Tudhaliya I (sometimes Tudhaliya II or Tudhaliya I/II[1]) was a king of the
Hittite Empire (New Kingdom) in c. the early 14th century BC.
Identity
Proper numbering of the Hittite rulers who bore the name
Tudhaliya is problematic. There was a Hattian era figure who bore the name Tudhaliya who may or may not have ruled as king. Other reconstructions insert a Tudhaliya directly after
Muwatalli I, but before the Tudhaliya discussed here.
Some scholars call Tudhaliya I the first king of the New Kingdom, or Empire. Others give this honor to
Suppiluliuma I. Tudhaliya may have been the grandson of the
Middle Kingdom ruler
Huzziya II. He may have been the direct successor of
Muwatalli I, having overthrown him. The exact sequence of succession at the beginning of the New Kingdom is uncertain, however, because of the difficulty of placing
Hattusili II. Tudhaliya I's reign includes a period of co-regency with
Arnuwanda I, his son-in-law and adopted son.
Biography
The most famous event of Tudhaliya's reign was his conquest of the land
Assuwa. Assuwa's name is believed by some scholars to be the origin of the modern place name
Asia, although this is not beyond dispute.[2] Further, there were many component territories within Assuwa, including the lands Taruisa and Wilusiya, which are now generally accepted to be references to
Troy/Ilios, although there is not enough evidence at this time to explain how these two lands came to apply to a single location.
Family
Tudhaliya's wife was
Nikal-mati. He had a daughter
Ašmu-nikal who married Arnuwanda.
^King (lugal) of Tarhuntassa (Bryce 1997, p. 296); apparently later Great King of Hatti (Bryce 1997, p. 354).
^Nerikkaili married a daughter of Bentesina, king of
Amurru (Bryce 1997, p. 294).
^Two daughters of Hattusili III were married to the pharaoh
Ramesses II; one was given the Egyptian name
Ma(hor)nefrure. Another, Gassuwaliya, married into the royal house of Amurru. Kilushepa was married to a king of Isuwa. A daughter married into the royal family of Babylon. A sister of Tudhaliya IV married Sausgamuwa, king of Amurru after his father Bentesina. From Bryce (1997), pp. 294 and 312.
^Bryce (1997), p. 363. Tudhaliya IV probably married a Babylonian princess, known by her title of Great Princess (dumu.sal gal) (Bryce 1997, pp. 294, 331).
^King and then Great King of Carchemish (Bryce 1997, pp. 384–385).
In the Bible
A number of modern
biblical scholars believe that either Tudhaliya I, or the proto-Hittite
Tudhaliya, was the same individual as Tidal, king of Nations, who is mentioned in the
Book of Genesis as having joined
Chedorlaomer in attacking rebels in
Canaan.[3]
Notes
^Bryce, Trevor (2010). The Kingdom of the Hittites (New ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 121–123.
ISBN9780199281329.
^Bryce, Trevor (2010). The Kingdom of the Hittites (New ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 125.
ISBN9780199281329.