Tudḫaliya the Younger

Tudḫaliya the Younger (sometimes designated Tudḫaliya III), possibly also the bearer of the Hurrian name Tulpi-Teššub, was a son of the Hittite great king Tudḫaliya III (sometimes designated Tudḫaliya II), who was murdered by Šuppiluliuma I in c. 1350 BC. It is uncertain and perhaps doubtful that Tudḫaliya the Younger reigned as great king of Ḫatti.

Evidence

The main source of information on Tudḫaliya the Younger are the Plague Prayers of Šuppiluliuma I's son Muršili II:

O gods, [my] lords, a plague broke out in Ḫatti, and Ḫatti has been beaten down by the plague. It [has been] very much [oppressed]. This is the twentieth year. Because Ḫatti is (still) experiencing many deaths, the affair of Tudḫaliya the Younger, son of Tudḫaliya, began to haunt [me]. I inquired of a god through an oracle, [and] the affair of Tudḫaliya the Younger was ascertained by the god (as a source of our suffering). Because Tudḫaliya the Younger was lord of Ḫatti, the princes, the noblemen, the commanders of the thousands, the officers, [the subalterns(?)], and all [the infantry] and chariotry of Ḫattuša swore an oath to him. My father also swore an oath to him.

[But when my father] mistreated Tudḫaliya, all [the princes, the noblemen], the commanders of the thousands, and the officers of Ḫattuša [went over] to my [father]. Although they had sworn an oath (to him), [they seized] Tudḫaliya, and they killed [Tudḫaliya]. Furthermore, they killed those of his brothers [who stood by] him. [...] they sent to Alašiya (Cyprus). [Whatever] was their [...] they [...] in regard to him. [Thus the ...] and the lords transgressed the oath. …

But later you came, O gods, [my lords], and have now taken vengeance on my father for this affair of Tudḫaliya the Younger. My father [died] because of the blood of Tudḫaliya. And the princes, the noblemen, the commanders of the thousands, and the officers who went over [to my father] also died because of [this] affair. This same affair also affected the (entire) land of Ḫatti, and [Ḫatti] began to perish because of [this] affair. And Ḫatti [wasted(?)] away. Now the plague [has become] yet [worse]. Ḫatti has been [very much] oppressed by the plague and has become diminished. I, Muršili, [your servant], cannot [master] the turmoil [of my heart]. I cannot [master] the anguish of my body. …

[Because] my father [killed] this Tudḫaliya, my father therefore later [performed] a ritual of (expiation of) bloodshed. But Ḫattuša did not [perform] anything. etc.

Interpretation

With the Plague Prayers virtually our only source of information, Tudḫaliya the Younger remains obscure. He might have been underage or at least young and inexperienced at the time of his father's death. Šuppiluliuma's "crime," the murder of Tudḫaliya III's son and heir-apparent Tudḫaliya the Younger was later identified as the cause of divine wrath and the outbreak of plague by Muršili II. Based on the existence of seal impressions of Šuppiluliuma naming him the son of Tudḫaliya III, scholars have traditionally assumed that Šuppiluluiuma gained the throne by murdering his brother or half-brother Tudḫaliya the Younger. However, the context seems to exclude a sibling relationship between Tudḫaliya the Younger and Šuppiluliuma, and the discovery of the seal of Šuppiluliuma's first wife Ḫenti, naming her “great queen and daughter of the great king, the hero,” has led to the conclusion that Šuppiluliuma was a son-in-law (and at best adopted son) of Tudḫaliya III and therefore brother-in-law of Tudḫaliya the Younger. While some scholars have supposed that Tudḫaliya the Younger had become king, most assume that Tudḫaliya the Younger was eliminated before he could ascend the throne. Some scholars who identify Tudḫaliya, the son of Kantuzzili, with Tudḫaliya, the father-in-law of Arnuwanda I, renumber the kings and designate Tudḫaliya the Younger, whether they believe he reigned or not, as Tudḫaliya III, which allows them to keep the designation of Tudḫaliya IV for the son of Ḫattušili III (another king with traditional but possibly questionable numbering).

Hittite New Kingdom royal family tree according to Trevor Bryce
Kantuzilli Tudhaliya I/II Nikkalmati Arnuwanda I Asmunikal Hattusili II? Tudhaliya III Daduhepa Zida Tudhaliya the Younger Henti (1) Šuppiluliuma I (2) Tawananna Arnuwanda II Telipinu Sarri-Kusuh Zannanza Gassulawiya (1) Mursili II (2) Tanuhepa Talmi-Sarruma Sahurunuwa Muwatalli II Halpasulupi Massanauzzi Hattusili III Puduhepa Ini-Tesub Urhi-Tesub Kurunta Nerikkaili numerous daughters and sons Tudhaliya IV Talmi-Tesub Arnuwanda III Suppiluliuma II Kuzi-Tesub
(1) = 1st spouse (2) = 2nd spouse Small caps indicates a Great King (LUGAL.GAL) of the Land of Hatti; italic small caps indicates a Great Queen or Tawananna. Dashed lines indicate adoption. Solid lines indicate marriage (if horizontal) or parentage (if vertical).
References: Trevor Bryce (1997). The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. Trevor Bryce (2005). The Kingdom of the Hittites (new edition). Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. Trevor Bryce (2012). The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Jacques Freu (2007). Les débuts du nouvel empire hittite. Paris, France: L'Harmattan. Volkert Haas (2006). Die hethitische Literatur. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter.
Notes:

Hittite New Kingdom royal family tree according to Jacques Freu
Kantuzzili, m. Walanni, perhaps daughter of Zidanta II TUDḪALIYA I (c.1465–1440 BC), m. Kattešḫapi (?) ḪATTUŠILI II (c.1440–1425 BC), m. Ašmu-Ḫeba (?) TUDḪALIYA II (c.1425–1390 BC), m. Nikkal-mati Ašmu-Nikkal, m. ARNUWANDA I (c.1390–1370 BC) TUDḪALIYA III/Tašmi-Šarri (c.1370–1350 BC), m. (1) Šatandu-Ḫeba; (=?) (2) Tadu-Ḫeba Tulpi-Teššub the Younger Tudḫaliya the Younger d.c.1350 BC Ḫenti, m. ŠUPPILULIUMA I (c.1350–1319 BC), who m. (2) Tawananna (Malnigal) of Babylon ARNUWANDA II (c.1319–1318 BC) Telipinu, Priest of Kizzuwatna, then vassal king of Aleppo, left descendants Piyaššili/Šarri-Kušuḫ, vassal king of Carchemish, left descendants Zannanza, betrothed to Ankhesenamun (?) MURŠILI II (c.1318–1295 BC), m. (1) Gaššulawiya; (2) Danu-Ḫeba Ḫalpašulupi MUWATALLI II (c.1295–1272 BC) MURŠILI III/Urḫi-Teššub (c.1272–1265 BC) Kurunta/Ulmi-Teššub, vassal king of Tarḫuntašša, left descendants Maššanauzzi, m. King Mašturi of the Šeḫa River Land ḪATTUŠILI III (c.1265–1240 BC), m. Pudu-Ḫeba Nerikkaili, m. daughter of King Bentešina of Amurru Ḫuzziya TUDḪALIYA IV/Tašmi-Šarruma (c.1240–1215 BC) ARNUWANDA III (c.1215–1210 BC) ŠUPPILULIUMA II (c.1210–1185 BC) TUDḪALIYA V (?) Eḫli-Nikkal, m. King Ammurapi of Ugarit Ḫannuti Ḫešni Kurakura Ḫišmi-Šarruma Maathorneferure, m. King Ramesses II of Egypt Unknown, m. King Ramesses II of Egypt Gaššulawiya, m. King Bentešina of Amurru Kiluš-Ḫeba, m. King Ari-Šarruma of Išuwa Muwatti, m. King Mašḫuiluwa of Mira-Kuwaliya Unknown, m. King Šattiwaza of Mittani Kantuzzili, Priest of Kizzuwatna Pariyawatra Mannini Tulpi-Teššub Ašmi-Šarruma Ziplantawiya, Queen, m. Unknown Attāi A detailed and annotated genealogy of Hittite New Kingdom monarchs and their families, as reconstructed by Jacques Freu in his multi-volume work Les Hittites et leur histoire, presented as an alternative to the less detailed and sometimes differing reconstruction based on Trevor Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites.
References: Freu, Jacques, and Michel Mazoyer (2007b), Les débuts du nouvel empire hittite, Paris. Freu, Jacques, and Michel Mazoyer (2008), L'apogée du nouvel empire hittite, Paris. Freu, Jacques, and Michel Mazoyer (2010), Le déclin et la chute du nouvel empire hittite, Paris. Freu, Jacques (2010–2011), "Le vase d'argent du musée des civilisations anatoliennes d'Ankara et la fin de l'empire hittite," Talanta 42–43 (2010–2011) 185-192.
Notes:

See also

• History of the Hittites

Bibliography

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