The reign of Tudhaliya II and Šuppiluliuma I

In the mid-fourteenth century BCE, two kings ruled in Hatti – Tudhaliya II and Šuppiluliuma I. During this period, Hatti was fraught with political turmoil and instability. It began with the destruction of Hattuša, and ended with a glorious military campaign, in which a large part of Syria was conquered, and the foundation laid for a strong and prosperous kingdom. Many studies have dealt with this epoch, since it parallels the el-Amarna period, however, its Hittite aspect has been comparatively overlooked. That, coupled with the discovery of several new sources for this period, provided the impetus for my research on this era. This volume sets out to identify important historical events that occurred during the protagonists’ reign, to verify them and examine their details, and then offers a synchronization of the Egyptian and Hittite chronologies.