YENI HAN, NEAR SEKKELI: GROUP OF NOMAD WOMEN. (See [p. 29].)
Subbi-luliuma died,[796] and ‘mounted the hill,’[797] where on the sacred high place he was gathered to his god. Thereafter for over a century and a half, notwithstanding the constant development of new historical situations, the dynasty of the Hatti sat firmly on the throne, throughout the greatest visible period of Hittite power. His son Arandas, who nominally succeeded after a short interregnum, seems to have been without effective power, and was shortly replaced by his brother Mursil, the Maurasar of the Egyptian texts. During the earlier part of an apparently long reign, this monarch seems to have had leisure and tranquillity to enjoy the empire which he had inherited from his father. During the first ten years at any rate, the annals of which are preserved, there seems to have been no incident of foreign affairs more noteworthy than a series of minor troubles on the frontiers. His relations with a number of states are mentioned, but the Hittite names of these are not yet recognisable.[798] The governorship of various frontier lands was apportioned, or possibly these were now for the first time brought under Hittite rule. One Barkhu-izuwa was appointed to the land of Mira, Manapa-Tessub[799] to Amaskhe-haku, and Targâs-nâli to Happalama. The terms of the Amorite vassalage were renewed in a special treaty with Abbi-Tessub, who now appears as chieftain of that people.[800] In the period of apparent calm in the early part of this reign, we may see historically the opportunity when in the security of his kingdom the monarch built a new royal palace at Boghaz-Keui on the lower ground to the north of the acropolis, outside the main line of the defences.[801]
But inactivity in these empires of the sword was always fraught with danger. Towards the close of his reign, if we read the somewhat obscure chronology of this period rightly, the eastern frontiers of his empire suffered several shocks. The Assyrian kingdom had been steadily gathering strength, and soon after 1320 B.C. Shalmaneser I. seems to have dispossessed the Hittite entirely of his suzerainty eastward of the Euphrates, ravaging all the kingless country of Mitanni as far as Carchemish.[802] Further north he even crossed the Euphrates and entered Khali-rabbat, capturing Malatia, just as a previous Assyrian monarch had done a hundred years before. In this campaign the Hittite forces sent against him seem to have been definitely defeated, and Shalmaneser penetrated as far as Muzri,[803] while his successor also invaded the district of Kummukh, which lay on the Hittite side of the Euphrates around Samsat. Egypt also, rejoicing in the re-establishment of a strong line of kings, was not long in taking advantage of this temporary weakening. Sety I. had hardly ascended the throne of the Pharaohs when he initiated a series of campaigns in the south of Syria, and erelong found himself able to beat back the Hittite forces, and to penetrate northwards as far as Tunip and the land of Naharain,[804] reaching possibly to the Euphrates. The early operations of his successor, Rameses II., however, seem to have extended only as far as the Lebanon,[805] where the Hittites were encountered; hence we may conclude that the latter had been able to regain their ascendency in northern Syria. In these critical times, with a great struggle inevitable and even imminent, Mursil died, and his son Mutallu succeeded to the Hittite throne.[806]
The new monarch was not slow to realise the critical state of affairs that had arisen on his eastern frontiers. Assyria, indeed, seems to have withdrawn temporarily, through internal reasons, from her efforts to obtain a footing in the Hittite lands, but the repeated incursions of the Egyptian armies, and the evident intention of the Pharaoh to regain his dominion over Syria, called forth a mighty effort on the part of Mutallu to retain the empire which his great ancestor, Subbi-luliuma, had established, if not even to extend its boundaries. The call to arms was sounded through the Hittite lands, and the response from every side showed how deeply and widely the power of the Great King had been established. Practically all parts of Asia Minor are represented in this splendid rally round the Hittite leader. United in this common enterprise, the states of the centre, like the Hatti (Kheta), Arinna, Pisidia, were joined by Dardanians and Mysians from the furthest portions of the peninsula, as well as by Lycians of the southern coast, and Kataonians from the anti-Taurus.[807] Northern Syria, from Carchemish to Kadesh, sent also its contingents, for the Hittite leader ‘left no people on his road. Their number was endless, nothing like it had ever been seen before. They covered the mountains and hills like grasshoppers for their number.’ The Pharaoh valiantly went out to meet this formidable enemy before it entered his own dominions, and the fateful battle was joined not far from Kadesh. The opening stages were favourable to the Hittite, who made a strategic and unforeseen onslaught on the enemy’s flank, and for a time disorganised the Egyptian forces. The Pharaoh’s position, indeed, at one moment seems to have been almost desperate, but in the issue he managed to recover his formation and claims to have pursued the Hittites from the field.[808] The Egyptian losses were so great that they were unable to follow up their advantage: even Kadesh remained unassailed, though the Hittite king had taken refuge within its walls; so that the battle must be regarded as indecisive. The moral effect, however, on both sides was sufficient. Mutallu made overtures for a truce, which the Pharaoh readily accepted,[809] and the Egyptian forces were withdrawn.
PLATE LXXXVIII
BATTLE OF KADESH: HITTITE CHARIOTRY CHARGING A HILL.
Temple of Rameses II. at Abydos.
The result of this battle proved indeed an effective rebuke to the ambitions of the leaders on both sides. Thereafter Rameses confined his military operations to southern Syria. With the Hittites the issue was more serious, and the consequences more immediate. Two princes of the royal blood, Sipa-zar (? Subbi-sil) and Mazarima, several chiefs, soldiers, and charioteers had been counted among the slain. The Kataonian chief also perished in the battle, and the king of Aleppo was drowned while attempting to cross the moat and marshes that protected Kadesh. The great army had to be disbanded, dismayed and disappointed, when victory had been so nearly within their grasp. The Amorites, whose home lands had suffered perhaps most of all in this warfare, and who were at all times watchful of the balance, threw off their allegiance.[810] Their chief, Put-akhi,[811] was deposed, but escaped the punishment of his offence. The disaffection spread among the troops: a mutiny took place, in which the chief general figures conspicuously, and Mutallu was assassinated.[812] The zenith of Hittite power was passed; the Hittite Sun had reached its highest point, and the shadows at that same moment began to lengthen. Never again, it would seem, could the Hittite leaders call up in their special enterprise so many allies drawn from such varied peoples.