which would quickly take over all Mittani’s former territories east
of the Euphrates and pose a serious threat to Hittite territories on
the other side of the river. He had left relations between Egypt and
Hatti in a precarious state, and it was only a matter of time before
a strong new Egyptian dynasty would emerge to challenge Hittite
authority in Syria. In Anatolia, Hatti’s authority had yet to be fully
established, and almost immediately after the king’s death there
were widespread uprisings in many parts of the region. The severe
plague which devastated the homeland for many years was an
unintended consequence of the Hittite expedition despatched by
Suppiluliuma against Egypt’s Syro-Palestinian states to avenge the
death of his son. And within the palace he left hisfirst two
successors with a major problem–the serious abuse of power by
his current chief wife, a Babylonian princess who used the royal
title Tawananna as a personal name.
THE GREATEST KINGDOM OF THEM ALL 91