Telipinus
Telipinus, reigning around 1525 to 1500 BCE, is recognized as the last king of the Old Hittite Kingdom and is notable for his role as a military leader, diplomat, and reformer. Despite usurping the throne, he is respected for successfully consolidating the kingdom's borders and engaging in military campaigns, notably against the city of Hassuwa and quelling a revolt in Lawazantiya. His reign marked a significant shift in Hittite governance, as he established a treaty with the neighboring kingdom of Kizzuwatna, indicating a new approach to diplomatic relations. The Edict of Telipinus, a key document from his reign, serves both administrative and historical purposes, detailing the line of succession from his predecessors and emphasizing the importance of stability within the royal family to ensure the kingdom's prosperity. This edict outlines a clear succession law, indicating a structured approach to monarchy that was innovative for its time. The historical narrative within the edict reflects on the tumultuous events leading to his rise, including the violent overthrows that plagued his family line. Ultimately, Telipinus’s legacy is marked by his efforts to reform the monarchy and foster unity within the Hittite state, contributing to its historical significance.
Telipinus
Related civilization: Hittite
Major role/position: King
Life
Telipinus (tehl-ih-PI-nuhs; r. c. 1525-c. 1500 b.c.e.) is known as the last king of the Old Hittite Kingdom. Although he usurped the Hittite throne, he is arguably one of the most respected Hittite kings. Besides being a successful ruler in military and diplomatic respects, he was also a reformer. Telipinus consolidated his kingdom on its northern and southeastern borders. He untertook a military campaign against Hassuwa, an important city in in southeastern Anatolia, and put down a revolt in Lawazantiya in the Cilician region. Telipinus instituted some important legal reforms and, for the first time in Hittite history, entered into a treaty relationship with a neighboring country, the kingdom of Kizzuwatna in the Cilician region of Anatolia under the reign of a ruler named Isputahsus.
From Telipinus’s reign several documents are preserved, including the above-mentioned treaty. However, the most important of them is the Edict of Telipinus, also known as the Proclamation of Telipinus. This document is primarily of an administrative-legal character; however, it also has a historical preamble that is the most important source for the history of the Old Hittite Kingdom.
In the preamble, Telipinus lists the reigns of his seven predecessors (from Labarnas I to Huzziyas I) and the events at the time of his own reign. He emphasizes the glories and mishaps the Hittite state had in the previous hundred years. His goal is clear: to demonstrate the fact that harmony in the royal family and in all sectors of the state will lead to the prosperity of the kingdom and that the assassinations of members of the royal family must be avoided. In this respect, he laudatorially describes the times of the first three Hittite rulers, Labarnas I, Hattusilis I, and Mursilis I. The last is known as the conqueror of Aleppo and Babylon.
According to the Edict of Telipinus, the unhappy phase of Hittite history begins with Hantilis I, who assassinated Mursilis I, his brother-in-law, and usurped the throne. After an ill-fated reign, he was illegitimately succeeded by his son-in-law Zidantas I, who systematically eliminated the other family members of Hantilis I. However, Zidantas I also was murdered by his own son Ammunas. Under the reign of Ammunas, the land of the Hittites was stricken by famine. The next king, Huzziyas I, ruled only for a short time and was removed by his brother-in-law Telipinus after a coup d’état.
After the historical and didactic preamble, Telipinus enacts in his edict a concise law of succession, saying “Let a prince of the first rank become king. If there is no prince of the first rank, let one who is a son of the second rank become king. If, however, there is no prince, let them take a husband for a daughter of the first rank, and let him become king.”
Istapariyas is known as the queen of Telipinus. She and his son, Ammunas, died under unknown circumstances before Telipinus. Telipinus was then succeded by Alluwamnas, who probably was his adoptive son.
Influence
Telipinus consolidated the kingdom and instituted legal reforms, including setting up a succession law for the kingship.
Bibliography
Bryce, Trevor. The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1998.
Gurney, Oliver R. The Hittites. 2d ed. London: Penguin Books, 1990.