He is identified by a royal cartouche, a panel carved on the wall to the
left of his head bearing his name in hieroglyphs, surmounted by a
winged sun-disk. In Chamber B Tudhaliya is again depicted (Figure
24.3),this time as the protégé of his patron deity Sharrumma, son of
Teshub andHepat.Ina suitable displayof humilitythekingis towered
over by his god. But Sharrumma’s endorsement of Tudhaliya’s
authority is made clear by the god’sprotectiveembrace.Heextends
his arm around the king’s shoulder and clasps his right wrist.
To the left of this scene is another powerful image. It is a carving
of afigure whose top half consists of a human head (or rather a
divine head to judge from its horned, conical hat), underneath
which are the foreparts of two lions (or lion-pelts) with their heads
hanging down. This part of the carving represents the hilt of a
sword. Its bottom half consists of a sword-blade which appears
to be plunged into the ground. Thefigure is almost certainly a
representation of the underworld god Nergal. And very likely the
12 figures on the opposite wall are underworld deities. They recall a
Hittite ritual text which mentions 12 underworld deities in the same
context as Nergal, and another ritual text which describes an
Figure 24.2The 12 gods, Yazılıkaya.
244 WARRIORS OF ANATOLIA