CHAPTER 10

The Greatest

Kingdom of Them

All

D

espite its military might, the Hittite empire could never
be secure while Hatti’s most powerful rival continued to
flourish and dominate much of the eastern part of the
Near Eastern world–the kingdom of Mittani. The total destruction
of Mittani would soon become, if it not already was, Suppiluliuma’s
major objective for much of the rest of his career. This would mean
taking the war to the enemy, leading his troops across the Euphrates,
deep into the heartland of Mittanian territory, occupying and
sacking the Mittanian capital Washshuganni and then conquering all
Mittani’s subject-territories in Syria.

DIPLOMATIC PREPARATIONS FOR BRUTE FORCE

To begin with, Suppiluliuma needed to tread carefully. Above all,
he had to avoid upsetting Egypt. As he was aware, Egypt and
Mittani were bound in a treaty-alliance, and the last thing he
could have wanted was to bring Egypt into a Hittite war with
Mittani, on Mittani’s side. The risk of doing so would be
intensified if the Hittite started picking off Mittani’s Syrian allies
and subjects, without giving some sort of reassurance to the
current pharaoh, doubtless Akhenaten. Egypt had subject-
territories in southern Syria and Palestine, and the pharaoh