Mitanni
Mitanni was a significant confederation of Hurrian states located in Upper Mesopotamia during the late second millennium BCE, with its capital likely situated at Washukanni, near the Khābūr River in present-day Syria. By around 1450 BCE, Mitanni emerged as the most powerful state in the Tigris-Euphrates region, exerting influence over neighboring territories. The kingdom's political structure was marked by a network of vassal states, each led by its own king, who was bound to Mitanni through treaties and oaths. Historical records about Mitanni primarily come from correspondence with neighboring powers like Egypt and the Hittites, as well as from records of its vassal states, offering insights into its diplomatic relationships and cultural exchanges.
Mitanni's rulers, such as Kirta and Tushratta, engaged in notable diplomatic actions, including marital alliances with Egyptian royalty. Despite the kingdom's initial strength, it faced challenges from rising powers like the Hittites and Assyria, leading to its fragmentation and diminished role in regional politics by around 1350 BCE. The Hurrians of Mitanni played a crucial role in transmitting Assyro-Babylonian culture and trade to surrounding regions, influencing literature and mythology that would resonate in later Greek works. Overall, Mitanni's history reflects a complex interplay of power, culture, and diplomacy in ancient Near Eastern politics.
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Mitanni
Date: c. 1600-1100 b.c.e.
Locale: Northern Syria
Mitanni
The kingdom of Mitanni (mih-TA-nee) was a confederation of Hurrian states in Upper Mesopotamia in the late second millennium b.c.e. Its capital was Washukanni, which has not been located for certain but may have been Tell Fakhariyah, located near the headwaters of the Khābūr River in Syria. By at least 1450 b.c.e., Mitanni was the most powerful state in the Tigris-Euphrates region.
Knowledge of Mitanni does not come from palatial archives but from correspondence with neighboring polities, including Egypt, the Hittites, and Mesopotamia, as well as records from Mitanni vassal states, such as Nuzi (northern Iraq), Terqa (on the Syrian Euphrates), and Alalakh (coastal Syria). From these fragmented sources, it is apparent that Mitanni was a political term that was most often used to describe the confederation of Hurrian states and vassals. Each of these vassals had its own king, who was bound to Mitanni by a treaty sworn by oath and sacrifice. Although the state of Mitanni was composed primarily of Hurrians, there was a significant substratum of individuals with Indo-European personal names, as well as West Semitic speaking peoples, Hittites, and Assyrians.
The history of the Mitanni state can be only partially reconstructed. The earliest attested king was Kirta, father of Shuttarna, whose names appear on a seal from Alalakh of Saustatar, a later Mitanni ruler. By 1500 b.c.e. (roughly contemporary with the early New Kingdom of Egypt), it appears that Mitanni had expanded into most of Syria under the reigns of Paratarna and Saustatar. This newly formed confederation was probably opposed by the expansion of Thutmose III of Egypt (r. c. 1504-1450 b.c.e.).
Later Mitanni kings are known primarily through the Amarna letters from Egypt (c. 1411-1350 b.c.e.), in which the Mitanni kings engaged in diplomatic relations with the kings of Egypt. For example, Artatarma I sent his daughter to Egypt to become the wife of Thutmose IV (r. 1420-1411 b.c.e.). The warming of relations between the two states may have been caused by the rise of Assyria in northern Iraq and the Hittites in Anatolia, weakening the Mitanni state. The Mitanni king Tushratta continued to have good relations with Amenhotep III (r. c. 1411-1370 b.c.e.). However, the Mitanni state became somewhat fragmented and suffered defeat from the hands of the Hittite king Suppiluliumas I. Thus, after circa 1350 b.c.e., the Hurrian state of Mitanni ceased to be a major role player in ancient Near Eastern politics. Mitanni continued to be a buffer between the Hittites and Assyria for at least the next two centuries, until the area was absorbed in the Assyrian Empire.
There is, however, more detailed information concerning Hurrian culture in the late second millennium b.c.e. Because of their military and political power and their central location, the Hurrians of Mitanni became the transmitter of Assyro-Babylonian culture and trade to Anatolia, Palestine, and ultimately the Aegean. Versions of Assyro-Babylonian myths and other literature have been found in Hurrian and Hittite literature. Furthermore, elements of the Hurrian Kumarbi myth are found in the later Greek Homeric epics.
Bibliography
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Goetze, A. “On the Chronology of the Second Millennium b.c.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 11 (1957): 53-73.
Jankowska, N. B. “Asshur, Mitanni, and Arrapkhe.” In Early Antiquity, edited by I. M. Biakonoff. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Morrison, M. A., and D. I. Owen et al. Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1981.
Wilhelm, G. The Hurrians. Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1989.
Wiseman, D. The Alalakh Tablets. London: The British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1953.