# Tudḫaliya the Younger

Tudḫaliya the Younger (sometimes designated Tudḫaliya III), possibly also the bearer of the Hurrian name Tulpi-Teššub, was a son of the Hittite great king Tudḫaliya III (sometimes designated Tudḫaliya II), who was murdered by Šuppiluliuma I in c. 1350 BC. It is uncertain and perhaps doubtful that Tudḫaliya the Younger reigned as great king of Ḫatti.

## Evidence

The main source of information on Tudḫaliya the Younger are the Plague Prayers of Šuppiluliuma I's son Muršili II:
    O gods, [my] lords, a plague broke out in Ḫatti, and Ḫatti has been beaten down by the plague. It [has been] very much [oppressed]. This is the twentieth year. Because Ḫatti is (still) experiencing many deaths, the affair of Tudḫaliya the Younger, son of Tudḫaliya, began to haunt [me]. I inquired of a god through an oracle, [and] the affair of Tudḫaliya the Younger was ascertained by the god (as a source of our suffering). Because Tudḫaliya the Younger was lord of Ḫatti, the princes, the noblemen, the commanders of the thousands, the officers, [the subalterns(?)], and all [the infantry] and chariotry of Ḫattuša swore an oath to him. My father also swore an oath to him.
    [But when my father] mistreated Tudḫaliya, all [the princes, the noblemen], the commanders of the thousands, and the officers of Ḫattuša [went over] to my [father]. Although they had sworn an oath (to him), [they seized] Tudḫaliya, and they killed [Tudḫaliya]. Furthermore, they killed those of his brothers [who stood by] him. [...] they sent to Alašiya (Cyprus). [Whatever] was their [...] they [...] in regard to him. [Thus the ...] and the lords transgressed the oath. …
    But later you came, O gods, [my lords], and have now taken vengeance on my father for this affair of Tudḫaliya the Younger. My father [died] because of the blood of Tudḫaliya. And the princes, the noblemen, the commanders of the thousands, and the officers who went over [to my father] also died because of [this] affair. This same affair also affected the (entire) land of Ḫatti, and [Ḫatti] began to perish because of [this] affair. And Ḫatti [wasted(?)] away. Now the plague [has become] yet [worse]. Ḫatti has been [very much] oppressed by the plague and has become diminished. I, Muršili, [your servant], cannot [master] the turmoil [of my heart]. I cannot [master] the anguish of my body. …
    [Because] my father [killed] this Tudḫaliya, my father therefore later [performed] a ritual of (expiation of) bloodshed. But Ḫattuša did not [perform] anything. etc.

## Interpretation

With the Plague Prayers virtually our only source of information, Tudḫaliya the Younger remains obscure. He might have been underage or at least young and inexperienced at the time of his father's death. Šuppiluliuma's "crime," the murder of Tudḫaliya III's son and heir-apparent Tudḫaliya the Younger was later identified as the cause of divine wrath and the outbreak of plague by Muršili II. Based on the existence of seal impressions of Šuppiluliuma naming him the son of Tudḫaliya III, scholars have traditionally assumed that Šuppiluluiuma gained the throne by murdering his brother or half-brother Tudḫaliya the Younger. However, the context seems to exclude a sibling relationship between Tudḫaliya the Younger and Šuppiluliuma, and the discovery of the seal of Šuppiluliuma's first wife Ḫenti, naming her “great queen and daughter of the great king, the hero,” has led to the conclusion that Šuppiluliuma was a son-in-law (and at best adopted son) of Tudḫaliya III and therefore brother-in-law of Tudḫaliya the Younger. While some scholars have supposed that Tudḫaliya the Younger had become king, most assume that Tudḫaliya the Younger was eliminated before he could ascend the throne. Some scholars who identify Tudḫaliya, the son of Kantuzzili, with Tudḫaliya, the father-in-law of Arnuwanda I, renumber the kings and designate Tudḫaliya the Younger, whether they believe he reigned or not, as Tudḫaliya III, which allows them to keep the designation of Tudḫaliya IV for the son of Ḫattušili III (another king with traditional but possibly questionable numbering).
vteHittite New Kingdom royal family tree according to Trevor Bryce :
Kantuzilli
Tudhaliya I/IINikkalmati
Arnuwanda IAsmunikal
Hattusili II?Tudhaliya IIIDaduhepaZida
Tudhaliya the YoungerHenti (1)Šuppiluliuma I(2) Tawananna
Arnuwanda IITelipinuSarri-KusuhZannanzaGassulawiya (1)Mursili II(2) Tanuhepa
Talmi-SarrumaSahurunuwaMuwatalli IIHalpasulupiMassanauzziHattusili IIIPuduhepa
Ini-TesubUrhi-TesubKuruntaNerikkailinumerous daughters and sonsTudhaliya IV
Talmi-TesubArnuwanda IIISuppiluliuma II
Kuzi-Tesub :
* (1) = 1st spouse
* (2) = 2nd spouse
* Small caps indicates a Great King (LUGAL.GAL) of the Land of Hatti; italic small caps indicates a Great Queen or Tawananna.
* Dashed lines indicate adoption.
* Solid lines indicate marriage (if horizontal) or parentage (if vertical).
References:
Trevor Bryce (1997). The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
Trevor Bryce (2005). The Kingdom of the Hittites (new edition). Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
Trevor Bryce (2012). The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Jacques Freu (2007). Les débuts du nouvel empire hittite. Paris, France: L'Harmattan.
Volkert Haas (2006). Die hethitische Literatur. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter. :
Notes:
↑ Scholars have suggested that Tudhaliya I/II was possibly a grandson of the Hittite king Huzziya II; the first Tudhaliya is now known to be the son of Kantuzzili (Bryce 1997, p. 131 suggested Himuili, but the new edition, Bryce 2005, p. 122, indicated Kantuzzili).
↑ Bryce (1997) does not consider it clear whether Tudhaliya I/II was one king or two (p. 133); the link points to Tudhaliya II. Among those who identify distinct kings Tudhaliya I and Tudhaliya II, Freu (2007) has Kantuzzili—his son Tudhaliya I—his son Hattusili II—his son Tudhaliya II (p. 311).
1 2 3 Bryce (1997), p. 139.
↑ The existence of Hattusili II is doubted by many scholars (Bryce 1997, pp. 153–154; Bryce 2005, p. 141). Among those who accept the existence of Hattusili II, Freu (2007), p. 311, has Tudhaliya I—his son Hattusili II—his son Tudhaliya II.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 158.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 172.
1 2 3 4 Bryce (1997), p. 174.
1 2 Bryce (1997), p. 168.
↑ Also known as Malnigal; daughter of Burnaburias II of Babylonia (Bryce 1997, p. 173).
↑ ‘Great priest’ in Kizzuwadna and king (lugal) of Aleppo (Bryce 1997, p. 174).
1 2 3 4 King (lugal) of Carchemish.
↑ Bryce (1997), pp. 174, 203–204.
↑ Zannanza died on his way to Egypt to marry a pharaoh's widow, probably Ankhesenpaaten, the widow of Tutankhamun (Bryce 1997, pp. 196–198).
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 227.
1 2 3 Bryce (1997), p. 230.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 220.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 222.
↑ Haas (2006), p. 91.
↑ Massanauzzi married Masturi, king of the Seha River Land (Bryce 1997, p. 313).
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 296.
↑ Puduhepa was the daughter of the Kizzuwadnan priest Pentipsarri (Bryce 1997, p. 273).
↑ Bryce (1997), pp. 346, 363.
↑ King (lugal) of Tarhuntassa (Bryce 1997, p. 296); apparently later Great King of Hatti (Bryce 1997, p. 354).
↑ Nerikkaili married a daughter of Bentesina, king of Amurru (Bryce 1997, p. 294).
↑ Two daughters of Hattusili III were married to the pharaoh Ramesses II; one was given the Egyptian name Ma(hor)nefrure. Another, Gassuwaliya, married into the royal house of Amurru. Kilushepa was married to a king of Isuwa. A daughter married into the royal family of Babylon. A sister of Tudhaliya IV married Sausgamuwa, king of Amurru after his father Bentesina. From Bryce (1997), pp. 294 and 312.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 332.
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 363. Tudhaliya IV probably married a Babylonian princess, known by her title of Great Princess (dumu.sal gal) (Bryce 1997, pp. 294, 331).
↑ Bryce (1997), p. 363.
1 2 Bryce (1997), p. 361.
↑ Last documented Great King of the Land of Hatti.
↑ King and then Great King of Carchemish (Bryce 1997, pp. 384–385). :