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{{Short description|Ancient Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Mitanni
| common_name = Kingdom of Mitanni
| native_name =
| p1 = Hittite Empire
| flag_p1 =
| p2 = Yamhad
| flag_p2 = Yamhad and Vassals.png
| year_start = {{circa}} 1600 BC
| year_end = {{circa}} 1260 BC
| s1 = Middle Assyrian Empire
| flag_s1 =
| image_flag =
| image_coat =
| image_map = Carte du Mitanni-en.svg
| image_map_caption = Kingdom of Mitanni at its greatest extent under [[Baratarna|Barattarna]] {{Circa|1490 BC}}
| capital = [[Washukanni]]
| common_languages = [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]]<br />[[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]<br />[[Amorite language|Amorite]]
| religion = {{plainlist|
*[[Historical Vedic religion]]<ref>Fournet, Arnaud, (2010). [https://www.academia.edu/642020/Journal_of_Indo-European_Studies._2010._About_the_Mitanni_Aryan_gods._1-2_26-40_ "About the Mitanni Aryan Gods"], in Journal of Indo-European Studies 38 (1-2), pp. 26-40. See [in this pdf version] pp. 3, 5, and 10.</ref><ref>Devecchi, Elena, (2018). [https://ur.booksc.eu/book/72917351/aa1fc4 “Details That Make the Difference: The Akkadian Manuscripts of the ‘Šattiwaza Treaties.’”], in: Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 48, no. 1, 2018, pp. 72–95. See '''p. 72:''' "...The so-called 'Šattiwaza treaties' are a set of two documents (CTH 51 and CTH 52) ratifying the subjugation of Šattiwaza of Mittani to the Hittite king
Šuppiluliuma I, an event dated to the 2nd half of the 14th century BCE..."</ref>
*[[Hurrian religion]]
*[[Ancient Mesopotamian religion]]}}
| government_type = Monarchy
| title_leader = King
| year_leader1 = {{Circa}} 1540 BC
| leader1 = [[Kirta]] (first known)
| year_leader2 = {{Circa}} 1260 BC
| leader2 = [[Shattuara II]] (last)
| era = Bronze Age
| event_start =
| date_start =
| event1 =
| date_event1 =
| event_end =
| date_end =
| currency =
}}
'''Mitanni''' ({{Circa|1550}}–1260 BC),{{efn|{{IPAc-en|m|ɪ|ˈ|t|æ|n|i}}
*{{lang-hit|𒆳𒌷𒈪𒋫𒀭𒉌|[[KUR]] <sup>[[Cities of the ancient Near East|URU]]</sup>Mi-ta-an-ni; Mittani}} or {{lang-hit|𒈪𒀉𒋫𒉌|Mi-it-ta-ni|links=no}}}} earlier called '''Ḫabigalbat''' in old Babylonian texts, {{Circa|1600 BC}};<ref name="van Koppen, Frans, (2004)"/> '''Hanigalbat''' or '''Hani-Rabbat''' in [[Assyria]]n records,{{efn|{{lang|akk|Hanikalbat, Khanigalbat}}, {{lang-akk|𒄩𒉌𒃲𒁁|Ḫa-ni-gal-bat, Ḫa-ni-rab-bat}}}} or {{lang|egy|[[Naharin]]}} in [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] texts, was a [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]]-speaking state in northern [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and southeast [[Anatolia]] (modern-day [[Turkey]])<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8HKDtlPuM2oC&pg=PA402 |title=A Dictionary of Archaeology |last2=Jameson |first2=Robert |date=2008-04-15 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-75196-1 |pages=402 |language=en}}</ref> with [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] [[Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni|linguistic and political influences]].{{efn|See {{section link||Indo-Aryan influences}} for the debate regarding the extent of Indo-Aryan influence over Mitanni.}} Since no histories, royal annals or chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts.
The [[Hurrians]] were in the region as of the late 3rd millennium BC.<ref>Buccellati, Giorgio, and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati, (1997). [https://ixtheo.de/Record/1787586049/Description "Urkesh: The First Hurrian Capital"], The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 60, no. 2, 1997, pp. 77–96. '''Abstract:''' "...the sealings provided satisfying proof that Tell Mozan was the site of the third-millennium Hurrian capital city Urkesh..."</ref> A king of [[Urkesh]] with a Hurrian name, Tupkish, was found on a clay sealing dated {{Circa|2300 BC}} at Tell Mozan.<ref name="Salvini" >Salvini, Mirjo. "The earliest evidences of the Hurrians before the formation of the reign of Mittanni." Urkesh and the Hurrians Studies in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen. Urkesh/Mozan Studies Bibliotheca Mesopotamica. Malibu: Undena Publications (1998): 99-115</ref><ref>Lawler, Andrew. "Who Were the Hurrians?" Archaeology, vol. 61, no. 4, 2008, pp. 46–52</ref> The first recorded inscription of their language was of [[Tish-atal]] ({{Circa|21st century BC}}), king of [[Urkesh]].<ref>Yakubovich, I. (2011). [Review of Einführung in die hurritsche Sprache, by I. Wegner]. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 70(2), 337–339</ref> Later on, Hurrians made up the main population of Mitanni, which was firstly known as ''Ḫabigalbat'', at Babylonia, in two texts of the late [[Old Babylonian Empire|Old Babylonian period]],<ref name="van Koppen, Frans, (2004)"/><ref name="von Dassow, Eva, (2022)"/> during the reign of [[Ammi-Saduqa]], ({{Circa|1638}}–1618 BC), in low middle chronology.
The Mitanni Empire was a strong regional power limited by the Hittites to the north, Egyptians to the west, Kassites to the south, and later by the Assyrians to the east. At its maximum extent Mitanni ranged as far west as [[Kizzuwatna]] by the [[Taurus Mountains]], [[Tunip]] in the south, [[Arraphe]] in the east, and north to [[Lake Van]].<ref name="Dassow2014">von Dassow, Eva, (2014). "[https://www.academia.edu/7479998/Levantine_Polities_under_Mittanian_Hegemony Levantine Polities under Mittanian Hegemony]". In: Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Nicole Brisch and Jesper Eidem (eds.). ''Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State''. pp. 11-32. </ref> Their sphere of influence is shown in Hurrian place names, personal names and the spread through Syria and the [[Levant]] of a distinct pottery type, [[Nuzi ware]].<ref>Diana L. Stein: Khabur Ware and Nuzi Ware: Their Origin, Relationship, and Significance. Malibu 1984</ref>
==Etymology==
===Mitanni===
{{hiero|1=mꜥṯn(j)<ref name = Gauthier25/><ref name = Budge999/> |2=<hiero>G17-D38:V13:N35-N25</hiero>|era=nk|align=right}}
The earliest recorded form of the name of this state is {{transliteration|inc-x-mitanni|Maitanni}}, composed of a Hurrian suffix {{transliteration|xhu|-nni}} added to the Indo-Aryan stem {{transliteration|inc-x-mitanni|maita-}}, meaning "to unite" and comparable with the [[Sanskrit]] verb {{transliteration|sa|mith}} ({{lang|sa|मिथ्}}; {{lit|to unite, pair, couple, meet}}). The name {{transliteration|inc-x-mitanni|Maitanni}} thus meant the "united kingdom."{{sfn|Fournet|2010|p=11}}
Paralleling the evolution of Proto-Indo-Aryan {{transliteration|inc-x-proto|máytʰati}}, meaning {{lit|he unites}}, into Sanskrit {{transliteration|sa|méthati}} ({{lang|sa|मेथति}}), the name {{transliteration|inc-x-mitanni|Maitanni}} evolved into the later form {{transliteration|inc-x-mitanni|Mitanni}}, where the stem {{transliteration|inc-x-mitanni|maita-}} had given way to {{transliteration|inc-x-mitanni|mita-}}.{{sfn|Fournet|2010|p=11}}
===Ḫani-Rabbat===
The Mitanni kingdom was firstly known as ''Ḫabingalbat'' before 1600 BC in Babylonia, during the reign of [[Ammi-Saduqa]], attested as ''ḫa-bi-in-gal-ba-ti-i'', and ''ḫa-bi-in-ga-al-ba-at'', in two texts of the late [[Old Babylonian Empire|Old Babylonian period]].<ref name="van Koppen, Frans, (2004)">van Koppen, Frans, (2004). [https://www.academia.edu/2462202/_The_Geography_of_the_Slave_Trade_and_Northern_Mesopotamia_in_the_Late_Old_Babylonian_Period_in_H_Hunger_and_R_Pruzsinszky_ed_Mesopotamian_Dark_Age_Revisited_Vienna_%C3%96sterreichische_Akademie_der_Wissenschaften_2004_9_3 "The Geography of the Slave Trade and Northern Mesopotamia in the Late Old Babylonian Period"], in: H. Hunger and R. Pruzsinszky (eds.), ''Mesopotamian Dark Age Revisited'', Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna, p. 21, and '''footnote 65:''' "An unpublished Old Babylonian text dated to [[Ammi-Saduqa|Ammi-saduqa]] (circa 1600 B.C.), the knowledge of which I owe to the kindness of Mr. Douglas Kennedy of the Centre National de Recherches de Paris, deals with the issue of beer to the tu-ur-gu-ma-an-ni ša éren ḫa-bi-in-gal-ba-ti-i ‘the dragomans of the Hanigalbatian soldiers/workers’"[quoting Gelb 1968: 97], and "...A personnel register, probably also from the reign of Ammisaduqa, mentions the person ib-ba-tum éren ḫa-bi-in-ga-al-ba-at (BM96955 iii 9)..."</ref><ref name="von Dassow, Eva, (2022)"/> Egyptians referred to it as ''[[Naharin]]'' and ''Mitanni'',<ref name = Gauthier25>{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 3 |date=1926 |page=25 |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1926/page/n15}}</ref><ref name = Budge999>{{cite book |last1=Wallis Budge |first1=E. A. |title=An Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary: with an index of English words, king list and geological list with indexes, list of hieroglyphic characters, Coptic and Semitic alphabets, etc. Vol II |date=1920 |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly02budguoft/page/999 999] |url=https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly02budguoft}}</ref> it was ''Ḫurri'' to the Hittites, and ''Ḫanigalbat'' or ''Ḫani-Rabbat'' to the Assyrians. These names seem to have referred to the same kingdom and were often used interchangeably, according to Michael C. Astour.<ref>Astour, "Ḫattusilis̆, Ḫalab, and Ḫanigalbat" ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'' '''31'''.2 (April 1972:102–109) p 103.</ref> Hittite annals mention a people called ''Hurri'' (''{{transliteration|hit|Ḫu-ur-ri}}''), located in northeastern Syria. A Hittite fragment, probably from the time of [[Mursili I]], mentions a "King of the Hurri," and the [[Akkadian language|Assyro-Akkadian]] version of the text renders "Hurri" as ''Hanigalbat''. Tushratta, who styles himself "king of Mitanni" in his [[Amarna letters|Akkadian Amarna letters]], refers to his kingdom as Hanigalbat.<ref>Astour 1972:103, noting Amarna letters 18:9; 20:17;29:49.</ref>
The earliest attestation of the term ''Ḫanigalbat'' can be read in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], along with the [[Hittite language|Hittite]] version mentioning "the Hurrian enemy,"<ref>De Martino, Stefano, (2018). [https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/1685098#.X1BUcIvB_IU "Political and Cultural Relations between the Kingdom of Mittani and its Subordinated Polities in Syria and Southeast Anatolia"], in Changing Faces of Kingship in Syria-Palestine 1500–500 BCE, Alter Orient und Testament 459, Ugarit Verlag, '''p. 37''': "...The term Ḫanigalbat first occurs in the Akkadian version of the Annals of Ḫattušili I... whereas the Hittite version uses the generic expression 'the Hurrian enemy,' as do two old Babylonian texts... perhaps this term refers to the Hurrian "progenitor" of Mittani..."</ref> in a copy from the 13th century BC of the "Annals of [[Ḫattušili I]],"<ref name="Bryce">Bryce, Trevor R., (2018). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338001738_The_Annals_and_Lost_Golden_Statue_of_the_Hittite_King_Hattusili_I "The Annals and Lost Golden Statue of the Hittite King Hattusili I"], in Gephyra 16, November 2018, '''p. 3:''' "Like most other Hittite documents, the Annals have survived only in a late 13th century copy, the last in a line of copies made over several centuries. There are generally only minor variations between the Hittite and Akkadian versions of the text. Consistent with van den Hout's proposals, I have suggested that the document was first composed in Akkadian and later translated into Hittite – contra the suggestions that both versions were composed at the same time or that the Akkadian version was translated from an original Hittite one."</ref> who possibly reigned after 1630 BC.<ref>Yener, Aslihan K., (2021). [https://www.academia.edu/61046107/Some_Thoughts_about_Middle_Bronze_Age_Alalakh_and_Ugarit_Reassessing_an_Alalakh_Wall_Painting_with_Archival_Data "Some Thoughts about Middle Bronze Age Alalakh and Ugarit: Reassessing an Alalakh Wall Painting with Archival Data"], in: Ougarit, un anniversaire, Bilans et recherches en cours, Peeters, Leuven-Paris-Bristol, '''p. 579''': "...the Level VII Palace [was destroyed] by Hattusili I in his second year, 1628 BC (middle chronology)..."</ref>
The reading of the Assyrian term ''Ḫanigalbat'' has a history of multiple renderings. The first portion has been connected to, "{{cuneiform|𒄩𒉡}} ''{{transliteration|akk|Ḫa-nu}}''," "Hanu" or "Hana," first attested in [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] to describe nomadic inhabitants along the southern shore of the northern [[Euphrates]] region, near the vicinity of [[Terqa]] (capital of the [[Kingdom of Khana|Kingdom of Hana]]) and the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur]] River. The term developed into more than just a designation for a people group, but also took on a topographic aspect as well. In the [[Middle Assyrian Empire|Middle Assyrian period]], a phrase "{{cuneiform|𒌷𒆳𒄩𒉡𒀭𒋫}}" "''{{transliteration|akk|<sup>URU</sup>KUR Ḫa-nu AN.TA}}''," "cities of the Upper Hanu" has suggested that there was a distinction between two different Hanu's, likely across each side of the river. This northern side designation spans much of the core territory of Mitanni state.
The two signs that have led to variant readings are "{{cuneiform|𒃲}} ''{{transliteration|akk|gal}}''" and its alternative form "{{cuneiform|𒆗}} ''{{transliteration|akk|gal<sub>9</sub>}}''". The first attempts at decipherment in the late 19th century rendered forms interpreting "''gal''," meaning "great" in Sumerian, as a logogram for Akkadian "''rab''" having the same meaning; "Ḫani-Rabbat" denoting "the Great Hani". [[Jørgen Alexander Knudtzon|J. A. Knudtzon]], and [[E. A. Speiser]] after him, supported instead the reading of "''gal''" on the basis of its alternative spelling with "''gal<sub>9</sub>''", which has since become the majority view.
There is still a difficulty to explain the suffix "''-bat''" if the first sign did not end in "''b''," or the apparent similarity to the Semitic feminine ending "''-at''," if derived from a Hurrian word. More recently, in 2011, scholar Miguel Valério,<ref>[https://unibo.academia.edu/MiguelVal%C3%A9rio Miguel Valério], Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Filologia classica e Italianistica (FICLIT).</ref> then at the [[New University of Lisbon]] provided detailed support in favor of the older reading ''Hani-Rabbat''.<ref>Valério, Miguel, (2011). [https://www.academia.edu/670734/2011_Hani_Rabbat_as_the_Semitic_Name_of_Mitanni "Hani-Rabbat as the Semitic Name of Mitanni"], in Journal of Language Relationship, International Scientific Periodical Nº6 (2011), Russian State University for the Humanities, Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, '''p. 174''': "...The present essay intends to rehabilitate Hani-Rabbat as the accurate normalization of the Assyrian name of Mitanni, by showing the unmotivated nature of the alternative Hanigalbat as opposed to the more substantiated reading of GAL as rab in the spelling of this toponym..."</ref> The re-reading makes an argument on the basis of frequency, where "''gal''" not "''gal<sub>9</sub>''," is far more numerous; the later being the deviation found in six documents, all from the periphery of the Akkadian sphere of influence. It is additionally argued that although they are graphically distinct, there is a high degree of overlap between the two signs, as "''gal<sub>9</sub>''" denotes "''dannum''" or ""strong"" opposed to "great", easily being used as synonyms. Both signs also represent correlative readings; alternative readings of "''gal<sub>9</sub>''" include "''rib''" and "''rip''," just like "''gal''" being read as "''rab''."
The situation is complicated by there being, according to linguists, three separate dialects of Hurrian, central-western, northern, and eastern.<ref>Astour, Michael C.. "A Reconstruction of the History of Ebla (Part 2)". Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language, Volume 4, edited by Cyrus H. Gordon and Gary A. Rendsburg, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021, pp. 57-196</ref>
The Egyptians considered the Euphrates River to form the boundary between Syria and ''Naharain''.<ref>Spalinger, Anthony. “A New Reference to an Egyptian Campaign of Thutmose III in Asia.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 37, no. 1, 1978, pp. 35–41</ref>
==History==
===Summary===
[[File:Cylinder seal and modern impression Nude male, griffins, monkey, lion, goat, ca 15th 14th century BC Mitanni.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Cylinder seal and modern impression: nude male, griffins, monkey, lion, goat, {{Circa|15th/14th century BC}}, Mitanni]]
The Egyptian official astronomer and clockmaker Amenemhet (Amen-hemet) apparently ordered to be written on his tomb that he returned from the "foreign country called ''Mtn'' (''Mi-ti-ni''),"<ref>Amenemhet's memoir was published in: Borchardt, L., (1930). "Altägyptische Zeitmessung", in E. von Basserman-Jordan, ''Die Geschichte der Zeitmessung und der Ühre'', vol. I., 1930, Berlin/Leipzig, pp 60ff. (Mentioned in Astour 1972:104, footnotes 25,26) transliterating ''Mtn'' as ''Me-ta-ni'', although Alexandra von Lieven (2016: 219) mentions it as ''Mi-ti-ni''.</ref><ref>De Martino, Stefano, (2018). [https://123dok.org/document/8yd06e1z-political-cultural-relations-kingdom-subordinated-polities-southeast-anatolia.html "Political and Cultural Relations between the Kingdom of Mittani and its Subordinated Polities in Syria and Southeast Anatolia"], in: ''Changing Faces of Kingship in Syria-Palestine 1500–500 BCE'', Alter Orient und Testament 459, Ugarit Verlag, '''p. 37:''' "The earliest attestation of the toponym Mittani comes from an Egyptian source, an inscription from Thebes on the grave of a state official called Amen-hemet. The inscription refers to the Syrian military expedition this official had taken part in, which advanced as far as the country of ''Mtn'' (Mittani)...we presume that this expedition was the one led by Tuthmosis I..."</ref> but Alexandra von Lieven (2016) and Eva von Dassow (2022) consider that the expedition to Mitanni could have taken place in pharaoh [[Ahmose I]]'s reign ({{Circa|1550}}–1525 BC), actually by Amenemhet's father.<ref>von Lieven, Alexandra, (2016). [https://www.academia.edu/28449812/von%20Lieven%20Clockmaker%20Amenemhet%20pdf "The Movement of Time. News from the 'Clockmaker' Amenemhet"], in: RICH and GREAT: Studies in Honour of Anthony J. Spalinger, Faculty of Art, Charles University in Prague, '''p. 220:''' "The most likely explanation for the preceding story about Mitanni is that it is part of the background of the speaker. This could imply that perhaps Amenemhet's father had risen in rank due to some major feat accomplished during Ahmose's military campaign there."</ref><ref>von Dassow, Eva, (2022). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Hr9qEAAAQBAJ&dq=astronomer+and+clockmaker+Amenemhet&pg=PA466 "Mittani and Its Empire"], in: Karen Radner, Nadine Moeller, D. T. Potts (eds.), The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume III: From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC, Oxford University Press, '''p. 466:''' "...We owe the earliest extant mention of Mittani to the tomb autobiography of Amenemhat, the astronomer and clockmaker who refers to a campaign that may have taken place as early as Ahmose's reign in the late sixteenth century BC..."</ref> During the reign of pharaoh [[Thutmose I]] (1506–1493 BC), the names Mitanni and Naharin are among the reminiscences of several of the pharaoh's officers. One of them, Ahmose si-Abina, wrote: "...His Majesty arrived at Naharin..." Another one, Ahmose pa-Nekhbit, recorded: "...when I captured for him in the land of Naharin..."<ref>Redford, Donald B., (1979). [https://ur.booksc.me/book/27850599/77cc7d "A Gate Inscription from Karnak and Egyptian Involvement in Western Asia during the Early 18th Dynasty"], in: Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 99, no. 2, p. 275.</ref>
After the [[Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC)|Battle of Megiddo]], an officer of pharaoh [[Thutmose III]] (1479–1425 BC), in the pharaoh's 22 regnal year, reported: "That [wretched] enemy of Kadesh has come and has entered into Megiddo. He is [there] at this moment. He has gathered to him the princes of [every] foreign country [which had been] loyal to Egypt, as well as (those) as far as Naharin and M[itanni], them of Hurru, them of Kode, their horses, their armies."<ref>Wilson, John A.. "VII. Egyptian Historical Texts". The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, edited by James B. Pritchard, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021, pp. 226-245</ref> In several later military campaigns the [[Annals of Thutmose III]] mention Naharin, in particular those of his regnal years 33, 35, and 42.<ref>Spalinger, Anthony. “A Critical Analysis of the ‘Annals’ of Thutmose III (Stücke V-VI).” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 14, 1977, pp. 41–54</ref> After that time, records become more available from local sources until the empire's end in the mid-13th century BC.<ref>Leonard, Albert. “Archaeological Sources for the History of Palestine: The Late Bronze Age.” The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 52, no. 1, 1989, pp. 4–39</ref>
The first known use of Indo-Aryan names for Mitanni rulers begins with [[Shuttarna I]] who succeeded his father Kirta on the throne.<ref name="De Martino, Stefano, (2014)">De Martino, Stefano, (2014). [https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/121842?rskey=8gWvjZ&result=17&q=topoi&tab_body=toc-62810 "The Mittani State: The Formation of the Kingdom of Mittani"], in Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space in Upper Mesopotamia: The Emergence of the Mittani State, De Gruyter, Berlin, Boston, p. 69.</ref> King [[Barattarna]] of Mitanni expanded the kingdom west to [[List of rulers of Aleppo|Aleppo]] and made the [[Amorites|Amorite]]<ref>Lauinger, Jacob, (2020). [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/aemw/alalakh/idrimi/corpus/ "Statue of Idrimi"], in The Electronic Idrimi, Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC): "...(1) I am Idrimi, the son of Ilī-ilimma, a servant of IM, Hebat and IŠTAR, the lady of Alalah, the lady, my lady. (3) In Aleppo, the house of my father, a bad thing occurred, so we fled to the Emarites, sisters [o]f my mother, and settled at Emar. Though my older brothers lived with me, none deliberated matters as I did..." [So, Idrimi was an Amorite, son of Ilī-ilimma from Aleppo].</ref> king [[Idrimi]] of [[Alalakh]] his vassal,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Van De Mieroop|first1=Marc|title=A History of the Ancient Near East c. 3000–323BC|date=2007|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|location=Malden, MA|isbn=978-1-4051-4911-2|page=152|edition=2nd}}</ref> and five generations seems to separate this king (also known as Parattarna) from the rise of Mitanni kingdom.<ref>De Martino, Stefano, (2004). "A Tentative Chronology of the Kingdom of Mittani from its Rise to the Reign of Tusratta", in Mesopotamian Dark Age Revisited: Proceedings of an International Conference of SCIEM 2000, Vienna 8th–9th November 2002, Vienna, p. 37.</ref> The state of [[Kizzuwatna]] in the west also shifted its allegiance to Mitanni, and Assyria in the east had become largely a Mitannian vassal state by the mid-15th century BC. The nation grew stronger during the reign of [[Shaushtatar]], but the Hurrians were keen to keep the Hittites inside the Anatolian highland. Kizzuwatna in the west and [[Ishuwa]] in the north were important allies against the hostile Hittites.
Mitanni's major rival was Egypt under the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Thutmosids]]. However, with the ascent of the [[Hittite Empire]], Mitanni and Egypt struck an alliance to protect their mutual interests from the threat of Hittite domination. After a few successful clashes with the Egyptians over the control of Syria, Mitanni sought peace with them, and an alliance was formed. During the reign of [[Shuttarna II]], in the early 14th century BC, the relationship was very amicable, and he sent his daughter [[Gilukhipa|Gilu-Hepa]] to Egypt for marriage with Pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]]. Mitanni was now at its peak of power.
However, by the reign of [[Eriba-Adad I]] (1390–1366 BC) Mitanni influence over Assyria was on the wane. Eriba-Adad I became involved in a dynastic battle between [[Tushratta]] and his brother [[Artatama II]] and after this his son [[Shuttarna II]], who called himself king of the [[Hurri]] while seeking support from the Assyrians. A pro-Hurri/Assyria faction appeared at the royal Mitanni court. Eriba-Adad I had thus loosened Mitanni influence over Assyria, and in turn had now made Assyria an influence over Mitanni affairs.<ref>George Roux, '' Ancient Iraq'', Penguin Books; 3rd ed. edition (March 1, 1993) ISBN 978-0140125238</ref> King [[Ashur-uballit I]] (1365–1330 BC) of [[Assyria]] attacked Shuttarna and annexed Mitanni territory in the middle of the 14th century BC, making Assyria once more a great power.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cline |first=Eric H. |date=2014 |title=[[1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed]] |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=61 |isbn=978-1400849987 }}</ref>
At the death of Shuttarna, Mitanni was ravaged by a war of succession. Eventually Tushratta, a son of Shuttarna, ascended the throne, but the kingdom had been weakened considerably and both the Hittite and Assyrian threats increased. At the same time, the diplomatic relationship with Egypt went cold, the Egyptians fearing the growing power of the Hittites and Assyrians. The Hittite king [[Suppiluliuma I]] invaded the Mitanni vassal states in northern Syria and replaced them with loyal subjects.
In the capital [[Washukanni]], a new power struggle broke out. The Hittites and the Assyrians supported different pretenders to the throne. Finally a Hittite army conquered the capital Washukanni and installed [[Shattiwaza]], the son of Tushratta, as their vassal king of Mitanni in the late 14th century BC.<ref name="Devecchi2018" >Devecchi, Elena. “Details That Make the Difference: The Akkadian Manuscripts of the ‘Šattiwaza Treaties.’” Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 48, no. 1, 2018, pp. 72–95</ref> The kingdom had by now been reduced to the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur Valley]]. The Assyrians had not given up their claim on Mitanni, and in the 13th century BC, [[Shalmaneser I]] annexed the kingdom.
The Mitanni dynasty had ruled over the northern [[Tigris–Euphrates river system|Euphrates-Tigris]] region between {{Circa|1600}} and 1350 BC,<ref name="academia.edu">Novák, Mirko, (2013). [https://www.academia.edu/7615265/Upper_Mesopotamia_in_the_Mittani_Period "Upper Mesopotamia in the Mittani Period"], in Archéologie et Histoire de la Syrie I, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, p. 349.</ref> but succumbed to Hittite and later Assyrian attacks, and Mitanni was reduced to the status of a province of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] between {{Circa|1350}} and 1260 BC.<ref name="academia.edu"/>
===Early kingdom===
[[File:Cylinder seal,ca. 16th–15th century BC Mitanni.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Cylinder seal, {{Circa|16th–15th century BC}}, Mitanni]]
As early as [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] times, Hurrians are known to have lived east of the river Tigris on the northern rim of Mesopotamia, and in the Khabur Valley. The group which became Mitanni gradually moved south into Mesopotamia before the 17th century BC. It was already a powerful kingdom at the end of the 17th century or in the first half of the 16th century BC, and its beginnings date to well before the time of [[Thutmose I]], dating actually to the time of the Hittite sovereigns [[Hattusili I]] and [[Mursili I]].<ref name="De Martino">De Martino, Stefano, (2014). [https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/121842?rskey=8gWvjZ&result=17&q=topoi&tab_body=toc-62810 "The Mittani State: The Formation of the Kingdom of Mittani"], in Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space in Upper Mesopotamia: The Emergence of the Mittani State, De Gruyter, Berlin, Boston, p. 61.</ref>
Hurrians are mentioned in the private [[Nuzi]] texts, in [[Ugarit]], and the Hittite archives in [[Hattusa]] ([[Boğazkale|Boğazköy]]). [[Cuneiform (script)|Cuneiform]] texts from [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] mention rulers of city-states in upper Mesopotamia with both ''Amurru'' (Amorite) and Hurrian names. Rulers with Hurrian names are also attested for [[Urshu]]m and [[Hassum]], and tablets from [[Alalakh]] (layer VII, from the later part of the Old [[Babylonia]]n period) mention people with Hurrian names at the mouth of the [[Orontes river|Orontes]]. There is no evidence for any invasion from the North-east. Generally, these [[onomastic]] sources have been taken as evidence for a Hurrian expansion to the South and the West.
A Hittite fragment, probably from the time of [[Mursili I]], mentions a "King of the Hurrians" (''LUGAL ERÍN.MEŠ Hurri''). This terminology was last used for King Tushratta of Mitanni, in a letter in the Amarna archives. The normal title of the king was 'King of the Hurri-men' (without the determinative ''KUR'' indicating a country).
===After the fall of Mitanni===
With the final decline of the Mitanni Empire the western portions of its territory came under direct control of the Hittites and the eastern portions came under direct control of the Assyrians. The middle part continued on as the [[rump state]] of Hanigalbat. Eventually, under Shalmaneser I, that remaining part of the former Mitanni territory came under direct Assyrian control. This continued until the decline of Middle Assyrian power after the death of Tukulti-Ninurta I.<ref>[https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2722770/view] Akkermans, Peter MMG, José Limpens, and Richard H. Spoor. "On the frontier of Assyria: excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad, 1991.", Akkadica, vol. 84-85, pp. 1-52 (1993).</ref><ref>Devecchi, Elena. "6 The Governance of the Subordinated Countries". Handbook Hittite Empire: Power Structures, edited by Stefano de Martino, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2022, pp. 271-312</ref>
While under direct Assyrian control Hanigalbat was ruled by appointed governors such as the Assyrian grand-vizier [[Ilī-padâ]], father of [[Ninurta-apal-Ekur]] (1191–1179), who took the title of [[King of Hanigalbat]].<ref>Hagens, Graham. “The Assyrian King List and Chronology: A Critique.” Orientalia, vol. 74, no. 1, 2005, pp. 23–41</ref> He resided in the newly built (over an existing Mitanni tower and residence) Assyrian administrative centre at [[Tell Sabi Abyad]].<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bleda-During/publication/311509524_During_BS_Visser_E_and_Akkermans_PMMG_2015_Skeletons_in_the_Fortress_The_Late_Bronze_Age_Burials_of_Tell_Sabi_Abyad_Syria_Levant_4730-50/links/5b61804baca272a2d6791b6d/Duering-BS-Visser-E-and-Akkermans-PMMG-2015-Skeletons-in-the-Fortress-The-Late-Bronze-Age-Burials-of-Tell-Sabi-Abyad-Syria-Levant-4730-50.pdf] Düring, Bleda S., Eva Visser, and Peter MMG Akkermans. "Skeletons in the Fortress: The Late Bronze Age Burials of Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria." Levant 47.1 (2015): 30-50</ref>
The Babylonian Kings List A names the Assyrian ruler [[Sennacherib]] (705–681 BC) and his son [[Ashur-nadin-shumi]] (700–694) as being "Dynasty of Ḫabigal".<ref>Babylonian and Assyrian Historical Texts". Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement, edited by James B. Pritchard, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016, pp. 265-317</ref><ref>Uncertain Dynasties". Rulers of Babylonia, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016, pp. 90-274</ref>
The name Hanigalbat was still in use as late as the later portion of the 1st millennium BC.<ref>Da Riva, Rocío. “A New Attestation of Ḫabigalbat in Late Babylonian Sources.” Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 47, no. 2, 2017, pp. 259–64</ref><ref>Da Riva, Rocío. “Addendum to Rocío Da Riva, A New Attestation of Ḫabigalbat in Late Babylonian Sources, WdO 47/2 (2017) 259–264.” Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 48, no. 1, 2018, pp. 96–98</ref>
==Indo-Aryan influences==
{{main|Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni}}
{{see also|Maryannu}}
A number of theonyms, proper names and glosses (technical terminology) of the Mitanni are of [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] or [[Proto-Indo-Aryan language|Proto-Indo-Aryan]] origins.<ref name=Cotticelli/> Starting from [[Shuttarna I]] who is the first Mitanni ruler historically attested to have existed, the Mitanni had Indo-Aryan [[regnal name|throne names]].<ref name="De Martino, Stefano, (2014)"/> The [[Kikkuli]]'s horse training text includes technical terms of Indo-Aryan origin,<ref>{{cite journal |first=Paul |last=Thieme |title=The 'Aryan' Gods of the Mitanni Treaties |journal=[[Journal of the American Oriental Society]] |volume=80 |issue=4 |year=1960 |pages=301–17 |doi=10.2307/595878 |jstor=595878 }}</ref> and the Indo-Aryan deities [[Mitra]], [[Varuna]], [[Indra]], and [[Nasatya]] ([[Asvins|Ashvins]]) are listed and invoked in two treaties found in [[Hattusa]], between the kings [[Sattiwaza]] of Mitanni and [[Šuppiluliuma I]] the Hittite: (treaty KBo I 3) and (treaty KBo I 1 and its duplicates).<ref>Fournet, Arnaud, (2010). [https://www.academia.edu/642020/Journal_of_Indo-European_Studies._2010._About_the_Mitanni_Aryan_gods._1-2_26-40_ "About the Mitanni Aryan Gods"], in Journal of Indo-European Studies 38 (1-2), pp. 26-40. See [in this pdf version] pp. 3, 5, and 10.</ref><ref>Devecchi, Elena, (2018). [https://ur.booksc.eu/book/72917351/aa1fc4 “Details That Make the Difference: The Akkadian Manuscripts of the ‘Šattiwaza Treaties.’”], in: Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 48, no. 1, 2018, pp. 72–95. See '''p. 72:''' "...The so-called 'Šattiwaza treaties' are a set of two documents (CTH 51 and CTH 52) ratifying the subjugation of Šattiwaza of Mittani to the Hittite king
Šuppiluliuma I, an event dated to the 2nd half of the 14th century BCE..."</ref> The toponym of the Mitanni capital of [[Washukanni]] is also "unanimously accepted" to have been derived from an Indo-Aryan dialect.<ref name=Cotticelli/> Annelies Kammenhuber (1968) suggested that this vocabulary was derived from the still undivided [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] language,<ref>Kammenhuber, Annelies (1968). Die Arier im vorderen Orient. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag. p. 238. On p. 238 she indicates they spoke a "noch ungeteiltes Indo-Iranisch".</ref><ref name=Drews>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Drews |title=The Coming of the Greeks: Indo-European Conquests in the Aegean and the Near East |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1989 |isbn=0-691-02951-2 |chapter=Chariot Warfare |page=[https://archive.org/details/comingofgreeksin00drew/page/61 61] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LxCnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |url=https://archive.org/details/comingofgreeksin00drew/page/61 }}</ref> but [[Manfred Mayrhofer|Mayrhofer]] has shown that specifically Indo-Aryan features are present.<ref>{{cite journal |first=M. |last=Mayrhofer |title=Die Arier im Vorderen Orient – ein Mythos? |journal=Sitzungsberichte der Oesterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |volume=294 |issue=3 |location=Vienna |year=1974 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=M. |last=Mayrhofer |title=Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen |location=Heidelberg |year=1986–2000 |volume=IV }}</ref>
It is generally believed that [[Indo-Aryan peoples]] settled in [[Upper Mesopotamia]] and northern [[Syria (region)|Syria]], and established the Kingdom of Mitanni following a period of political vacuum, while also adopting Hurrian. This is considered a part of the [[Indo-Aryan migrations]].{{sfn|Sigfried J. de Laet|1996|p=562}}{{sfn|Beckwith|2009|pages=39–41}}{{sfn|Bryce|2005|p=55}} Since the late 20th century, the view that the Mitanni kingdom was ruled by royal house and aristocracy of Indo-Aryan origin has been prevalent among the scholars;{{efn|Including [[Christopher I. Beckwith]] (2009),<ref>{{Cite book|author-link= Christopher I. Beckwith|last=Beckwith |first=Christopher I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jG1eHe3y4EC |title=Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13589-2 |language=en|pages=39–41}}</ref> Pita Kelekna (2009),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kelekna |first=Pita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m09_uTLuz3UC&pg=PA95 |title=The Horse in Human History |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51659-4 |language=en|page=95}}</ref> [[Asko Parpola]] (2015),<ref>{{Citation |last=Parpola |first=Asko |title=The BMAC of Central Asia and the Mitanni of Syria |date=2015 |work=The Roots of Hinduism |pages=69–91 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190226909.003.0008|publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190226909.003.0008|isbn=978-0-19-022690-9 }}</ref> [[Elena Efimovna Kuzmina]] (2007),<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kuz’Mina |first1=E. E. |title=Chapter Twenty-Five. The genesis of the indo-aryans |date=2007 |work=The Origin of the Indo-Iranians |pages=321–346 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789047420712/Bej.9789004160545.i-763_026.xml |access-date= |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004160545.i-763.91 |isbn=978-90-474-2071-2 |last2=Mallory |first2=J. P.}}</ref> [[Alexander Lubotsky]] (2023),<ref name="Lubotsky, Alexander 2023 p. 260">{{Citation |last=Lubotsky |first=Alexander |title=Indo-European and Indo-Iranian Wagon Terminology and the Date of the Indo-Iranian Split |date=2023 |work=The Indo-European Puzzle Revisited: Integrating Archaeology, Genetics, and Linguistics |pages=257–262 |editor-last=Willerslev |editor-first=Eske |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/indoeuropean-puzzle-revisited/indoeuropean-and-indoiranian-wagon-terminology-and-the-date-of-the-indoiranian-split/ADBF07BCD6447A00E1B5E3EE4E128FA7 |access-date= |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009261753.021 |isbn=978-1-009-26175-3 |editor2-last=Kroonen |editor2-first=Guus |editor3-last=Kristiansen |editor3-first=Kristian}}</ref> Frans van Koppen (2017)<ref>{{Citation |last=Koppen |first=Frans van |title=The Early Kassite Period |date=2017 |work=Volume 1 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites |pages=45–92 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501503566-002/html |access-date= |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9781501503566-002 |isbn=978-1-5015-0356-6}}</ref> and others}} accordingly, a branch of Indo-Aryans separated from the other Indo-Iranians around the turn of second millennium BCE and migrated into [[West Asia]], hence giving rise to the Mitanni kingdom, while also adopting Hurrian language.{{sfn|Lubotsky|2023}}{{sfn|Parpola|2015|p=69–91}}{{sfn|Beckwith|2009|pages=39–41}} Some of the recent studies such as those by Eva von Dassow (2022) and Cotticelli-Kurras and Pisaniello (2023), while noting the modern identification of Mittani as Indo-Aryan and the role of Indo-Aryan speakers in establishing its dynasty, have disputed the significance of Indo-Aryan vocabulary in an otherwise Hurrian-speaking state stating that it does not indicate any Indo-Aryan origins for Mitanni kings.<ref name="von Dassow, Eva, (2022)">{{Citation |last=von Dassow |first=Eva |title=Mittani and Its Empire |date=2022 |work=The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: Volume III |pages=455–528 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190687601.003.0029 |access-date= |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190687601.003.0029|isbn=978-0-19-068760-1 }}</ref><ref name=Cotticelli>{{Citation |last1=Cotticelli-Kurras |first1=P. |title=Indo-Aryans in the Ancient Near East |date=2023 |work=Contacts of Languages and Peoples in the Hittite and Post-Hittite World |pages=332–345 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004548633/BP000013.xml |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/9789004548633_014 |isbn=978-90-04-54863-3 |last2=Pisaniello |first2=V.|doi-access=free }}</ref> According to [[Alexander Lubotsky]] (2023), however, the military elite of the Mitanni kingdom (see [[Maryannu]]) was of Aryan descent and their language displays a clear Indo-Aryan character.<ref name="Lubotsky, Alexander 2023 p. 260"/>
Jasper Eidem in 2014 reported on Farouk Ismail's earlier study,<ref name="Eidem">Eidem, Jasper, (2014). [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110266412.137/html "The Kingdom of Šamšī-Adad and its Legacies"], in Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Nicole Brisch and Jesper Eidem (eds.), ''Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State'', p. 142, and footnote 16.</ref> in reference to the word ''marijannu'' that was found in a letter from [[Tell Leilan]] in northeastern Syria dating to a period slightly before 1761 BC, which is the time when the reign of [[Zimri-Lim]] ended in the region of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]]. Kroonen et al. (2018) consider this as an early Indo-Aryan linguistic presence in Syria two centuries prior to the formation of the Mitanni realm, as ''[[Maryannu|mariannu]]'' is generally seen as a Hurrianized form of the Indo-Aryan ''*marya'', which means 'man' or 'youth', associated to military affairs and chariots.<ref>Kroonen, Guus, Gojko Barjamovic, and Michaël Peyrot, (2018). [https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/87765/Kroonen_et_al_2018.pdf "Linguistic supplement to Damgaard et al. 2018: Early Indo-European languages, Anatolian, Tocharian and Indo-Iranian"], in Zenodo 2018, p. 11.</ref>
==Archaeology==
A concept known as "Dark Age" was applied, until recently, to the archaeological gap between the Middle and Late Bronze Age on Northern Mesopotamian sites, but Costanza Coppini considers it a "transition" instead, which can be called "Late Bronze Age 0," attested from the Tell Leilan's end caused by [[Samsu-iluna]] during his 23rd year of reign, c. 1728 BCE [Middle Chronology], to Mitanni's predominance (c. 1600-1550 BCE). These are the first traces of what, in the Late Bronze Age I, was Mitanni in historical terms, at the emergence of the third phase of [[Khabur Ware#History|Khabur ware]].<ref>Coppini, Costanza, (2022). [https://www.academia.edu/73944209/Problems%20of%20Transitions%20in%20Second%20Millennium%20BC%20Northern%20Mesopotamia%20A%20View%20from%20Tell%20Barri%20Northeastern%20Syria "Problems of Transitions in Second Millennium BC Northern Mesopotamia: A View from Tell Barri (Northeastern Syria)"], in: Studia Chaburensia 10 (2022), pp. 15, 20, 26.</ref>
The archaeological core zone of Mitanni is [[Upper Mesopotamia]] and the Trans-Tigridian region (Northeastern Iraq).
===Upper Mesopotamia===
Sites with Mitannian remains were found mainly in three regions of Upper Mesopotamia: Northeastern Syria [[Jazira Region]], Northern Syria, and Southeastern Turkey (Upper Tigris).
====Northeastern Syria (Jazira Region)====
[[File:Regions_of_the_Autonomous_Administration_of_North_and_East_Syria.png|thumb|290px|Jazira region in light green, Northeastern Syria.]]
Mitanni's first phase in Jazira Region features Late [[Khabur Ware]] from around 1600 to 1550 BC; this pottery was a continuity from the previous non-Mitannian Old Babylonian period.<ref name="Oselini">Oselini, Valentina, (2020). [https://www.openstarts.units.it/bitstream/10077/30235/1/12_W%26E_4_BH5_III_online.pdf "Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia: some archaeological considerations on the new data from the Erbil Plain and neighbouring regions"], in Costanza Coppini, Francesca Simi (eds.), Interactions and New Directions in Near Eastern Archaeology, Volume 3, Proceedings of the 5th Broadening Horizons Conference (Udine 5–8 June 2017), EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, Trieste, p. 209, Figure 2.</ref> From around 1550 to 1270 BC, Painted [[Nuzi Ware]] (the most characteristic pottery in Mitanni times) developed as a contemporary to Younger Khabur Ware.<ref name="Oselini" /><ref>Pfalzner, Peter, (2007). [http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/2900/1/Pfaelzner_Late_Bronze_Age_Ceramic_Tradition_2007.pdf "The Late Bronze Age Ceramic Traditions of the Syrian Jazirah"], in al-Maqdissī, Mīšīl; Matoïan, Valérie; Nicolle, Christophe (eds.), Céramique de l'âge du bronze en Syrie, 2, L'Euphrate et la région de Jézireh, Bibliothèque archéologique et historique 180, Beyrouth, pp. 232, 244, and Figure 2.</ref>
Mitanni had outposts centred on its capital, [[Washukanni]], whose location has been determined by archaeologists to be on the [[headwaters]] of the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur River]], most likely at the site of [[Tell Fekheriye]] as recent German archaeological excavations suggest. The city of [[Taite]] was also known to be a Mitanni "royal city" whose current location is unknown.<ref name="iris.unito.it">De Martino, Stefano, 2018. [https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/1685098#.Xo50qnLB_IV "Political and Cultural Relations between the Kingdom of Mittani and its Subordinated Polities in Syria and Southeast Anatolia"], in Changing Faces of Kingship in Syria-Palestine 1500–500 BCE, Ugarit Verlag, p. 38: "...the recent German archaeological excavations at Tell Fekheriye support the assumption that the capital of Mittani, Wassukkanni, was located there..." See also Novák (2013: 346) and Bonatz (2014).</ref>
The major 3rd millennium urban center of [[Tell Brak]] which had dwindled to a minor settlement in Old Babylonian times, saw major development {{Circa|1600}} by the Mitanni. Monumental buildings including a palace and temple were constructed on the high ground and a 40 hectare lower town developed.<ref>Oates, David. “Excavations at Tell Brak, 1983-84.” Iraq, vol. 47, 1985, pp. 159–73</ref> The Mitanni occupation lasted until the site was destroyed (in two phases) between {{Circa|1300}} and 1275 BC, presumably by the Assyrians.<ref>UR, JASON, et al. “THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF EARLY MESOPOTAMIAN URBANISM: THE TELL BRAK SUBURBAN SURVEY, 2003—2006”, Iraq, vol. 73, 2011, pp. 1–19</ref> Two Mitanni-era tablets were found during the modern excavation. One (TB 6002) mentioned "Artassumara the king, son of Shuttarna the king".<ref name="Finkel, Irving L. 1984. pp. 187"/> Seventeen late period Mitanni tablets were found at [[Tall Al-Hamidiya]].<ref>Kessler, Karlheinz, "Neue Tontafelfunde aus dem mitannizeitlichen Taidu – Ein Vorbericht", The Archaeology of Political Spaces: The Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BCE, edited by Dominik Bonatz, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 35-42, 2014</ref>
====Northern Syria====
The oldest tablet issued by an unknown Mitannian king was found in the site of [[Tell Hammam et-Turkman]], dated to c. 1500 BCE.<ref>de Martino, Stefano, (2024). [https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/1957170/1/MittaniCuneiformDocuments.pdf "The Mittanian Cuneiform Documents"], in: The Ancient World Revisited, Studies in Manuscript Cultures, Vol. 37, De Gruyter, pp. 207- 219.</ref>
Mitanni period occupation, between 1400 and 1200 BC (radiocarbon) was found at the site of [[Tell Bazi]].<ref>A. Otto, "The Late Bronze Age Pottery of the Weststadt of Tall Bazi (North Syria)", in: M. Luciani, A. Hausleitner (Eds.), Recent Trends in the Study of Late Bronze Age Ceramics in Syro-Mesopotamia and Neighbouring Regions. Proceedings of the International Workshop in Berlin, 2 – 5 November 2006, OrA 32, Rahden/Westf., pp. 85-117, 2014</ref><ref>[https://www.vorderas-archaeologie.uni-muenchen.de/forschung/projekt_syrien/literatur_bazi/2018c_einwott_maao-bazipottery.pdf] B. Einwag and A. Otto, "The Late Bronze Age at Tall Bazi: The Evidence of the Pottery and the Challenges of Radiocarbon Dating", in: From Pottery to Chronology: The Middle Euphrates Region in Late Bronze Age Syria. Proceedings of a Workshop in Mainz (Germany), May 5–7, 2012. MAAO 1, Gladbeck, pp. 149–176, 2018</ref> Finds included a Mitanni cylinder seal and several ritual bowls. Two cuneiform tablets of the Mitanni period sealed by Mitanni ruler [[Saushtatar]], one by [[Artatama I]] were also found.<ref>[https://www.vorderas-archaeologie.uni-muenchen.de/personen/professoren/otto/publikationen/ii-83_otto-einwag_fs_autorski.pdf] Otto, Adelheid and Berthold Einwag. “Three ritual vessels from the Mittani-period temple at Tell Bazi.” Stories told around the fountain. Papers offered to Piotr Bieliński on the occasion of his 70th birthday (2019): pp. 503-518</ref> There is also a record of Mitanni governance at [[Tell Hadidi]] (Azu).<ref>[https://www.cairn.info/revue-d-assyriologie-2018-1-page-149.htm] Torrecilla, Eduardo, and Yoram Cohen. "A Mittani letter order from Azu (Had 8) and its implications for the chronology and history of the Middle Euphrates region in the Late Bronze Age." Revue d'assyriologie et d'archeologie orientale 112.1 (2018): 149-158</ref>
====Southeastern Turkey (Upper Tigris)====
The (2017) salvage excavations at the [[Ilısu Dam]] in the right bank of upper [[Tigris]], southern Turkey, have shown a very early beginning of Mitanni period, as in the ruins of a temple in Müslümantepe, ritual artefacts and a Mitannian cylinder seal were found, radiocarbon-dated to 1760–1610 BC.<ref name="Ay">Ay, Eyyüp, (2021). [https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1309737 "A Hurrian-Mitanni Temple in Müslümantepe in The Upper Tigris and New Findings"], in ''Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, April 27, 2021.''</ref> Archaeologist Eyyüp Ay, in his (2021) paper, describes the second phase of the temple as an "administrative center, which had craftsmen working in its workshops as well as farmers, gardeners and shepherds, [that] might have been ruled by a priest bound to a powerful Mitannian leader."<ref name="Ay" />
===Trans-Tigridian region (Northeastern Iraq)===
To the east of upper [[Tigris]] river, Trans-Tigridian region in northern Iraq, a site now called [[Bassetki]] was excavated, which in all likelihood was the ancient town of [[Mardaman|Mardama]] with Mitanni layers from 1550 to 1300 BC, as its Phase A9 (in trench T2) may alternatively represent a Middle Bronze/Late Bronze transitional, or Proto-Mitanni occupation within 16th century BC.<ref>Pfälzner, Peter, and Hasan A. Qasim, (2017). [https://www.academia.edu/36111020/The_first_and_second_season_of_German-Kurdish_excavations_at_Bassetki_in_2015_and_2016_2017_ "The First and Second Seasons of the German-Kurdish Excavations at Bassetki in 2015 and 2016"], in ''Zeitschrift fur Orient-Archaologie'' 10, Deutsches Archaologisches Institut-Orient-Abteilung, Berlin, pp. 19, 24.</ref> In a subsequent excavation season, the deeper Phase A10 was identified as having a mix of Middle Bronze and Mitanni potteries, considered to be in the turn of the Middle to the Late Bronze Age transitional period (late 17th – early 16th century BC).<ref>Pfälzner, Peter, and Hasan A. Qasim, (2019). [https://www.academia.edu/39067043/Urban_Developments_in_Northeastern_Mesopotamia_from_the_Ninevite_V_to_the_Neo_Assyrian_Periods_Excavations_at_Bassetki_in_2017_2019_ "Urban Developments in Northeastern Mesopotamia from the Ninevite V to the Neo-Assyrian Periods: Excavations at Bassetki in 2017"], in ''Zeitschrift fur Orient-Archaologie'' 11, Deutsches Archaologisches Institut-Orient-Abteilung, Berlin, p. 46: "...In Phase A10, a characteristic mix of Middle Bronze and Mittani potteries was recorded, which leads to the dating of this phase at the turn of the Middle to the Late Bronze Age, i.e. in the transitional MB III period (late 17th/early 16th century BC).</ref>
In 2010, the 3,400-year-old ruins of [[Kemune]], a [[Bronze Age]] Mitanni palace on the banks of the Tigris in modern-day [[Iraqi Kurdistan]], were discovered.<ref name="cnn1">{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/iraq-palace-drought-scli-intl/index.html |title=Ancient palace emerges from drought-hit Iraq reservoir |publisher=CNN.com |date= |accessdate=2009-06-28}}</ref> It became possible to excavate the ruins in 2018 and again in 2022 when a drought caused water levels to drop considerably. In the 1st excavation 10 Mitanni-era tablets were found, in Babylonian cuneiform written in Akkadian, bearing Hurrian names, dating to the Middle-Trans-Tigridian IA and IB periods.<ref>Puljiz, Ivana, et al., (2019). [https://www.academia.edu/42013483/A_New_Mittani_Centre_on_the_Middle_Tigris_Kurdistan_Region_Report_on_the_2018_Excavations_at_Kemune_2019_ "A New Mittani Centre On the Middle Tigris (Kurdistan Region): Report On the 2018 Excavations At Kemune"], in: Zeitschrift Für Orient-Archäologie 12, pp. 10-43. See '''p. 33:''' "...[pottery] dating to the Middle-Trans-Tigridian I A/B period..." Ralf Beutelschieb (2019), and "...Ten texts in Akkadian language and Babylonian cuneiform script from at least four rooms [of the palace]..." Betina Faist (2019).</ref> Middle Trans-Tigridian IA and IB are dated to ({{Circa|1550}}-1350 BC) and ({{Circa|1350}}-1270 BC) respectively by Peter Pfälzner (2007). In the 2nd excavation the entire city was mapped and 100 Middle Assyrian tablets were discovered. They were dated to after the city's destruction by earthquake and have not yet been published.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tübingen |first=University of |title=A 3,400-year-old city emerges from the Tigris River |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-05-year-old-city-emerges-tigris-river.html |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=phys.org |language=en}}</ref>
===Pottery and other characteristics===
At least since around 1550 BC, at the beginning of Late Bronze age, Painted Nuzi Ware was identified as a characteristic pottery in Mitanni sites.<ref name="De Martino, Stefano, (2018)">De Martino, Stefano, (2018). [https://123dok.org/document/8yd06e1z-political-cultural-relations-kingdom-subordinated-polities-southeast-anatolia.html "Political and Cultural Relations between the Kingdom of Mittani and its Subordinated Polities in Syria and Southeast Anatolia"], in ''Changing Faces of Kingship in Syria-Palestine 1500–500 BCE'', Alter Orient und Testament 459, Ugarit Verlag, p. 44.</ref> The origin of this decorated pottery is an unsolved question, but a possible previous development as [[Aegean civilization|Aegean]] [[Kamares Ware]] has been suggested by Pecorelia (2000); S. Soldi claims that Tell Brak was one of the first centers specializing in the production of this Painted Nuzi Ware, and analyses on samples support the assumption that it was produced locally in various centers throughout the Mitanni kingdom. It was particularly appreciated in [[Upper Mesopotamia]], but appears only sporadically in western Syrian cities such as [[Alalakh]] and [[Ugarit]].<ref name="De Martino, Stefano, (2018)" />
At the height of its power, during the 15th and the first half of 14th century BC, a large region from North-West Syria to the Eastern Tigris was under Mitanni's control.<ref>Oselini, Valentina, (2020). [https://www.openstarts.units.it/bitstream/10077/30235/1/12_W%26E_4_BH5_III_online.pdf "Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia: some archaeological considerations on the new data from the Erbil Plain and neighbouring regions"], in Costanza Coppini, Francesca Simi (eds.), Interactions and New Directions in Near Eastern Archaeology. Volume 3. Proceedings of the 5th 'Broadening Horizons' Conference (Udine 5–8 June 2017), Università di Trieste, EUT Edizioni, Trieste, p. 206.</ref>
==Mitanni rulers==
Mitanni, which first rose to power before 1550 BC,<ref>Barjamovic, Gojko, (2012). [https://www.academia.edu/2966805/The%20Mesopotamian%20Empires "Mesopotamian Empires"], in: P.F. Bang, and W. Scheidel (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of the Ancient State in the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean'', Oxford University Press, '''p. 125:''' "...The Mitanni empire covered northern and western Syria and northern Iraq (ca. 1600-1340 BCE) but succumbed to internal strife and the pressure of an expanding Assyrian empire..."</ref><ref>Barjamovic, Gojko, (2020). [https://books.google.com/books?id=nz0HEAAAQBAJ&dq=mitanni&pg=PA73 "The Empires of Western Asia and the Assyrian World Empire"], in: The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume Two: The History of Empires, Oxford University Press, '''p. 76:''' "After 1600 BCE the area between Iran and Egypt was united into a dynamic regional system of empires, Mitanni covered northern and western Syria and northern Iraq circa 1550-1340 BCE..."</ref> presents the following known kings:
:All dates are [[Chronology of the ancient Near East#Variant Middle Bronze Age chronologies|Middle chronology]]
{| class="nowraplinks" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" rules="all" style="background:#fbfbfb; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size:100%; empty-cells:show; border-collapse:collapse"
|- bgcolor="#F6E6AE"
! Rulers !! Reigned !! Comments
|-
| Maitta || ||[[Eponym]]ous founder, maybe mythical
|-
| [[Kirta]] || {{Circa|1540 BC}} || First known king, may be also legendary
|-
| [[Shuttarna I]] || || Son of Kirta based on [[Alalakh]] seal<ref>Jankowska, N. B.. "11. Asshur, Mitanni, and Arrapkhe". Early Antiquity, edited by I. M. Diakonoff, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013, pp. 228-260</ref>
|-
| [[Baratarna|Parattarna I]] || {{Circa|1500 BC}} || Son of Kirta, contemporary of [[Idrimi]] of [[Alalakh]], Pilliya of Kizzuwatna, Zidanta II of Hatti
|-
| Parshatatar || {{Circa|1485 BC}} || Son of Parattarna I
|-
| [[Shaushtatar]] || {{Circa|1465 BC}} || Contemporary of Sinia and Qis-Addu in Terqa; Tudhaliya I of Hatti; Niqmepa of Alalakh, sacks [[Assur|Ashur]]
|-
| Parattarna II || {{Circa|1435 BC}} || Contemporary of Qis-Addu in Terqa
|-
| Shaitarna || {{Circa|1425 BC}} || Contemporary of Qis-Addu in Terqa
|-
| [[Artatama I]] || {{Circa|1400 BC}} || Treaty with [[pharaoh]] [[Thutmose IV]], contemporary of pharaoh [[Amenhotep II]]
|-
| [[Shuttarna II]] || {{Circa|1380 BC}} || Daughter marries pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]] in his year 10
|-
| [[Artashumara]] || {{Circa|1360 BC}} || Son of Shutarna II, brief reign
|-
| [[Tushratta]] || {{Circa|1358 BC}} || Contemporary of [[Suppiluliuma I]] of the [[Hittites]], and [[pharaoh]]s [[Amenhotep III]] and [[Amenhotep IV]], [[Amarna letters]]
|-
| [[Artatama II]] || {{Circa|1335 BC}} || Treaty with Suppiluliuma I of the Hittites, contemporary of [[Ashur-uballit I]] in Assyria
|-
| [[Shuttarna III]] || {{Circa|1330 BC}} || Contemporary of Suppiluliuma I of the Hittites
|-
| [[Shattiwaza]] || {{Circa|1330 BC}} || Vassal of the [[Hittite Empire]], also known as Kurtiwaza or Mattiwaza
|-
| [[Shattuara]] || {{Circa|1305 BC}} || Vassal of [[Assyria]] under [[Adad-nirari I]]
|-
| [[Wasashatta]] || {{Circa|1285 BC}} || Son of Shattuara
|-
| [[Shattuara II]]|| {{Circa|1265 BC}} || Last king of Mitanni before Assyrian conquest
|}
All dates must be taken with caution since they are worked out only by comparison with the [[Chronology of the ancient Near East|chronology of other ancient Near Eastern nations]].
===Parattarna I / Barattarna===
{{Main|Baratarna}}
King Barattarna is known from a cuneiform tablet in Nuzi and an inscription by [[Idrimi]] of [[Alalakh]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grosz|first1=Katarzyna|title=The Archive of the Wullu Family|date=1988|publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press|location=University of Copenhagen|isbn=978-87-7289-040-1|page=11}}</ref> He reigned {{Circa|1500}}–1480 BC.<ref name="Maidman (2010)"/> Egyptian sources do not mention his name; that he was the king of Naharin whom [[Thutmose III]] (1479 – 1425 BC) fought against, can only be deduced from assumptions. This king, also known as Parratarna is considered, by J. A. Belmonte-Marin quoting H. Klengel, to have reigned {{Circa|1510}}–1490 BC (middle chronology).<ref>Belmonte-Marin, Juan Antonio, (2015). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287490208_Reflexiones_sobre_el_territorio_de_Carquemis_durante_el_periodo_mittanio "Reflexiones sobre el territorio de Cárquemis durante el periodo mittanio"], in Orientalística en tiempos de crísis, Pórtico, Zaragoza, p. 59.</ref> Parsha(ta)tar, known from another Nuzi inscription (HSS 13 165), an undated inventory list which mentions his death, is considered a different king than Barattarna by M. P. Maidman, Eva von Dassow, and Ian Mladjov.
Thutmose III again waged war in Mitanni in the 33rd year of his rule. The Egyptian army crossed the Euphrates at [[Carchemish]] and reached a town called Iryn (maybe present day Erin, 20 km northwest of Aleppo.) They sailed down the Euphrates to [[Emar]] ([[Maskanah]]) and then returned home via Mitanni. A hunt for [[Syrian elephant|elephants]] at Lake Nija was important enough to be included in the annals.
Victories over Mitanni are recorded from the Egyptian campaigns in ''[[Nuhašše]]'' (middle part of Syria). Barattarna or his son Shaushtatar controlled the North Mitanni interior up to ''Nuhašše'', and the coastal territories from [[Kizzuwatna]] to Alalakh in the kingdom of Mukish at the mouth of the Orontes. Idrimi of Alalakh, returning from Egyptian exile, could only ascend his throne with Barattarna's consent. While he got to rule Mukish and Ama'u, [[Aleppo]] remained with Mitanni.
===Shaushtatar===
{{Main|Shaushtatar}}
[[File:Royal seal of Šauštatar of Mitanni.svg|thumb|right|The central section of Shaushtatar's royal seal. The cuneiform legend reads "DUMU Par-sa-ta-tar" and "LUGAL Ma-i-ta-ni"]]
[[Shaushtatar]] reigned as King of Mitanni {{Circa|1480}}–1460 BC.<ref name="Maidman (2010)">Maidman, M. P., (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=XwiUydtXZWgC&dq=artasumara&pg=PR20 Nuzi Texts and Their Uses as Historical Evidence], p. xx.</ref> He sacked the Assyrian capital of [[Assur]] some time in the 15th century during the reign of [[Nur-ili]], and took the silver and golden doors of the royal palace to [[Washukanni]].<ref>Cline 2014, p. 61</ref> This is known from a later Hittite document, the Suppililiuma-Shattiwaza treaty. After the sack of Assur, Assyria may have paid tribute to Mitanni up to the time of [[Eriba-Adad I]] (1390–1366 BC).
The states of [[Aleppo]] in the west, and [[Nuzi]] and [[Arrapha]] in the east, seem to have been incorporated into Mitanni under Shaushtatar as well. A letter (HSS 9 1) sealed with the seal of Shaushtatar was discovered in the house (Room A26) of Prince Šilwa-teššup in Nuzi which lay just north of the main mound. The letter is addressed to Ithia, vassal ruler of Arrapha under Mitanni. Because Šauštatar is not mentioned in the letter and dynastic seals were often used after the reign of a ruler, especially in the periphery of empire, it is difficult to date this letter. Stein, based on various factors, puts the date at {{Circa|1400 BC}}. His [[Seal (device)|seal]] shows heroes and winged geniuses fighting lions and other animals, as well as a [[winged sun]]. This style, with a multitude of figures distributed over the whole of the available space, is taken as typically Hurrian.<ref>E. A. Speiser, A Letter of Sauäsatar and the Date of the Kirkuk Tablets, J AOS 49 (1929), pp. 269—275</ref> A second seal, belonging to Shuttarna I and found in Alalakh, used by Shaushtatar in two letters (AT 13 and 14) shows a more traditional Post-Akkadian - Ur III style.<ref>D. Stein, A Reappraisal of the "Saustatar Letter" from Nuzi, Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 79, 36-60, 1989</ref>
During the reign of Egyptian Pharaoh [[Amenhotep II]], Mitanni seems to have regained influence in the middle Orontes valley that had been conquered by Thutmose III. Amenhotep II fought in Syria in 1425 BC, presumably against Mitanni as well, but did not reach the Euphrates.
===Artatama I and Shuttarna II===
{{Main|Artatama I|Shuttarna II}}
Later on, Egypt and Mitanni became allies, and King [[Shuttarna II]] himself was received at the Egyptian court. Amicable letters, sumptuous gifts, and letters asking for sumptuous gifts were exchanged. Three Amarna letters (EA 182 EA 183 and EA 185) were sent by Shutarna with two being sent from "Mušiḫuna".<ref>Baranowski, Krzysztof J.. "Appendix 1. The Senders of the Amarna Letters". The Verb in the Amarna Letters from Canaan, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021, pp. 216-233</ref> Mitanni was especially interested in Egyptian gold. This culminated in a number of royal marriages: the daughter of King [[Artatama I]] was married to [[Thutmose IV of Egypt|Thutmose IV]]. Kilu-Hepa, or [[Gilukhipa]], the daughter of Shuttarna II, was married to Pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]], who ruled in the early 14th century BC. In a later royal marriage Tadu-Hepa, or [[Tadukhipa]], the daughter of Tushratta, was sent to Egypt.
When [[Amenhotep III]] fell ill, the king of Mitanni sent him a statue of the goddess [[Šauška|Shaushka]] ([[Ishtar]]) of [[Nineveh]] that was reputed to cure diseases.<ref>Gestoso Singer, Graciela. "Fortunes and Misfortunes of Messengers and Merchants in the Amarna Letters". Fortune and Misfortune in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 60th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale Warsaw, 21–25 July 2014, edited by Olga Drewnowska and Malgorzata Sandowicz, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021, pp. 143-164</ref> A more or less permanent border between Egypt and Mitanni seems to have existed near [[Qatna]] on the Orontes River; [[Ugarit]] was part of Egyptian territory.
The reason Mitanni sought peace with Egypt may have been trouble with the Hittites. A Hittite king called [[Tudḫaliya I]] conducted campaigns against [[Kizzuwatna]], [[Arzawa]], [[Ishuwa]], Aleppo, and maybe against Mitanni itself. Kizzuwatna may have fallen to the Hittites at that time.
===Artashumara and Tushratta===
{{Main|Artashumara|Tushratta}}
[[File:Cuneiform letter to Amenhotep III.jpg|thumb|left|Cuneiform tablet containing a letter from Tushratta of Mitanni to Amenhotep III (of 13 letters of King Tushratta). [[British Museum]]]]
Artašumara, reigned {{Circa|1360}}-1358 BC,<ref name="Mladjov"/> is known only from a single mention in a tablet found in Tell Brak: "Artassumara the king, son of Shuttarna the king," and a mention in [[Amarna letter]] 17.<ref name="Finkel, Irving L. 1984. pp. 187">Finkel, Irving L. “Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1984.” Iraq, vol. 47, 1985, pp. 187–201</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=William L. |last=Moran |title=The Amarna Letters |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-8018-4251-4}}</ref> According to the later, after the death of [[Shuttarna II]] he briefly took power but was then murdered (by someone named Tuhi) and succeeded by his brother [[Tushratta]],<ref>Artzi, P., "The Diplomatic Service in Action: The Mitanni File”, in: R. Cohen and R. Westbrook (eds.): Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations, Baltimore, London: 205–211, 2000</ref> who reigned {{Circa|1358}}-1335 BC.<ref name="Mladjov">Mladjov, I., (2019). [https://sepoa.fr/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/02.-NABU-2019-1.pdf "The Kings of Mittani in Light of the New Evidence from Terqa"], in: NABU 2019, No. 1, March, p. 34.</ref>
Knowledge of Tushratta comes from two sources, the Amarna letters and the texts of the Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaties between Hittite ruler Suppiluliuma I and a son of Tushratta named Shattiwaza. These pair of treaties found at the ancient Hittite capital of [[Hattusa]] codify the Mitanni Shattiwaza, probable son of Tushratta, entering the status of vassal to Suppiluliuma I. One (CTH 51, also known as KBo I 1) includes a historical prologue from the Hittite point of view which is complete,<ref name="Kitchen"/> this tablet also confirms that the existing Hittite treaty with Artatama II is still in effect so perhaps Suppiluliuma was hedging his bets.<ref>Altman, Amnon. "Šattiwaza's Declaration (CTH 52) Reconsidered." Acts of the V. International Congress of Hititology. 2005</ref> The other (CTH 52) includes a historical prologue from the Mitanni point of view which is partially lost though another fragment to this tablet was found in recent years.<ref>Beckman, Gary. "New Joins to Hittite Treaties", ZAVA, vol. 87, no. 1, 1997, pp. 96-100</ref> These prologues provide information about the events of the time of Tushratta but must be considered under the self interest of the two treaty parties.<ref name="Kitchen">Kitchen, K.A./P.J.N. Lawrence 2012. Treaty, Law and Covenant in the Ancient Near East. Wiesbaden.</ref> While the preambles of the treaties are a later retrospective and are filtered through the interests of the treaty parties, the tablets found in Egypt provide direct information. Eight Amarna letters were sent to pharaoh Amenhotep III (including [[Amarna letter EA 19|EA 19]] and [[Amarna letter EA 23|EA 23]]) and four to pharaoh Akhenaten (including [[Amarna letter EA 27|EA 27]]). A single Amarna letter was sent by Tushratta to [[Tiye|Queen Tiye]], wife of Amenhotep III, mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun ([[Amarna letter EA 26|EA 26]]). A note in [[hieratic]] on the tablet stated that EA 23 arrived in the 36th year of Amenhotep III reign or roughly 1350 BC in the standard Egyptian Chronology.<ref name="Luckenbill">[https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/479313] Luckenbill, D. D. “The Hittites.” The American Journal of Theology, vol. 18, no. 1, 1914, pp. 24–58</ref>
Some of the Amarna letters covered minor matters between Tushratta and the pharaohs. Amenhotep III asked for Tushratta's daughter [[Tadukhipa]] in marriage and after some back and forth over bride-price she traveled to Egypt and became a wife of the pharaoh. And when that pharaoh was ill near the end of his reign Tushratta sent (EA 23) the Hurrian goddess [[Šauška]] of Nineveh (actually her cult statue) to him as had been done in the time of Shuttarna II.<ref>Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H.. "Š". A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021, pp. 318-337</ref> The main focus of the Amarna letters, though, was a consequence of the realignment of power in Syria with the decline of Egyptian influence and rise of Hittite power, with a number of lesser powers caught in the middle.<ref>Rainey, Anson F.. "Amarna and Later: Aspects of Social History". Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past: Canaan, Ancient Israel, and Their Neighbors, from the Late Bronze Age through Roman Palaestina, edited by William G. Dever and Seymour (Sy) Gitin, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021, pp. 169-188</ref> In the first letter from Tusratta he claimed to have destroyed the Hittite forces that had invaded his territory and included a selection of the booty, including a chariot and several slaves. In later letters we see the Hittite ruler working to improve previously poor relations with the pharaoh so as to counterbalance Mitanni.<ref name="Luckenbill" /> According to other Amarna letters (EA 85, EA86, EA95) from [[Rib-Hadda]], king of [[Byblos]], Tushratta personally joined a large Mitanni raid into [[Amurru kingdom|Amurru]].<ref>Altman, Amnon. "The Mittanian Raid of Amurru (EA 85: 51-55) Reconsidered", Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 30, no. 2, 2003, pp. 345-371</ref> In another Amarna letter ([[Amarna letter EA 75|EA 75]]) Rib-Hadda tells Ahkenaten that all the lands of the Mitanni have been conquered by the Hittites but its date is uncertain.
The Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaty says:
{{blockquote|When with the Sun, Shubbiluliuma, the great valiant, the king of Hatti, the beloved of Teshub, Artatama king of Harri, made a treaty and thereafter, Tushratta, king of Mitanni, exalted him, the king of Hatti, the valiant, exalted myself against Tushratta, the king of lands on this side of the river I plundered, and Mount Niblani I restored to my domain...When his son waxed strong with his servants, he slew his father Tushratta, the king. And when Tushratta, the king, died, Teshub gave a decision in favor of Artatama, and his son Artatama he spared...But the Harri people had become discontented and Shutatarra with the Marianni tried to kill Mattiuaza, the prince. He escaped and before the Sun, Shubbiluliuma...he came. The great king spoke thus: 'Teshub has rendered a decision in his favor.' Whereupon I took Mattiuaza, son of Tushratta, the king, into my hand, and placed him on the throne of his father."<ref name="Luckenbill, D. D. 1921, pp. 161">Luckenbill, D. D. “Hittite Treaties and Letters.” The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 37, no. 3, 1921, pp. 161–211</ref>
}}
Tusratta faced a difficult situation, an ascendant Hittite New Kingdom in the west and in the east an Assyrian power beginning to free itself of Mitanni control at the start of the Middle Assyrian Period. A rule book-ended by succession crises. With no Mitanni or Assyrian records we are left with the historical claims of the Hittite king, for better or worse. In summary they are:
*Political - With the death of Shutarna II a crisis involving Tushratta and Artashumara resulted in Tushratta taking the throne. To counter this the Hittites entered a treaty with another brother Artatama II, which did not pan out. Then, after a reasonably long reign (based on the timing of Amarna letters), Tushratta is killed by his son (unnamed but generally thought to be [[Shuttarna III]]) who then allies with the Assyrians to take power in Mitanni with Assyria getting some Mitanni territory in exchange. Another son of Tushratta, [[Shattiwaza]], then becomes a vassal of the Hittite king in exchange for help retaking part of the Mitanni territory (with the rest going to the Suppiluliuma' son [[Piyassili]] made king of [[Carchemish]]).<ref>Yamada, Masamichi. "The Hittite Administration in Emar: The Aspect of Direct Control", vol. 96, no. 2, 2006, pp. 222-234</ref> And this comes to pass. Note that the original treaty with Artatama II is specifically kept in force, suggesting he outlived Tushratta.
*Military - Tushratta having insulted the Hittite king, perhaps by refusing to be deposed, Suppiluliuma launched two campaigns against Mitanni interests, a "One Year War" and a "Six Year War". The first war is believed to have occurred roughly in the 15th regnal year of Ahkenaten.<ref>Bryce, Trevor R. "Some Observations on the Chronology of Šuppiluliuma's Reign." Anatolian Studies, vol. 39, 1989, pp. 19–30</ref> It is unclear how much time passes between them. Though unsuccessful at defeating Tushratta, the military efforts do manage to seize control of several Mitanni vassals/allies, including [[Kizzuwatna]], [[Amurru kingdom|Amurru]], [[Aleppo]], and [[Nuhašše]].<ref>Cordani, Violetta. "One-year or Five-year War? A Reappraisal of Suppiluliuma's First Syrian Campaign" Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 38, no. 2, 2011, pp. 240-253</ref><ref>Astour, Michael C. “The Partition of the Confederacy of Mukiš-Nuḫiašše-Nii by Šuppiluliuma: A Study in Political Geography of the Amarna Age.” Orientalia, vol. 38, no. 3, 1969, pp. 381–414</ref>
===Shattiwaza===
{{Main|Shattiwaza}}
[[File:Cylinder seal, ca. 1500–1350 BC Mitanni.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Cylinder seal, {{Circa|1500}}–1350 BC, Mitanni]]
Shattiwaza reigned {{Circa|1330}}–1305 BC,<ref name="Mladjov"/> (alternately Šattiwaza, Kurtiwaza, or Mattiwaza). What little is known about his period, like the later parts of the reign of his father, Tushratta, all comes from the partially recovered pair of Hittite texts in which Shattiwaza becomes a vassal of Hittite king Suppiluliuma I. The first text (CTH 51) lays out the condition of vassalage and in the second (CTH 52) Shattiwaza accepts these conditions. The text can be difficult to interpret because of gaps and the obtuse prose. The Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaty reads:
{{blockquote|[When ?] (I), Mattiuaza, son of Tushratta, king of Mitanni, handed over to Shuttarna, [rulership] of Mitanni, Artatama, the king, his father, did what was not right. His palace(?) . . . together with his possessions, he wasted;
to give them to Assyria and Alshe, he wasted them. Tushratta, the king, my father, built a palace, filled (it) with treasures, but Shuttarna destroyed it, he overthrew it."<ref name="Luckenbill, D. D. 1921, pp. 161">Luckenbill, D. D. “Hittite Treaties and Letters.” The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 37, no. 3, 1921, pp. 161–211</ref>}}
The best that can be parsed out of the Hittite text is that some (unnamed) son killed the prior king Tushratta resulting in a succession crisis between Atratama II, brother of Tushratta, Shuttarna III, son of Tusratta, and Shattiwaza. son of Tushratta. The Hittites then made a treaty with Atratama II (still in effect as of the Suppiluliuma-Shattiwaza treaty). Some combination of Atratama II and Shuttarna III made an alliance with the Assyrians to hold power in Mitanni. returning cultic items taken when Mitanni king Shaushtatar sacked Asshur {{Circa|1450}}. This resulted in Shattiwaza going to Hittite king Suppiluliuma and declaring vassalage in exchange for Hittite military assistance. This ploy succeeded as the Hittite forces carried the day but the cost, besides becoming a vassal, was the ceding of some Mitanni territory to the Hittites, subsequently ruled by the king's son Piyassili as King of Carchemesh. As part of the agreement Shattiwaza would marry a daughter of Suppiluliuma as Queen and would be allowed ten wives but none of the other wives could be primary and the children from his marriage with the Queen would succeed. The Hittite text does include some tidbits about the war of succession which are hard to interpret. At one point the Hurrian nobles were taken to Taite and "crucified" though that practice was unknown in the ancient Near East until classical times. And at one point Shattiwaza flees to the [[Kassites]] with 200 chariots but the Kassites impounded the chariots and tried to kill him, which he mirsculously escapes and finds his way to Suppiluliuma. After presumably ascending the throne of what was left of Mitanni, Shattiwaza is lost to history.
===Shattuara I===
{{Main|Shattuara}}
Shattuara reigned {{Circa|1305}}–1285 BC.<ref name="Mladjov"/> The royal inscriptions of the Assyrian king [[Adad-nirari I]] ({{Circa|1307}}–1275 BC) relate how the vassal king [[Shattuara]] of Mitanni rebelled and committed hostile acts against Assyria. How this Shattuara was related to the dynasty of Partatama is unclear. Some scholars think that he was the second son of Artatama II, and the brother of Shattiwazza's one-time rival Shuttarna. Adad-nirari claims to have captured King Shattuara and brought him to Ashur, where he took an oath as a vassal. Afterwards, he was allowed to return to Mitanni, where he paid Adad-nirari regular tribute. This must have happened during the reign of the Hittite King [[Mursili II]], but there is no exact date.
===Wasashatta===
{{Main|Wasashatta}}
According to an inscription (BM 115687) by Assyrian king Adad-nirari I, Shattuara's son Wasashatta (also read Uasašatta), who reigned {{Circa|1285}}-1265 BC,<ref name="Mladjov"/> attempted to rebel. He sought Hittite help which did not come. The Hittites took Wasashatta's money but did not help. The Assyrians expanded further, and conquered the royal city of [[Taite|Taidu]], and took [[Washukanni]], Amasakku, [[Tell Barri|Kahat]], Shuru, Nabula, Hurra and Shuduhu as well. They conquered [[Irridu]], destroyed it utterly and [[salting the earth|sowed salt over it]]. The wife, sons and daughters of Wasashatta were taken to [[Assur|Ashur]], together with much booty and other prisoners. As Wasashatta himself is not mentioned, he may have escaped capture.<ref>Grayson, Albert Kirk. Assyrian Royal Inscriptions: From the beginning to Ashur-resha-ishi I. Vol. 1. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1972.</ref> There is a letter (KBo. 1, 14) from a Hittite king (to probably the Egyptian king) referring to a "King of Hanigalbat" which was possibly Wasašatta.<ref>Skaist, Aaron. "The Chronology of the Legal Texts from Emar", vol. 88, no. 1, 1998, pp. 45-71</ref>
===Shattuara II===
{{Main|Shattuara II}}
According to the royal annals (A.0.77.1) of Assyrian king [[Shalmaneser I]] (1270s–1240s) King [[Shattuara II]] of Hanigalbat, rebelled against Assyrian control with the help of the Hittites and the nomadic [[Ahlamu]] around 1250 BC.<ref>Bryce 2005, p. 314</ref> Shalmaneser I claimed to have defeated the Hittites and Mitanni slaying 14,400 men; the rest were blinded and carried away. His inscriptions mention the conquest of nine fortified temples; 180 Hurrian cities were "turned into rubble mounds," and Shalmaneser "slaughtered like sheep the armies of the Hittites and the Ahlamu his allies." The cities from Taidu to [[Irridu]] were captured, as well as all of mount Kashiar to Eluhat and the fortresses of Sudu and Harranu to Carchemish on the Euphrates. Another inscription mentions the restoration of a temple to god [[Adad]] in [[Tell Barri|Kahat]], a city of Mitanni that must have been occupied as well.<ref>Grayson, A. Kirk, "Assyrian Rulers 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC (to 1115 BC)(Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Assyrian Periods, Vol 1)", University of Toronto Press, 1987, ISBN 9780802026057</ref>
==See also==
* [[Chronology of the ancient Near East]]
* [[List of Mesopotamian dynasties]]
* [[Cities of the ancient Near East]]
* [[History of the Hittites]]
* [[Seven-dots glyph]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{notelist}}
==Sources==
* Bryce, Trevor, ''Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East'', Routledge, 2003, {{ISBN|0-415-25857-X}}
* {{Cite book|author-link=Trevor Bryce |last=Bryce |first=Trevor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HMHmCwAAQBAJ |title=The Kingdom of the Hittites |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-927908-1 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book|editor=Sigfried J. de Laet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnY0KYbJC6wC |title=History of Humanity: From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century B.C. |date=1996 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |isbn=978-92-3-102811-3 |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Fournet |first1=Arnaud |date=2010 |title=About the Mitanni-Aryan Gods |url=https://www.academia.edu/642020 |journal=[[Journal of Indo-European Studies]] |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=26–40 |access-date=27 September 2023}}
* Gaal, E. "The economic role of Hanilgalbat at the beginning of the Neo-Assyrian expansion." In: Hans-Jörg Nissen/Johannes Renger (eds.), ''Mesopotamien und seine Nachbarn. Politische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen im Alten Orient vom 4. bis 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr.'' Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient 1 (Berlin, Reimer 1982), 349–354.
* Harrak, Amir "Assyria and Hanilgalbat. A historical reconstruction of the bilateral relations from the middle of the 14th to the end of the 12th centuries BC." ''Texte und Studien zur Orientalistik'', 400 (Hildesheim, Olms 1987).
* [https://www.avasa.it/rapporti/Kelly-Buccellati_2020_Mittani_ceramics%20de%20Martino%20FS.pdf] Kelly-Buccellati, Marilyn. "The Urkesh Mittani Horizon: Ceramic Evidence." talugaeš witteš (2020): 237-256.
* Kühne, Cord, "Imperial Mittani. An Attempt at Historical Reconstruction", In David I Owen and Gernot Wilhelm (eds.) Studies in the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians 10, pp. 203–221, 1999 ISBN 9781883053505
* Kühne, Cord "Politische Szenerie und internationale Beziehungen Vorderasiens um die Mitte des 2. Jahrtausends vor Chr. (zugleich ein Konzept der Kurzchronologie). Mit einer Zeittafel." In: Hans-Jörg Nissen/Johannes Renger (eds.), ''Mesopotamien und seine Nachbarn. Politische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen im Alten Orient vom 4. bis 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr.'' Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient 1 (Berlin, Reimer 1982), 203–264.
* Maidman, Maynard P. "Mittanni Royalty and Empire: How Far Back." Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies Journal 11 (2018): 15-28
* Novák, Mirko: "Mittani Empire and the Question of Absolute Chronology: Some Archaeological Considerations." In: Manfred Bietak/Ernst Czerny (eds.): "The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium BC III"; Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Denkschrift Band XXXVII; Wien, 2007; {{ISBN|978-3-7001-3527-2}}; pp. 389–401.
* Starr, R. F. S. ''Nuzi'' (London 1938).
* {{Cite journal|last=Thieme|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Thieme|date=1960|title=The 'Aryan' Gods of the Mitanni Treaties|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=80|issue=4|pages=301–317|doi=10.2307/595878|issn=0003-0279|jstor=595878}}
* von Dassow, E.; David I Owen; Gernot Wilhelm, State and Society in the Late Bronze Age: Alalah under the Mittani Empire, Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians 17, ed. David I. Owen and Gernot Wilhelm (Bethesda 2008) ISBN 9781934309148
* [https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/asiana/article/download/779/731] von Dassow, Eva. "Alalaḫ between Mittani and Ḫatti." Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures 2 (2020): 196-226
* Weidner, "Assyrien und Hanilgalbat." ''Ugaritica'' 6 (1969)
* Wilhelm, Gernot: ''The Hurrians'', Aris & Philips Warminster 1989. ISBN 9780856684425
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Martino |first=Stefano de |chapter=The Mittanian Cuneiform Documents: The Interplay between Content, Language, Material, Format, and Sealing Practices |title=The Ancient World Revisited: Material Dimensions of Written Artefacts |editor1=Marilina Betrò |editor2=Michael Friedrich |editor3=Cécile Michel |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter |date=2024 |pages=207–220 |doi=10.1515/9783111360805-007|isbn=978-3-11-136080-5 }}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Mitanni}}
* [https://www.livius.org/articles/people/mitanni/ Mitanni] (livius.org)
* [http://www.sabi-abyad.nl/main.tpl?language=en Dutch excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad]
* [https://www.dw.com/en/iraqs-drought-unveils-3400-year-old-palace-of-mysterious-empire/a-49384876 Iraq's drought unveils 3,400-year-old palace of mysterious empire]
{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant |state=collapsed}}
{{Ancient Syria and Mesopotamia}}
{{Ancient Mesopotamia}}
{{Rulers of the Ancient Near East}}
{{Authority control}}
[[
[[Category:Ancient Upper Mesopotamia]]
[[Category:Former countries in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of West Asia]]
[[Category:Hurrians]]
[[Category:Indo-Aryan peoples]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 13th century BC]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 17th century BC]]
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