Muwatallis

King of the Hittites 1306-1282 BC.

    The territoral conquests which *Tuthmosis III had made in Syria were lost during the reign of *Akhenaten, having fallen to the *Hittites, but during the Nineteenth Dynasty *Sethos I and *Ramesses II sought to redress the balance. Muwatallis, the grandson of *Suppiluliumas and son of Mursilis II, inherited a stable kingdom in northern Syria, surrounded by vassal states He was determined to uphold the treaties that had been made with these princes and to deal with the new threat posed by *Ramesses II.

    The conflict between the *Hittites and *Ramesses II came to a head in Years 4/ 5 (1286/5 BC) of the latter's reign, when Egypt pushed northwards to recover Kadesh, which had fallen to the *Hittites. The Egyptian record, preserved in an epic poem—'The Battle of Kadesh'—inscribed on the walls of various temples, indicates that *Ramesses II enjoyed a resounding victory, for although he found himself surrounded by the *Hittites, he was able to rout the enemy aided only by his bodyguard. The Boghazkoy Tablets (found in the *Hittite archive) present a very different picture: according to *Khattusilis III (Muwatallis' brother), the Egyptian king was conquered and driven into retreat near Damascus, allowing Muwatallis to take possession of the neighbouring district of Aba.

    Muwatallis left a stable kingdom and an undisputed succession. Although he had no direct heir the throne passed to Urhi-Teshub, his son by a concubine.

BIBL. Gardiner, A.H. The Kadesh Inscriptions of Harnesses II. Oxford: 1960; Breasted, J.H. The Battle of Kadesh. Chicago: 1903.

Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David