04b mitanni

Mitanni (/mɪˈtæni/; Hittite cuneiform KUR ^URUMi-ta-an-ni; Mittani Mi-it-ta-ni), also called Hanigalbat (Hanigalbat, Khanigalbat cuneiform Ḫa-ni-gal-bat) inAssyrian or Naharin in Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC. Mitanni came to be a regional power after the Hittite destruction of Amorite^[1]Babylon and a series of ineffectual Assyrian kings created a power vacuum in Mesopotamia. At the beginning of its history, Mitanni's major rival was Egypt under the Thutmosids. However, with the ascent of the Hittite empire, Mitanni and Egypt made an alliance to protect their mutual interests from the threat of Hittite domination. At the height of its power, during the 14th century BC, Mitanni had outposts centered on its capital, Washukanni, whose location has been determined by archaeologists to be on the headwaters of the Khabur River. Eventually, Mitanni succumbed to Hittite and later Assyrian attacks, and was reduced to the status of a province of the Middle Assyrian Empire. The Mitanni dynasty ruled over the northern Euphrates-Tigris region between c. 1475 and c. 1275 BCE. While the Mitanni kings were Indo-Iranians, they used the language of the local people which was at that time a non Indo-Iranian language, Hurrian




Mitanni was a state that existed between the 16th and 13th centuries BC. This state occupied the land of the Hurrians. This area is located in the upper Tigris-Euphrates basin, and corresponds today with northern Iraq, Syria, and southeastern Turkey. At its greatest extent, the territory controlled by Mitanni extended all the way to the Mediterranean coast on its west, and into Assyria / Mesopotamia on its southeast. The strength and influence of Mitanni was so great that at one time, it was part of the ‘Great Power Club’, which included Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and the Kingdom of Hatti. Today, however, this powerful kingdom has been reduced to hardly more than a name and a handful of archaeological and linguistic hypotheses, and few had even heard of this ancient kingdom, hence making it a ‘forgotten empire’.  

The Rise of Mitanni

It has been suggested that the rise of Mitanni occurred during the time when the Old Babylonian Empire was in decline. The weakening of the latter provided an opportunity for the former to expand its borders. Alternatively, some have said that the Hittite destruction of Alep (Aleppo) and its sack of Babylon allowed new states to emerge in the region, including Mitanni. Nonetheless, little is known about the early kings of Mitanni. This is due to the fact that much of Mitanni’s culture and records would later be destroyed by the Assyrians. However, thanks to correspondence with foreign powers, the names of these early Mitanni rulers have been preserved.

Conflicts with Egypt

Around the end of the 16th century BC, Mitanni (which was then under the rule of Parattarna) took control of Alep, an important Syrian city located halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates River. The presence of Mitanni in Syria would bring it into conflict with another ancient superpower - Egypt, whose pharaohs, most notably Thutmose III, were also interested in controlling this region. In the middle of the 15th century BC (possibly 1457 BC) Mitanni took part in the famous Battle of Megiddo. During this battle, Mitanni sided with the king of Kadesh, and was defeated by the Egyptians, who were led by Thutmose III.

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