Apology of Hattusili III

E830094

The Apology of Hattusili III is a Hittite royal autobiographical text in which King Hattusili III justifies his seizure of the throne and portrays his rule as divinely sanctioned.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Apology of Hattusili III canonical 1

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Hittite text
autobiographical text
political justification text
royal inscription
author Hattusili III NERFINISHED
centralTheme divine legitimation of kingship
overthrow of Mursili III
culture Hittite Empire NERFINISHED
dateWritten 13th century BCE
describesEvent conflict with Mursili III (Urhi-Teshub)
coup d’état of Hattusili III
emphasizes divine guidance in political decisions
loyalty to the gods
piety of Hattusili III
fieldOfStudy Ancient Near Eastern studies
Hittitology NERFINISHED
function legal and moral defense of usurpation
royal self-presentation
genre political propaganda
royal apology
historicalContext New Hittite Kingdom NERFINISHED
reign of Hattusili III
language Hittite NERFINISHED
mainCharacter Hattusili III NERFINISHED
materialForm clay tablet
mentionsDeity Ishtar NERFINISHED
Storm-god NERFINISHED
narrativePerspective first person
originalLocation royal archives of Hattusa
period Late Bronze Age
placeOfComposition Hattusa NERFINISHED
portrays Hattusili III as chosen by the gods
Mursili III as impious and unjust NERFINISHED
purpose to justify the seizure of the Hittite throne by Hattusili III
to present Hattusili III’s rule as divinely sanctioned
region Anatolia NERFINISHED
relatedPerson Mursili III NERFINISHED
Puduhepa NERFINISHED
relatedWork Treaty of Kadesh NERFINISHED
scholarlySignificance key text for understanding royal self-legitimation in the Late Bronze Age
script cuneiform
titleType modern conventional title
usedAsSourceFor Hittite religion NERFINISHED
history of Hittite royal ideology
political history of the Hittite Empire

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hattusili III primarySources Apology of Hattusili III