Puduhepa
Encyclopedia
Puduhepa was a Hittite tawanannas (queen) was married to King Hattusili III
. She has been referred to as "one of the most influential women known from the Ancient Near East."
Puduhepa was born at the beginning of the 13th century BCE in the city of Lawazantiya in Kizzuwatna
(ie. Cilicia
, a region south of the Hittite kingdom). Her father Bentepsharri was the head priest of the tutelary divinity of the city, Ishtar of Lawazantiya, and Puduhepa grew up to exercise the function of priestess of this same goddess. On his return from the Battle of Kadesh, the Hittite general Hattushili met Puduhepa and, it was said, Ishtar instructed him to take her as his wife. She went with him then to the kingdom of Hapissa. When his spouse successfully rose to the Hittite throne by defeating his nephew Urhi-Teshub (Mursili III
), Puduhepa became queen of the Hittites.
She had an important role to play in the Hittite court and international diplomacy of the period. She would appear constantly by the side of her husband as he made his rulings and decisions. It appears however that she was portrayed reigning hand in hand with her husband rather than subservient to the king.
She played an important role in diplomacy with Egypt
. Puduhepa communicated several times with the king of Egypt Ramses II as he signed a peace treaty with Hattushili, and when Hattusili agree that two of his daughters should go to Egypt to marry Ramses II.
After the death of Hattushili, her role expanded under the reign of her son Tudhaliya IV, under the title of goddess-queen. She was involved in judicial matters to the point of intervening in legal cases. She was also a priestess who worked on organising and rationalising Hittite religion.
Hattusili III
Hattusili III was a king of the Hittite empire ca. 1267–1237 BC . He was the fourth and last son of Mursili II...
. She has been referred to as "one of the most influential women known from the Ancient Near East."
Puduhepa was born at the beginning of the 13th century BCE in the city of Lawazantiya in Kizzuwatna
Kizzuwatna
Kizzuwatna , is the name of an ancient Anatolian kingdom in the second millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun in modern-day Turkey. It encircled the Taurus Mountains and the Ceyhan river. The center of the kingdom was the city of...
(ie. Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, a region south of the Hittite kingdom). Her father Bentepsharri was the head priest of the tutelary divinity of the city, Ishtar of Lawazantiya, and Puduhepa grew up to exercise the function of priestess of this same goddess. On his return from the Battle of Kadesh, the Hittite general Hattushili met Puduhepa and, it was said, Ishtar instructed him to take her as his wife. She went with him then to the kingdom of Hapissa. When his spouse successfully rose to the Hittite throne by defeating his nephew Urhi-Teshub (Mursili III
Mursili III
Mursili III, also known as Urhi-Teshub, was a king of the Hittites who assumed the throne of the Hittite empire at Tarhuntassa upon his father's death around 1272 BCE. He was a cousin of Tudhaliya IV and Queen Maathorneferure.- Biography :...
), Puduhepa became queen of the Hittites.
She had an important role to play in the Hittite court and international diplomacy of the period. She would appear constantly by the side of her husband as he made his rulings and decisions. It appears however that she was portrayed reigning hand in hand with her husband rather than subservient to the king.
She played an important role in diplomacy with Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. Puduhepa communicated several times with the king of Egypt Ramses II as he signed a peace treaty with Hattushili, and when Hattusili agree that two of his daughters should go to Egypt to marry Ramses II.
After the death of Hattushili, her role expanded under the reign of her son Tudhaliya IV, under the title of goddess-queen. She was involved in judicial matters to the point of intervening in legal cases. She was also a priestess who worked on organising and rationalising Hittite religion.