The Tawagalawa letter [1] (CTH 181) 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.
The Tawagalawa letter was written by a Hittite king to a king of Ahhiyawa around 1250 BC. The author is generally identified as Hattusili III, though some scholars have argued that it was written by Muwatalli II. Since the surviving text is fragmentary, the identities of the author and addressee are not known for certain, and nothing can be inferred about the identity of its addressee. [2]
In the letter, the Hittite king seeks cooperation from the Ahhiyawan king in suppressing anti-Hittite activity in Western Anatolia. His particular concern was the activity of a warlord named Piyamaradu who had recently fled to Ahhiyawa-controlled territory after leading an unsuccessful rebellion in Lukka. Given Piyamaradu's apparent propensity for anti-Hittite activity, the author was concerned about his next moves and offered the Ahhiyawan king three proposals-- either extradite him to the Hittites, expel him from Ahhiyawa, or offer asylum on the condition that he not attempt any further rebellions. No surviving documents attest to the Ahhiyawan king's decision, though the subsequent decades saw an increase in Ahhiyawa control over Western Anatolia, suggesting that the appeal was rejected. [3]
The letter is notable in part for the tone adopted by the Hittite king. Though he scolds his Ahhiyawan counterpart for previously supporting Piyamaradu, the letter is respectful and conciliatory, and uses terms of address such as "my brother" normally reserved for rulers of major empires such as Egypt and Babylonia. Thus, the letter has been taken as evidence that the Ahhiyawa were seen as a growing power in the region. [4]
The letter gets its conventional name from a brief mention of the Ahhiyawan king's brother Tawagalawa (Hittite : 𒋫𒉿𒂵𒆷𒉿Tawagalawa, 𒋫𒉿𒅗𒆷𒉿 Tawakalawa), a form that has been suggested to correspond to the Greek name Eteocles (Etewoklewes). [5] [6] Early studies erroneously assumed that the beginning of the letter concerned the activities of Tawagalawa. After reconsideration by Itamar Singer and Suzanne Heinhold-Krahmer in 1983, that part of the text was reinterpreted as referring to Piyamaradu and most scholars relegated Tawagalawa to a minor role in the letter. There are technical difficulties, however, with accepting Piyamaradu as the man who asked to become the Hittite king's vassal. [7]
Piyamaradu is also mentioned in the Manapa-Tarhunta letter (c. 1295 BC) and, in the past tense, in the Milawata letter (c. 1240 BC). The Tawagalawa letter further mentions Miletus (as Millawanda) and its dependent city Atriya, as does the Milawata letter; and its governor Atpa, as does the Manapa-Tarhunta letter (although that letter does not state Atpa's fiefdom).
In the letter, the Hittite king refers to former hostilities between the Hittites and the Ahhiyawans over Wilusa, which had now been resolved amicably: "Oh, my brother, write to him this one thing, if nothing else: '...the king of Hatti has persuaded me about the matter of the land of Wilusa concerning which he and I were hostile to one another, and we have made peace.'" [8]
As most scholars identify Wilusa with Troy, this reference has been said to provide "a striking background for Homeric scholars researching the origin of the tradition of the Achaean attack on Ilios." [9] However, the verb used (ku-ru-ri-iḫ-ḫu-e-en) could indicate an exchange of strongly worded cuneiform tablets, a full-on war, or anything in between. [10]
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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.
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Ionia. Its ruins are located near the modern village of Balat in Aydın Province, Turkey. Before the Persian rule that started in the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered among the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities.
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.
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.
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 Manapa-Tarhunta letter 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.
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.
The Achaeans were one of the four major tribes into which Herodotus divided the Greeks, along with the Aeolians, Ionians and Dorians. They inhabited the region of Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, and played an active role in the colonization of Italy, founding the city of Kroton. Unlike the other major tribes, the Achaeans did not have a separate dialect in the Classical period, instead using a form of Doric.
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.