appointed him governor of the Upper Land. It was an appointment
that earned Hattusili a crop of enemies, for it meant displacing the
current governor Arma-Tarhunda. This man was also a member of
the royal family and bitterly resented being cast aside to make way
for the king’s brother. Many othersflocked to his support and
various charges were brought against the new appointee in an
attempt to discredit him. Hattusili vigorously defended himself
against the charges, with the backing and guidance, he claimed, of
his patron Ishtar.
He then went on to justify his appointment by conducting a
series of resoundingly successful campaigns against the kingdom’s
enemies in the lands entrusted to him. As a war-leader, his abilities
were severely tested when Muwattalli’s shift of his royal capital to
Tarhuntassa prompted widespread rebellion and enemy attacks
on Hittite territory in its northern regions. With Ishtar leading the
way into battle, Hattusili tells us, he confounded his enemies and
restored Hittite control over the northern states. Muwattalli was
delighted when he received the good news. In recognition of his
brother’s achievements, he conferred upon him the title LUGAL,
‘king’, and established the seat of his power in the (as yet unlocated)
city of Hakpis. This gave Hattusili authority over the whole
northern part of the kingdom, including perhaps the former capital
Hattusa. And it appears that Hattusili exercised his powers and
responsibilities in the region with exemplary diligence– at least
according to his own account in theApology.
Yet we also learn from theApologythat the Hittites’hold on the
region remained fragile. This became evident when Hattusili joined
his brother in Syria for the showdown with Ramesses at Qadesh.
Hattusili commanded one of the divisions in the Hittite army,
and was subsequently placed in charge of the Damascus region.
We don’t know how long Muwattalli left him there before handing
the region back to Ramesses. But news from northern Anatolia,
about further Kaskan invasions and an uprising in Hakpis, made
it imperative that Hattusili return to his kingdom at the earliest
opportunity.
On his way home, however, he interrupted his journey to visit a
city called Lawazantiya in the land of Kizzuwatna. Lawazantiya was
184 WARRIORS OF ANATOLIA