- Suppiluliuma II
Suppiluliuma II, the son of
Tudhaliya IV , was the last known king of the New Kingdom of theHittite Empire , ruling ca. 1207 – 1178 BC (short chronology ), contemporary withTukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria.He is known from two inscriptions in
Hieroglyphic Luwian . They record wars against former vassalTarhuntassa , and against Alasiya inCyprus .One inscription is found at the base of Nisantepe in the Upper City of Hattusa, the other at the northern corner of the East Pond, in Chamber 2.
The Hittite kingdom was destroyed by the invading
Sea Peoples andKaskians in the late 1170s BCE. Based on records inUgarit , 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." [trans Astour, AJA 69 (1965), p.256]Ammurapi , an ally of Suppululiuma II and the lastking ofUgarit wrote a letter outlining the threat posed by the invading Sea Peoples and pleaded for help from Eshuwara, the ruler ofAlasiya (Cyprus)::"'My father, behold, the enemy's ships came (here); my cities(?) were burned, and they did evil things in my country. Does not my father know that all my troops and chariots(?) are in the Hittite country, and all my ships are in the land of Lukka? . . . Thus, the country is abandoned to itself. May my father know it: the seven ships of the enemy that came here inflicted much damage upon us.'" [Jean Nougaryol et al. (1968) Ugaritica V: 87-90 no.24]
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 , a ruler ofCarchemish , would assume the title of "Great King" since he was a direct descendent of Suppiluliuma I. [Trevor Bryce , The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University Press, 1998. p.384]ee also
*
History of the Hittites Notes
References
*Astour, AJA 69 (1965).
*Güterbock, JNES 26 (1967), 73-81.External links
* [http://www.hittites.info/history.aspx?text=history%2fLate+Late+Empire.htm#Suppiluliuma2 Reign of Suppiluliuma II]
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