Anitta

Anitta, son of Pithana, was a king of Kussara, a city that has yet to be identified. He is the earliest known ruler to compose a text in the Hittite language.

For the Brazilian singer, see Anitta (singer). For other uses, see Anitta (disambiguation).
Anitta
Bronze dagger of king Anitta
Born
Anitta
PredecessorPithana
Parent(s)King Pithana[1]

His high official, or rabi simmiltim, was named Peruwa.[2]

Biography

Anitta, as per middle chronology, reigned ca. 1740-1725 BCE,[3] or alternatively in the 17th century BC (short chronology) and is the author of the Anitta text (CTH 1.A, edited in StBoT 18, 1974),[4] the oldest known text in the Hittite language (and the oldest known Indo-European text altogether). This text seems to represent a cuneiform record of Anitta's inscriptions at Kanesh, perhaps compiled by Hattusili I, one of the earliest Hittite kings of Hattusa.

The Anitta text indicates that Anitta's father conquered Neša (Kanesh, Kültepe), which became an important city within the kingdom of Kussara.[5] During his own reign, Anitta defeated Huzziya, the last recorded king of Zalpuwa, and the Hattic king Piyusti and then conquered his capital at the site of the future Hittite capital of Hattusa. He then destroyed the city, sowed the ground with weeds,[6] and laid a curse on the site.[7]

Anitta's name appears on an inscription on a dagger found in Kültepe and also, together with the name of his father, on various Kültepe texts, as well as in later Hittite tradition.

See also

Notes
  1. "Reign of Anitta", Hittites
  2. Klaas R Veenhof (2008). Mesopotamia: The Old Assyrian Period. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 145.
  3. Kloekhorst, Alwin, (2020). "The Authorship of the Old Hittite Palace Chronicle (CTH 8): A Case for Anitta", in Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Volume 72 (2020).
  4. Didact, DE: Uni. Frankfurt.
  5. Kuhrt, Amélie (1995). The Ancient Near East, Volume I. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 226–27. ISBN 0-415-16763-9.
  6. S. P. B. Durnford, J. R. Akeroyd: Anatolian marashanha and the many uses of Fennel. In: Anatolian Studies. London 55.2005, 1-13. ISSN 0066-1546
  7. William James Hamblin (2006). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. Routledge. p. 293..
Preceded by
Pithana		 Hittite king
ca. 17th century BC		 Unknown
Next known title holder:
Tudhaliya (?)
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