MURSHILISH
II
Murshilish
II / Mursilis / Mursilish / Mursili II (also spelled Mursilis II)
was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom) c. 1330–1295
BC (middle chronology) or 1321–1295 BC (short chronology).
King
of the Hittites :
![](640px-Hittite_Kingdom.png)
Hittite
empire during the reign of Mursili
![](663px-Mursili_II_prayers_to_the_gods_to_end_Plaque,_13th_century_BC,_from_Hattusa,_Istanbul_Archaeological_Museum.jpg)
Mursili
II prayers to the gods to end a plague, 14th century BC, from Hattusa,
Istanbul Archaeological Museum
Mursili was the third born son of King Suppiluliuma I, one of the
most powerful men to rule over the Hittite Empire, and Queen Henti.
He was the younger brother of Arnuwanda II, he also had a sister
and one more brother.
Mursili
assumed the Hittite throne after the premature death of Arnuwanda
II who, like their father, fell victim to the plague which ravaged
the Hatti in the 1330s BC. He was greeted with contempt by Hatti's
enemies and faced numerous rebellions early in his reign, the most
serious of which were those initiated by the Kaskas in the mountains
of Anatolia, but also by the Arzawa kingdom in southwest Asia Minor
and the Hayasa-Azzi confederation in the Armenian Highlands. This
was because he was perceived to be an inexperienced ruler who only
became king due to the early death of Arnuwanda. Mursili records
the scorn of his foes in his Annals:
You
are a child; you know nothing and instill no fear in me. Your land
is now in ruins, and your infantry and chariotry are few. Against
your infantry, I have many infantry; against your chariotry I have
many chariotry. Your father had many infantry and chariotry. But
you who are a child, how can you match him? (Comprehensive Annals,
AM 18-21).
While
Mursili was a young and inexperienced king, he was almost certainly
not a child when he took the Hittite throne and must have reached
an age to be capable of ruling in his own right. Had he been a child,
other arrangements would have been made to secure the stability
of the Empire; Mursili after all had two surviving elder brothers
who served as the viceroys of Carchemish (i.e.: Sarri-Kush) and
Aleppo respectively.
Mursili
II would prove to be more than a match for his successful father,
in his military deeds and diplomacy. The Annals for the first ten
years of his reign have survived and record that he carried out
punitive campaigns against the Kaska tribes in the first two years
of his reign in order to secure his kingdom's northern borders.
The king then turned to the West to resist the aggression of Uhhaziti,
king of Arzawa, who was attempting to lure away Hittite allies into
his camp. During his ninth year his cupbearer Nuvanza decisively
defeated Hayasan forces at the Battle of Ganuvara, after which the
Hayasa-Azzi would be reduced to Hittite vassals. The Annals also
reveal that an "omen of the sun," or solar eclipse, occurred
in his tenth year as king, just as he was about to launch his campaign
against the Kaska peoples.
While
Mursili II's highest confirmed date was his twenty-second year,
he is believed to have lived beyond this date for a few more years
and died after a reign of around 25 to 27 years. He was succeeded
by his son Muwatalli II.
The
eclipse :
Mursili's Year 10 solar eclipse is of great importance for the dating
of the Hittite Empire within the chronology of the Ancient Near
East. There are only two possible dates for the eclipse: 24 June
1312 BC or 13 April 1308 BC. The earlier date is accepted by Hittitologists
such as Trevor R. Bryce (1998), while Paul Åström (1993)
has suggested the later date. However, most scholars accept the
1312 BC event because this eclipse's effects would have been particularly
dramatic with a near total eclipse over the Peloponnese region and
Anatolia (where Mursili II was campaigning) around noon. In contrast,
the 1308 BC astronomical event began in Arabia and then travelled
eastwards in a northeasterly direction; it only reached its maximum
impact over Mongolia and Central Asia. It occurred over Anatolia
around 8:20 in the morning making it less noticeable.
Family
:
Mursili is known to have had several children with his first wife
Gassulawiya including three sons named Muwatalli, Hattusili III
and Halpasulupi. A daughter named Massanauzzi (referred to as Matanaza
in correspondence with the Egyptian king Ramesses II) was married
to Masturi, a ruler of a vassal state. Mursili had further sons
with a second wife named Tanuhepa. The names of the sons of this
second wife have not been recorded however.
Through
his son Muwatalli he had a grandson who also ruled the kingdom,
Mursili III, Queen Maathorneferure and Tudhaliya IV were also grandchildren
of Mursili II.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org