A History of Babylon, from the Foundation of the Monarchy to the Persian Conquest

by L. W. King

FIG. 55.

TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE LOWER WESTERN GATEWAY AT KHATTI.

The exterior projection of each flanking tower beyond the wall is indicated in the diagram.

(After Puchstein.)

The Egyptian war was continued with varying success, though it is certain that the Hittites were eventually successful in the north. But in the reign of Khattusil, the brother of Mutallu, both sides were weary of the conflict, and an elaborate treaty of peace and alliance was drawn up. This, when engraved upon a silver tablet, was carried to Egypt by an ambassador and presented to Rameses. The contents of the treaty have long been known from the Egyptian text, engraved on the walls of the temple at Karnak; and among the tablets found at Boghaz Keui was a broken copy of the original Hittite version,[38] drawn up in cuneiform characters and in Babylonian, the language of diplomacy at the period. Khattusil also maintained friendly relations with the Babylonian court, and he informed the king of Babylon of his treaty with the king of Egypt. It is clear from a copy of the letter, recovered at Boghaz Keui, that the Babylonian king had heard about the treaty and had written to enquire concerning it. Khattusil replies that the king of Egypt and he had formed a friendship and had concluded an alliance: "We are brothers, and against a foe will we fight together, and with a friend will we together maintain friendship."[39] And his next remark enables us to identify his Kassite correspondent; for he adds, "and when the king of Egypt [formerly] attacked [Khatti], then did I write to inform thy father Kadashman-turgu." Khattusil was thus the contemporary of two Kassite kings, Kadashman-turgu and Kadashman-Enlil II., the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth rulers of the dynasty.

Another section of this letter is of considerable interest, as it shows that an attempt by Khattusil to intervene in Babylonian politics had been resented, and had led to a temporary estrangement between the two countries. Khattusil is at pains to reassure Kadashman-Enlil as to the unselfishness of his motives, explaining that the action he had taken had been dictated entirely by the Kassite king's own interests. The episode had occurred on the death of Kadashman-turgu, and, according to Khattusil's account, he had at once written to Babylon to say that, unless the succession of Kadashman-Enlil, who was then a boy, was recognized, he would break off the alliance he had concluded with the late king, Kadasman-Enlil's father. The Babylonian chief minister, Itti-Marduk-balâtu, had taken offence at the tone of the letter, and had replied that the Hittite king had not written in the tone of brotherhood, but had issued his commands as though the Babylonians were his vassals. As a result, diplomatic negotiations had been broken off during the young king's minority; but he had now attained his majority, and had taken the direction of affairs from his minister's hands into his own. The long communication from Khattusil must have been written shortly after the resumption of diplomatic intercourse.

After giving these explanations of his present relations with Egypt, and of his former discontinuance of negotiations with Babylon, Khattusil passes on to matters which doubtless had furnished the occasion for his letter. Certain Babylonian merchants, when journeying by caravan to Amurru and Ugarit, a town in Northern Phœnicia, had been murdered; and, as the responsibility lay on the Hittite empire in its character of suzerain, Kudashman-Enlil had apparently addressed to Khattusil the demand that the guilty parties should be handed over to the relatives of the murdered men. The reference is of interest, as it gives further proof of Babylon's commercial activities in the West, and shows how, after Egypt had lost her control of Northern Syria, the Kassite rulers addressed themselves to its new suzerain to secure protection for their caravans.

We have evidence that such diplomatic action was thoroughly effective, for not only had Babylon's language and system of writing penetrated Western Asia, but her respect for law and her legislative methods had accompanied them, at any rate within the Hittite area. The point is well illustrated by one of the last sections in this remarkable letter, which deals with a complaint by the Babylonian king concerning some action of the Amorite prince, Banti-shinni. The Amorite, when accused by Khattusil of having "troubled the land" of Kadashman-Enlil, had replied by advancing a counterclaim for thirty talents of silver against the inhabitants of Akkad. After stating this fact, Khattusil continues in his letter: "Now, since Banti-Shinni has become my vassal, let my brother prosecute the claim against him; and, concerning the troubling of my brother's land, he shall make his defence before the god[40] in the presence of thy ambassador, Adad-shar-ilâni. And if my brother will not conduct the action (himself), then shall thy servant come who has heard that Banti-Shinni harassed my brother's land, and he shall conduct the action. Then will I summon Banti-Shinni to answer the charge. He is (my) vassal. If he harasses my brother, does he not then harass me?"[41]