Hatti

### GDP

• Total: 219 million Egyptian shematy (77 AEE)• Per capita: 60.73 Egyptian shematy (77 AEE)

The Kingdom of Hatti is one of the most powerful countries of the known world, having risen to fame over the last few centuries and surpassing many of the much older civilizations. Known for its military might and aggressiveness, the mountainous kingdom was part of the Hattusa-Babylon Axis with Karduniash, but is now part of the Organization of Free Kingdoms. Despite having recently still been seen as a barbarian country by many, Hatti is exceptional for its form of government, where the king in theory answers to a council of nobles, and its detailed law code.

## **History**

### **Aggressive Expansion**

Around 0 AEE the Hittite king Suppiluliuma II was still consolidating his predecessors' conquests in the west and doing some of his own, but the calamities which hit the Mycenaean Confederation across the Aegean Sea also soon began affecting Hatti. Droughts began causing bad harvests and the people started getting restless, while barbarians, such as Kaskians and Thracians, began attacking the country from the north and northwest. To add to that, around 5 AEE the Kingdom of Assyria began preparing for an invasion of Hatti and the country's survival was being threatened, as situation was really precarious. Seeing no other option, and the success of such a strategy in Mycenae, Suppiluliuma asked Egypt for help in 6 AEE.

Surprisingly, Egypt agreed, mostly to protect their Levantine holdings from being engulfed in the chaos as well and make sure the balance of power in the region remained as it was. The pharaoh Ramesses III sent weapons and agricultural produce, which fully supplied the exhausted and almost rebellious Hittite army and allowed it to get back on its feet. Using the rejuvenated forces, Suppiluliuma defeated the Kaskians and the Thracians, suppressed the rebellions, redistributed food to calm down the population, and stationed men on the Assyrian border to dissuade the eastern kingdom from attacking. This worked, as very soon the Assyrian king Ashur-Dan abandoned his plans to invade Hatti, seeing as it was once again quite a force to be reckoned with.

After the situation was stabilized, the king wasted no time and returned to campaigning to acquire new lands in 9 AEE. His first targets were Kaskian holdings in the north and by 11 AEE their lands were subjugated and the Hittite northern border finally secure, though Kaskian insurrections would continue for decades and the region would be hard to tame. Following this, Suppiluliuma secured the crossing from Europe and established fortifications there to prevent future Thracian raids. In 12 AEE he began a campaign against the independent Luwians in the south, and by 14 AEE it was considered complete, even though parts of southern Anatolia were still only in theory under Hittite control. These lands were reorganized into the puppet Chiefdom of Lukka, but instead of subjugating the remaining Luwians and stabilizing the frontier, the king now turned his attention to a much more valuable prize - Alashiya.

Alashiya was a small independent island kingdom, which was one of the main sources of copper in the region, and Suppiluliuma wanted it for his realm. An attack upon it would break the Alashiyan Neutrality Concord, but despite the warnings of the Pankus and other officials, the king went ahead with the invasion and in 15 AEE the island was occupied and turned into a puppet kingdom. Egypt sent an ultimatum to Hatti so that it would stand down and release the island, but Suppiluliuma rejected it. The country was not prepared for a war with another great power, but such a conflict came only in 17 AEE, due to various squabbles in the Egyptian court on how to act, which gave Suppiluliuma plenty of time to get ready, even for a two front war.

### **Second Hittite-Egyptian War**

Egypt eventually declared war on Hatti, citing illegal Alashiyan annexation as the main reason, beginning the Second Hittite-Egyptian War. Their ally the Mycenaean Confederation was soon called in as well, and Hatti now had to deal with both countries. Luckily for Suppiluliuma, his armies could do that, as the men were numerous and experienced from their recent campaigns, while the Egyptian army had not seen much action in some decades and the Mycenaeans were still recovering from the near destruction of their civilization. The first few years of the war were rather uneventful, with some skirmishes and battles on both fronts but little change of borders. However, in 20 AEE that changed, as the Hittite forces were beginning to get overstretched and undersupplied, and the Egyptians began a push on the Levant, while the Mycenaean advanced in western Anatolia. In 21 AEE the Hittites suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Ugarit, where the king Suppiluliuma II was killed after a long and aggressive reign.

He was succeeded by his son Tudhaliya V, who adopted a defensive approach at first and retreated to Kizzuwatna to regroup his forces. This allowed the Egyptians to advance further north and reach their maximum territorial extent in 22 AEE, but they soon grew exhausted as well, and due to attrition and guerilla Hittite attacks could not hold onto the land for long. Thus Tudhaliya launched a blitz attack in 23 AEE in the Levant, and the Hittites very soon not only regained their lost lands, but also began taking Egyptian territory. And they avenged Suppiluliuma in 24 AEE, when they killed the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses III in the Battle of Byblos. The Hittites continued their push south in the Levant, but this required more men, and so some soldiers were pulled from the west, which allowed the Mycenaeans to make serious gains, such as them capturing the city of Apasa and the rest of the Hittite Aegean coast in 25 AEE. However, Tudhaliya considered this to be a good strategy, as Egypt was after all the main enemy in this war and had to be dealt with first. And even with the Hittites not focusing too much on the Mycenaeans, they still managed to kill their wanax Wedaneus in the Battle of Sardis in 26 AEE, though the victory did ultimately go to Mycenae.

The Hittites continued advancing south on Egyptian lands and in 28 AEE even captured the new Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses IV. He was to be used as a bargaining chip against the Egyptians, in order to force them to end the war and cede the Levant without fighting, though to the surprise of the Hittites, the Egyptians refused and left their pharaoh to his fate. Tudhaliya didn't know what to do with him, but eventually decided to publicly execute the 19 year old ruler in the capital Hattusa to raise the morale of everyone. The Hittite king then returned to the front and by 33 AEE had secured all of Phoenicia, Canaan, and Sinai, and was threatening the core Egyptian territories. The succession crises and general turmoil in Egypt certainly helped achieve this goal, as did the fact that the Mycenaeans got bogged down in western Anatolia and stopped their advance in 29 AEE.

However, in 33 AEE during the Battle of Per-Amun the Hittites suffered their first major defeat against the Egyptians in many years, and even though they managed to kill the new pharaoh Ramesses VI, they were forced to retreat, as the Egyptians once again began their advance north. Hatti soon lost Sinai, Canaan, and was rapidly losing Phoenicia, and in 34 AEE a new Mycenaean advance was about to begin. In 35 AEE during the Battle of Baalbek Tudhaliya was killed, but soon the wanax Klymenos died as well, which stopped the Mycenaean campaign and allowed the Hittites some respite there. The new Hittite king became Tudhaliya's son Suppiluliuma III, who rushed to meet the Egyptians in battle immediately. In 38 AEE he finally managed to stop their armies, though by then both countries' forces were completely exhausted and wanted an end to this war. And so in a few months a ceasefire was agreed on, which was followed by the official end of the war once the Treaty of Damascus was signed with Egypt, whose pharaoh represented both members of the Keftiu Accords, which automatically ended the war between Mycenae and Hatti as well. Suppiluliuma was opposed to this at first, though eventually the Pankus ruled in favor of the peace and convinced the king to sign it, fearing that the Egyptians would soon break the stalemate and the Mycenaeans would advance once again with their new wanax. Hatti lost some territories in the Levant, but still managed to retain Alashiya, which was seen as a huge victory. Its remaining Levantine holdings were to be reorganized into the puppet Kingdom of Ugarit and demilitarized, and the same was done on the other side of the border, with the Egyptians making their new gains into the puppet Kingdom of Amurru and also demilitarizing it. As for the Mycenaeans, the Hittites ceded them small amounts of land, granted them colonization rights over parts of Anatolia, dividing the remaining unclaimed areas between the two countries, and had to pay reparations for five years until 43 AEE. Some skirmishes continued in the west until 39 AEE, but the war was finally over, and despite the Hittites technically losing it, their position was still almost as strong as ever.

### **Further Conquests**

Despite their aggressive expansion being the primary cause of the war, after its end the Hittites did not wait long and soon returned to campaigning around their borders. After the soldiers were given some rest and the situation mostly stabilized, Suppiluliuma launched a new campaign against the remaining independent Luwians in 41 AEE. Over the next four years the remaining free territories of Anatolia were taken either by Hatti or Mycenae, and in 45 AEE the new official border was settled on between the two powers. The new southern lands were added to the Chiefdom of Lukka, while the northwestern Anatolian lands were reorganized into the puppet March of Masa, and both entities were settled aggressively by the Hittites, as part of the kingdom's policy to reduce the number of Luwians and Palaics, while increasing the number of Hittites in the country.

In 43 AEE Suppiluliuma turned east and attacked the lands of Hayasa-Azzi, which were nominally part of the kingdom before, but had broken away during the war. By 46 AEE the barbarian lands were once again part of Hatti and new conquests were added further east, though it took until 48 AEE to quell the rebellions and subjugate the territories fully. The conquests were reorganized into the Chiefdom of Hayasa-Azzi, with both the Hayasan and Azzian chief holding equal power there. The two groups would fight among themselves often, which the Hittites would encourage to make sure that they don't unite and fight for independence. The region was not of much value, but it served as a useful buffer between Hatti and Assyria, whose extreme aggressiveness and militarism was by now noticed by everyone. In 46 AEE Suppiluliuma III joined Ramesses IX in leading the intervention against Assyria, fearing that the kingdom might turn to Hatti if it conquered Karduniash. The international effort was successful and Assyrian advance was halted, with the Hittites having the most peacekeeping troops in Assyrian territory during that time. Suppiluliuma would later participate in the First Conference of the Great Powers' Club in 51 AEE, where, among other things, the Knossos Conventions were signed and Hittite troops would finally leave Assyria.

Suppiluliuma died in 53 AEE of natural causes after a pretty long and successful reign and was succeeded by his son Tudhaliya VI. In 56 AEE during the Second Conference of the Great Powers' Club Hatti entered into an official alliance with Karduniash known as the Hattusa-Babylon Axis, mostly to counter the threat of Assyria. Tudhaliya had plans to expand north while there was still peace, yet in 57 AEE his reign was cut short, as he died of an illness, though some of his supporters accused his brother Suppiluliuma IV of poisoning him. In any event, Suppiluliuma IV became the new king and cancelled all the plans for further expansion, instead focusing more on consolidating the gains, letting the troops rest, and stabilizing the country. In 61 AEE and 66 AEE he participated in the Third and Fourth Conferences of the Great Powers' Club respectively, and in both of them, just like in the previous ones, the Hittite king would try to make Alashiya recognized as part of Hatti's realm, but to no success. Suppiluliuma invested a lot into Hatti's defense, building new fortifications in Kizzuwatna and Arzawa, further securing the capital, raising more men for the garrisons, and even going as far as establishing infrastructure for potential underground activity in case the country was taken over, so that loyalist rebels could retake it, which was deemed excessive by many officials. Suppiluliuma also invested a lot into the shipbuilding industry and employed many Alashiyan specialists and resources in making a navy which could at least defend against Egyptian and Mycenaean invasions, though it was a slow process, and the navy is still far from ready in 71 AEE. The king expanded the civilian sectors as well to diversify the economy. Despite at first being seen as too peaceful and weak to be a king of Hatti, Suppiluliuma proved himself to his subjects, and by 71 AEE was respected by the Pankus, the military brass, and the general population.

### **Great Powers' War**

**Spoiler warning: this section contains spoilers for the novel The Rise of Kemet.**

In 71 AEE, the Hittite king Suppiluliuma IV was assassinated during the Fifth Great Powers' Conference in Ugarit, along with the other three kings of the Great Powers' Club. News of this quickly reached Hatti and the king's son Muwatalli III was enthroned as the new monarch of the country. Wanting to use the ensuing chaos to his opportunity, Muwatalli declared war on Egypt, after being urged to do so by his advisor Hakkarpili. At the same time, the Assyrian king declared war on Karduniash, and so the Great Powers' War began, with both members of the Triple Alliance and the Hattusa-Babylon Axis participating in it. Muwatalli and Hatti's most prominent generals departed for the front in the Levant to fight the Egyptians, while Hakkarpili was left in charge of Hatti. The Levantine front saw the most action in the whole war. Right at the start of the war, Hittite forces, under the combined command of Muwatalli III and generals Huhhaziti and Lihsuman, pushed south and in just a month overran the Egyptian puppet state of Amurru after the Second Battle of Kadesh, by way of their own puppet state of Ugarit, which was put under military rule after the disappearance of Harharran. The Hittite advance continued for a while, but it was soon stopped once more Egyptian troops arrived under the command of Egyptian general Nechtarhebi. In 72 AEE the frontline stabilized around the Byblos-Baalbek axis, as the Hittites could not advance past it. Baalbek was captured by Hatti in 72 AEE, but recovered by Egypt in 73 AEE, while the Siege of Byblos put the Phoenician city at risk of falling, but the Hittites never managed to capture it and abandoned the siege in 73 AEE.

Once the Mycenaean Confederation joined the war, it immediately began fighting against the Hittites and their puppet states in western Anatolia. The Hittites enjoyed some success at first - they won some battles before the Mycenaeans could organize and ship their troops over the Aegean Sea, and in 72 AEE took over the entire Kingdom of Wilusa, which was transferred to the puppet March of Masa. The combined force from Hatti and the Chiefdom of Lukka also occupied much of the Kingdom of Ahhiyawa, pushing as far as the capital Milawanda. However, as more Mycenaeans arrived on the peninsula, the advances were reversed. During the Battle of Milawanda, the Mycenaeans defeated the Luwian and Hittite forces decisively and drove them back, soon recapturing all of Ahhiyawa. Moreover, the Hittites had to transfer some troops to the Levant in 73 AEE, which allowed the Mycenaeans to advance even more. They continued east, occupying parts of Lukka, which was now leaderless as the chief died during the battle.

Some naval battles took place in the Eastern Mediterranean at the start of the war in 71-72 AEE. They were mostly confined to the Aegean Sea, where the Mycenaean ships were battling Hittite ones, and the coastline of the Levant, where the Hittites fought the Egyptians on the sea alongside fighting on land. The Pact of Civilizations, the new iteration of the Triple Alliance which now included Elam, had more victories, as they had more and better quality ships and were more experienced in naval combat.

In 72 AEE, the king of Alashiya Huzaru, thinking that the Hattusa-Babylon Axis will lose the war, defected and aligned himself and his kingdom with the Pact. With the help of Egyptian navy and army led by general Horminuter, as well as loyal personal forces, he defeated all Hittite forces in the island and declared independence, joining the Pact as its fifth member. The loss of Alashiya hurt Hatti immensely, as they lost a large source of copper, wood, and most of their navy, either by ships being seized by Alashiya or destroyed by Egypt during the invasion of the island. After this, the Pact quickly secured control of most of Eastern Mediterranean and established naval supremacy over it, with the Hittites barely being only able to defend their coasts with their remaining ships.

Meanwhile the Levantine campaign continued and featured barbarians playing a part as well. The Hittites funded the Hebrew rebels in Egyptian Canaan, who in 72 AEE founded the Kingdom of Yahweh, led by the leader of the monotheist movement Zeror. The kingdom took over much of Canaan, due to Hittite supplies transferred over the Arabian Desert by the Arameans, but it was disestablished in the same year. The Egyptians hired the warring Edomite and Moabite mercenaries, the former of who defeated the followers of Zeror, while the latter harassed and disrupted Aramean supply lines. Later, Ramesses himself marched through the region with his army and defeated the remnant of the kingdom. At the end of the war, in 73 AEE, the Egyptians managed to push the Hittites back, going as far north as Kadesh and reconquering most of the lost territories of Egypt and the former puppet state of Amurru.

However, the campaign was cut short by Shilhak-Inshushinak, who invaded the region after defeating Assyria and inflicted significant damage to both Egyptian and Hittite forces at the Battle of Qatna in 73 AEE. Hakkarpili, in an attempt to claim power for himself as agreed with Shilhak, claimed that Muwatalli died in the battle and so now Hakkarpili fully assumed the throne. He also put the blame on the Pankus members for Muwatalli's supposed death and had them executed, leaving no major opposition to his rule, except the newly formed Alliance to Restore the True King, led by the designated survivor Pankus member Minimu, who still believed that Muwatalli was alive and that Hakkarpili had to be stopped. Meanwhile Hakkarpili officially allied with Elam and the Eastern Coalition which was formed shortly afterwards.

Muwatalli and his remaining troops tried retreating back to Hatti, but were blocked at Kizzuwatna by Hakkarpili's loyalists and so had to turn back. Hakkarpili and Shilhak hoped they would be trapped in the Levant, but instead Muwatalli's force boarded ships stationed in Ugarit and headed for Egypt, landing near Per-Amun. After a short confrontation with the Egyptians, they were eventually calmed down and let into Egypt and agreed to work with their former enemies. After the First OFK Conference in Men-nefer, taking place a few weeks after the fall of Assyria, Egypt, the Mycenaean Confederation, Alashiya, and the Assyrian and Hittite exiles, under Tiglath-Pileser and Muwatalli III respectively, formed the Organization of Free Kingdoms, replacing the Pact of Civilizations. The military alliance united the remnants of the two previous warring factions against a now much greater threat in the east.

### Hittite Civil War

**Spoiler warning: this section contains spoilers for the novel The March of Deshret.**

While the Hittite exiles stayed in Egypt and recovered their strength, the Alliance to Restore the True King established itself all over Hatti and began its guerilla campaign to prepare for Muwatalli's return. It had few victories at first, but as time went on it gained more and more members and became more formidable, with Minimu becoming a recognized general. The Hittites in Egypt became targets of some hostilities by the civilians and the Sons of Montu, funded by Elam, but eventually the situation stabilized. The Hittite soldiers continued readying for a new campaign, establishing contacts with the mainland, and in 75 AEE finally sailed out of Egypt to reclaim Hatti. In the meantime, Hakkarpili married Muwatalli's sister Niwalka and had a son with her, and Kapurti, Muwatalli's mother, and Arnuwanda, Muwatalli's oldest brother, were killed to make it more difficult for Muwatalli to establish contact back home.

The Mycenaeans continued fighting the Hittites as they had during the Great Powers' War and by late 74 AEE conquered all of Lukka. Not much changed in Mycenaean tactics and strategy until 75 AEE, when they joined forces with the Hittite exiles. Their first common engagement was the naval Battle of the Alashiyan Strait, where a Mycenaean fleet under Anaxandrides saved Muwatalli's troops, which were being transported to Hatti by Egyptian and Alashiyan ships, from an ambush of Hakkarpili's fleet. Once the Hittites landed, they met up with the Mycenaean land force under Eteweokles and the two armies began their reconquest of Hatti.

The two armies first fought together on land during the Siege of Tarhuntassa, and after a decisive and easy victory, the city was established as the headquarters of Muwatalli's army. The armies then proceeded to capture Tuwanuwa and other cities, steadily advancing north and defeating Hakkarpili's forces. They were also soon joined by the Hittite Resistance, which participated in the Second Battle of Tuwanuwa. After that, the Resistance went west to fight the Battle of Purushanda while Muwatalli and Eteweokles fought in the Battle of Kanesh, with both being decisively won and the cities secured. Over the campaign, the two forces and their leaders began trusting each other and cooperating more, starting the process of putting an end to centuries of unrelenting Mycenaean and Hittite hatred for each other. Nerikkalli, Muwatalli's last surviving brother, also managed to escape Hattusa and join up with Muwatalli for the remainder of his campaign.

Eventually the Siege of Hattusa began, though Hakkarpili and his faction only controlled the royal palace on the hill, as most of the city and the surrounding areas had fallen to barbarians who had been hired by him but realized that the EC would lose on this front and so wanted to ransack the region before the OFK arrived. The Siege was eventually won by the OFK, with both the barbarians and Hakkarpili's faction being defeated and Hattusa reclaimed by Muwatalli. As this was unfolding some Mycenaeans under Eteweokles were fighting at the Battle of Suppiluliuma's Pass during the latter part of the siege and defeated the advancing barbarian band led by Argishti, but in the process the wanax Eteweokles was killed. In general, the whole campaign was quite costly for everyone involved, with dozens of thousands of military and civilians casualties, and prominent Hittite generals and Mycenaean kings dying: the Mycenaean king Conon of Ephyra was injured during the Battle of Tuwanuwa and later ambushed and killed by the Luwians as he was being transported back home, while the Hittite general Lihsuman and Mycenaean kings Tharybis of Pylos and Trechus of Delphi were all killed during the Siege of Hattusa. With the reclamation of Hattusa, the Hittite Civil War came to an end, though Muwatalli still had to and continues dealing with some holdouts, mostly in Kizzuwatna. Yet the leadership of the rebels was destroyed, as Hakkarpili, Washuba, and Hakkarpili's son were all killed during the Siege of Hattusa.

After the war, the Hittites and Mycenaeans officially signed a peace treaty, putting an end to hostilities between Mycenaeans and any Hittites, which finally made it possible for the Mycenaean troops to return home after many years. The treaty included the return of Wilusa to Mycenae and the return of Lukka to Hatti, setting the borders back as they were in 71 AEE before the Great Powers' War. After the war, Muwatalli began rebuilding his country, established a new independent Pankus, and made Minimu his chief advisor. He also opened new trade deals with the Confederation and the Commonwealth, being in the same faction as them. He began working much more closely with the OFK, such as agreeing to establish the OFK Mandate of Amurru. Muwatalli also recognized Alashiyan independence and renounced his claim on it. Similarly, he renounced Hatti's claim on the areas south of river Aras - formerly part of Hayasa-Azzi - as part of the Treaty of Euphrates during the Damascus Peace Conference in 76 AEE, but retained the right to retake regions north of the river. After the end of the war, Muwatalli also introduced a new currency - the kan - in order to make trade with the other OFK members easier, as everyone else was introducing or already had introduced their own currencies.

## **Geography**

The Kingdom of Hatti controls most of the Anatolian peninsula, and its territories are generally divided into six geographical zones. The central region is known simply as Hatti (sometimes also called Upper Land), as the kingdom originated from there and remained in the area for centuries. The capital Hattusa is located there, as are many other important cities, and the region has the highest population density. The lands further south are known as Tarhuntassa (or Lower Land), which is also the name of the largest city there.

To the southeast, north of the OFK Mandate of Amurru, lays Kizzuwatna, which was once an independent kingdom, but it had been conquered by Hatti. It is well defended by mountain ranges from all sides and also contains one of the only stretches of fertile land in the country, as most of it is mountainous. The far eastern territories, bordering former Hayasa-Azzi, are known as Isuwa, also after a kingdom conquered by Hatti. The territories are sparsely populated and being stationed there is often seen as a form of exile. The northern coast of Hatti is known as Pala, after the Palaic people who inhabit the region. It is still rather unstable, due to frequent Kaskian, one of the most notorious Palaic groups, rebellions. The western Hatti lands are called Arzawa, as they were once part of the Confederation of Arzawa, which was conquered by Hatti around 50 BEE. Many Luwians still live there, but Hittites are settling it with their own people aggressively in order to make the region more loyal and harder for the Mycenaeans to take over.

Most of the kingdom is mountainous and there aren't enough fertile farmlands to fully sustain the population, which forces the Hittites to import grain and other agricultural produce from Egypt, Mesopotamian kingdoms, or the barbarian lands north of the Black Sea. However, the mountains provide plenty of copper, which makes Hatti the only major kingdom to be a net exporter of the metal, and much more self reliant for the production of tools and weapons than others.

## **Administration**

### **Government**

The Kingdom of Hatti is ruled by a king who has supreme authority over the country, however, he in part shares power with the Pankus - a council of twelve most influential men in the kingdom, each responsible for his own sphere of affairs, who have legislative, executive, and judicial power. The king and the Pankus are expected to cooperate and approve each other's proposals, though this does not always happen. Some kings ignore the Pankus and rule however they wish, while if the king is weak, the Pankus may take all power for themselves. Both factions - the Pankus and the court - have their own power bases. The king usually has the larger support of the general populace, the priestly class, and the military brass, while the Pankus is supported by the merchants, nobles, wealthy landowners, with the army being almost evenly split, though it heavily depends on the reigning king. Currently, the king Muwatalli III cooperates well with the Pankus and both factions enjoy high support.

In the court, the second highest ranking man is the chief advisor to the king, currently Minimu, who has been holding this position from the end of the Hittite Civil War, being given this position for his immense support for Muwatalli even when the king was in exile. The chief advisor is a similar position to the Egyptian vizier, with him being the king's right hand man on all matters. When the king is absent or unable to rule, and his successors are not eligible for the throne yet, the chief advisor takes control of the country temporarily, but he cannot make new laws or make big decisions, as these functions are in such cases relegated solely to the Pankus, though this was seriously abused by Hakkarpili who used his position to assume full power over the country.

The high priests, generals, admirals, and other such highest ranking officials are not considered part of either faction, though they may align with either the court or the Pankus. These officials, the Pankus, and the court are all located in the capital Hattusa, which directly controls all Hatti. The kingdom is divided into provinces, ruled by governors who answer to the king, while mayors answer to their governors.

The Pankus has twelve councilmen, who are also known as chiefs of their respective sphere. These chiefs are usually high ranking nobles, but can also be wealthy men with no aristocratic connection, so in theory any man can become part of the Pankus, though the competition is fierce. The term of a councilman ends either when he dies, is dismissed by the king, retires, or gets assigned a new position (such as becoming a general or a governor), and the kings often try to change the composition of the Pankus to make sure none of the members become too powerful, and the average term of a councilman is 9 years, though some remain in the position for as long as over 20 years. The Pankus passes laws (the current Hittite legal code has been written and passed by the Pankus in 13 AEE, and amended in 76 AEE), rules the country (each member being responsible for their area), and judges the most notorious criminals in the country, though the king can veto any of these actions, but that is rarely done in order to preserve the peace. The Pankus has its speaker, who is always the longest serving member of the current assembly and who begins and ends the Pankus sessions, as well as maintains communication between the king and the Pankus. In 59 AEE a new change was made by Suppiluliuma IV, which required one member of the Pankus to be away at all times, in an undisclosed location, in order to prevent the entire Pankus from being killed in case of a coup or invasion. In such an event, the survivor would automatically become the highest ranking member of the loyalist cause and would organize a rebellion to retake the kingdom, which is exactly what happened with Minimu. A trusted replacement of the councilman is sent to attend the sessions and vote according to the actual chief's wishes, and the councilmen switch every few months, so that none of them would be away for too long. The identity of the true chief and his hiding location are known only by the king and the other chiefs, along with the most trusted men who escort him there.

### **Economy**

The Kingdom of Hatti has a GDP of around 219 million Egyptian shematy, and a GDP per capita of 60.73 Egyptian shematy. The economy has been somewhat stagnant in recent decades, though it was revitalized by Suppiluliuma IV and since 56 AEE the GDP has been growing by around 3.89% per year. Hatti is the largest importer of grain and other agricultural produce, mostly getting it from the Commonwealth, Assyria, and the northern barbarian territories, and also imports some other materials such as tin from Elam and Mycenae, but in general the country is quite self sustainable. Hatti is the largest exporter of copper (to Mycenae, the Commonwealth, and Assyria), and exports other resources like silver and wood. Most of the population works in the resource extraction industries, though agriculture is nowhere near as popular as in other lands, with mining and logging employing large workforces. While Hatti does have large slave populations after its campaigns, many slaves are freed to fill the gaps in the workforce, with them being assigned garrison or mining duties, or settled in the newly founded cities. The country uses the kan, the currency newly introduced in 76 AEE by Muwatalli III.

### **Military**

Just like most other civilizations now, Hatti has a small standing army, as it is still fighting some rebels, and during wars raises the needed men as conscripts for the duration of the conflict or however long is needed (in longer wars those who served their required periods of time would be sent home and new conscripts would replace them). Hatti also has many men serving as law enforcement officers and in garrisons during peacetime. They have the highest percentage of people employed in these areas, as many forts need to be maintained along various passes and on the borders with hostile countries. Hatti is also in the process of building a new navy, though most of the ships during peacetime are docked, with only around a third of them being active currently for patrol purposes. The sailors needed for the remaining warships would be conscripted just like the soldiers at the start of a war. Each governor has his minimum conscription quotas, though all forces are sent directly to the king's command, who redistributes them to the needed fronts according to his will.

During wars the main army, consisting of the most troops, is sent to the most important front, and is led by the king himself, though he is advised by a selection of generals and commanders, who may be assigned to a particular part of the said force. The smaller armies, on the less important fronts, have the king assign generals to lead them. In practice, the king usually campaigns on the Levantine front against Egypt or some other threat, while the smaller armies are sent to deal with the Mycenaeans in the west (as well as Kaskians in the north and Hayasans and Azzians in the east, when these groups had still not been subjugated). The armies are then further divided into battalions of around 2 000 men, led by lieutenants, and then into platoons of around 100 men, led by captains. The navy, meanwhile, is divided into several fleets, each headed by an admiral, of up to 70 ships, each headed by a captain. The new Hittite ships hold around 100 sailors, just like the Egyptian and Mycenaean ones, so both the sea and land captains have usually the same number of men under them. Hatti is projected to have around 200 ships right now, which is still fewer than what the Mycenaeans or even the Alashiyans have, but new vessels are being constructed at a pretty rapid rate.

The Hittite army mostly includes the Hittites, but many Luwians and Palaics also serve there. The puppets were and still are usually left to raise their own forces, though Hatti did draw soldiers from the Kingdom of Ugarit (due to it having been demilitarized and unable to have its own force), and sailors from the former puppet Kingdom of Alashiya. The army has the standard composition of the chariots being in the front, then followed by elite infantry (often veterans of previous conflicts), and finally the conscript archers and regular infantry. Women are not allowed to serve in the army in any capacity, despite most other countries allowing them to join the armed forces in at least some roles.

The Hittites currently have around 135 000 soldiers, which makes it the second largest army in the known world, after the Commonwealth. It was the largest one for a long while before and during the recent wars, however, they did have to fight on two fronts, which meant that around 50 000 were committed to fight the Mycenaeans in the west, and the main army of around 100 000 was fighting the Egyptians in the Levant. Muwatalli's exiled force at first contained around 60 000 troops and by the start of the Siege of Hattusa had around 170 000 soldiers, including the resistance members under Minimu. Hakkarpili meanwhile was never able to raise more than 50 000 soldiers, relying mostly on mercenaries, and now only around 10 000 men still fight against Muwatalli.

## **Demographics**

Hatti has a population of around 3.6 million, which is considerably lower than that of Egypt and Babylonia, but higher than any of the remaining civilizations. Around 137 000 people are slaves currently, though the number fluctuates due to frequent campaigns. Around 1.1 million people live in the region of Hatti, 750 000 in Tarhuntassa, 600 000 in Kizzuwatna, 530 000 in Pala, 420 000 in Arzawa, and 200 000 in Isuwa.

Most of the population (94.3%) belongs to the Anatolian group of cultures, with around 2.57 million Hittites (71.5% of the total population), 450 000 Luwians (12.4%), mostly living in Tarhuntassa and Arzawa, and 370 000 Palaics (10.4%), mostly living in Pala. The remaining 5.7% or so belong to various other groups, the largest of which is the Hurrians, at around 70 000 (1.9%), who live in Isuwa and Hatti. Other groups (around 140 000 people - 3.8%) are such as Urartians, Mushkians, Assyrians, Cimmerians, Mycenaeans, Alashiyans, Ugaritics, and others.

The vast majority of the population worships the Hittite pantheon of gods, with other religions not finding much success in the kingdom. Hatti has a literacy rate of 10.6% in the adult population, which is quite low compared to other kingdoms, but new education programs have been introduced to help solve this problem, with soldiers who served at least two years on campaign getting free access to them. The country has an urbanization level of 16.6%, which is bolstered by new cities being founded on the frontiers and people from struggling rural areas being resettled there.

## **International relations**

Hatti's main ally for a long time was the Kingdom of Karduniash, the other member of the Hattusa-Babylon Axis. The two kingdoms had enjoyed good relations for centuries, and have had common enemies, mostly Assyria and Egypt. However, now Hatti is part of the Organization of Free Kingdoms and so is allied with the Commonwealth of Kemet, Kush, and Retjenu, the Mycenaean Confederation, Alashiya, and the puppet OFK Mandate of Amurru. Hatti has for centuries been hostile to most of them, but is now rebuilding relationships, as Muwatalli is a close friend of the pharaoh Ramesses XI. The relationship with the Commonwealth is improving steadily, due to efforts of both leaders, though some Egyptians still resent the Hittites. Alashiya is also generally viewed negatively in Hatti due to having broken free from it, but this relationship is improving as well. And the Mycenaean Confederation is now considered a loyal ally of Hatti, as it helped immensely in the reclamation of Hatti and many Mycenaean kings, including the wanax himself Eteweokles, sacrificed themselves for this cause. The new successor to Eteweokles Tirynthius is positive towards Hatti though his brother and contender Hecataeus does not share the sentiment and is still hostile towards Hatti. Finally, Hatti does not support the independence of the OFK Mandate of Amurru, but does not want it to go to the Commonwealth either, instead hoping to retain influence there as in the days of the puppet Kingdom of Ugarit.

Hatti's attitudes towards the Eastern Coalition are very negative, mostly towards Babylonia, for its role in replacing Karduniash, Lullubum, for their raids into Hatti and support for Hakkarpili, and most notably Elam, which directly helped Hakkarpili rise to power and was responsible for the assassination of kings in Ugarit, about which Muwatalli still feels very strongly. Hatti is still sometimes wary of the OFK, but now feels like it is the best thing to counter the still powerful Eastern Coalition and that further OFK cooperation is still preferable, though not at the expense of Hittite sovereignty.