Alaksandu

Alaksandu was a king of Wilusa who sealed a treaty with Muwatalli II ca. 1280 BC. This treaty implies that Alaksandu had previously secured a treaty with Muwatalli's father, Mursili II, as well.

Alaksandu was a successor of one Kukkunni, although it is not known if he was his immediate successor. Muwatalli recalls the friendship of Kukkunni with his own grandfather, Suppiluliuma I, and further evokes over three centuries of friendship between the Hittites and Wilusa dating back to the reign of Hattusili I. Muwatalli in his letter downplays the importance of royal ancestry, suggesting that Alaksandu had come to power by other means than regular succession, so that Alaksandu is not necessarily a blood-relation of Kukkunni's. This has been taken as a hint that he may have been an early Greek ruler called Alexander, and he has been associated with Homer's "Alexandros" of "Ilion", who is better known by his nickname Paris, of Troy.

One of three gods guaranteeing the terms of the treaty on the side of Alaksandu is Apaliunas, from whom Apollon apparentlyhuh derived. The god Apollo is portrayed in the Iliad as the foremost champion of the Trojans and the one who helped Paris kill the otherwise invulnerable Achilles.

References

*J. Latacz, "Wilusa" (2001) [http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/deu/lataczwilusa.pdf]

ee also

* Troy VII
* Ahhiyawa
* Assuwa