Teshub lost his throne a few years later to his uncle Hattusili.
Puduhepa now became First Lady of the Hittite empire. Probably a
good deal younger than her husband, she wielded enormous
influence in the kingdom, not merely as the power behind the
throne, but as a power actually on the throne, at her husband’sside.
She co-signed treaties with Hattusili, including the famous
treaty with Egypt, she exchanged letters with the pharaoh
Ramesses, and received from the pharaoh copies of his letters to
her husband, she regularly appeared with her husband in making
offerings to the gods and in participating in religious festivals, and
she served as judge in important legal cases. No doubt her power
and influence increased as the years took their toll on her husband
and the illnesses which may have afflicted him since his childhood
became increasingly debilitating. Of course, one of her chief
responsibilities was the supervision of the royal household, no
simple job since we are told that probably already on her arrival in
Hattusa as Hattusili’s bride she found the palace full of the
offspring of her husband’s concubines. Later, she played a major
role as matchmaker in marriage-alliances contracted between
Hittite princesses and foreign or vassal rulers.
Overall, the power and influence wielded by Puduhepa seems to
haveservedthekingdomwell.Butinevitablyshemadeenemieswithin
palace circles, and hostility towards her may have increased after her
husband’s death. Her son Tudhaliya had married a princess from
Babylon, probably a marriage arranged by Puduhepa herself. But after
Tudhaliya’s accession, there appear to have been clashes between him
and his wife on the one side and his mother on the other, as Puduhepa
continued to wield the powers she had enjoyed during her husband’s
reign. An oracle text of the period indicates factions among the
women of the court who had divided themselves into supporters and
opponents of a Great Queen. We can’t be entirely sure, but the Great
Queen in question was almost certainly Puduhepa. Indeed, it’s
possible that as a result of royal family feuds Puduhepa was expelled
from the palace.^5 But if so, she seems eventually to have emerged
victorious over her opponents, and very likely continued to be a major
influence in both the kingdom’s foreign as well as its domestic affairs
until the end of her life. She may have been at least 90 when she died.
PARTNERS IN POWER:THE GREAT QUEENS OF HATTI 201