ashur-nadin-shumi (700–694) as being "Dynasty of Ḫabigal".

The name Hanigalbat was still in use as late as the later portion of the 1st millennium BC.

Indo-Aryan influences

A number of theonyms, proper names and glosses (technical terminology) of the Mitanni are of Indo-Aryan or Proto-Indo-Aryan origins. Starting from Shuttarna I who is the first Mitanni ruler historically attested to have existed, the Mitanni had Indo-Aryan throne names. The Kikkuli's horse training text includes technical terms of Indo-Aryan origin, and the Indo-Aryan deities Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and Nasatya (Ashvins) are listed and invoked in two treaties found in Hattusa, between the kings Sattiwaza of Mitanni and Šuppiluliuma I the Hittite: (treaty KBo I 3) and (treaty KBo I 1 and its duplicates). The toponym of the Mitanni capital of Washukanni is also "unanimously accepted" to have been derived from an Indo-Aryan dialect. Annelies Kammenhuber (1968) suggested that this vocabulary was derived from the still undivided Indo-Iranian language, but Mayrhofer has shown that specifically Indo-Aryan features are present.

It is generally believed that Indo-Aryan peoples settled in Upper Mesopotamia and northern Syria, and established the Kingdom of Mitanni following a period of political vacuum, while also adopting Hurrian. This is considered a part of the Indo-Aryan migrations. Since the late 20th century, the view that the Mitanni kingdom was ruled by a royal house and aristocracy of Indo-Aryan origin has been prevalent among scholars; accordingly, a branch of the Indo-Aryans separated from the other Indo-Iranians around the turn of the second millennium BCE and migrated into West Asia, giving rise to the Mitanni kingdom, while also adopting the Hurrian language. Some recent studies, such as those by Eva von Dassow (2022) and Cotticelli-Kurras and Pisaniello (2023), while noting the modern identification of Mittani as Indo-Aryan and the role of Indo-Aryan speakers in establishing its dynasty, have disputed the significance of Indo-Aryan vocabulary in an otherwise Hurrian-speaking state, stating that it does not indicate any Indo-Aryan origins for Mitanni kings. According to Alexander Lubotsky (2023), however, the military elite of the Mitanni kingdom (see Maryannu) was of Aryan descent and their language displays a clear Indo-Aryan character.

Jasper Eidem in 2014 reported on Farouk Ismail's earlier study,Eidem, Jasper, (2014)
"The Kingdom of Šamšī-Adad and its Legacies"
in Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Nicole Brisch and Jesper Eidem (eds.), ''Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State'', p. 142, and footnote 16. in reference to the word ''marijannu'' that was found in a letter from Tell Leilan in northeastern Syria dating to a period slightly before 1761 BC, which is the time when the reign of Zimri-Lim ended in the region of Mari. Kroonen et al. (2018) consider this as an early Indo-Aryan linguistic presence in Syria two centuries prior to the formation of the Mitanni realm, as '' mariannu'' is generally seen as a Hurrianized form of the Indo-Aryan ''*marya'', which means 'man' or 'youth', associated to military affairs and chariots.

Archaeology

A concept known as "Dark Age" was applied, until recently, to the archaeological gap between the Middle and Late Bronze Age on Northern Mesopotamian sites, but Costanza Coppini considers it a "transition" instead, which can be called "Late Bronze Age 0," attested from the Tell Leilan's end caused by Samsu-iluna during his 23rd year of reign, c. 1728 BCE iddle Chronology to Mitanni's predominance (c. 1600-1550 BCE). These are the first traces of what, in the Late Bronze Age I, was Mitanni in historical terms, at the emergence of the third phase of Khabur ware.

The archaeological core zone of Mitanni is Upper Mesopotamia and the Trans-Tigridian region (Northeastern Iraq).

Upper Mesopotamia

Sites with Mitannian remains were found mainly in three regions of Upper Mesopotamia: Northeastern Syria Jazira Region, Northern Syria, and Southeastern Turkey (Upper Tigris).

Northeastern Syria (Jazira Region)

Mitanni's first phase in Jazira Region features Late Khabur Ware from around 1600 to 1550 BC; this pottery was a continuity from the previous non-Mitannian Old Babylonian period.Oselini, Valentina, (2020)
"Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia: some archaeological considerations on the new data from the Erbil Plain and neighbouring regions"
in Costanza Coppini, Francesca Simi (eds.), Interactions and New Directions in Near Eastern Archaeology, Volume 3, Proceedings of the 5th Broadening Horizons Conference (Udine 5–8 June 2017), EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, Trieste, p. 209, Figure 2. From around 1550 to 1270 BC, Painted Nuzi Ware (the most characteristic pottery in Mitanni times) developed as a contemporary to Younger Khabur Ware.

Mitanni had outposts centred on its capital, Washukanni, whose location has been determined by archaeologists to be on the headwaters of the Khabur River, most likely at the site of Tell Fekheriye as recent German archaeological excavations suggest. The city of Taite was also known to be a Mitanni "royal city" whose current location is unknown.De Martino, Stefano, 2018
"Political and Cultural Relations between the Kingdom of Mittani and its Subordinated Polities in Syria and Southeast Anatolia"
in Changing Faces of Kingship in Syria-Palestine 1500–500 BCE, Ugarit Verlag, p. 38: "...the recent German archaeological excavations at Tell Fekheriye support the assumption that the capital of Mittani, Wassukkanni, was located there..." See also Novák (2013: 346) and Bonatz (2014).

The major 3rd millennium urban center of Tell Brak which had dwindled to a minor settlement in Old Babylonian times, saw major development by the Mitanni. Monumental buildings including a palace and temple were constructed on the high ground and a 40 hectare lower town developed. The Mitanni occupation lasted until the site was destroyed (in two phases) between and 1275 BC, presumably by the Assyrians. Two Mitanni-era tablets were found during the modern excavation. One (TB 6002) mentioned "Artassumara the king, son of Shuttarna the king". Seventeen late period Mitanni tablets were found at Tall Al-Hamidiya.

Northern Syria

The oldest tablet issued by an unknown Mitannian king was found in the site of Tell Hammam et-Turkman, dated to c. 1500 BCE.
Mitanni period occupation, between 1400 and 1200 BC (radiocarbon) was found at the site of Tell Bazi. Finds included a Mitanni cylinder seal and several ritual bowls. Two cuneiform tablets of the Mitanni period sealed by Mitanni ruler Saushtatar, one by Artatama I were also found. There is also a record of Mitanni governance at Tell Hadidi (Azu).

Southeastern Turkey (Upper Tigris)

The (2017) salvage excavations at the Ilısu Dam in the right bank of upper Tigris, southern Turkey, have shown a very early beginning of Mitanni period, as in the ruins of a temple in Müslümantepe, ritual artefacts and a Mitannian cylinder seal were found, radiocarbon-dated to 1760–1610 BC.Ay, Eyyüp, (2021)
"A Hurrian-Mitanni Temple in Müslümantepe in The Upper Tigris and New Findings"
in ''Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, April 27, 2021.'' Archaeologist Eyyüp Ay, in his (2021) paper, describes the second phase of the temple as an "administrative center, which had craftsmen working in its workshops as well as farmers, gardeners and shepherds, hatmight have been ruled by a priest bound to a powerful Mitannian leader."

Trans-Tigridian region (Northeastern Iraq)

To the east of upper Tigris river, Trans-Tigridian region in northern Iraq, a site now called Bassetki was excavated, which in all likelihood was the ancient town of Mardama with Mitanni layers from 1550 to 1300 BC, as its Phase A9 (in trench T2) may alternatively represent a Middle Bronze/Late Bronze transitional, or Proto-Mitanni occupation within 16th century BC. In a subsequent excavation season, the deeper Phase A10 was identified as having a mix of Middle Bronze and Mitanni potteries, considered to be in the turn of the Middle to the Late Bronze Age transitional period (late 17th – early 16th century BC).

In 2010, the 3,400-year-old ruins of Kemune, a Bronze Age Mitanni palace on the banks of the Tigris in modern-day Iraqi Kurdistan, were discovered. It became possible to excavate the ruins in 2018 and again in 2022 when a drought caused water levels to drop considerably. In the 1st excavation 10 Mitanni-era tablets were found, in Babylonian cuneiform written in Akkadian, bearing Hurrian names, dating to the Middle-Trans-Tigridian IA and IB periods. Middle Trans-Tigridian IA and IB are dated to (-1350 BC) and (-1270 BC) respectively by Peter Pfälzner (2007). In the 2nd excavation the entire city was mapped and 100 Middle Assyrian tablets were discovered. They were dated to after the city's destruction by earthquake and have not yet been published.

The three phases of Mitanni at Kurd Qaburstan, were obtained as c. 1538–1505 BC for Phase three, with Phase two beginning c. 1512–1491 BC and ending c. 1501–1479 BC, and with Phase One beginning c. 1489–1463 BC and ending c. 1475–1435 BC. The data suggests a two century abandonment between the MBA destruction and the Mitanni re-occupation.

Pottery and other characteristics

At least since around 1550 BC, at the beginning of Late Bronze Age, Painted Nuzi Ware was identified as a characteristic pottery in Mitanni sites.De Martino, Stefano, (2018)
"Political and Cultural Relations between the Kingdom of Mittani and its Subordinated Polities in Syria and Southeast Anatolia"
in ''Changing Faces of Kingship in Syria-Palestine 1500–500 BCE'', Alter Orient und Testament 459, Ugarit Verlag, p. 44. The origin of this decorated pottery is an unsolved question, but a possible previous development as Aegean Kamares Ware has been suggested by Pecorelia (2000); S. Soldi claims that Tell Brak was one of the first centers specializing in the production of this Painted Nuzi Ware, and analyses on samples support the assumption that it was produced locally in various centers throughout the Mitanni kingdom. It was particularly appreciated in Upper Mesopotamia, but appears only sporadically in western Syrian cities such as Alalakh and Ugarit.

At the height of its power, during the 15th and the first half of 14th century BC, a large region from North-West Syria to the Eastern Tigris was under Mitanni's control.

Mitanni rulers

Mitanni, which first rose to power before 1550 BC, presents the following known kings:
:All dates are Middle chronology

All dates must be taken with caution since they are worked out only by comparison with the chronology of other ancient Near Eastern nations.

Parattarna I / Barattarna

King Barattarna is known from a cuneiform tablet in Nuzi and an inscription by Idrimi of Alalakh. He reigned –1480 BC. Egyptian sources do not mention his name; that he was the king of Naharin whom Thutmose III (1479 – 1425 BC) fought against, can only be deduced from assumptions. This king, also known as Parratarna is considered, by J. A. Belmonte-Marin quoting H. Klengel, to have reigned –1490 BC (middle chronology). Parsha(ta)tar, known from another Nuzi inscription (HSS 13 165), an undated inventory list which mentions his death, is considered a different king than Barattarna by M. P. Maidman, Eva von Dassow, and Ian Mladjov.

Thutmose III again waged war in Mitanni in the 33rd year of his rule. The Egyptian army crossed the Euphrates at Carchemish and reached a town called Iryn (maybe present day Erin, 20 km northwest of Aleppo.) They sailed down the Euphrates to Emar ( Maskanah) and then returned home via Mitanni. A hunt for elephants at Lake Nija was important enough to be included in the annals.

Victories over Mitanni are recorded from the Egyptian campaigns in ''Nuhašše'' (middle part of Syria). Barattarna or his son Shaushtatar controlled the North Mitanni interior up to ''Nuhašše'', and the coastal territories from Kizzuwatna to Alalakh in the kingdom of Mukish at the mouth of the Orontes. Idrimi of Alalakh, returning from Egyptian exile, could only ascend his throne with Barattarna's consent. While he got to rule Mukish and Ama'u, Aleppo remained with Mitanni.

Shaushtatar

Shaushtatar reigned as King of Mitanni –1460 BC.Maidman, M. P., (2010)
Nuzi Texts and Their Uses as Historical Evidence
p. xx. He sacked the Assyrian capital of Assur some time in the 15th century during the reign of Nur-ili, and took the silver and golden doors of the royal palace to Washukanni. This is known from a later Hittite document, the Suppililiuma-Shattiwaza treaty. After the sack of Assur, Assyria may have paid tribute to Mitanni up to the time of Eriba-Adad I (1390–1366 BC).

The states of Aleppo in the west, and Nuzi and Arrapha in the east, seem to have been incorporated into Mitanni under Shaushtatar as well. A letter (HSS 9 1) sealed with the seal of Shaushtatar was discovered in the house (Room A26) of Prince Šilwa-teššup in Nuzi which lay just north of the main mound. The letter is addressed to Ithia, vassal ruler of Arrapha under Mitanni. Because Šauštatar is not mentioned in the letter and dynastic seals were often used after the reign of a ruler, especially in the periphery of empire, it is difficult to date this letter. Stein, based on various factors, puts the date at . His seal shows heroes and winged geniuses fighting lions and other animals, as well as a winged sun. This style, with a multitude of figures distributed over the whole of the available space, is taken as typically Hurrian. A second seal, belonging to Shuttarna I and found in Alalakh, used by Shaushtatar in two letters (AT 13 and 14) shows a more traditional Post-Akkadian - Ur III style.

During the reign of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep II, Mitanni seems to have regained influence in the middle Orontes valley that had been conquered by Thutmose III. Amenhotep II fought in Syria in 1425 BC, presumably against Mitanni as well, but did not reach the Euphrates.

Artatama I and Shuttarna II

Later on, Egypt and Mitanni became allies, and King Shuttarna II himself was received at the Egyptian court. Amicable letters, sumptuous gifts, and letters asking for sumptuous gifts were exchanged. Three Amarna letters (EA 182 EA 183 and EA 185) were sent by Shutarna with two being sent from "Mušiḫuna". Mitanni was especially interested in Egyptian gold. This culminated in a number of royal marriages: the daughter of King Artatama I was married to Thutmose IV. Kilu-Hepa, or Gilukhipa, the daughter of Shuttarna II, was married to Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who ruled in the early 14th century BC. In a later royal marriage Tadu-Hepa, or Tadukhipa, the daughter of Tushratta, was sent to Egypt.

When Amenhotep III fell ill, the king of Mitanni sent him a statue of the goddess Shaushka (Ishtar) of Nineveh that was reputed to cure diseases. A more or less permanent border between Egypt and Mitanni seems to have existed near Qatna on the Orontes River; Ugarit was part of Egyptian territory.

The reason Mitanni sought peace with Egypt may have been trouble with the Hittites. A Hittite king called Tudḫaliya I conducted campaigns against Kizzuwatna, Arzawa, Ishuwa, Aleppo, and maybe against Mitanni itself. Kizzuwatna may have fallen to the Hittites at that time.

Artashumara and Tushratta

Artašumara, reigned -1358 BC, is known only from a single mention in a tablet found in Tell Brak: "Artassumara the king, son of Shuttarna the king," and a mention in Amarna letter 17.Finkel, Irving L. "Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1984." Iraq, vol. 47, 1985, pp. 187–201 According to the later, after the death of Shuttarna II he briefly took power but was then murdered (by someone named Tuhi) and succeeded by his brother Tushratta, who reigned -1335 BC.Mladjov, I., (2019)
"The Kings of Mittani in Light of the New Evidence from Terqa"
in: NABU 2019, No. 1, March, p. 34.

Knowledge of Tushratta comes from two sources, the Amarna letters and the texts of the Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaties between Hittite ruler Suppiluliuma I and a son of Tushratta named Shattiwaza. These pair of treaties found at the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa codify the Mitanni Shattiwaza, probable son of Tushratta, entering the status of vassal to Suppiluliuma I. One (CTH 51, also known as KBo I 1) includes a historical prologue from the Hittite point of view which is complete, this tablet also confirms that the existing Hittite treaty with Artatama II is still in effect so perhaps Suppiluliuma was hedging his bets. The other (CTH 52) includes a historical prologue from the Mitanni point of view which is partially lost though another fragment to this tablet was found in recent years. These prologues provide information about the events of the time of Tushratta but must be considered under the self interest of the two treaty parties.Kitchen, K.A./P.J.N. Lawrence 2012. Treaty, Law and Covenant in the Ancient Near East. Wiesbaden. While the preambles of the treaties are a later retrospective and are filtered through the interests of the treaty parties, the tablets found in Egypt provide direct information. Eight Amarna letters were sent to pharaoh Amenhotep III (including EA 19 and EA 23) and four to pharaoh Akhenaten (including EA 27). A single Amarna letter was sent by Tushratta to Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep III, mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun ( EA 26). A note in hieratic on the tablet stated that EA 23 arrived in the 36th year of Amenhotep III reign or roughly 1350 BC in the standard Egyptian Chronology.
Luckenbill, D. D. "The Hittites." The American Journal of Theology, vol. 18, no. 1, 1914, pp. 24–58

Some of the Amarna letters covered minor matters between Tushratta and the pharaohs. Amenhotep III asked for Tushratta's daughter Tadukhipa in marriage and after some back and forth over bride-price she traveled to Egypt and became a wife of the pharaoh. And when that pharaoh was ill near the end of his reign Tushratta sent (EA 23) the Hurrian goddess Šauška of Nineveh (actually her cult statue) to him as had been done in the time of Shuttarna II. The main focus of the Amarna letters, though, was a consequence of the realignment of power in Syria with the decline of Egyptian influence and rise of Hittite power, with a number of lesser powers caught in the middle. In the first letter from Tusratta he claimed to have destroyed the Hittite forces that had invaded his territory and included a selection of the booty, including a chariot and several slaves. In later letters we see the Hittite ruler working to improve previously poor relations with the pharaoh so as to counterbalance Mitanni. According to other Amarna letters (EA 85, EA86, EA95) from Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos, Tushratta personally joined a large Mitanni raid into Amurru. In another Amarna letter ( EA 75) Rib-Hadda tells Ahkenaten that all the lands of the Mitanni have been conquered by the Hittites but its date is uncertain.

The Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaty says:

Tusratta faced a difficult situation, an ascendant Hittite New Kingdom in the west and in the east an Assyrian power beginning to free itself of Mitanni control at the start of the Middle Assyrian Period. A rule book-ended by succession crises. With no Mitanni or Assyrian records we are left with the historical claims of the Hittite king, for better or worse. In summary they are:

*Political - With the death of Shutarna II a crisis involving Tushratta and Artashumara resulted in Tushratta taking the throne. To counter this the Hittites entered a treaty with another brother Artatama II, which did not pan out. Then, after a reasonably long reign (based on the timing of Amarna letters), Tushratta is killed by his son (unnamed but generally thought to be Shuttarna III) who then allies with the Assyrians to take power in Mitanni with Assyria getting some Mitanni territory in exchange. Another son of Tushratta, Shattiwaza, then becomes a vassal of the Hittite king in exchange for help retaking part of the Mitanni territory (with the rest going to the Suppiluliuma' son Piyassili made king of Carchemish). And this comes to pass. Note that the original treaty with Artatama II is specifically kept in force, suggesting he outlived Tushratta.
*Military - Tushratta having insulted the Hittite king, perhaps by refusing to be deposed, Suppiluliuma launched two campaigns against Mitanni interests, a "One Year War" and a "Six Year War". The first war is believed to have occurred roughly in the 15th regnal year of Ahkenaten. It is unclear how much time passes between them. Though unsuccessful at defeating Tushratta, the military efforts do manage to seize control of several Mitanni vassals/allies, including Kizzuwatna, Amurru, Aleppo, and Nuhašše.

Shattiwaza

Shattiwaza reigned –1305 BC, (alternately Šattiwaza, Kurtiwaza, or Mattiwaza). What little is known about his period, like the later parts of the reign of his father, Tushratta, all comes from the partially recovered pair of Hittite texts in which Shattiwaza becomes a vassal of Hittite king Suppiluliuma I. The first text (CTH 51) lays out the condition of vassalage and in the second (CTH 52) Shattiwaza accepts these conditions. The text can be difficult to interpret because of gaps and the obtuse prose. The Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaty reads:

The best that can be parsed out of the Hittite text is that some (unnamed) son killed the prior king Tushratta resulting in a succession crisis between Atratama II, brother of Tushratta, Shuttarna III, son of Tusratta, and Shattiwaza. son of Tushratta. The Hittites then made a treaty with Atratama II (still in effect as of the Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaty). Some combination of Atratama II and Shuttarna III made an alliance with the Assyrians to hold power in Mitanni. returning cultic items taken when Mitanni king Shaushtatar sacked Asshur . This resulted in Shattiwaza going to Hittite king Suppiluliuma and declaring vassalage in exchange for Hittite military assistance. This ploy succeeded as the Hittite forces carried the day but the cost, besides becoming a vassal, was the ceding of some Mitanni territory to the Hittites, subsequently ruled by the king's son Piyassili as King of Carchemesh. As part of the agreement Shattiwaza would marry a daughter of Suppiluliuma as Queen and would be allowed ten wives but none of the other wives could be primary and the children from his marriage with the Queen would succeed. The Hittite text does include some tidbits about the war of succession which are hard to interpret. At one point the Hurrian nobles were taken to Taite and "crucified" though that practice was unknown in the ancient Near East until classical times. And at one point Shattiwaza flees to the Kassites with 200 chariots but the Kassites impounded the chariots and tried to kill him, which he mirsculously escapes and finds his way to Suppiluliuma. After presumably ascending the throne of what was left of Mitanni, Shattiwaza is lost to history.

Shattuara I

Shattuara reigned –1285 BC. The royal inscriptions of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari I (–1275 BC) relate how the vassal king Shattuara of Mitanni rebelled and committed hostile acts against Assyria. How this Shattuara was related to the dynasty of Partatama is unclear. Some scholars think that he was the second son of Artatama II, and the brother of Shattiwazza's one-time rival Shuttarna. Adad-nirari claims to have captured King Shattuara and brought him to Ashur, where he took an oath as a vassal. Afterwards, he was allowed to return to Mitanni, where he paid Adad-nirari regular tribute. This must have happened during the reign of the Hittite King Mursili II, but there is no exact date.

Wasashatta

According to an inscription (BM 115687) by Assyrian king Adad-nirari I, Shattuara's son Wasashatta (also read Uasašatta), who reigned -1265 BC, attempted to rebel. He sought Hittite help which did not come. The Hittites took Wasashatta's money but did not help. The Assyrians expanded further, and conquered the royal city of Taidu, and took Washukanni, Amasakku, Kahat, Shuru, Nabula, Hurra and Shuduhu as well. They conquered Irridu, destroyed it utterly and sowed salt over it. The wife, sons and daughters of Wasashatta were taken to Ashur, together with much booty and other prisoners. As Wasashatta himself is not mentioned, he may have escaped capture. There is a letter (KBo. 1, 14) from a Hittite king (to probably the Egyptian king) referring to a "King of Hanigalbat" which was possibly Wasašatta.

Shattuara II

According to the royal annals (A.0.77.1) of Assyrian king Shalmaneser I (1270s–1240s) King Shattuara II of Hanigalbat, rebelled against Assyrian control with the help of the Hittites and the nomadic Ahlamu around 1250 BC. Shalmaneser I claimed to have defeated the Hittites and Mitanni slaying 14,400 men; the rest were blinded and carried away. His inscriptions mention the conquest of nine fortified temples; 180 Hurrian cities were "turned into rubble mounds," and Shalmaneser "slaughtered like sheep the armies of the Hittites and the Ahlamu his allies." The cities from Taidu to Irridu were captured, as well as all of mount Kashiar to Eluhat and the fortresses of Sudu and Harranu to Carchemish on the Euphrates. Another inscription mentions the restoration of a temple to god Adad in Kahat, a city of Mitanni that must have been occupied as well.Grayson, A. Kirk, "Assyrian Rulers 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC (to 1115 BC)(Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Assyrian Periods, Vol 1)", University of Toronto Press, 1987, ISBN 9780802026057

See also

* Chronology of the ancient Near East
* List of Mesopotamian dynasties
* Cities of the ancient Near East
* History of the Hittites
* Seven-dots glyph

References

Sources

* Bryce, Trevor, ''Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East'', Routledge, 2003,
*
*
*
* Gaal, E. "The economic role of Hanilgalbat at the beginning of the Neo-Assyrian expansion." In: Hans-Jörg Nissen/Johannes Renger (eds.), ''Mesopotamien und seine Nachbarn. Politische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen im Alten Orient vom 4. bis 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr.'' Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient 1 (Berlin, Reimer 1982), 349–354.
* Harrak, Amir "Assyria and Hanilgalbat. A historical reconstruction of the bilateral relations from the middle of the 14th to the end of the 12th centuries BC." ''Texte und Studien zur Orientalistik'', 400 (Hildesheim, Olms 1987).


Kelly-Buccellati, Marilyn. "The Urkesh Mittani Horizon: Ceramic Evidence." talugaeš witteš (2020): 237–256.
* Kühne, Cord, "Imperial Mittani. An Attempt at Historical Reconstruction", In David I Owen and Gernot Wilhelm (eds.) Studies in the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians 10, pp. 203–221, 1999 ISBN 9781883053505
* Kühne, Cord "Politische Szenerie und internationale Beziehungen Vorderasiens um die Mitte des 2. Jahrtausends vor Chr. (zugleich ein Konzept der Kurzchronologie). Mit einer Zeittafel." In: Hans-Jörg Nissen/Johannes Renger (eds.), ''Mesopotamien und seine Nachbarn. Politische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen im Alten Orient vom 4. bis 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr.'' Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient 1 (Berlin, Reimer 1982), 203–264.
* Maidman, Maynard P. "Mittanni Royalty and Empire: How Far Back." Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies Journal 11 (2018): 15–28
* Novák, Mirko: "Mittani Empire and the Question of Absolute Chronology: Some Archaeological Considerations." In: Manfred Bietak/Ernst Czerny (eds.): "The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium BC III"; Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Denkschrift Band XXXVII; Wien, 2007; ; pp. 389–401.
* Starr, R. F. S. ''Nuzi'' (London 1938).
*
* von Dassow, E.; David I Owen; Gernot Wilhelm, State and Society in the Late Bronze Age: Alalah under the Mittani Empire, Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians 17, ed. David I. Owen and Gernot Wilhelm (Bethesda 2008) ISBN 9781934309148


von Dassow, Eva. "Alalaḫ between Mittani and Ḫatti." Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures 2 (2020): 196–226
* Weidner, "Assyrien und Hanilgalbat." ''Ugaritica'' 6 (1969)
* Wilhelm, Gernot: ''The Hurrians'', Aris & Philips Warminster 1989. ISBN 9780856684425

Further reading

*

External links

Mitanni
(livius.org)

Dutch excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad

Iraq's drought unveils 3,400-year-old palace of mysterious empire

{{Authority control

Mitanni,
Ancient Upper Mesopotamia
Former countries in West Asia
Former monarchies of West Asia
Hurrians
Indo-Aryan peoples
States and territories disestablished in the 13th century BC
States and territories established in the 17th century BC