Suppiluliuma II
Encyclopedia
Tudhaliya IV
Tudhaliya IV was a king of the Hittite Empire , and the younger son of Hattusili III. He reigned ca. 1237 BCE–1209 BCE. His mother was called Puduhepa...
, was the last known king of the New Kingdom of the Hittite Empire, ruling ca. 1207–1178 BC (short chronology), contemporary with Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I was a king of Assyria.He succeeded Shalmaneser I, his father, as king and won a major victory against the Hittites at the Battle of Nihriya in the first half of his reign...
of Assyria.
In 1210 BC, a fleet under his command defeated one manned by the Cypriots
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, the first recorded naval battle in history. Nothing more is known.
He is known from two inscriptions in Hieroglyphic Luwian
Hieroglyphic Luwian
Hieroglyphic Luwian is a variant of the Luwian language, recorded in official and royal seals and a small number of monumental inscriptions. It is written in a hieroglyphic script known as Anatolian hieroglyphs...
. They record wars against former vassal Tarhuntassa
Tarhuntassa
Tarhuntassa is an as-yet undiscovered Bronze Age city south of Hattusa. Speculations of its site include Konya, Rough Cilicia, the Gok Su valley, and the vicinity of Kayseri. The site of Kilise Tepe has also been proposed for it. Still others speculate that Tarhuntassa may be a Kaskan name for the...
, and against Alasiya in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. One inscription is found at the base of Nisantepe in the Upper City of Hattusa; the other is on the northern corner of the East Pond (Pond 1), in what is known as Chamber 2. This served as a water reservoir for Hattusa.
The chamber 2 reliefs are historically important since it records major political instability which plagued Hatti during Suppiluliuma's reign. It states that this ruler sacked the city of Tarhutassa which was a Hittite city and had briefly served as the Empire's political capital under the reign of Muwatalli II
Muwatalli II
Muwatalli II was a king of the New kingdom of the Hittite empire .- Biography :He was the eldest son of Mursili II and Queen Gassulawiya, and he had several siblings....
.
The Hittite kingdom was ultimately destroyed by the invading Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
and Kaskians in the late 1170s BCE. Based on records in Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
, the threat originated in the west, and the Hittite king asked for assistance from Ugarit.
- "The enemy [advances(?)] against us and there is no number [...]. Our number is pure(?) [. . .] Whatever is available, look for it and send it to me."
Ammurapi
Ammurapi
Ammurapi was the last Bronze Age ruler and king of the Ancient Syrian city of Ugarit, from ca. 1215 to 1180 BC. Ammurapi was a contemporary of the Hittite King Suppiluliuma II. He wrote a vivid letter in response to a plea for assistance from the king of Alashiya which has been preserved...
, an ally of Suppululiuma II and the last king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
of Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
, wrote a letter outlining the threat posed by the invading Sea Peoples and pleaded for help from Eshuwara, the ruler of Alasiya (Cyprus):
After Suppiluliuma's kingdom collapsed, the Kaskian tribes were probably in control of Hatti. Hattusa itself was destroyed by fire, its site only re-occupied by a Phrygian fortress some 500 years later. Kuzi-Teshub
Kuzi-Teshub
Kuzi-Teshub was the son of Talmi-Teshub who was both the last viceroy of the Hittite Empire at Carchemish under Suppiluliuma II, and a direct descendant of Suppiluliuma I. He succeeded his father in office according to royal seal impressions found at Lidar Höyük in 1985 on the east bank of the...
, a ruler of Carchemish
Carchemish
Carchemish or Kargamış was an important ancient city of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo Assyrian Empires, now on the frontier between Turkey and Syria. It was the location of an important battle between the Babylonians and Egyptians, mentioned in the Bible...
, would later assume the title of "Great King" since he was a direct descendent of Suppiluliuma I
Suppiluliuma I
Suppiluliuma I was king of the Hittites . He achieved fame as a great warrior and statesman, successfully challenging the then-dominant Egyptian empire for control of the lands between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates....
.