an investigation into the extensive religious and political elements that impacted on the reigns of

357 Pages·2017·13.1 MB·English

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EXTENSIVE RELIGIOUS

AND POLITICAL ELEMENTS THAT IMPACTED
ON THE
REIGNS OF HATTUŠILI III, PUDUHEPA AND THEIR SON,
TUDHALIYA IV
(ca 1267 – 1228 BCE)

by

ANNA FRANCINA ELIZABETH VAN DER RYST

submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree

MASTER OF ARTS

in the subject

ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR M LE ROUX

November 2016
‘The past is never dead. In fact, it’s not even past.’

from Requiem for a Nun by William Faulkner

‘Meeting’ Hattušili III and Puduhepa for the first time outside the Lion Gate at Hattuša
3 April 2006

(Photographs taken by A. van der Ryst and P.S Vermaak 2006)
DECLARATION

I declare that AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EXTENSIVE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL
ELEMENTS THAT IMPACTED ON THE REIGNS OF HATTUŠILI III, PUDUHEPA AND
THEIR SON, TUDHALIYA IV (ca 1267 – 1228 BCE) is my own work and that all the sources
that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete
references.

I further declare that I have not previously submitted this work, or part of it, for examination
at UNISA for another qualification or at any other higher education institution.

--------------------------------------------------
Anna Francina Elizabeth van der Ryst
Student number: 0229-6233
Date: 2016-12-06

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Standing, ten years ago, at the Lion Gate of the ruins of the ancient city of
Hattuša/Boğasköy in modern Turkey, I would not in my wildest dreams have imagined that
I would ever attempt an investigation into the reign of a royal couple and their son who lived
in that city near the end of the Hittite Empire and the Late Bronze Age in the ancient Near
East. Writing this dissertation has subsequently been like rolling huge boulders up the
mountains of Anatolia, but it has been a journey that humbles me and leaves me in awe of
the enigmatic, illusive, administratively well-organised but also chaotic polytheistic Hittites.

Thank you to my dissertation supervisor, Professor Magdel le Roux, for her encompassing
support. I appreciate her accepting me unconditionally despite being warned that she might
regret having me as her student.

Thank you to UNISA for the financial support to do research and complete this dissertation.

Thank you, Professor Izak Cornelius of Ancient Studies at the University of Stellenbosch,
for suggesting a theme involving the Hittites.

I am grateful to Professor Theo van den Hout of the Oriental Institute at the University of
Chicago for his friendly interaction and informative replies to e-mails and for forwarding
copies of the latest scholarly articles on the Hittites.

Some friends who have supported me working on this study are:
Ilse and Jan Evertse, fellow students from long ago at the University of Stellenbosch. Ilse
is the daughter and Jan the son-in-law of my dear late colleague, Miems de Bruyn. They
live in The Hague in the Netherlands and, with their vast experience in editing and
translating international academic writing, they did not hesitate to give me practical, sound
advice when I visited them in Voorburg. Sitting around the dining room table eating
wonderfully tasty ‘stamppot’ (a traditional Dutch dish made from a combination of mashed
potatoes with vegetables or fruit) and drinking South African wine, they urged me to
complete this study successfully despite many odds. At the time, they must have been
thinking that I was not in my right mind, but refrained from putting their thoughts into words.
I will never forget Ilse’s remarks about the importance of the first and last chapters of a
dissertation for an assessor(s).
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Thank you to my colleagues at 7de Laan, especially Danie Odendaal and Annie Basson,
for creating opportunities for me over many years despite demanding filming schedules to
travel to the Middle East to pursue my passion for the region and its ancient history.

Thank you, Phillip Foxton and his wife Gail Mervis, for patiently listening to me, joining in
all the laughter and sighs, as well as giving support and helping me survive the demands
of writing this dissertation.

Lastly, thank you to my editor, Leandri le Roux, who encouraged me with her sharp and
insightful comments and wonderful positive spirit, not letting me down when it seemed to
me that the finishing line of completing this dissertation eluded me.

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this study to the memory of the late Professor André Malan Hugo, who taught
Latin and Classical Culture at the University of Stellenbosch from 1957 to 1968 and was
Professor in Classical Languages at the University of Cape Town from 1969 until his death
at 46 on 24 January 1975. He was the most outstanding professor and lecturer I have ever
had. André opened the door to the ancients, their cultures and archaeology for me with his
brilliant mind and lively presentations. André has been gone for nearly the same length of
time as his own lifespan. This compels me to recall his teaching as that of an illuminator of
ancient history. In the same way as the youngster Nico describes his father in Deon Meyer’s
book Koors (Fever), I can describe André Hugo: ‘Sy fokus was nooit ‘n eng soeklig nie,
maar ‘n helder lamp wat die onderwerp én alles om hom verlig het. Sy perspektief was altyd
breed, dit het nooit mense, en veral nie vir my, uitgesluit nie’ (His focus was never narrow,
but like a lamp his insight illuminated a subject and all surrounding it. He had a broad
perspective and never excluded other people or myself) (Meyer 2016:45) [My translation].
I will never forget that he and his gracious wife Hanneke attended my 21st birthday on a
rainy night in Stellenbosch and gave me the short, now Africana book Young Mrs Murray
goes to Bloemfontein, my hometown. We shared a passion for history. I still have the book
and their birthday card hand-written in calligraphy:

Professor André Malan Hugo
(Photo: www.StellenboschWriters.com)

To our dear friend Annelize
thank you for friendship,
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and as a small remembrance
of Saturday 8 March 1969,
when it rained so much!
From André and Hanneke Hugo
(My translation)

I also dedicate this dissertation to my long-suffering friend Kathy Mabin and to her dear
parents, Herbert and Dora Mabin, always supportive of me, enthusiastic and encouraging,
both scholars in their lifetimes and kind, gentle people. A big thank you to Kathy who read
my writing in my second language with patience and insight, who also made me endless
cups of coffee and often had to listen to my perpetual complaining about the complicated
Hittites. Without Kathy’s help and support, any attempt at research and writing this
dissertation would have been totally impossible.

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SUMMARY

In this dissertation, I investigate the impact of the extended religious and political elements
in the ancient Near East of the Late Bronze period that influenced the reigns of Hattušili III,
his consort, Queen Puduhepa, circa 1267 to 1237 BCE and their son Tudhaliya IV circa
1237 to 1228 BCE. As rulers of the Hittites, they were not the greatest and most influential
royals, like the great Suppiluliuma I circa 1322 to 1344 BCE, but their ability to adopt an
eclectic approach similar to that of their great predecessors regarding religion, politics,
international diplomacy and signing treaties made this royal triad a force to be reckoned with
in the ancient Near East. Therefore, central to this investigation will be the impact of Hattušili
III’s usurpation of the throne and Puduhepa’s role in the Hurrianisation of the state cult and
pantheon. Also included is a brief investigation into the continuation of the reorganisation
and restructuring of the Hittite state cult and local cult inventories by Tudhaliya IV and his
mother Puduhepa after the death of Hattušilli III. By researching this royal triad, their deities,
their Hurro-Hittite culture and the textual evidence of their rule, it becomes possible to
assemble some of the elements that impacted on their rule. I have used available
transliterated translated texts and pictures to support and illustrate the investigation of this
complex final period in the history of the Hittite Empire.

KEY TERMS

Indo-European tribes; Anatolia; Hattian; Old Assyrian trade colonies; Luwian; Hurrians;
Kizzuwatna; Mitanni; Egypt; complex religion; polytheism; Suppiluliuma I; Rameses II;
Hattušili-Rameses treaty; Hattuša; Hattušili III; Puduhepa; international diplomacy; chief
priest and priestess; cult festivals; Ištar; Šauška; stormgod of Hatti; sungoddess of Arinna;
Hepat; stormgod of Nerik; Šarrumma; Yazilikaya; huwaši stones; Tudhaliya IV;
reorganisation of the state cult and pantheon.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………………….. i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………….................................................................................. ii
DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………… iv
SUMMARY AND KEY TERMS……………………………………………………………….. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………..…….. vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS………………………………………………………..………. xviii
ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………………………………....... xxv
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………….. 295

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND………………………………………………………….…………..1
1.1.1 The Hittites’ homeland………………………………………………….…………1
1.1.1.1 From where did the Hittites originate?..............................................................2
1.1.1.2 The Hattians………………………………………………………………………....2
(a) Archaeological or linguistic roots.................................................................3
(i) Anatolia and archaeology in our time……………………………………...3
(b) Indo-European migrations into Anatolia………………………………….…..4
1.1.2 The Hittites’ cultural-linguistic background……………………………….….5
1.1.2.1 Written and spoken languages of the Hittites………………………………….…5
1.1.2.2 The Hittites and religion………………………………………………………….….6
1.1.3 The Old Assyrian trade networks in Anatolia (ca 1900-1830 BCE) …....….6
1.1.3.1 Kānesh/Kültepe……………………………………………………………………...7
(a) Trade settlements becoming small city-states…………………………….…9
(b) The relationship between the Assyrians and the Anatolians………….……9
(i) No acculturation between the Assyrians and Anatolians………….…..10
(c) Material culture of Kānesh ……………………………………………………10
1.1.3.2 Commercial and legal records from Kānesh/Kültepe……………………….….11
(a) The end of the Old Assyrian trading colony……………………………….…11
1.1.4 Hattuša/Boğasköy…………………………………………………………….…..12
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1.1.4.1 Understanding Hittite texts……………………………………………………….14
1.1.4.2 Hittite historiography……………………………………………………………...14
1.1.4.3 Hittite historical texts……………………………………………………………...14
(a) The Edict of Telepinu (ca 1525-1500 BCE) ……………………………….15
1.2 THE RISE OF THE KINGDOM OF MITANNI (ca 1504-1492 BCE) …………16
1.2.1 The Hurrians……………………………………………………………………….17
1.2.1.1 Hurrian name and language………………………………………………………17
1.2.1.2 The Luwians and their language …………………………………………………18
1.2.2 Puduhepa enters Hatti’s centre stage…………………………………………20
1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND QUESTIONS…………………………………….20
1.4 HYPOTHESIS………………………………………………………………………21
1.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY……………………………………..22
1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………23
1.6.1 Primary sources…………………………………………………………………..23
1.6.2 Secondary sources……………………………………………………………….25
1.7 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ………………………………………………28
1.7.1 Research method and approach……………………………………………….28
1.7.1.1 Theoretical framework………………………………………………………………29
1.7.1.2 Structure of the dissertation………………………………………………………..30
1.7.1.3 Delimitations and limitations of the study…………………………………………31
(a) Delimitations……………………………………………………………………..31
(b) Limitations………………………………………………………………………..32
(i) Clay tablets and linguistics in Hatti…………………………………………32
(ii) Hittites in the Hebrew Bible…………………………………………………33
(iii) People of Hatti……………………………………………………………….33
(iv) Contact with western Anatolia……………………………………………..33
(v) Hittite or Anatolian archaeology?............................................................33
(vi) Use of images………………………………………………………………..34
(vii) Not an iconographical interpretation of Yazilikaya………………………34

CHAPTER TWO
A NEW HITTITE EMPIRE EMERGING

2.1 FROM KINGDOM TO EMPIRE (ca 1430-1210 BCE)…………………………..35
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