Mursili II (also spelled Mursilis II) was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom) –1295 BC (middle chronology) or 1321–1295 BC (short chronology).

Early life

right|thumb|Hittite empire during the reign of Mursili.

Mursili was the third born son of King Suppiluliuma I, one of the most powerful men to rule over the Hittite Empire, and Queen Henti. He was the younger brother of Arnuwanda II, he also had a sister and one more brother.

Reign

In 1321 BC Mursili II assumed the Hittite throne after the premature death of Arnuwanda II who, like their father, fell victim to the plague which ravaged the Hittites in the 1330s BC. He was greeted with contempt by Hatti's enemies and faced numerous rebellions early in his reign, the most serious of which were those initiated by the Kaskas in the mountains of Anatolia, but also by the Arzawa kingdom in southwest Asia Minor and the Hayasa-Azzi confederation in the Eastern Anatolia. This was because he was perceived to be an inexperienced ruler who only became king due to the early death of Arnuwanda.

Ten Year Annals (CTH 61)

Mursili records the scorn of his foes in his Annals:

While Mursili was a young and inexperienced king, he was almost certainly not a child when he took the Hittite throne and must have reached an age to be capable of ruling in his own right.

Reign length

Mursili II's highest confirmed date was his twenty-second year. He is believed to have lived beyond this date for a few more years and died after a reign of around 25 to 27 years. He was succeeded by his son Muwatalli II.

Archive

thumb|Mursili II prayers to the gods to end a plague, 14th century BC, from Hattusa, Istanbul Archaeological Museum

Mursili II is known from several cuneiform texts.

  • CTH 57 Decree of Muršili II on the recognition of the status of his brother Pijaššili/Šarri-Kušuḫ in Karkamiš
  • CTH 61 Annals of Muršili II (I Ten-year annals, II Detailed annals, III unassigned fragments)
  • CTH 62 Treaty of Muršili II with Duppi-Teššup of Amurru (I Akkadian, II Hittite)
  • CTH 63 Legal rulings on the border conflict between Nuḫašše and Barga and agreement with Duppi-Teššup of Amurru
  • CTH 64 Decree of Muršili II on the demarcation of the border between Ugarit and Mukiš
  • CTH 65 Decree of Muršili II on the conflict between Ugarit and Šijannu
  • CTH 66 Treaty of Muršili II with Niqmepa of Ugarit
  • CTH 67 Treaty of Muršili II with Targašnalli of Ḫapalla
  • CTH 68 Treaty of Muršili II with Kupanta-Kurunta of Mira and Kuwalija
  • CTH 69 Treaty of Muršili II with Manapa-Tarḫunta of Šēḫa
  • CTH 70 Prayer of Muršili II about the misdeeds and banishment of Tawananna (widow of Šuppiluliumas I)
  • CTH 72 Report of Muršilis II on conflicts with Egypt in Syria, with prayer to the assembly of gods
  • CTH 84 Report on the deeds of Šuppiluliumas I and Muršilis II.
  • CTH 202 Letter from Mašḫuiluwa from Mira-Kuwalija to Muršili II.
  • CTH 376 Hymns and Prayers to the Sun Goddess of Arinna
  • CTH 377 Hymn and prayer of Muršili II to Telipinu
  • CTH 378 Plague prayers of Muršili II.
  • CTH 380 Prayer to Lelwani for the recovery of Gaššulijawija
  • CTH 440 Ritual for Ḫamrišḫara
  • CTH 482 Reform of the cult of the goddess of the night of Šamuḫa by Muršili II.
  • CTH 486 Muršili's speech paralysis
  • CTH 513 not assigned (formerly “Inventory of metal objects with the name of Muršilis II.”; see CTH 526–530)

Family Tree

Mursili is known to have had several children with his first wife Gassulawiya including three sons named Muwatalli, Hattusili III and Halpasulupi. A daughter named Massanauzzi (referred to as Matanaza in correspondence with the Egyptian king Ramesses II) was married to Masturi, a ruler of a vassal state. Mursili had further sons with a second wife named Tanuhepa. The names of the sons of this second wife have not been recorded however.

Through his son Muwatalli he had a grandson who also ruled the kingdom, Mursili III, Queen Maathorneferure and Tudhaliya IV were also grandchildren of Mursili II.

In fiction

  • Janet Morris wrote a detailed biographical novel, I, the Sun, whose subject was Suppiluliuma I. Mursili II is an important figure in this novel, in which all characters are from the historical record, which Dr. Jerry Pournelle called "a masterpiece of historical fiction" and about which O.M. Gurney, Hittite scholar and author of The Hittites, commented that "the author is familiar with every aspect of Hittite culture". Morris' book was republished by The Perseid Press in April 2013.
  • Chie Shinohara wrote the manga series Red River (also known as Anatolia Story), about a fifteen-year-old Japanese girl named Yuri Suzuki, who is magically transported to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia. She was summoned by Queen Nakia who means to use Yuri as a human sacrifice. Yuri's blood is the key element needed in placing a curse upon the princes of the land so that they will perish, leaving Nakia's son Juda as the sole heir to the throne. As the story progresses, however, Yuri not only repeatedly manages to escape Nakia's scheming, she also becomes revered as an incarnation of the goddess Ishtar and falls in love with prince Kail. Mursili II is portrayed as Prince Kail Mursili. In the end, Yuri decides to stay in the past, and after Juda renounces his claim out of disgust towards his mother, Kail and Yuri ascend as the rulers of Hattusa.
  • Mursili II is a major figure in all three books of the Amarna Trilogy by Grea Alexander. In the series, Mursili becomes obsessed with appeasing the gods and regaining their favor after his father's betrayal of the Telepenus's Proclamation and the disasters that befall the Hittites following the so-called Zannanza affair.
  • Mursili II is an important presence in Gordon Doherty's novel, Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar (2019), whose protagonist is Mursili's third son, Hattusilis III.

See also

  • History of the Hittites

References

Sources