Unsmote by the Sword

[Kaiphranos]

(Author's note: This is the first time I've tried to make a timeline. Please feel free to let me know what you think; constructive criticism is particularly welcome.)

Preface
The POD here is that the Hittite king Tudhaliya III dies in battle, fighting one of the many enemies whom the Hittites were facing at the time--enemies who had conquered much of the empire and sacked the capital, Hattusa. His son Suppiliuliuma, already a respected general, is forced to retreat to the city of Samuha with the remnants of the army. There he declares himself king--although technically he is not Tudhaliya's designated successor, there's really no one in a position to dispute things at this point. However, it is too late in the year to return to battle--the reconquest of the heartland will have to wait for spring.

Chapter 1: The Mother of Invention
A cold wind whistles through the tents and shanties of the encampment that has grown up outside the walls of Samuha, carrying with it a few flakes of snow. It blows past the gate, where red-faced watchmen shiver even beneath their heavy cloaks and stamp their booted feet on the hard earth. Even in the governor's palace, where My Sun, the Great King of Hatti, Suppiluliuma I holds court, the flames in the braziers flicker in a draft, and the gathered courtiers and commanders can feel a chill.

A commander of the chariotry is reporting on the status of his squadron.
"My Sun, we are in bad shape. Before the battle, I had forty chariots. Now, I have thirteen that could drive tomorrow, and another ten that can be repaired before spring." What he lacks in formality, he makes up for in urgency, and Suppiluliuma has never been one to stand much on formality anyway. Murmurs of agreement are running around the room.

"And what of your horses?"

"My Sun, there we are better off. Many survived the battle--enough to make up thirty teams, perhaps."

"Very well." The king turns to the governor of Samuha, who stands beside him. "Are there craftsmen in this city who have skill in building chariots?"

The governor talks with his retinue for a moment. "My Sun, there are not many. My Master of Stables could tell you better than I."

The king turns back to the commander of chariots. "Hear the words of the Great King: go with the Master of Stables. Find the craftsmen who have skill in building chariots. Do what you can to ensure that your men will be ready to fight when the spring comes. Report back to me in seven days. The Great King has spoken." The commander bows and departs. Soon afterwards, he is met by the Master of Stables, and the two head of to find a craftsman.

The results are not promising. Only a couple of men in the city have had experience building chariots. Even if they work all through the winter, there will not be enough when the campaigning season rolls around. Tazzukuli, the commander of chariots, and Himuili, the Master of Stables meet to discuss the report.

"The Great King will not be pleased," Tazzukuli warns. "We have too many horses and not enough chariots."

"Well, just ride the horses, then," Himuili mutters, half-jokingly.

Tazzukuli isn't amused. "You can't fight from horseback--not with lance or with bow. Far too easy to fall off. And it's hard on the horses, too."

Himuili thinks for a moment. "What if the rider had something to sit on?" he suggests. "Something that would keep the rider from falling off, and spread the weight over the horse's back?"

"Where would you find something like that?" Tazzukuli asks. His tone is still skeptical, but his mind is starting to run through the possibilities. A man on horseback could move as fast as a chariot, but could move over rough ground where chariots couldn't go. Wouldn't that be a surprise for the Kaska hill-men...

"Perhaps the craftsmen could make something," Himuili suggests. "And besides, I don't want to report that we have nothing to report..."

And so, an idea is born.

 

[Workable Goblin]

Hm, there aren't many Hittite TLs on here--and one involving early development of cavalry and saddles, too! Very interesting, consider me subscribed.

EDIT: (or really, early stuff that doesn't involve the Big Ones--Rome, Greece, Persia, Egypt)

 

[Kaiphranos]

Chapter 2: The Sun in Winter

Before a week had passed, the two men had prepared a prototype of their new device, and tested it on one of Tazzukuli's unenthusiastic chariot horses. The results were less than inspiring, though the two of them managed to avoid any broken bones. It was Tazzukuli who suggested the addition of leather loops for the rider's feet, which seemed to improve the experience for the rider, if not for the horse.

The day of the audience arrived. The two men waited outside the throne room in trepidation--if the Great King rejected their proposal, they would be back where they had been a week ago, with the news that most of chariots could not before repaired before the spring.

"Himuili, Master of Stables! Tazzukuli, Commander of Fifty Chariots! Rise and enter the presence of My Sun, the Beloved of the Storm-God of Hatti, the Great King Suppiluliuma!" The herald's booming voice echoed in the small waiting room.

The two entered the throne room, Tazzukuli carrying the bundle that contained the fruits of their labors. The room was emptier than it had been a week ago--only a few soldiers and high-ranking men of the city waited on the king's bidding. They approached to within ten paces of the throne--a plain wooden chair, really--and went to their knees before the Great King.

"Rise, my servants," said Suppiluliuma. "Report to me on the status of the chariots. How many will be ready in three months' time?"

"My Sun, the news is not good. Experienced craftsmen are few in this city, and so only those chariots that are least badly damaged can be repaired. Of my squadron, that will make three-and-twenty," Tazzukuli replies reluctantly.

"And you are a Commander of Fifty?" Suppiluliuma notes. "Go on. I take it you have more to say. What is in the bundle?"

Himuili speaks. "My Sun, it may be the answer to your prayers." They lift the cloth from the bundle to reveal their device. "With this, which we have called a saddle, a man may fight from the back of a horse, without any chariot at all. And we think that the craftsmen of this city may be able to produce many of these before spring, for they are much easier to build than chariots." Around the room, military men are muttering to each other. Most are immediately opposed to this newfangled contraption, but one or two have started to see the possibilities.

The debate rages for several minutes before the young king raises his hand for silence. "Hear the words of the Great King: Let Tazzukili and Himuili build a hundred of these saddles, and train men in the use of them. The men should be volunteers, brave men of good family, skilled with bow or lance. Know that these men shall be fighting under the eye of the Great King, and shall be called the Companions of the Great King." He pauses for a moment, then continues: "But neither shall we neglect our chariotry, so long the mainstay of our army. Let the craftsmen of Samuha do what they can to repair our chariots, and let all of our troops stay in practice this winter. We will need both the strength of our right arms and the cunning of our minds, as well as the favor of the gods, if we are to recover all of of what we have lost. The Great King has spoken."

 

[Rex Britanniae]

This is very interesting. We have few ancient timelines on this site. I will follow this if it continues.

 

[Nikephoros]

I'm not so sure about the feasibility of this, but besides that, I'm interested to see what historical changes occur because of this.

I've little problem with these kind of scenarios, provided that they at least treat everything else realistically.

 

[Jammy]

Looks interesting, ill watch this one

 

[Kaiphranos]

Chapter 3: Annus Mirabilis

From the Deeds of Suppiluliuma, as recorded by his son and successor, Arnuwanda II:
"Now when my father took the throne, the Kaska were all in the land of Hatti. The Hayasan enemy was also in the land of Hatti[...] they did much evil in the land. Hattusa and all the cities[...] the enemy had taken all the [...] and burned [...]. Then my father went out from the city of Samuha, and in the land that was ruined by the enemy, he found the enemy there. The gods marched with him; the Sun Goddess of Arinna, The Storm God of Hatti, the Storm God of the Army, and [...]. The enemy died in multitude. [He took] many prisoners, and he brought them back to the city of Samuha. [...] My father and his [companions] set an ambush and [smote] the Kaska. The captives he took [were countless.]

Because my father built fortifications behind the plundered towns of the whole land, which had been plundered by the enemy, he led back the population, everyone to his own town, and the people occupied their ruined towns again. And when he arrived in Hatti, my father began to pour out grain like what had been burnt up [...] Civilian captives, cattle, (and) sheep [...]

Then [my father] spoke, "Let us go against the Arzawan enemy." So my father and his companions and his chariots and all the troops [...] entered into the land of Arzawa...


"What do you think of them?" Himuili asked one day, as he and Tazzukuli watched the Companions drill.

Tazzukuli shrugged. "I've seen better javelin-throwers," he said, gesturing at the field where a troop aimed at straw targets. "And I've seen better archers, and better men with a lance. But these men? For now, I suppose, there's no one like them in all the world."

The spring that year was as green as any that the land had seen, and by the time the new grass had sprouted, the army was ready to move. Among them were the Companions--the craftsmen of the city had worked tirelessly all through the cold months, and the soldiers had practiced as much as they could with the new equipment.

The Great King had decreed that his first move would be to restore Hittite rule in the heartland to the west, calculating also that this would allow him to make contact with other pockets of resistance against the invading tribes. And indeed, as the army pushed west, its numbers were swelled by a trickle of foot soldiers and chariots from hamlets and fortresses that had escaped sack. From time to time, roving bands of Kaska were met as well, and these were quickly overwhelmed.

It was near Hattusa itself that the army saw its first real action of the season. Refugees brought word to the Great King that a large encampment of the enemy was to be found nearby, and so Suppiluliuma, having in mind a plan, sent his scouts to find out more. The Kaska, too, had been warned of the approach of their enemy, and so the chieftains gathered their warriors and moved to confront the Great King's threat.

The two forces met near a river, where the Hittite army had been encamped. The Kaska had hoped to arrive with little warning, and to trap their foes against the river where they could not escape, but the chieftains found the army already deployed to meet them. If any among the Kaska had noted the absence of most of the Hittite chariot corps, they must have thought nothing of it, for the warriors rushed to engage the steady ranks of infantry, and a great shout went up as axe met spear. At first, it seemed as if all was going well for the hillmen, as the lines of spears began to buckle beneath the weight of their onset. But as soon as the last warband had been committed to the fray, the Hittite chariots and Companions erupted from a ravine in the hills behind the Kaska. Trapped between two forces, the Kaska were utterly crushed. Those who did not surrender were chased down and slaughtered; few survived to spread word of the defeat.

More successes followed thereafter, and soon the countryside was wiped almost clean of the invaders. A few emissaries sent with gold to the clans who had stayed in the hills meant that the Kaska soon had to face dissension within their ranks, as one tribe after another withdrew to their homelands and their old feuds. By the start of the summer, Suppiluliuma felt confident enough to begin detaching contingents of the infantry to help with rebuilding. And craftsmen were sent back to Samuha to learn the tricks of making the new equipment--the Companions had fought well in the spring's campaigns, and the Great King had noticed a growing interest among his nobles, particularly the younger set.

A series of raids against the city of Hayasa in the east, under the seasoned commander Takuri, left Suppiluliuma free to face another enemy--the southwestern kingdom of Arzawa, who had taken advantage of the chaos the previous year to seize several cities along the border. Giving command of the infantry to another veteran campaigner, with orders to meet him in the south, the Great King set off with a picked force of chariotry and the Companions, hoping to take the Arzawans by surprise. The plan worked like a charm. Two cities fell at the first assault, and by the time the infantry arrived, Suppiluliuma had already invested the third. Soon after, he defeated an Arzawan column sent to relieve the city, whereupon the garrison surrendered. Leaving his own garrison in its place, he pushed on to the fourth city, which fell after a more protracted siege.

With the campaigning season drawing to a close, Suppiluliuma returned to Samuha, where he prepared once more to settle in for the winter. The situation looked much better for Hatti than it had at the start of the year, with most of the Halys River basin once again under the Great King's control, the hillmen vanquished, and Arzawa chastised. Already, plans were being put in place to prepare for the next year's campaigning...

 

[robertp6165]

Interesting, but there are a few major problems with this scenario that are being handwaved away.

1) There is a reason why Bronze Age Kingdoms fielded large numbers of very expensive chariots instead of hordes of cheap cavalry. Early reliefs such as those of Egypt or Assyria rarely depict people riding horses, and those that are depicted are usually message riders or some such. You really don't have much evidence for actual cavalry being used until about 800 BC. The reason for this is that early horses were quite small...most were 13 hands or less, whereas a modern riding horse is between 14.2 and 17 hands tall. While a small horse can carry an adult-sized human, it will do so with difficulty and will not have great endurance. They were quite suitable for pulling chariots, but until larger animals were bred...which seems to have happened between 900 and 800 BC, possibly by the Scythians or some related steppe tribe...cavalry was not really all that feasible.

2) The idea that the king's craftsmen will immediately come up with the saddle AND the stirrup at once is almost in ASB territory. Both of these were things that developed over long periods in OTL.

--The earliest saddle was simply a blanket with a little padding added, with a strap to go around the horse's girth to hold it on the horse's back. This was not developed until about 800 BC.

--The earliest stirrup was simply a small loop of leather, which fitted around the big toe and allowed easier mounting. It had no utility for improving the steadiness of the rider, or allowing the rider to use weapons from horseback. This did not appear until, maybe, 500 BC at the earliest.

While I could possibly accept that something akin to the earliest saddle (i.e. a padded blanket with an attached belly strap to hold it on the horse's back) and the earliest stirrup (i.e. a simple toe loop to assist mounting) might POSSIBLY be developed in tandem at an earlier date than OTL, the resulting devices would not greatly enhance a warrior's ability to fight on horseback. The saddle would not more than minimally increase his ability to stay seated on horseback, and the toe loop would not allow him to keep his seat while swinging a sword or charging with couched lance. The scenario being proposed here clearly envisages something much more advanced, skipping over whole stages in the evolution of the saddle and the stirrup. This is just not realistic.

--It would take a while for cavalry tactics and horse-riding techniques to develop. These don't develop suddenly overnight. It's more than just "climb up on the back of the horse, pick up your weapons, and fight." If you look at Assyria, for example, the earliest "cavalrymen" sat well back on their horses...meaning they couldn't move quickly...and operated in pairs, with one man firing a bow while the other held the reins of his horse. This gradually changed, and 200 years later, the Assyrian cavalry were sitting in the modern position, well forward on the horse, and were operating singly rather than in pairs. To assume the Hittites are going to master all this over the course of a summer is, again, not realistic. It's going to take them YEARS, not months, to get to the point where their cavalry will be effective.

When you combine the lack of a suitable war horse, the unlikelihood that an effective saddle and stirrup would be developed at so early a date, and the fact that, even if the first two existed, it's going to take quite some time to develop the know-how to use them properly, the scenario really strains the limits of plausibility.

 

[Kaiphranos]

You really don't have much evidence for actual cavalry being used until about 800 BC. The reason for this is that early horses were quite small...most were 13 hands or less, whereas a modern riding horse is between 14.2 and 17 hands tall. While a small horse can carry an adult-sized human, it will do so with difficulty and will not have great endurance.

Yeah, I realize this. My basic explanation at the moment is that the people riding them don't quite realize that this is a problem yet. Once things settle down a bit, someone will start looking to breed or acquire larger, stronger horses.

2) The idea that the king's craftsmen will immediately come up with the saddle AND the stirrup at once is almost in ASB territory. Both of these were things that developed over long periods in OTL.

Again, I agree. In fact, the design that they have come up with doubtless has some important flaws which no one has realized, though they have managed to skip the blanket stage entirely. And while one of the characters suggests that the proto-stirrups (which, indeed, are just loops of leather) may help him stay in the saddle, he is not necessarily correct.

--It would take a while for cavalry tactics and horse-riding techniques to develop. These don't develop suddenly overnight. It's more than just "climb up on the back of the horse, pick up your weapons, and fight." ... To assume the Hittites are going to master all this over the course of a summer is, again, not realistic. It's going to take them YEARS, not months, to get to the point where their cavalry will be effective.

Once again, your argument is very valid. So far, all the Hittites have done is transfer old tactics to slightly different step of equipment. About all they can do at this point is stay on the horse, maybe fight a bit--certainly not as well as if they were in chariots.

This brings up a point which perhaps I have not made clear: on an absolute scale, this new cavalry is not very good at all. The Great King has agreed to give them a try out of necessity, but the most that can be said for them is that they have not really screwed up yet. Most of what Suppiluliuma has done in this ATL, he seems to have accomplished in OTL without cavalry. However, because he has been successful so far in this ATL, and because he has the first cavalry in this ATL, people will believe the cavalry to be partly responsible for the successes, even if this is not actually the case. Correlation does not imply causation, but to the Bronze Age mind, they may be harder to separate. And so, the Great King's successes may encourage them to keep trying with this cavalry business.

Thank you for taking the time to look of it, and thank you also to the various posters who have expressed their interest.

 

[Kaiphranos]

Chapter 4: Cities and Thrones and Powers

The next few years were tumultuous ones, as the armies of the resurgent Hittite kingdom marched back and forth across the country--for the land of Hatti faced enemies in every direction. Once the Kaska in the north had been defeated, the Arzawans in the west had to be dealt with. After that, the provocations of the eastern city of Hayasa become too great to ignore. No sooner had the punitive expedition been dispatched than word came of another Arzawan incursion in the west. And in between the raids, sieges, ambushes, and pitched battles, there remained a battered countryside and ruined cities to restore and rebuild.

Chief of these was Hattusa, the capital, burnt by the Kaska invaders. Suppiluliuma rebuilt the city, strengthened its walls and gates, and enlarged its palaces. Even before the work was finished, the Great King and his court returned to take up residence in the city, relieving Samuha of its duties as a temporary capital. Gradually, the years of recovery ran their course.

From time to time, travelers brought news from other lands, sometimes garbled beyond comprehension. Rumors floated north from Egypt that the Pharaoh's new god was now the only god in Egypt. Whispers of war came from the cities of the Levant, hinting at the weakening of Egypt's grip on Syria. With his half-brother Artashumara dead, Tushratta sat secure on the throne of Mitanni. In Babylon, Burnaburiash was beginning to doubt the allegiance of his Assyrian vassals. Across the sea, the chieftains of the Ahhiyawa squabbled amongst themselves. And closer to home, word came to Suppiluliuma of a crisis in the land of Mira, on the Arzawan border--an opportunity, perhaps, to deal with the Arzawan threat once and for all.

It was late one evening when two chariots came rattling up to the Lion Gate of Hattusa. At first, the guards were reluctant to allow a visitor to enter the city so near to curfew, but their attitude quickly changed when the tired man in the travel-worn clothes revealed himself to be none other than Mashwiluwa, the former king of the land of Mira--forced by his brother's Arzawan allies to abdicate the throne or face death. With the help of a few loyal retainers, he had escaped his brother's clutches, and had come to seek asylum at the court of the Hittite king.

Suppiluliuma wasted no time in acting. The exiled king was given every amenity, right down to a fresh robe from the Great King's own stores--and within two days he had been sent off again with a Hittite army at his back and a Hittite general at his side. Meanwhile, Suppiluliuma put the second part of his plan into motion. Taking with him the bulk of his chariot corps, and with his Companions to serve as scouts and skirmishers, the Great King set off for the Arzawan frontier. Gambling that the Arzawan king would have his attention fixed firmly on Mira, especially when word of Mashuwiluwa's impending return reached him, Suppiluliuma aimed to devastate the land of Arzawa and even to take the capital, Apasa.

His gamble paid off. East of Mira, Mashuwiluwa and his Hittite allies met Anzapahhaddu, king of Arzawa, on the field of battle. Tactically, the battle was a draw, as Anzapahhaddu's chariots inflicted heavy losses on the lines of Hittite spears but could not drive them from the field. Politically, however, the battle was a victory for the allies, as news of the king's return brought loyalists out of the woodwork. And in the south, Suppiluliuma's army raced towards Apasa, almost outrunning word of their coming, and leaving a pall of smoke from burning cities in their wake.

By the time the first survivors from his scattered garrisons reached him with news of the Great King's attack, Anzapahhaddu was thoroughly entrenched in Mira, facing both a Hittite army and those Mirans loyal to Mashuwiluwa. Abandoning his Miran puppets, he raced south in an attempt to halt Suppiluliuma's advance. He was too late. His army, exhausted from the march, met Suppiluliuma's forces outside the still-smoldering ruins of Apasa. The result was a massacre--Anzapahhaddu himself fell in the battle, a Hittite arrow in his throat, and many of his soldiers surrendered after their king's death. His golden chariot was taken back to Hattusa as plunder, and a distant cousin was left to rebuild the kingdom, under the watchful eyes of Hittite "advisors."

With Mira now in the hands of a loyal Hittite ally, and Arzawa under the Hittite thumb, the other kingdoms of southern and western Anatolia were quick to make peace. Even the king of distant Wilusa reaffirmed his allegiance, and sent twenty of his country's famous horses as a gift to Suppiluliuma. By now, all that had been lost under Suppiluliuma's father Tudhaliya had been restored, and more besides. A less ambitious man might have rested there, content with such an achievement. Suppiluliuma, however, looked to the east.

 

[Workable Goblin]

So basically, the pure cavalry are a wunderwaffen, and Awesome but Impractical at this point? Otherwise, so far quite an impressive achievement from the literary and technical standpoints. I don't know all that much about the period, so I'll have to keep out of that, though.

 

[Kaiphranos]

I figured a map might be helpful, and possibly of interest to some. Most borders are quite arbitrary, but everything should be in about the right place.

Spaces in white are not aligned with any of the powers. The westernmost one in Anatolia is Wilusa; the one in Syria is Amurru. Alasiya (Cyprus) is shown as independent for the time being, but it tended to fall into the Hittite orbit.

Some of the allied/vassal areas also have names--the two Hittite ones are Mira and Arzawa. The northwestern Mitanni vassal is Isuwa; the northernmost Egyptian one is Byblos, or Gubla.

 

[Kaiphranos]

Chapter 5: The Isuwa Issue

To the east of Hatti lay the land of Isuwa on the upper Euphrates, nestled among the snow-capped peaks of the Anti-Taurus mountains. Once it had been a bulwark of the Hittite kingdom, and a gateway to the riches of the south and east, but during the reign of Suppiluliuma's grandfather Arnuwanda it had fallen under the sway of Mitanni. Now, at times, raiding parties would issue forth from its valleys, led by Hurrian princelings eager for fame and plunder. With the defeat of Arzawa complete, Suppiluliuma looked to deal with this perennial problem.

Like Suppiluliuma, the Mitannian king Tushratta was still new on the throne, having taken power after his half-brother Artashumara was overthrown. But unlike the Hittite king, who had commanded armies even before taking the throne, Tushratta was young and inexperienced, and did not find it so easy to quell all opposition to his rule. When a distant cousin proclaimed himself "King of Hurri," he found some support among the eastern nobles. If that had been all, the problem might have ended there. Unfortunately for Tushratta, Suppiluliuma saw a chance to discomfit his eastern neighbor, and recognized the upstart Artatama in his position as "King of Hurri," sending an embassy with gifts of gold and weapons.

Leaving that pot to simmer, the Hittite king turned his attention back to Isuwa. It was too late in the year to contemplate a full-scale assault--besides, the Kaska were stirring in the north once more, and force might be required to prevent any trouble. Instead, he sent orders to the commanders at the easternmost Hittite strongholds, instructing them to stockpile additional food and fodder for the coming winter. Units of foot and chariots were moved into winter quarters at the eastern forts. Then, with snow thick on the ground, an attack was launched against the unsuspecting Isuwan garrisons, seizing control of certain key passes before the spring campaign.

The Isuwans were not to be caught completely unaware. Reports of the attacks reached the Isuwan king, even in the dead of winter, and he, in turn, sent a frantic message to his liege lord, Tushratta, requesting more troops for the spring. Tushratta, however, did not have troops to spare. The most he could do was to send a stiff note of protest to Suppiluliuma, threatening retribution if the Hittites raided beyond the west bank of the Euphrates. This did not worry Suppiluliuma in the least. With the melting of the snow, his armies were on the march.

Even with the advance warning, the Isuwan king was unable to face the Hittite army alone. After a brief but valiant resistance, he saw the writing on the wall, and surrendered. Suppiluliuma allowed him to retain his throne, though treaties restricted his power and authority, and his troops were incorporated into the Hittite army.

Suppiluliuma then crossed the Euphrates, pushing on towards Washshukkanni, the capital of Mitanni, and Tushratta fled before his advance. The city did not fall, however, and Suppiluliuma turned south towards Syria. His intent was to shake up the Syrian states that owed allegiance to Mitanni, but as he traveled south, he found the situation to be more complicated than he had expected. With the ebbing of Egyptian interest in the region, and with Mitanni preoccupied by Artatama's rebellion, a power vacuum had opened in northern Syria. While some of Tushratta's vassals put up a stiff resistance on behalf of their overlord, others were eager to establish a good relationship with this new Hittite power, and a few hoped to use Suppiluliuma's arrival as an opportunity to settle old scores with their neighbors.

Many of the Hittites' new "friends" and "allies" had grievances against Abdi-Asirta, the king of Amurru, who had recently been expanding his kingdom at their expense. Abdi-Asirta himself also made overtures to the Hittite king, expecting that he could play the Hittites as he had been playing the Egyptians and the Mitannians. Suppiluliuma was not aware of Abdi-Asirta's poor reputation, although many, including Rib-Haddi, the long-suffering king of Byblos, could have warned him of Abdi-Asirta's ambitions.

Not long after the Hittite army turned north once more, Abdi-Asirta was once again involving himself in intrigues with both of his other nominal overlords. Finally his games became too much for even the apathetic Egyptians to permit. At the behest of Pharaoh's loyal vassal Rib-Haddi, and in response to rumors that Abdi-Asirta had pledged his loyalty to the Hittite king, Pharaoh's commanders dispatched a force to Amurru with orders to conscript auxiliaries from the cities along the way. Abdi-Asirta wrote to both Suppiluliuma and Tushratta, begging for assistance, but neither had troops to spare for their erstwhile vassal. In fact, both of them had bigger problems on their minds than one little Syrian city-state.

 

[Workable Goblin]

This continues to be pretty interesting and unique. Good job so far, you've certainly kept me interested.

 

[Kaiphranos]

This continues to be pretty interesting and unique. Good job so far, you've certainly kept me interested.

Thanks. So far it's been pretty Hittite-centered, but soon I hope to start moving further afield, as the butterflies start to propagate. One thing about a PoD in the Bronze Age--you have the chance to wipe out pretty much every recognizable aspect of Western culture.

 

[Kaiphranos]

Yes, I realize it has been several months since I last added anything to this--what with real life and other things, I've gotten somewhat side-tracked. However, I still have some idea of where this is going. It might even get there, someday...

Chapter 6: Beneath the Onslaught of the Rebel Year

From the Deeds of Suppiluliuma, as recorded by his son and successor, Arnuwanda II:
In those days, there was much strife in the Hurri-lands [Mitanni], for Tushratta the king was weak, and the gods of Hurri did not favor him. Instead, a rebellion was raised up against the king [...] my father saw this and said [...] "Let Artatama be my brother [...] and his enemies will be my enemies," and sent him many gifts. Also he sent troops into the land of Isuwa, even in the winter[...] and made it Hittite again, as it had been in the time of his father's father.

Then my father once more gathered the armies, foot and chariots and companions [...] he went down to the Hurri-lands, and there he found much plunder, even before the gates of Washshukkanni [...] Then my father said, "Tushratta, why will you not face me? Will you not destroy me as you swore in Isuwa?" But Tushratta the king would not face him in battle. So my father [...] in Syria, and many cities [...] the cities of [...] were made obedient, and the kings of those cities swore that no more would they be faithful to Tushratta, but rather [...] to my father.

Then word came to my father that Tushratta had met Artatama on the field of battle and that Tushratta had fallen [...] his chariots were scattered and his soldiers fled. [...] And Artatama sent messengers to my father, asking [...]

Suppiluliuma had hoped to return to Syria the following year, but the circumstances made this impossible. For years, the northern frontier had been quiet; the Kaska clans embroiled in vendettas and unwilling to take on the Hittite garrisons. But when word reached the tribes that the Hittite king had withdrawn some of his troops to fight in distant Syria, feuds ended with mercurial swiftness, and last season's mortal enemies became this season's sworn brothers. And so Suppiluliuma was forced to bring his army north again to protect the heartland from the hill-man raiders.

In Mitanni, Tushratta's base of support was rapidly shrinking. More and more, the eastern nobles were joining Artatama's faction, while consequences of last summer's campaigns meant that he could no longer rely on support from many of the Syrian cities to the west. And so it was that when his army met Artatama's near the town of Nagar, sixty miles east of Washushukkani, they were of comparable size.

Despite what contemporary chronicles recorded, the battle of Nagar was a very near-run thing. Tushratta still had a slight edge in chariotry, but Artatama's army was larger and he had chosen his ground well. A low rise dominated the center of the battlefield, and it was here that Artatama deployed his infantry, many of whom were archers. His chariots he split into three units, positioning one on either flank, and holding the third in reserve, hidden behind the hill. Tushratta's army was divided into three contingents: two units of chariots, under command of Tushratta and one of his trusted generals, and the infantry following behind.

Initially, Tushratta was wary of engaging Artatama's infantry, so he ordered his first division to swing wide and attack the chariots on Artatama's left flank. This maneuver brought them within range of the bowmen on the hill, but a few casualties did not slow their advance; the two forces clashed, and Artatama's chariots were pushed back. Artatama sent his reserve from behind the hill to reinforce his left flank, and his right wing wheeled forward to meet Tushratta's second division.

The commander of Tushratta's first division, facing increased resistance, decided to pull back--and found himself in the midst of a melee between the second division and the chariots from Artatama's right wing. The rebels on the left flank, driving forward in pursuit of Tushratta's first division, also found themselves drawn into the swirling battle at the base of the hill--a tangle full of wounded men and horses and wrecked chariots, where clouds of dust made it hard to tell friend from foe.

In the confusion of the battle and its aftermath, it is not known whose arrow struck down Tushratta, King of Mitanni. Some say it was Artatama himself, although this is unlikely, as he had positioned himself with the reserves, and was therefore probably among the last to arrive on the field. Those with a taste for tragedy or irony say that it was one of his own commanders, who afterwards was stricken with grief. Most likely, it was one of Artatama's charioteers, who recognized the king at a distance and made a lucky shot. In any case, several of his retinue were close enough to see the king topple and fall into the dust--yet in the heat and chaos of the battle, few on Tushratta's side knew of the king's death until nightfall, when the two sides withdrew.

The morning found Tushratta's camp much depleted--many of his former supporters had fled in the night, some bearing word of the king's death to the capital, others returning to their estates. A few of the most opportunistic made their way to Artatama's camp, where they hoped to receive pardon or gain favor with the new king of Mitanni.

The new king quickly sent word of his victory to his ally, Suppiluliuma, pledging his brotherhood and his loyalty, and signing a treaty which recognized Hittite sovereignty over a great deal of formerly Mitanni territory, as well as a Hittite "sphere of influence" in Syria and the Levant. A marriage was also negotiated, with a Hittite princess sent south to be Artatama's new bride. And so, with his throne secure and with an ally to his north and west, Artatama looked east, to Assyria.

 

[Kome]

Cool. All the characters with foreign names is getting a bit confusing though. Most people dont do early history tl cause of butterflies i think, so, cool.

 

[Jammy]

I really like this, glad to see you've put a new but up

 

[Kaiphranos]

Cool. All the characters with foreign names is getting a bit confusing though. Most people dont do early history tl cause of butterflies i think, so, cool.

Thanks! I agree, the names could be an issue. If you have any suggestions about how to make that easier, I'd be interested in hearing them.

I really like this, glad to see you've put a new but up

Thank you! Hopefully it won't be another three months before the next update.