from Telipinu’s Proclamation, sons from concubines were eligible
to succeed to the throne in the event that the king’s chief wife failed
to provide him with an heir. A special status was accorded to
whichever son the king designated as his successor. Called the
tuhkanti, he was often trained from an early age in the various
responsibilities of kingship, religious, administrative and military,
to ensure a smooth succession after his father’s death.
BECOMING A GOD
So what happened to a king after his death? Let’s begin with his
funerary rites. While the multitude of surviving festival and ritual
texts provide almost no information about a king’s coronation
ceremonies (which must have been elaborate and lasted quite a few
days), we do have a quite detailed description of the burial
ceremonies prescribed for a king, and also his queen. As with all
ritual texts, the rites associated with a royal burial had to be
performed with scrupulous attention to detail, ensuring that the
whole process was error-free, and that the deceased had a smooth
transition from this world to the next. Fourteen days of ritualistic
procedures are prescribed. They begin on Day 1 with a solemn
intonation:‘When a great sin befalls Hattusa and the king or queen
becomes a god, [...]’. An ox is sacrificed and placed at the feet of
the corpse. As its throat is cut, the sacrificer addresses the corpse:
‘What you have become let this become! May your soul descend
into this ox!’A libation of wine is poured. Drained of its contents,
the wine vessel is smashed. It is not for use again, at least not in this
world. A male goat is swung to and fro over the corpse, for
purificatory purposes.^1
On Day 2, food offerings and libations are made, and in the
evening the body is placed on a pyre and consumed. At dawn on
Day 3, the burnt pyre is sifted for the king’s bones which are
cleaned and placed on a chair at the head of a banqueting table
laden with food and drink. For the king is the honoured guest at his
funeral banquet, his presence further made clear by a seated statue
of himself amidst the festivities. So too a seated statue of the queen
occupies a prominent place in the ceremonies that attend her death
INTERMEDIARIES OF THE GODS:THE GREAT KINGS OF HATTI 99