Tudhaliya I
Tudhaliya I/II takes the Hittite throne after Muwattalli I’s assassination
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗A murdered king's chief bodyguard raised infantry, chariots and Hurrian allies to avenge him — and lost to the man the assassins meant to crown.
Two dates that cannot both be right
The entry's title says 1178 BCE while its date points to roughly 1430. About 1178 belongs near the end of the Hittite state, not its beginning.
No exact accession year or calendar date survives for the event itself. Amélie Kuhrt places the start of the empire phase around 1430/1420 BCE; Trevor Bryce's chronology puts the new era around 1400.
Scholars also disagree about how many early New Kingdom kings there were, which is why the first is styled Tudhaliya I/II.
A palace killing and a short civil war
Muwattalli I was killed in a conspiracy involving the senior officials Kantuzzili and Himuili, apparently in order to put Tudhaliya on the throne. A seal identifies Tudhaliya as Kantuzzili's son.
Muwa, the dead king's chief bodyguard, opposed the succession with infantry, chariotry and Hurrian support.
Tudhaliya and Kantuzzili defeated that force, and Tudhaliya's kingship was secured.
'Beginning of the empire' is modern bookkeeping
Historians conventionally treat this accession as the start of the Hittite New Kingdom or empire-building era. It was not a dated proclamation creating an empire, and the territorial empire emerged through later campaigns.
The Hittite kingdom itself began centuries earlier, with Hattusili I and the rulers assigned to the Old Kingdom — Hattusa became the capital around 1650 BCE.
One name trap: the Muwattalli assassinated here is Muwattalli I, not the thirteenth-century Muwattalli II who fought Ramesses II at Kadesh.
Sources
Researched 24 Aug 2026 5 sources not yet audited Date disputed
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Date disputed. Sources disagree; the research places it at ~-1430.
What the sources leave uncertain
- No exact accession year or calendar date survives. Amélie Kuhrt places the start of the empire phase around 1430/1420 BCE, while Trevor Bryce’s chronology places the new era around 1400 BCE.
- Scholars disagree about the number and sequence of early New Kingdom kings. The first ruler is consequently often styled Tudhaliya I/II.
- The title-as-listed says 1178 BCE, while the slug and date-as-listed point to approximately 1430 BCE. About 1178 BCE belongs near the end of the Hittite state, not its beginning.