The Manapa-Tarhunta letter (CTH 191; KUB 19.5 + KBo 19.79) is a fragmentary text in the Hittite language from the 13th century BC. The letter was sent to the Hittite king by Manapa-Tarhunta, client king of the Seha River Land. In the letter, Manapa-Tarhunta discusses Hittite attempts to reassert control over northwest Anatolia. The letter is particularly notable for its mention of Wilusa, generally identified with Troy.
The letter identifies its author as Manapa-Tarhunta, client king of the Seha River Land. Manapa-Tarhunta is discussed in other Hittite documents, which indicate that he was already in power when Mursili II ascended the Hittite throne in 1321 BC, and that he was removed from power by Muwatalli II, who ruled from 1295 to 1272 BC. While the addressee is not explicitly named, scholars generally agree that it was Muwatalli II. [1]
The letter begins by assuring Muwattalli, "[At the moment] everything is fine". In the next section, it reports that Hittite troops arrived in Seha and then headed onward to attack Wilusa. However, Manapa-Tarhunta himself was unable to take part in this expedition due to a severe illness. [2]
After a paragraph divider, the letter turns to its main topic, the defection of a group of craftsmen. We learn that the Seha River Land had been attacked by a warlord named Piyamaradu, who installed a man named Atpa as its de facto ruler. After the attack, a group of dyers from Lazpa had defected from Manapa-Tarhunta to Atpa. However, after the arrival of a Hittite regiment, King Kupanta-Kurunta of neighbouring Mira was able to negotiate the return of the craftsmen. [3]
The events described in the letter have been interpreted as part of a proxy war between the Hittites and the Ahhiyawa. Though the letter itself does not mention the Ahhiyawa, other texts such as the Tawagalawa letter reveal that Piyamaradu was allied with them and that Atpa had served as the Ahhiyawa-appointed governor of Milawata. [4] [5]
Because of this, the mention of an attack on Wilusa has sometimes been interpreted as evidence for a historical Trojan War. Although this interpretation remains a viable hypothesis, it is not favored by current scholarship since the section divider seems to suggest that Piyamaradu's activities were a separate topic from the attack on Wilusa. Thus, the text does not provide reason to think that the Hittites were responding to an Ahhiya-backed siege as opposed to an internal uprising or the kingdom itself refusing Hittite authority. Hittitologist Trevor Bryce cautions that "Overall, the letter is of very dubious value in terms of any possible bearing it may have on the Trojan War tradition." [6] [5]
However, the letter does provide important geographic evidence supporting the identification of Wilusa with the archaeological site of Troy. From other texts, scholars have generally concluded that the modern day Karabel Pass served as the southern border of the Seha River Land. Since the Manapa-Tarhunta letter suggests that the kingdom included Lazpa, this would place its northern border in the area of the Troad. Given that the letter also suggests that Seha and Wilusa were neighbors, this information would restrict possible locations for Wilusa to an area in which Troy is the only major fortified city. These arguments are generally accepted by scholars, though they are not regarded as beyond question. In particular, Max Gander has argued that the text need not be read as suggesting that Seha ruled over Lazpa, and that it could have been located as far south as the Meander River. [7] [8]
The Achaeans or Akhaians is one of the names in Homer which is used to refer to the Greeks collectively.
Troy or Ilion was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destination, and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998.
Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital was at Apasa is often referred to as Arzawa Minor, while the other Arzawan kingdoms included Mira, Hapalla, Wilusa, and the Seha River Land.
Bakırçay is a river in Turkey. It rises in the Gölcük Dağları mountains and debouches into the Gulf of Çandarlı.
Wilusa or Wilusiya was a Late Bronze Age city in western Anatolia known from references in fragmentary Hittite records. The city is notable for its identification with the archaeological site of Troy, and thus its potential connection to the legendary Trojan War.
Alashiya, also spelled Alasiya, also known as the Kingdom of Alashiya, was a state which existed in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, and was situated somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was a major source of goods, especially copper, for ancient Egypt and other states in the Ancient Near East. It is referred to in a number of the surviving texts and is now thought to be the ancient name of Cyprus, or an area of Cyprus. This was confirmed by the scientific analysis performed in Tel Aviv University of the clay tablets which were sent from Alashiya to other rulers.
Assuwa was a confederation of 22 states in western Anatolia around 1400 BC. The confederation formed to oppose the Hittite Empire, but was defeated under Tudhaliya I/II. The name was recorded in various centres in Mycenaean Greece as Asiwia, which later acquired the form Asia.
Alaksandu, alternatively called Alakasandu or Alaksandus, was a king of Wilusa who sealed a treaty with Hittite king Muwatalli II ca. 1280 BC. This treaty implies that Alaksandu had previously secured a treaty with Muwatalli's father, Mursili II, as well. His name appears to be of Ancient Greek origin.
Madduwatta was a Late Bronze Age warlord who conquered a portion of southwest Anatolia. He is known from the Hittite text known as the Indictment of Madduwatta.
The historicity of the Iliad has been a topic of scholarly debate for centuries. While researchers of the 18th century had largely rejected the story of the Trojan War as fable, the discoveries made by Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik reopened the question. The subsequent excavation of Troy VIIa and the discovery of the toponym "Wilusa" in cuneiform Hittite correspondence has made it plausible that the Trojan War cycle was at least remotely based on a historical conflict of the 12th century BC, even if the poems of Homer remembered the event only through the distortion of four centuries of oral tradition.
Kurunta was younger son of the early 13th century BC Hittite king Muwatalli II and cousin of Tudhaliya IV. Kurunta was thereby a Hittite prince and king of Tarhuntassa country. It has been suggested that he may have captured the Hittite capital for a very short time during the reign of the Hittite king Tuthaliya IV and declared himself a great king.
The Tawagalawa letter is a fragmentary Hittite text from the mid 13th century BC. It is notable for providing a window into relations between Hittites and Greeks during the Late Bronze Age and for its mention of a prior disagreement concerning a city called Wilusa, generally identified with the archaeological site of Troy.
Manapa-Tarhunta was a king in western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. Manapa-Tarhunta is known through the archives of the kings of Hattusas.
The Milawata letter is an item of diplomatic correspondence from a Hittite king at Hattusa to a client king in western Anatolia around 1240 BC. It constitutes an important piece of evidence in the debate concerning the historicity of Homer's Iliad.
Piyamaradu was a warlord mentioned in Hittite documents from the middle and late 13th century BC. As an ally of the Ahhiyawa, he led or supported insurrections against the Hittite empire in Western Anatolia. His history is of particular interest since his area of activity may have included Wilusa, thus suggesting a potential connection to the myth of the Trojan War.
Walmu was a king of Wilusa in the late 13th century BC. He is known from the Milawata letter, which reports that he had been deposed and discusses the Hittites' intent to reinstall him. The letter does not specify how Walmu was deposed or who was responsible.
Kisnapali was a Hittite general during the reign of Tudhaliya I in the early 14th century BC. The Hittite text known as the Indictment of Madduwatta reports that he supported the Hittite vassal Madduwatta against the Ahhiyan warlord Attarsiya, but was later betrayed by Madduwatta and died in battle near Dalawa.
Attarsiya was a 15th–14th century BCE military leader of Ahhiya. In the Hittite archives of circa 1400 BCE, he is described as a "man of Ahhiya", a country identified with the Achaeans and Mycenaean Greece. The campaigns of Attarsiya, as well as his conflict with the Hittite vassal, Madduwatta, represent the first recorded Mycenaean Greek military activity on the Anatolian mainland, as well as the first conflict between Achaeans and Hittites. He finally withdrew from Anatolia after Hittite intervention, but later launched a campaign against Alashiya (Cyprus).
Hapalla, also written as Haballa, was a kingdom in central-western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. As one of the Arzawa states, it was a sometime vassal and sometime enemy of the Hittite Empire.
The Seha River Land was a kingdom in Western Anatolia in the Late Bronze Age known from Hittite texts. Part of Arzawa, it was located north of Mira and south of Wilusa, and at one point controlled the island of Lazpa.
