Tudhaliya II

Tudḫaliya II (sometimes identified with and designated Tudḫaliya I) was a Hittite great king in the late 15th/early 14th century BC, ruling in perhaps c. 1425–c. 1390 BC. He was the father-in-law and predecessor of Arnuwanda I.

Identity
The numbering of Hittite kings named Tudḫaliya varies between scholars because of debate over the identity (or not) between the first two bearers of the name. A Tudḫaliya, now attested as the son of a certain Kantuzzili, succeeded Muwatalli I, after the latter was murdered by the officials Ḫimuili and Kantuzzili (not necessarily identical to Tudḫaliya’s father). The same or a distinct Tudḫaliya, the king discussed in the present article, was the father-in-law and predecessor of Arnuwanda I. Because of uncertainty, scholars are divided in the interpretation of the evidence. Many scholars envision a single Tudḫaliya (I or I/II ), while others consider two separate kings, Tudḫaliya I and Tudḫaliya II.

The rationale for maintaining a distinction between the two is presented by Jacques Freu, who notes, inter alia, that Tudḫaliya I was the son of the non-reigning Kantuzzili, while Tudḫaliya II writes that he ascended the throne as a youth after his father’s death; similarly, Tudḫaliya II's sister Ziplantawiya was the daughter of a king. Additionally, Freu posits that the Šunaššura Treaty between the Hittite Kingdom and Kizzuwatna reflects successive equal and unequal treaty arrangements under two different sets of kings on both sides, discerns three Tudḫaliyas as ancestors of Muršili II on his “cruciform seal,” and argues that the Tudḫaliyas who engaged in repeated military action in Syria and in western Anatolia should be distinguished from each other to avoid an overly long reign.

The treatment below tentatively follows Freu's distinction of two 15th-century BC Hittite great kings named Tudḫaliya.

Family
Freu's reconstruction identifies Tudḫaliya I and Tudḫaliya II as grandfather and grandson, with the obscure and short-lived Ḫattušili II being the intervening generation. If this is correct, Tudḫaliya II would have been the son of Ḫattušili II, possibly by Ašmu-Ḫeba, and would have succeeded his father at an early age according to his own testimony. Tudḫaliya II had a sister named Ziplantawiya, who was titled queen, perhaps to fulfill the respective functions during her brother’s youth. At a later date, Ziplantawiya was suspected of witchcraft against her brother and sister-in-law, as indicated by the description of an anti-magical ritual undertaken to protect Tudḫaliya II, his wife Nikkal-mati, and their sons. The sons appear to have predeceased their parents, but a daughter, Ašmu-Nikkal, survived. Her husband, Arnuwanda, became Tudḫaliya’s chosen heir and was possibly adopted and apparently associated on the throne by his father-in-law.

Reign
Perhaps already in Tudḫaliya II's father's reign, the western Anatolian confederacy of Arzawa had begun to encroach on Hittite control in the peninsula. Tudḫaliya II marched against Arzawa, including the Seḫa River Land, Ḫapalla, and Wallarima, defeating them and sending captives and military equipment back home. A revolt in his rear forced him to turn to Aššuwa, which was successfully subdued; among the confederates of Aššuwa are listed Wilušiya and Taruiša, the likely Hittite renditions of Greek [W]ilios (Ilion) and Troia. The successful campaigns in the west resulted in a massive dislocation of captives and goods from the defeated countries to the Hittite core territory or other areas under Hittite rule. Since these included military personnel and equipment, this allowed for a captive prince, Kukkulli, to stir up a revolt among them. Tudḫaliya was able to suppress it.

While Tudḫailya II was busy in the west, the northern parts of his kingdom had come under Kaška attacks from the north. They were defeated in a two-year campaign, allowing Tudḫaliya a year's respite from war. Additionally, Tudḫaliya II's successor Arnuwanda I recalled in a later text Tudḫaliya's efforts against Mittani and Išuwa. Tudḫaliya defeated the Išuwans, some of whom sought refuge with their ally, Sauštatar of Mittani, who refused to extradite them, resulting in further Hittite military action without permanent gains. It was perhaps in this context that Tudḫaliya II concluded his unequal treaty with Šunaššura II of Kizzuwatna, recalling that country's earlier treaty (and submission to the Hittites?) under Tudḫaliya’s grandfather. Later, perhaps during the suspected association between Tudḫaliya II and Arnuwanda I on the throne, Kizzuwatna would be annexed by the Hittite Kingdom.

Towards the end of Tudḫaliya II's reign, he and his associate and successor Arnuwanda II returned to the western front in a victorious military campaign against Kupanta-Kurunta, the king of Arzawa. The context of this war includes the turbulent behavior of a western Anatolian prince, Madduwata, who had been "saved" from Attaršiya of Aḫḫiya (the names compare to Atreus and Achaeans) by Tudḫaliya II and given successive appanages in the mountainous areas of Ḫairyati and Zippašla by the Hittite monarch. Nevertheless, Madduwata broke his oaths to keep to his lands, and intervened far and wide in western Anatolia, including the Lukka Lands and even Alašiya (Cyprus). He provoked and lost a fight with the king of Arzawa, caused the ambush and death of two Hittite commanders in the Lukka Lands by betraying their plans to the enemy, and later became an ally of Arzawa. While the Hittite sources claimed success, any gains in the west proved fleeting.

If Tudḫaliya I and Tudḫaliya II are to be identified as the same individual, he would also be credited with an intervention in Syria, where the king punished the city of Aleppo for its desertion to Mittani by destroying it, according to the historical introduction to the later treaty between the Hittite great king Muršili II and his nephew, Talmi-Šarumma of Aleppo. See Tudḫaliya I.