Mursili

Mursili is a Hittite given name that was borne by several rulers of the ancient Anatolian kingdom. In the standard royal lists, the name refers to three kings: Muršili I, Muršili II, and Muršili III. The form Muršili appears in Hittite cuneiform, with various transliterations in modern scholarship.

Muršili I is traditionally numbered among the early kings of the Hittite state following Hattusili I. He is credited with expanding the early Hittite realm into parts of Syria and helping establish the imperial model that would characterize the later kingdom. In later Hittite chronicles, he is associated with the sacking of Babylon, though the historicity of this event is debated. His reign is placed toward the end of the 17th to early 16th century BCE, marking a formative phase in Hittite power.

Muršili II is the best-documented of the bearers of the name and governed during the empire’s height in the late 13th century BCE. His rule saw extensive military and diplomatic activity across Syria and the Levant, the strengthening of Hittite institutions, and a legacy of annals that provide much of what survives about the empire’s administration and warfare. He engaged with neighboring powers in the region, including Mitanni and, in the broader historical narrative, the broader geopolitical milieu of the eastern Mediterranean.

Muršili III is a later ruler who appears in Hittite king lists but is comparatively obscure in the surviving records. His reign is thought to have occurred in the 13th century BCE and is characterized by limited documentary evidence, resulting in many gaps in the historical account.

Across these figures, the name Muršili marks a thread of dynastic continuity within the Hittite state, reflecting its enduring political and military reach across several centuries.