Amongst other important features of the vassal treaties was the
requirement that a vassal must provide his overlord with troops
whenever called upon – most likely when the king was on
campaign against other states in his region. In the western states in
particular, the vassals were obliged to act as local watchdogs for
their overlord, advising him of any developments within their
region– or outside it– prejudicial to Hittite interests, like the
brewing of insurrectionist activity in a neighbouring state. Thus
King Mursili II warns Targasnalli, one of his Arzawan vassal rulers:
If you hear in advance of some evil plan to revolt, and either
some Hittite or some man of Arzawa is at fault [...] and you
do not quickly write in advance to My Majesty, but ignore
these men, and think as follows:‘Let this evil take place’,
then you will have violated your oath.^6Advance warning of such activity enabled the king to take
appropriate pre-emptive action–preferably diplomatic, but military
if necessary.
The treaties sometimes specify an annual tribute to be paid by
the vassal ruler to Hattusa on behalf of his kingdom. And this no
doubt constituted a not insignificant contribution to Hatti’s
revenue. But as much as anything else, the treaties were intended to
minimise the need for regular Hittite military action in the regions
where they were located. And if the Hittite king was obliged to
conduct military campaigns in these regions, he could call upon the
vassal for both military support and the provisioning of his troops
with food and other necessities of life.
Hittite garrisons were never established permanently in the
vassal territories to ensure their loyalty and good behaviour. This
could be seen in part as a diplomatic measure in itself, intended to
make clear that a vassal state was still virtually autonomous despite
its obligations and nominal subjection to the Hittite crown. But
more importantly, it was a matter of pragmatism. The Hittite king
simply did not have the resources to deploy garrison forces of
sufficient strength to keep under control each of the states over
which Hatti held sway. Garrison forces were occasionally used, but
180 WARRIORS OF ANATOLIA