Arnuwanda I

Arnuwanda I was a Hittite great king during the early 14th century BC, ruling in c. 1390–1380/1370 BC.

Origins

Arnuwanda's parents are unknown. Because both Arnuwanda and his wife, Queen Ašmu-Nikkal, are described on their respective seals as the children of Tudḫaliya II, this was long interpreted as a marriage between siblings. This, however, was clearly forbidden by Hittite custom and law, and it is now generally agreed that while Ašmu-Nikkal was indeed the daughter of Tudḫaliya II, Arnuwanda was only his son-in-law and possibly adoptive son, as the daughter's antiyant husband, an acceptable heir in the absence of a son.

Association on the throne with Tudḫaliya II

Arnuwanda I began his reign in association with his father-in-law and predecessor, Tudḫaliya II, perhaps for as many as a dozen years or so. The simultaneous attestation of both men as great king indicates an association on the throne, something unusual in Hittite and Mesopotamian practice. Arnuwanda collaborated with his father-in-law in the Hittite campaigns against Arzawa in western Anatolia. The two kings defeated Kupanta-Kurunta of Arzawa on one or two occasions, the second time rescuing their recalcitrant vassal Madduwatta, who had attacked Arzawa on his own. The Hittites, led by the general Kišnapili, subsequently saved Madduwatta again, this time from an attack by Attaršiya of Aḫḫiya. Madduwatta subsequently betrayed Kišnapili’s movements to the enemy, causing the ambushing and destruction of the Hittite forces, but somehow avoided punishment.

Sole reign

Western border - the Problems with Madduwatta

When Tudḫaliya II died and Arnuwanda I became sole king, he continued to face the problems caused by the machinations of Madduwatta. The latter undertook hostile actions in the regions of Šallapa and Pittaša and made an alliance with his erstwhile enemy Kupanta-Kurunta of Arzawa, whom he offered his daughter as wife; nevertheless, Madduwatta portrayed this as a ploy against Kupanta-Kurunta, while protesting his loyalty to Arnuwanda. Madduwatta attacked the rebellious land of Ḫapalla, ostensibly on behalf of the Hittite monarch, but followed his own interests in annexing it, and in intervening farther afield to the south, in the Lukka lands and as far as Alašiya. The last conquest was possibly undertaken in cooperation with another old enemy, Attaršiya of Aḫḫiya, and again elicited protest from Arnuwanda. The Hittite monarch reclaimed Ḫapalla, but further developments with Madduwatta and Kupanta-Kurunta remain unclear.
The latter’s possible successor Uḫḫa-zalma concluded a treaty with Arnuwanda. Later, King Tarḫunt-aradu of Arzawa would expand at Hittite expense and correspond with the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III as a fellow great king.

Northern border

Closer to home, on the northern frontier, Arnuwanda was faced with the incursions of the Kaška, who raided and plundered numerous towns and temples, including the important sanctuary of Nerik, which had to be abandoned to the enemy. In addition to police actions and the conclusion of treaties with Kaška leaders, Arnuwanda and his wife Ašmu-Nikkal offered up formal prayers to the gods, asking for their assistance in containing the threat. Given the gravity of the situation, Arnuwanda also exacted oaths of loyalty from military commanders near the frontiers, both in the north and south. When the Hittite vassal at Paḫḫuwa, Mita, married the daughter of a declared enemy of the Hittite monarch, Ušapa, Arnuwanda convened a public assembly, condemned Mita’s actions and demanded universal support in suppressing any disloyalty at Paḫḫuwa. The surviving sources do not preserve the resolution of the issue. Within the context of the tensions with Mita of Paḫḫuwa, there is reference to Arnuwanda’s military intervention in the area of Kummaḫa.

Other events

Preoccupied with issues in Anatolia, Arnuwanda does not appear to have pursued an active policy in Syria. Here, Artatama I, the king of Mittani, concluded an alliance with Thutmose IV of Egypt, sending pharaoh his daughter as wife and effectively agreeing to a division of the region between Egypt and Mittani, which would last until the victorious campaigns of Arnuwanda’s second successor, Šuppiluliuma I. For his part, Arnuwanda resettled warriors from Išmerik and their families in Hittite-held Kizzuwatna. A treaty bound the elders of Ura on the Mediterranean coast with the Hittite monarch, ensuring his access to the sea.

Family

Arnuwanda I was married to Ašmu-Nikkal, the daughter of his co-ruler and predecessor Tudḫaliya II. The queen featured prominently throughout Arnuwanda’s reign and may have survived her husband. Among their several children, the future king Tudḫaliya III, also known by the Hurrian name of Tašmi-Šarri, appears to have been the eldest son and was appointed his father’s designated successor. Another son, Kantuzzili, was appointed priest of Kizzuwatna. Other sons included Ašmi-Šarruma, Mannini, Pariyawatra, and Tulpi-Teššub.