A New Interpretation of the Old Hittite Zalpa-Text (CTH 3.1): Nesa as the Capital under Huzziia I, Labarna I, and Hattusili I.

AuthorKloekhorst, Alwin

This article discusses one of the main problems of the Zalpa-text, namely that its mythological part deals with the relations between Zalpa and Nesa, but leaves Hattusa unmentioned, whereas its historical part deals with the relations between Zalpa and Hattussa, but contains no reference to Nesa. Following Martinez' 2016 suggestion that in the text's historical part Hattusa does not have the function of capital of the kings who feature in this story, but is merely used as a military base for the campaigns against Zalpa, it will be argued that during the historical events described in the Zalpa-text these kings in fact ruled from Nesa. A major consequence of this interpretation is that Nesa was the capital during the reigns of the early Hittite kings Huzziia 1 and Labarna I and also that HattuSili I ascended the throne there before he moved his court to Hattusa.

INTRODUCTION

The Old Hittite Zalpa-text (CTH 3.1)' consists of two parts: a mythological and a historical one. Although both parts deal with the city of Zalpa (hence the name "Zalpa-text"), the exact relationship between the two has not been satisfactorily explained. One of the main mysteries is the fact that the mythological introduction tells about adventurous events taking place between the cities Zalpa and Nesa, whereas the historical remainder deals with the military clashes between Zalpa and Hattusa. In the mythological part no mention is made of Hattusa, whereas in the historical part Nesa is fully absent from the storyline. (2)

In an attempt to solve the problem of the seeming mismatch between its two parts, in this article I will provide a new analysis of the Zalpa-text, focusing on the roles that the cities Hattusa and Nesa play in it.

IDENTIFYING THE PROTAGONISTS OF THE HISTORICAL PART OF THE ZALPA-TEXT

First it is important to determine the historical context of the Zalpa-text. This can be done by identifying the rulers who within the composition's historical part are described as launching several campaigns against Zalpa: ABIABI LUGAL "the grandfather of the King," LUGAL SU.GI "the old King," and LUGAL "the King." Although in the literature several proposals for the identification of these three individuals can be found, (3) I follow Beal (2003: 22-25), who argues that they represent the following successive Hittite kings: "the King" = Hattusili I, "the old King" = his predecessor Labarna 1 (who was the husband of Hattusili I's aunt Tauananna), and "the grandfather of the King" = Labarna I's predecessor, probably called Huzziia I (4) (the father of his wife Tauananna and thus the grandfather of Hattusili I). (5) The attractiveness of Beal's proposal lies in the fact that the designations of the three successive kings from the Zalpa-text nicely fit the family relations among Hattusili I, Labarna I, and Huzziia I, as can be reconstructed on the basis of other Hittite sources. Especially the fact that the predecessor of "the King" is called "the old King" and not "the father of the King" is a perfect match with the relationship between Hattusili I and his predecessor Labarna I, who was not his father, but rather his uncle by marriage. (6)

THE ROLE OF HATTUSA

In the historical part of the Zalpa-text, the city of Hattusa plays a central role: It is from there that all the campaigns against Zalpa are conducted, both during the times of "the grandfather of the King," and during the times of "the old King" and "the King" (who campaigned together). For instance, Hattusa is mentioned in a passage that refers to the signing of a peace treaty between the people of Zalpa and "the grandfather of the King" (KBo 3.38 obv. 19; see also below, n. 15). As Beal (2003: 24-25) explains, this is an interesting fact, since from the early years of Hittitology onward it has generally been assumed that after Hattusa was destroyed by Anitta (as told by the Anitta-text, CTH 1, and which according to the newest insights into the chronology of the karum-period can be dated to ca. 1728 BCE (7) ), it was Hattusili I who rebuilt the city and moved his court there from Kussara, his original home town (but see below). (8) This establishment of Hattusa as the new capital of his kingdom would then be reflected in the fact that Hattusili I changed his given name Labarna to Hattusili, lit. "the man of Hattusa" (Beal 2003: 24-25, with references).

According to Beal, this idea has now become obsolete, since the view that "the King" of the Zalpa-text refers to Hattusili I means that Hattusa "was thriving much earlier [than the times of Hattusili I] and was already a capital under Hattusili's grandfather." (9) With regard to the name of Hattusili I, Beal states that "[o]ne could just as well argue that Hattusili originally bore this name and took the name Labarna when he was named heir of his uncle Labarna." Or, "[alternatively, he could have been named Labarna, but was called Hattusili after the place of his (presumed) birth to differentiate him from his uncle" (Beal 2003: 25 with n. 73).

Again according to Beal, the idea that Hattusa had been rebuilt much earlier than the times of Hattusili I is supported by archaeological evidence. He refers to Neve (apud Bittel et al. 1984: 89), who states that "die Wiederaufbau Hattusas bald nach dem Ende der Karumzeitlichen Siedlung [...] erfolgt [isfj," which means that there was not "eine Generationen wahrende Unterbrechung in der Besiedlung Hattusas." (10) According to Beal (ibid.), there may thus have been "less than a generation intervening," i.e., perhaps not more than ten or twenty years, between the destruction of Hattusa (ca. 1728 BCE) and its rebuilding, which can thus be dated to ca. 1720-1710 BCE. The resettlement of Hattusa would thus have been executed some sixty to seventy years before the traditionally assigned ascension date of Hattusili I (1650 BCE). As argued in Kloekhorst 2019: 249, if we take the average time span of a generation as twenty-five to thirty years, the rebuilding of Hattusa would have taken place at least two generations before the start of the reign of Hattusili I, i.e., more or less at the time that his grandfather Huzziia I would have ascended the throne (two generations = fifty to sixty years before Hattusili I, i.e., around 1710-1700 BCE). Since both in the "cruciform seal" (Dincol et al. 1993) and in the Offering Lists to the Royal Ancestors (CTH 661; more specifically KUB 36.121 obv. 1-3) Huzziia I is the first to be mentioned in a list of early Hittite kings (thus Dincol et al. 1993: 104-6), it makes sense to assume that it indeed was he who rebuilt Hattusa.''

DOUBTS ABOUT THE STATUS OF HATTUSA IN THE ZALPA-TEXT

However, Beal's statement that the Zalpa-text shows that Hattusa "was already a capital under Hattusili's grandfather" (2003: 25) has recently been challenged by Martinez (2016). He argues that, although in the historical part of the Zalpa-text Hattusa indeed functions as the main center from which Zalpa is attacked, it cannot have been the capital of the Hittite kingdom (12) at that time. His argument centers on the following lines from the historical part of the Zalpa-text:

KBo 3.38 obv.

(19.) a-pu-u-us-s=gURUha-at-tu-si tdk-su-u[l ... A-BIA-B]I LUGAL=ma

(20.) URUhu-ur-ma-anA-NA A-BI LUG ALSU.G[l]x [...]*[ ... ]x20. URUha-at-tu-sa-as-s=a

(21.) U LU.MESSU GI URUZAJZ-PA kat-te-i[=s-... ] x [...] x [ ... ] DUMU-an it-e-ke-e[r]

(22.) nu-u=s-ma-as (m) ha-ak-kar-pi-li-in DU[MU ... ] x ki-is-sa[-an]

(23.) ua-tar-na-ah-hi-is ...

And they (i.e., the men of Zalpa and "the grandfather of the King") [signed] a peace treaty in Hattusa, (13) and the [grandfather of the King [gave/commissioned] the city of Hurma to the father of the old King. (14) The elders of both Hattusa and of Zalpa besides/with x[ ... ] requested a son. And to them he commissioned Hakkarpili, so[n of ...] with the following words: ...

The crucial part here is URUhattusass=a U LUMESSU.GI (URU) ZALPA katte[=s- ...] DUMUan yeke[r]. In this sentence, it is in principle possible to view (URU) hattusas as a nominative form, which, through the coordinating conjunction U, would be paired to the nominative form (LUMES) SU.G1 "the elders." This would yield the translation "Both the city of Hattusa and the elders of Zalpa ..." Another possibility is to view URUhattusas as a genitive form which, through the coordinating conjunction U, would be paired to the genitive "of Zalpa" that underlies the Sumerographic expression (LUMES) SU.GI URUZALPA. This would yield the translation "The elders of Hattusa as well as of Zalpa ..." Whichever of these two translations one chooses, it is clear that (the representatives of) both Hattusa and Zalpa are the subject of the sentence, which ends with "requested a son."

According to Martinez (2016: 180), this request must be viewed as a part of the negotiations surrounding the peace treaty between "the grandfather of the King" and the city of Zalpa about the terms of its new position within the kingdom. In his view, "[t]he 'elders of Zalpa' do not want to be a second rate city within the wider Hittite empire--they want to be a prominent and influential city. The best way to ensure that prominence is with a ruler who has significant status in the Hittite political hierarchy," i.e., a prince. And indeed, it can be no coincidence that in the preceding line it is told how "the [grandjfather of the King [gave/commissioned] the city of Hurma to the father of the old King," who was undoubtedly a royal prince. This apparently was the reason for the elders of Zalpa to ask for such a ruler as well.

However, as Martinez (p. 180), notes, it seems "quite odd" that also (the elders of) Hattusa would ask for a prince to rule them, if Hattusa were at that time the seat of the royal court: it would then of course have fallen under the direct control of the king himself. Also, if the request for a prince was not made for Hattusa itself, but only for Zalpa, then the text still implies that the elders of Hattusa...

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