Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten . Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the historical record, in contrast to those of Akhenaten's 'Great royal wife', Nefertiti . Her unusual name suggests that she may originally have been a Mitanni princess. Surviving evidence demonstrates that Kiya was an important figure at Akhenaten's court during the middle years of his reign, when she had a daughter with him. She disappears from history a few years before her royal husband's death. In previous years, she was thought to be mother of Tutankhamun , but recent DNA evidence suggests this is unlikely.
70-691: The name Kiya itself is cause for debate. It has been suggested that it is a "pet" form, rather than a full name, and as such could be a contraction of a foreign name, such as the Mitanni name " Tadukhipa ," referring to the daughter of King Tushratta . Tadukhipa married Amenhotep III at the very end of his reign, and the Amarna Letters indicate that she was of marriageable age at that time. In particular, Amarna Letters 27 through 29 confirm that Tadukhipa became one of Akhenaten's wives. Thus some Egyptologists have proposed that Tadukhipa and Kiya might be
140-587: A daughter, whose name is not preserved. Marc Gabolde proposes that Kiya's daughter was Beketaten , who is more often identified as a daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye . The most spectacular of Kiya's monuments is a gilded wooden coffin of costly and intricate workmanship that was discovered in Tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings. The coffin's footboard contains an Atenist prayer that was originally intended for
210-538: A different king than Barattarna by M. P. Maidman, Eva von Dassow, and Ian Mladjov. Thutmose III again waged war in Mitanni in the 33rd year of his rule. The Egyptian army crossed the Euphrates at Carchemish and reached a town called Iryn (maybe present day Erin, 20 km northwest of Aleppo.) They sailed down the Euphrates to Emar ( Maskanah ) and then returned home via Mitanni. A hunt for elephants at Lake Nija
280-504: A few successful clashes with the Egyptians over the control of Syria, Mitanni sought peace with them, and an alliance was formed. During the reign of Shuttarna II , in the early 14th century BC, the relationship was very amicable, and he sent his daughter Gilu-Hepa to Egypt for marriage with Pharaoh Amenhotep III . Mitanni was now at its peak of power. However, by the reign of Eriba-Adad I (1390–1366 BC) Mitanni influence over Assyria
350-479: A logogram for Akkadian " rab " having the same meaning; "Ḫani-Rabbat" denoting "the Great Hani". J. A. Knudtzon , and E. A. Speiser after him, supported instead the reading of " gal " on the basis of its alternative spelling with " gal 9 ", which has since become the majority view. There is still a difficulty to explain the suffix " -bat " if the first sign did not end in " b ," or the apparent similarity to
420-429: A priest bound to a powerful Mitannian leader." To the east of upper Tigris river, Trans-Tigridian region in northern Iraq, a site now called Bassetki was excavated, which in all likelihood was the ancient town of Mardama with Mitanni layers from 1550 to 1300 BC, as its Phase A9 (in trench T2) may alternatively represent a Middle Bronze/Late Bronze transitional, or Proto-Mitanni occupation within 16th century BC. In
490-606: A subsequent excavation season, the deeper Phase A10 was identified as having a mix of Middle Bronze and Mitanni potteries, considered to be in the turn of the Middle to the Late Bronze Age transitional period (late 17th – early 16th century BC). In 2010, the 3,400-year-old ruins of Kemune , a Bronze Age Mitanni palace on the banks of the Tigris in modern-day Iraqi Kurdistan , were discovered. It became possible to excavate
560-480: A two century abandonment between the MBA destruction and the Mitanni re-occupation. At least since around 1550 BC, at the beginning of Late Bronze age, Painted Nuzi Ware was identified as a characteristic pottery in Mitanni sites. The origin of this decorated pottery is an unsolved question, but a possible previous development as Aegean Kamares Ware has been suggested by Pecorelia (2000); S. Soldi claims that Tell Brak
630-605: A woman, but was later revised to a refer to a man – with enough grammatical errors to betray the gender of the original speaker. The style of the coffin and the language of its surviving inscriptions place its manufacture in the reign of Akhenaten. Scholarly opinion now makes Kiya its original owner. The richness of this coffin, which is comparable in style to the middle coffin of Tutankhamun , provides further evidence of Kiya's exalted status at Amarna. Many Egyptologists have tried to produce an explanation for her prominence. Numerous scholarly discussions of Tutankhamun's parentage during
700-558: Is complicated by there being, according to linguists, three separate dialects of Hurrian, central-western, northern, and eastern. The Egyptians considered the Euphrates River to form the boundary between Syria and Naharain . The Egyptian official astronomer and clockmaker Amenemhet (Amen-hemet) apparently ordered to be written on his tomb that he returned from the "foreign country called Mtn ( Mi-ti-ni )," but Alexandra von Lieven (2016) and Eva von Dassow (2022) consider that
770-599: Is generally believed that Indo-Aryan peoples settled in Upper Mesopotamia and northern Syria , and established the Kingdom of Mitanni following a period of political vacuum, while also adopting Hurrian. This is considered a part of the Indo-Aryan migrations . Since the late 20th century, the view that the Mitanni kingdom was ruled by royal house and aristocracy of Indo-Aryan origin has been prevalent among
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#1732791130456840-545: Is that they represent the death in childbirth of the deceased, although this view has recently been challenged. The conventional interpretation has encouraged speculation that Kiya died bearing Akhenaten a child, but again, no clear-cut evidence is available. Some have speculated that the mummy known as the Younger Lady , discovered in KV35 , might be that of Kiya. According to Joann Fletcher (who controversially identified
910-457: The Amorite king Idrimi of Alalakh his vassal, and five generations seems to separate this king (also known as Parattarna) from the rise of Mitanni kingdom. The state of Kizzuwatna in the west also shifted its allegiance to Mitanni, and Assyria in the east had become largely a Mitannian vassal state by the mid-15th century BC. The nation grew stronger during the reign of Shaushtatar , but
980-482: The Annals of Thutmose III mention Naharin, in particular those of his regnal years 33, 35, and 42. After that time, records become more available from local sources until the empire's end in the mid-13th century BC. The first known use of Indo-Aryan names for Mitanni rulers begins with Shuttarna I who succeeded his father Kirta on the throne. King Barattarna of Mitanni expanded the kingdom west to Aleppo and made
1050-612: The Ilısu Dam in the right bank of upper Tigris , southern Turkey, have shown a very early beginning of Mitanni period, as in the ruins of a temple in Müslümantepe, ritual artefacts and a Mitannian cylinder seal were found, radiocarbon-dated to 1760–1610 BC. Archaeologist Eyyüp Ay, in his (2021) paper, describes the second phase of the temple as an "administrative center, which had craftsmen working in its workshops as well as farmers, gardeners and shepherds, [that] might have been ruled by
1120-594: The Sanskrit verb mith ( मिथ् ; lit. ' to unite, pair, couple, meet ' ). The name Maitanni thus meant the "united kingdom." Paralleling the evolution of Proto-Indo-Aryan máytʰati , meaning lit. ' he unites ' , into Sanskrit méthati ( मेथति ), the name Maitanni evolved into the later form Mitanni , where the stem maita- had given way to mita- . Andrea Trameri (15 October 2024), along with Gernot Wilhelm (1997: 290), regards that Maitani means "of M(a)itta,"
1190-486: The rump state of Hanigalbat. Eventually, under Shalmaneser I, that remaining part of the former Mitanni territory came under direct Assyrian control. This continued until the decline of Middle Assyrian power after the death of Tukulti-Ninurta I. While under direct Assyrian control Hanigalbat was ruled by appointed governors such as the Assyrian grand-vizier Ilī-padâ , father of Ninurta-apal-Ekur (1191–1179), who took
1260-405: The " Younger Lady " discovered in the mummy cache in the tomb of Amenhotep II . Kiya disappears from history during the last third of Akhenaten's reign. Her name and images were erased from monuments and replaced by those of Akhenaten's daughters. The exact year of her disappearance is unknown, with recent authorities suggesting dates that range from Year 11 or 12 to Year 16 of Akhenaten. One of
1330-451: The 2nd excavation the entire city was mapped and 100 Middle Assyrian tablets were discovered. They were dated to after the city's destruction by earthquake and have not yet been published. The three phases of Mitanni at Kurd Qaburstan , were obtained as c. 1538–1505 BC for Phase three, with Phase two beginning c. 1512–1491 BC and ending c. 1501–1479 BC, and with Phase One beginning c. 1489–1463 BC and ending c. 1475–1435 BC. The data suggests
1400-728: The Assyrians. These names seem to have referred to the same kingdom and were often used interchangeably, according to Michael C. Astour. Hittite annals mention a people called Hurri ( Ḫu-ur-ri ), located in northeastern Syria. A Hittite fragment, probably from the time of Mursili I , mentions a "King of the Hurri," and the Assyro-Akkadian version of the text renders "Hurri" as Hanigalbat . Tushratta, who styles himself "king of Mitanni" in his Akkadian Amarna letters , refers to his kingdom as Hanigalbat. The earliest attestation of
1470-689: The Hurrians were keen to keep the Hittites inside the Anatolian highland. Kizzuwatna in the west and Ishuwa in the north were important allies against the hostile Hittites. Mitanni's major rival was Egypt under the Thutmosids . However, with the ascent of the Hittite Empire , Mitanni and Egypt struck an alliance to protect their mutual interests from the threat of Hittite domination. After
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#17327911304561540-656: The Indo-Aryan *marya , which means 'man' or 'youth', associated to military affairs and chariots. A concept known as "Dark Age" was applied, until recently, to the archaeological gap between the Middle and Late Bronze Age on Northern Mesopotamian sites, but Costanza Coppini considers it a "transition" instead, which can be called "Late Bronze Age 0," attested from the Tell Leilan's end caused by Samsu-iluna during his 23rd year of reign, c. 1728 BCE [Middle Chronology], to Mitanni's predominance (c. 1600-1550 BCE). These are
1610-582: The Kings . She is not attested during the reign of any other pharaoh. Kiya's existence was unknown until 1959, when her name and titles were noted on a small cosmetic container in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art . It had been bought almost thirty years previously, without provenance , from Egyptologist Howard Carter . The British Egyptologists Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton wrote: Akhenaten and his family were based in Thebes for
1680-600: The Maru-Aten were eventually recarved to replace the name and titles of Kiya with those of Akhenaten's eldest daughter, Meritaten . One or more "sunshades" or side-chapels in the city's largest temple to the Aten , the Per-Aten, also originally bore the name of Kiya. These sunshades were later reinscribed for Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten , the third daughter of Akhenaten. Some of the recarved inscriptions indicate that Kiya had
1750-491: The Mitanni are of Indo-Aryan or Proto-Indo-Aryan origins. Starting from Shuttarna I who is the first Mitanni ruler historically attested to have existed, the Mitanni had Indo-Aryan throne names . The Kikkuli 's horse training text includes technical terms of Indo-Aryan origin, and the Indo-Aryan deities Mitra , Varuna , Indra , and Nasatya ( Ashvins ) are listed and invoked in two treaties found in Hattusa , between
1820-523: The Semitic feminine ending " -at ," if derived from a Hurrian word. More recently, in 2011, scholar Miguel Valério, then at the New University of Lisbon provided detailed support in favor of the older reading Hani-Rabbat . The re-reading makes an argument on the basis of frequency, where " gal " not " gal 9 ," is far more numerous; the later being the deviation found in six documents, all from
1890-445: The expedition to Mitanni could have taken place in pharaoh Ahmose I 's reign ( c. 1550 –1525 BC), actually by Amenemhet's father. During the reign of pharaoh Thutmose I (1506–1493 BC), the names Mitanni and Naharin are among the reminiscences of several of the pharaoh's officers. One of them, Ahmose si-Abina, wrote: "...His Majesty arrived at Naharin..." Another one, Ahmose pa-Nekhbit, recorded: "...when I captured for him in
1960-468: The first four years of his reign, establishing the new capital city at Amarna in Year 5. Kiya is not attested during this early period. Only after the move to Amarna does she emerge through inscriptional evidence as one of Akhenaten's wives. Kiya's name appeared prominently in the temple installation known as the Maru-Aten, at the southern edge of the city, according to epigraphic studies. The inscriptions in
2030-670: The first half of 14th century BC, a large region from North-West Syria to the Eastern Tigris was under Mitanni's control. Mitanni, which first rose to power before 1550 BC, presents the following known kings: All dates must be taken with caution since they are worked out only by comparison with the chronology of other ancient Near Eastern nations . King Barattarna is known from a cuneiform tablet in Nuzi and an inscription by Idrimi of Alalakh . He reigned c. 1500 –1480 BC. Egyptian sources do not mention his name; that he
2100-659: The first half of the 16th century BC, and its beginnings date to well before the time of Thutmose I , dating actually to the time of the Hittite sovereigns Hattusili I and Mursili I . Hurrians are mentioned in the private Nuzi texts, in Ugarit , and the Hittite archives in Hattusa ( Boğazköy ). Cuneiform texts from Mari mention rulers of city-states in upper Mesopotamia with both Amurru (Amorite) and Hurrian names. Rulers with Hurrian names are also attested for Urshum and Hassum , and tablets from Alalakh (layer VII, from
2170-675: The first traces of what, in the Late Bronze Age I, was Mitanni in historical terms, at the emergence of the third phase of Khabur ware . The archaeological core zone of Mitanni is Upper Mesopotamia and the Trans-Tigridian region (Northeastern Iraq). Sites with Mitannian remains were found mainly in three regions of Upper Mesopotamia: Northeastern Syria Jazira Region , Northern Syria, and Southeastern Turkey (Upper Tigris). Mitanni's first phase in Jazira Region features Late Khabur Ware from around 1600 to 1550 BC; this pottery
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2240-454: The growing power of the Hittites and Assyrians. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma I invaded the Mitanni vassal states in northern Syria and replaced them with loyal subjects. In the capital Washukanni , a new power struggle broke out. The Hittites and the Assyrians supported different pretenders to the throne. Finally a Hittite army conquered the capital Washukanni and installed Shattiwaza , the son of Tushratta, as their vassal king of Mitanni in
2310-471: The high ground and a 40 hectare lower town developed. The Mitanni occupation lasted until the site was destroyed (in two phases) between c. 1300 and 1275 BC, presumably by the Assyrians. Two Mitanni-era tablets were found during the modern excavation. One (TB 6002) mentioned "Artassumara the king, son of Shuttarna the king". Seventeen late period Mitanni tablets were found at Tall Al-Hamidiya . The oldest tablet issued by an unknown Mitannian king
2380-520: The kings Sattiwaza of Mitanni and Šuppiluliuma I the Hittite: (treaty KBo I 3) and (treaty KBo I 1 and its duplicates). The toponym of the Mitanni capital of Washukanni is also "unanimously accepted" to have been derived from an Indo-Aryan dialect. Annelies Kammenhuber (1968) suggested that this vocabulary was derived from the still undivided Indo-Iranian language, but Mayrhofer has shown that specifically Indo-Aryan features are present. It
2450-549: The land of Naharin..." After the Battle of Megiddo , an officer of pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC), in the pharaoh's 22 regnal year, reported: "That [wretched] enemy of Kadesh has come and has entered into Megiddo. He is [there] at this moment. He has gathered to him the princes of [every] foreign country [which had been] loyal to Egypt, as well as (those) as far as Naharin and M[itanni], them of Hurru, them of Kode, their horses, their armies." In several later military campaigns
2520-464: The last datable instances of her name is a wine docket from Amarna that mentions Akhenaten's Year 11, indicating that Kiya's estate produced a vintage in that year. Whether she died, was exiled, or suffered some other misfortune, Egyptologists have often interpreted the erasure of her name as a sign of disgrace. Various scenarios have been advanced to explain Kiya's disappearance. Having suggested that Kiya
2590-469: The late Old Babylonian period , during the reign of Ammi-Saduqa , ( c. 1638 –1618 BC), in low middle chronology. The Mitanni Empire was a strong regional power limited by the Hittites to the north, Egyptians to the west, Kassites to the south, and later by the Assyrians to the east. At its maximum extent Mitanni ranged as far west as Kizzuwatna by the Taurus Mountains , Tunip in
2660-466: The late 14th century BC. The kingdom had by now been reduced to the Khabur Valley . The Assyrians had not given up their claim on Mitanni, and in the 13th century BC, Shalmaneser I annexed the kingdom. The Mitanni dynasty had ruled over the northern Euphrates-Tigris region between c. 1600 and 1350 BC, but succumbed to Hittite and later Assyrian attacks, and Mitanni was reduced to
2730-455: The late twentieth century, and the early years of the twenty-first, have mentioned the hypothesis that Kiya was Tutankhamun's mother. If she had indeed borne a male heir to Akhenaten, this distinction might well merit unique honors. However, genetic studies of the Egyptian royal mummies, led by Zahi Hawass and Carsten Pusch, have now established that Tutankhamun's biological mother was KV35YL,
2800-704: The later part of the Old Babylonian period) mention people with Hurrian names at the mouth of the Orontes . There is no evidence for any invasion from the North-east. Generally, these onomastic sources have been taken as evidence for a Hurrian expansion to the South and the West. A Hittite fragment, probably from the time of Mursili I , mentions a "King of the Hurrians" ( LUGAL ERÍN.MEŠ Hurri ). This terminology
2870-401: The middle of the 14th century BC, making Assyria once more a great power. At the death of Shuttarna, Mitanni was ravaged by a war of succession. Eventually Tushratta, a son of Shuttarna, ascended the throne, but the kingdom had been weakened considerably and both the Hittite and Assyrian threats increased. At the same time, the diplomatic relationship with Egypt went cold, the Egyptians fearing
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2940-511: The mummy as Nefertiti ) a Nubian-style wig was found near the mummy. This style was also associated with Kiya. DNA test results published in February 2010 have shown conclusively that the Younger Lady mummy was the mother of Tutankhamun , and by extension a wife of Akhenaten. The results also show that she was a full sister to her husband, and that they were both the children of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. This family relationship rules out
3010-501: The name of "an individual leader (or clan), and not a territory or population." The Mitanni kingdom was firstly known as Ḫabingalbat before 1600 BC in Babylonia, during the reign of Ammi-Saduqa , attested as ḫa-bi-in-gal-ba-ti-i , and ḫa-bi-in-ga-al-ba-at , in two texts of the late Old Babylonian period . Egyptians referred to it as Naharin and Mitanni , it was Ḫurri to the Hittites, and Ḫanigalbat or Ḫani-Rabbat to
3080-404: The only one whose name survives. Two of the chambers originally included painted plaster reliefs depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti, certain of their daughters, and other mourners lamenting the deceased. Some Egyptologists have suggested that one of these scenes of mourning refers to Kiya, although no specific evidence supports this claim. Further, the conventional interpretation of the mourning scenes
3150-505: The periphery of the Akkadian sphere of influence. It is additionally argued that although they are graphically distinct, there is a high degree of overlap between the two signs, as " gal 9 " denotes " dannum " or ""strong"" opposed to "great", easily being used as synonyms. Both signs also represent correlative readings; alternative readings of " gal 9 " include " rib " and " rip ," just like " gal " being read as " rab ." The situation
3220-741: The possibility that the Younger Lady was Kiya, because no known artifact accords Kiya the title or attribute "god's daughter." For similar reasons Nefertiti is also ruled out. The report concludes that either Nebetah or Beketaten , younger daughters of Amenhotep III who are not known to have married their father, are the most likely candidates for the identity of the Younger Lady mummy. Mitanni Mitanni ( c. 1550 –1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or Naharin in Egyptian texts,
3290-419: The region as of the late 3rd millennium BC. A king of Urkesh with a Hurrian name, Tupkish, was found on a clay sealing dated c. 2300 BC at Tell Mozan. The first recorded inscription of their language was of Tish-atal ( c. 21st century BC ), king of Urkesh . Later on, Hurrians made up the main population of Mitanni, which was firstly known as Ḫabigalbat , at Babylonia, in two texts of
3360-676: The rich funerary equipment that was prepared against her death. If her disappearance resulted from disgrace or exile, the answer would be no. On the other hand, if she died in good standing with Akhenaten, she probably would have received a lavish burial appropriate to her station. In the latter case, a likely site for her interment would be the Amarna Royal Tomb, which includes a suite of three chambers evidently used to house female members of Akhenaten's family. At least two and possibly as many as three different individuals were interred in this suite, including Akhenaten's daughter Meketaten ,
3430-507: The role of Indo-Aryan speakers in establishing its dynasty, have disputed the significance of Indo-Aryan vocabulary in an otherwise Hurrian-speaking state stating that it does not indicate any Indo-Aryan origins for Mitanni kings. According to Alexander Lubotsky (2023), however, the military elite of the Mitanni kingdom (see Maryannu ) was of Aryan descent and their language displays a clear Indo-Aryan character. Jasper Eidem in 2014 reported on Farouk Ismail's earlier study, in reference to
3500-564: The ruins in 2018 and again in 2022 when a drought caused water levels to drop considerably. In the 1st excavation 10 Mitanni-era tablets were found, in Babylonian cuneiform written in Akkadian, bearing Hurrian names, dating to the Middle-Trans-Tigridian IA and IB periods. Middle Trans-Tigridian IA and IB are dated to ( c. 1550 -1350 BC) and ( c. 1350 -1270 BC) respectively by Peter Pfälzner (2007). In
3570-510: The same person. However, there is no confirming evidence that Kiya was anything but a native Egyptian. In fact, Cyril Aldred proposed that her unusual name is actually a variant of the Ancient Egyptian word for "monkey," making it unnecessary to assume a foreign origin for her. In inscriptions, Kiya is given the titles of "The Favorite" and "The Greatly Beloved," but never of "Heiress" or " Great Royal Wife ", which suggests that she
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#17327911304563640-424: The scholars; accordingly, a branch of Indo-Aryans separated from the other Indo-Iranians around the turn of second millennium BCE and migrated into West Asia , hence giving rise to the Mitanni kingdom, while also adopting Hurrian language. Some of the recent studies such as those by Eva von Dassow (2022) and Cotticelli-Kurras and Pisaniello (2023), while noting the modern identification of Mittani as Indo-Aryan and
3710-495: The site of Tell Fekheriye as recent German archaeological excavations suggest. The city of Taite was also known to be a Mitanni "royal city" whose current location is unknown. The major 3rd millennium urban center of Tell Brak which had dwindled to a minor settlement in Old Babylonian times, saw major development c. 1600 by the Mitanni. Monumental buildings including a palace and temple were constructed on
3780-521: The south, Arraphe in the east, and north to Lake Van . Their sphere of influence is shown in Hurrian place names, personal names and the spread through Syria and the Levant of a distinct pottery type, Nuzi ware . The earliest recorded form of the name of this state is Maitanni , composed of a Hurrian suffix -nni added to the Indo-Aryan stem maita- , meaning "to unite" and comparable with
3850-636: The southern shore of the northern Euphrates region, near the vicinity of Terqa (capital of the Kingdom of Hana ) and the Khabur River. The term developed into more than just a designation for a people group, but also took on a topographic aspect as well. In the Middle Assyrian period , a phrase " 𒌷𒆳𒄩𒉡𒀭𒋫 " " KUR Ḫa-nu AN.TA ," "cities of the Upper Hanu" has suggested that there
3920-556: The status of a province of the Middle Assyrian Empire between c. 1350 and 1260 BC. As early as Akkadian times, Hurrians are known to have lived east of the river Tigris on the northern rim of Mesopotamia, and in the Khabur Valley. The group which became Mitanni gradually moved south into Mesopotamia before the 17th century BC. It was already a powerful kingdom at the end of the 17th century or in
3990-611: The term Ḫanigalbat can be read in Akkadian , along with the Hittite version mentioning "the Hurrian enemy," in a copy from the 13th century BC of the "Annals of Ḫattušili I ," who possibly reigned after 1630 BC. The reading of the Assyrian term Ḫanigalbat has a history of multiple renderings. The first portion has been connected to, " 𒄩𒉡 Ḫa-nu ," "Hanu" or "Hana," first attested in Mari to describe nomadic inhabitants along
4060-495: The title of King of Hanigalbat . He resided in the newly built (over an existing Mitanni tower and residence) Assyrian administrative centre at Tell Sabi Abyad . The Babylonian Kings List A names the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib (705–681 BC) and his son Ashur-nadin-shumi (700–694) as being "Dynasty of Ḫabigal". The name Hanigalbat was still in use as late as the later portion of the 1st millennium BC. A number of theonyms, proper names and glosses (technical terminology) of
4130-469: The word marijannu that was found in a letter from Tell Leilan in northeastern Syria dating to a period slightly before 1761 BC, which is the time when the reign of Zimri-Lim ended in the region of Mari . Kroonen et al. (2018) consider this as an early Indo-Aryan linguistic presence in Syria two centuries prior to the formation of the Mitanni realm, as mariannu is generally seen as a Hurrianized form of
4200-411: Was a Hurrian -speaking state in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia (modern-day Turkey ) with Indo-Aryan linguistic and political influences . Since no histories, royal annals or chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts. The Hurrians were in
4270-464: Was a continuity from the previous non-Mitannian Old Babylonian period. From around 1550 to 1270 BC, Painted Nuzi Ware (the most characteristic pottery in Mitanni times) developed as a contemporary to Younger Khabur Ware. Mitanni had outposts centred on its capital, Washukanni , whose location has been determined by archaeologists to be on the headwaters of the Khabur River , most likely at
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#17327911304564340-473: Was a distinction between two different Hanu's, likely across each side of the river. This northern side designation spans much of the core territory of Mitanni state. The two signs that have led to variant readings are " 𒃲 gal " and its alternative form " 𒆗 gal 9 ". The first attempts at decipherment in the late 19th century rendered forms interpreting " gal ," meaning "great" in Sumerian, as
4410-470: Was found in the site of Tell Hammam et-Turkman , dated to c. 1500 BCE. Mitanni period occupation, between 1400 and 1200 BC (radiocarbon) was found at the site of Tell Bazi . Finds included a Mitanni cylinder seal and several ritual bowls. Two cuneiform tablets of the Mitanni period sealed by Mitanni ruler Saushtatar , one by Artatama I were also found. There is also a record of Mitanni governance at Tell Hadidi (Azu). The (2017) salvage excavations at
4480-781: Was important enough to be included in the annals. Victories over Mitanni are recorded from the Egyptian campaigns in Nuhašše (middle part of Syria). Barattarna or his son Shaushtatar controlled the North Mitanni interior up to Nuhašše , and the coastal territories from Kizzuwatna to Alalakh in the kingdom of Mukish at the mouth of the Orontes. Idrimi of Alalakh, returning from Egyptian exile, could only ascend his throne with Barattarna's consent. While he got to rule Mukish and Ama'u, Aleppo remained with Mitanni. The Younger Lady (mummy) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
4550-595: Was last used for King Tushratta of Mitanni, in a letter in the Amarna archives. The normal title of the king was 'King of the Hurri-men' (without the determinative KUR indicating a country). With the final decline of the Mitanni Empire the western portions of its territory came under direct control of the Hittites and the eastern portions came under direct control of the Assyrians. The middle part continued on as
4620-732: Was not of royal Egyptian blood. Her full titles read, "The wife and greatly beloved of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Living in Truth, Lord of the Two Lands, Neferkheperure Waenre, the Goodly Child of the Living Aten , who shall be living for ever and ever, Kiya." All artifacts relating to Kiya derive from Amarna , Akhenaten's short-lived capital city, or from Tomb KV55 in the Valley of
4690-587: Was on the wane. Eriba-Adad I became involved in a dynastic battle between Tushratta and his brother Artatama II and after this his son Shuttarna II , who called himself king of the Hurri while seeking support from the Assyrians. A pro-Hurri/Assyria faction appeared at the royal Mitanni court. Eriba-Adad I had thus loosened Mitanni influence over Assyria, and in turn had now made Assyria an influence over Mitanni affairs. King Ashur-uballit I (1365–1330 BC) of Assyria attacked Shuttarna and annexed Mitanni territory in
4760-407: Was one of the first centers specializing in the production of this Painted Nuzi Ware, and analyses on samples support the assumption that it was produced locally in various centers throughout the Mitanni kingdom. It was particularly appreciated in Upper Mesopotamia , but appears only sporadically in western Syrian cities such as Alalakh and Ugarit . At the height of its power, during the 15th and
4830-406: Was the king of Naharin whom Thutmose III (1479 – 1425 BC) fought against, can only be deduced from assumptions. This king, also known as Parratarna is considered, by J. A. Belmonte-Marin quoting H. Klengel, to have reigned c. 1510 –1490 BC (middle chronology). Parsha(ta)tar, known from another Nuzi inscription (HSS 13 165), an undated inventory list which mentions his death, is considered
4900-430: Was the mother of Tutankhamun, Nicholas Reeves writes that "it is not beyond the realm of possibility that she fell from grace in a coup engineered by the jealous Nefertiti herself." Having argued that Kiya was Tadukhipa, daughter of the King of Mitanni, Marc Gabolde suggests that she "paid the price" for a deterioration in the alliance between Egypt and Mitanni and was sent back home. It is uncertain whether Kiya ever used
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