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brothers or sisters—if you are his panku, tell him loud and clear:
‘Learn this matter from the tablet!’ ”
Telipinu’s Constitution was respected by his successors, bringing
stability to a kingdom weakened by the power struggles of ambitious
pretenders to the throne. Its legacy is all the greater if the reform
of HL may also be ascribed to Telipinu.2.1.5 The king is always representative of the Storm God, to whom—
together with his consort, the Sun Goddess of Arinna—the land
belongs. (Hattusili III addresses the goddess in a prayer as “My lady,
queen of all the lands.”) As such, the king has to present the gods
with an account of his administration of the empire. Furthermore,
he is also high priest (and as such inviolate), commander-in-chief,
and supreme judge. In the latter capacity, he presides over the “royal
court of justice” of the capital, Hattusa. Among his many duties that
derive from the above functions is care for the land in general but
also for the poor and suffering. This relationship to the gods does
not, however, reduce the king’s status in the secular realm. Thus,
for example, in the preamble to the treaty between the Hittite king,
Suppiluliuma I, and King Niqmadu of Ugarit it is stated: “Thus
speaks his majesty, Suppiluliuma, Great King, king of Hatti, hero.. .”
The term “hero” refers to a superhuman creature, resembling the
gods to some extent. Accordingly, King Hattusili II (ca. 1265–1240)
says of himself: “... since I was a man privileged by the gods and
walked in the grace of the gods.. .” The consequence of this concep-
tion was that the king had to be protected from any contamination.2.1.6 The reign of Suppiluliuma I (ca. 1353–1320) sees the devel-
opment of Hattusa into the third great power alongside Babylonia
and Egypt—the “New Empire.” The position of the Hittite king
changes: previously he was the “Great King”; now he is addressed
as “My Sun.” The royal symbol is the winged sun (similar to the
Egyptian sun disk), as can be seen on many seals and on the rock
carving of king Tuthaliya IV’s likeness at the shrine of Yazilikaya.
Upon the king’s death, it is said that he “became a god.”2.1.7 Towards the end of the New Empire, the position of the king
moved further towards deification. Tuthaliya IV demands that sacrifices
be made to him, and he is depicted wearing the horned crown hit-
herto reserved for gods. Following the example of the Assyrian monarchWESTBROOK_f15–618-656 8/27/03 12:28 PM Page 626