Relief of Suppiluliuma II in Hattusa
Chamber 2 built and inscribed by Suppiliuma II at
Hattusa, the son of
Tudhaliya IV, was the last known king of the New Kingdom of the
Hittite Empire, ruling ca. 1207 – 1178 BC (
short chronology), contemporary with
Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria.
He is known from two inscriptions in
Hieroglyphic Luwian. They record wars against former vassal
Tarhuntassa, and against Alasiya in
Cyprus. One inscription is found at the base of Nisantepe in the Upper City of Hattusa; the other is on the northern corner of the East Pond (Pond 1), in what is known as Chamber 2. This served as a water reservoir for Hattusa.
The chamber 2 reliefs are historically important since it records major political instability which plagued Hatti during Suppiluliuma's reign. It states that this ruler sacked the city of Tarhutassa which was a Hittite city and had briefly served as the Empire's political capital under the reign of
Muwatalli II.
The Hittite kingdom was ultimately destroyed by the invading
Sea Peoples and
Kaskians in the late 1170s BCE. Based on records in
Ugarit, the threat originated in the west, and the Hittite king asked for assistance from Ugarit.
"The enemy [advances(?)] against us and there is no number [...]. Our number is pure(?) [. . .] Whatever is available, look for it and send it to me."
Ammurapi, an ally of Suppululiuma II and the last
king of
Ugarit wrote a letter outlining the threat posed by the invading Sea Peoples and pleaded for help from Eshuwara, the ruler of
Alasiya (Cyprus):
After Suppiluliuma's kingdom collapsed, the Kaskian tribes were probably in control of Hatti. Hattusa itself was destroyed by fire, its site only re-occupied by a
Phrygian fortress some 500 years later.
Kuzi-Teshub, a ruler of
Carchemish, would later assume the title of "Great King" since he was a direct descendent of
Suppiluliuma I.
See also
