Hattusili I

Hattusili I (Ḫattušili I; died 1620 BC) was a king of the Hittite Old Kingdom. He reigned c. 1650–1620 BC (middle chronology), or c. 1640–1610 BC (low middle chronology).

Family Ḫattušili I was possibly a nephew of his predecessor Labarna I's wife, Tawananna (the title was apparently used as a given name). Tawananna was a daughter of PU-Sarruma (Hišmi-Sarruma), and one brother is known, Papahdilmah, who fought with Labarna for the throne and lost. Papahdilmah could possibly be the father of Ḫattušili I, but another brother of Tawananna could have been as well, due to lack of evidence. Ḫattušili I's wife was named Kadduši and his grandson was Mursili I, who succeeded him, having been chosen as heir instead of Ḫattušili I's nephew.

Reign Excavations in Zincirli Höyük, Southern Turkey, suggest that a complex there was destroyed in the mid to late 17th century BC, possibly by Hattusili I in a military campaign, which could confirm the middle chronology dating for his reign. This destruction was recently radiocarbon-dated to sometime between 1632 and 1610 BC. This event could have been part of Ḫattušili' Is campaign against Zalpa in order to disrupt an exchange network connected to Aleppo that previously linked the Euphrates River, North Syria, and Central Anatolia.

He used the title of Labarna at the beginning of his reign. It is uncertain whether he is the second king so identified, making him Labarna II, or whether he is identical to Labarna I, who is treated as his predecessor in Hittite chronologies.

During his reign, he moved the capital from Neša (Kaneš, near modern Kültepe) to Hattusa (near modern Boğazkale), taking the throne name of Ḫattušili to mark the occasion.

He is the earliest Hittite ruler for whom contemporary records have been found. In addition to "King of Ḫattuša", he took the title "Man of Kuššara", a reference to the prehistoric capital and home of the Hittites, before they had occupied Neša.

Annals of Ḫattušili I

A cuneiform tablet found in 1957 written in both the Hittite and Akkadian, known as Annals of Hattusili I, provides details of five years of his reign, and is considered by Trevor Bryce as a copy, after the lifetime of this king, written in 13th century BC. In it, he claims to have extended the Hittite domain to the sea. In the first year of campaign he reached the cities of Sanahuitta and Zalpa, he failed to conquer the former but sacked the later. And in the second year, he claimed to have subdued Alalakh and other cities in Syria, located west of Euphrates River and north of Carchemish, which were allied to Yamhad kingdom. During that period, some local Anatolians, such as Hittite King Anitta, also utilized cuneiform to create inscriptions. However, cuneiform fell out of use in Anatolia at the end of the karum period when Assyrian influence waned. Ḫattušili I may have been responsible for reintroducing cuneiform to Anatolia upon returning from his campaigns in Syria. This proposition is supported by the fact that the cuneiform used during Ḫattušili's reign was stylistically derived from the cuneiform used in Syria at that time, which was ultimately based on the Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, rather than the Assyrian-style cuneiform used in Anatolia during the karum period. Ḫattušili may have taken Syrian scribes back to Anatolia with him.