Anatolia Story - History

In my last blog post I introduced you to the historical fantasy manga Anatolia Story, explaining that after revisiting that manga (for the umpteenth time) I started reading up on the actual history behind the manga series. The mangaka (artist) really did an amazing job with it - the history is, for the most part, accurate, with only small modifications involving the Japanese protagonist. I highly recommend the series for an engaging glimpse into Hittite customs, clothing, religion and history!

The protagonist of Anatolia Story was most likely based on, or at least inspired by, the Hittite queen Puduhepa. A priestess of Ishtar (the goddess of love, war, fertility and sexuality), she married the king Hattusili III and is considered one of the most influential women known from the Ancient Near East. She was portrayed as reigning hand in hand with her husband and featured prominently at his side as he made his rulings and decisions, playing an important role in the Hittite court and international diplomacy of the period. Her husband Hattusili III was the fourth son of Mursili II, the love interest of the manga's protagonist Yuri Suzuki.

In actual history, the king Mursili II married a woman named Gassulawiya and had four children by her, also marrying and having (unrecorded) children with a second wife named Tanuhepa. He ruled from ca. 1321-1295 BC, succeeding his brother Arnuwanda II and being succeeded by his son Muwatalli II. Muwatalli II was succeded by his own son, but Mursili III only reigned for approx. 5 years before his uncle Hattusili III defeated and exiled him during the course of a civil war.

Confusing? Here's the order:
Suppiluliuma I (father) --> Arnuwanda II (brother) --> Mursili II --> Muwatalli II (son) --> Mursili III (grandson) --> Hattusili III (son)

The storyline of the manga series takes place during the time of Mursuli II, with Yuri arriving in Anatolia during the reign of Suppiluliuma I, living through the very short reign of Arnuwanda II, and marrying Mursili II not long after he assumes the throne. In the series both Suppiluliuma I and Arnuwanda II are killed through plots of Suppiluliuma's wife to place her only son (the youngest of the princes) on the throne; in actual history, both regents succumb to a plague brought to the Hittite Empire by Egyptian captives.

While Mursili II is portrayed as a born ruler in the manga, in Hittite records Mursili is stated to be relatively young and inexperienced upon his unexpected accession to the thone. His prosperous reign however shows that the fiction may not be far from the fact.

Battles and political complications portrayed in the manga are also generally accurate, though the final battle and peace treaty between Egypt and the Hittite Empire did not take place under the reign of Mursili II. The Battle of Kadesh was during the reign of Muwatalli II and was probably the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving some 5,000-6,000 chariots. Dating to 1274 BC, it is also the earliest battle in recorded history for which details of tactics and formations are known. The peace treaty concluded at Kadesh to end the conflict between the two empires is the earliest known peace treaty in world history and was decided between pharaoh Ramses II and king Hattusili III. (Fun fact: Ramses II was a redhead!) The Hittite king's wife, Puduhepa, played an important part in the discussions surrounding the treaty.
(Click the images to see them bigger, and don't forget to read right to left!)

However, during this time the Assyrians were gaining power, and Hattusili's son was the last strong Hittite king able to keep the Assyrians out of the Hittite heartland, though he lost territory to them. Soon after that the Hittite Empire met its end, with the capital city, Hattusa, being destroyed by the Phrygians and Aramaeans as part of the Bronze Age collapse. Suppiluliuma II was the last known king of the Hittite Empire, ruling c. 1207-1178 BC.

To put it into perspective: The New Kingdom of the Hittite Empire had its peak under King Suppiluliuma I, and met its end during the reign of the king's great-great-grandson (Suppiluliuma I --> Mursili II --> Hattusili III --> Tudhaliya IV --> Suppiluliuma II). Egypt was just entering its Twentieth Dynasty and the end of its own New Kingdom, marking the end of Egypt's most prosperous and powerful time. The two great powers of the time either disappeared completely or were conquered and ruled by foreigners.


It's really a fascinating time in history, and I highly recommend perusing the entries on Wikipedia a little! The History of the Hittites and the History of Egypt are fascinating - the latter being a lot longer and more complete than the former. (Fun fact: Most scholars believe that the Anatolian languages split from the rest of Proto-Indo-European much earlier than the other divisions of the proto-language! (Other "old" Indo-European languages are Sanskrit, Latin and Ancient Greek, among other languages. Hittite doesn't have the Indo-European gender system masculine-femenine, but rather a noun-class system with an animate-inanimate opposition. Neat!))

There really are so many interesting things about this time frame, and I hope this was a good introduction! What a fascinating topic.