Battle of the Alashiyan Strait

## Belligerents

**Organization of Free Kingdoms:**
• Kingdom of Egypt
• Kingdom of Hatti (Muwatalli's faction)
• Kingdom of Alashiya
• Mycenaean Confederation
**Eastern Coalition:**
• Kingdom of Elam
• Kingdom of the Levant
• Kingdom of Hatti (Hakkarpili's faction)

## Commanders and leaders

**Organization of Free Kingdoms:**
• Khaemtir (Egypt)
• Yutpan (Alashiya)
• Anaxandrides (Mycenaean Confederation)
**Eastern Coalition:**
• Samsuiluna (Elam)
• Nakiahsu † (Hatti)

## Strength

**Organization of Free Kingdoms:**
~450 warships
~500 transport ships
~70 000 soldiers
**Eastern Coalition:**
~400 warships
~20 000 soldiers

## Casualties and losses

~140 warships
~90 transport ships
~11 000 soldiers
**Eastern Coalition:**
~230 warships
~6 000 soldiers

The Battle of the Alashiyan Strait was the largest naval battle in the OFK-EC War. It began to the northwest of Alashiya, as the OFK ships were transporting Hittite exiles under Muwatalli III to Hatti, so that it could be reclaimed from the EC-aligned Hakkarpili. On the 5th day of their travel, the fleet was ambushed by EC ships from the east, as the EC hoped to stop the OFK and prevent Hittites from reaching their destination.

Initially, the OFK had around 750 ships, 500 of them being Hittite transports and 250 warships. The fleet was headed by the Egyptian grand admiral Khaemtir, with other admirals commanding smaller units under him, and the Alashiyan admiral Yutpan, who was in charge of the Alashiyan fleet, which in total contributed around 230 ships for this mission. The fleet was transporting around 60 000 Hittite soldiers under Muwatalli III. The EC force meanwhile had around 300 warships, under the command of the Elamite admiral Samsuiluna, with the ships having been built by the Kingdom of the Levant or bought from Phoenicia. The battle began as the EC attacked from the east, but in this phase was ultimately unsuccessful, as it lost over a hundred ships, while the OFK only lost around fifty, and was not prevented from continuing onwards. During the battle most tactics of naval warfare were used, including ship ramming, boarding ships and fighting on board, archer attacks, and setting ships on fire, either by firing arrows on fire to enemy ships, or sending flaming ships to crash into them.

However, midway during the battle, a new EC force emerged from the west. It included around 100 Hittite warships, under the pro-Hakkarpili admiral Nakiahsu, and engaged the OFK fleet from the opposite side. This essentially trapped it, and many more OFK ships were lost, including transports and the soldiers onboard. The OFK was unable to break through and land at the designated location, but it was saved by a Mycenaean fleet, which had been pursuing the Hittite fleet. Under the command of a Mycenaean king Anaxandrides, it contained around 200 warships and had noticed the Hittite ships moving through the Aegean Sea in prior days, now having caught up to it. After this, both OFK fleets surrounded the Hittite fleet and managed to completely destroy it, capturing the remaining ships for themselves. With the western side being secure, the fleets turned onto the EC fleet in the east and inflicted further casualties on it.

Samsuiluna, seeing that there was no way to win, turned his remaining forces away and sailed back to Ugarit, clearing the way for the OFK ships to proceed to Hatti. The Mycenaean fleet, after making sure there were no more enemy warships in the area, sailed back to the Aegean, while the Egyptian and Alashiyan ships had the Hittites disembark at their designated landing points before proceeding to sail back to Alashiya for repairs. Muwatalli had lost around 11 000 soldiers during the battle, most drowning after their ship had sunk, but he still had around 49 000 with him, and they proceeded to link up with the Mycenaeans under Eteweokles to begin their reconquest of Hatti.