Life and Society in the Hittite World.

• Author: Beal, Richard
• Position: Book Review

Life and Society in the Hittite World. By TREVOR BRYCE. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002. Pp. xiv + 312, illus.

The book under review follows on the heels of Trevor Bryce's The Kingdom of the Hittites (Oxford, 1998), which was a narrative of political history. The new book completes Bryce's study of Hittite history by presenting the social and economic history of the Hittite state. In successive chapters we learn of "King, Court and Royal Officials," "The People and the Law," "The Scribe," "The Merchant," "The Warrior," "Marriage," "The Gods," "The Curers of Disease," "Death, Burial and the Afterlife," "Festivals and Rituals," "Myth," "The Capital," and "Links across the Wine-Dark Sea."

The fact that the book under review concentrates on social and economic history should not put anyone off. Hittite evidence does not lend itself to lots of graphs and charts and this book is very engagingly written. Bryce always attempts to bring Hittite society to life. Unimportant yet fascinating details, such as the private letters to their opposite numbers that scribes appended to royal letters, add immeasurably to the reader's enjoyment. Bryce is to be praised for pointing out that magic rituals were not just for the elite, as other authors have asserted, but contain clauses concerning what those of modest means may substitute for high-priced ingredients (p. 203). The discussion of how myths may have actually been performed (pp. 212f.) is fascinating.

In many places Bryce paints engaging pictures of daily life. Many are solidly based on the texts or archaeology; some are totally speculative, with no evidence one way or another (such as a description of the Hittite port of Ura), but they always ring true. As with Bryce's political history, here he deftly navigates among competing ideas on many points and generally chooses the most reasonable and presents it in a straightforward readable way (without--for better or for worse--confusing and boring us by explaining and then destroying all the losing theories).

Of course there are mistakes and places where, despite his usual surefootedness, Bryce has gone astray:

p. xi: I suspect that Huzziya I was simply Ammuna's illegitimate son, as the text has been traditionally understood. Tahurwaili was probably not just a usurper, but represented the legitimate male line, being a son of Ammuna's brother, Zuru (as opposed to Alluwamna, the son-in-law of Ammuna's son-in-law [Beal, THeth 20, 329 n. 1257]). Zidanta II was probably a nephew of Hantili II (Beal, THeth 20, 330 w. n. 1261, 560).

p. 6: On "servitude," see below to p. 78.

p. 15: No Middle Eastern monarchy was "absolute and unaccountable." This is a Roman imperial concept. While nothing like the U.S. Constitution's clear checks and balances existed, ideology had it that all kings were simply servants of the gods, who could depose them (by causing a rebellion to be successful), should they not rule with justice. For a fine discussion of this concept, see Bryce himself on p. 18.

pp. 19, 140: Hattusili's favorite deity was not Ishtar, but Shaushga, a Hurrian goddess, who was, however, similar to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar.

p. 20: I have recently argued that Hittite kings did not have personal names and then take "throne names," but rather had a "Hittite" name as king of the Hittites and a Hurrian name as king of Hurrians in Kizzuwatna and Syria. Either or both could be their personal name. There is no evidence that they changed their names at their accession to the throne, and indeed considerable evidence to the contrary. See GsImparati (Eothen 11), 55-70.

pp. 27, 66f.: I think it unfortunate that Bryce has chosen to follow Imparati's suggestion that the title "son of the king" was honorific. There is no evidence for someone receiving this title, and much evidence for holders of the title being either actual sons of the king or descendants of kings. That there are many "sons of the king" about is easily explained by the existence of numerous sons of the king by women other than the queen and by the hereditary nature of the title. For a modern state run almost exclusively by sons and grandsons of just one...