Justification of the Usurpation of Power by Hittite Kings
Justification of the Usurpation of Power by Hittite Kings

Summary/Abstract: The article explores the ways how Hittite kings justified their usurpations of power, such usurpations happening almost constantly during the whole period of the Hittite kingdom, from the Old Hittite period until the fall of the empire. It focuses on three outstanding texts illuminating prominent cases in the Hittite history: the Proclamation of Telepinu which gives important information about several usurpations during the late 17th and 16th century BC, the First Plague Prayer of Muršili I which illuminates the reaction to the 14th century BC usurpation of Šuppiluliuma I, and the Apology of Ḫattušili III from the 13th century BC, which stands out as our best example of justification of a successful usurpation in the ancient Near Eastern region. These three cases reveal different strategies of justification accepted by the Hittite kings.

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