Mursili I was a king of the Hittites

Hittites

The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...

 ca. 1556–1526 BC (short chronology), and was likely a grandson of his predecessor, Hattusili I

Hattusili I

Hattusili I was a king of the Hittite Old Kingdom. He reigned ca. 1586–1556 BC .He used the title of Labarna at the beginning of his reign...

. His sister was Harapšili.

Biography

Mursili is credited with the conquest of the kingdom of Yamhad

Yamhad

Yamhad was an ancient Amorite kingdom centered at Halab . A substantial Hurrian population also settled in the kingdom, and the Hurrian culture influenced the area. The kingdom was powerful during the Middle Bronze Age, ca. 1800-1600 BC. Its biggest rival was Qatna further south...

 and its capital, Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

, in northern Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. Ca. 1531 BC, Mursili led an unprecedented march of 2000 km south into the heart of Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...

 where he sacked the city of Babylon

Babylon

Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...

, bringing an end to the Amorite

Amorite

Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...

 dynasty of Hammurabi

Hammurabi

Hammurabi Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian from Amorite ʻAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer", from ʻAmmu, "paternal kinsman", and Rāpi, "healer"; (died c...

. This raid did not result in any Hittite control over Babylonia, but did result in the emergence of the Kassites

Kassites

The Kassites were an ancient Near Eastern people who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca. 1531 BC to ca. 1155 BC...

 as the rulers there.

When Mursili returned to his kingdom, he was assassinated in a conspiracy led by his brother-in-law, Hantili I

Hantili I

Hantili I was a king of the Hittites during the Hittite Old Kingdom. His reign lasted for 30 years, from c. 1526-1496 B.C.-Rise to power:According to the Telepinu Proclamation, Hantili was the royal cup-bearer to Mursili I, king of the Hittites. Hantili was married to Harapšili, Mursili's sister...

 (who took the throne), and Hantili's son-in-law, Zidanta I

Zidanta I

Zidanta I was a king of the Hittites , ruling for 10 years, ca. 1496–1486 BC . According to the Edict of Telepinu, this king became a ruler by murder.- Biography :...

. His death inaugurated a period of social unrest and decay of central rule, followed by the loss of the conquests made in Syria.