Tudhaliya

Tudhaliya is a royal given name used by several Hittite kings in the second millennium BCE. The name is attested in cuneiform inscriptions and king lists from the Hittite heartland in central Anatolia. In modern scholarship the name is often transliterated as Tudhaliya or Tudhaliyas, and it appears in multiple reigns across different periods of Hittite history. Because the surviving sources are fragmentary and the chronology of early Hittite rulers is debated, the sequence and dates of Tudhaliya I, II, III, and IV vary among researchers, but all are associated with dynastic consolidation and interstate diplomacy during the Old Kingdom and the Bronze Age.

Etymology and usage: Tudhaliya is a Hittite royal epithet that Reappears across generations, reflecting the dynastic practice of reusing names. The precise meaning of the name remains uncertain in current scholarship, though it is clearly tied to the royal identity and legitimacy of the holder.

Historical context: The Tudhaliyas are documented for their roles in expanding or stabilizing Hittite power in central Anatolia, as well as for engagement with neighboring powers such as Egypt, Mitanni, and northern states. Their reigns are inferred from palace archives at Hattusa and other contemporary inscriptions, though the details of each king’s campaigns, treaties, and domestic policies are unevenly preserved.

Legacy: The name Tudhaliya exemplifies a recurring dynastic pattern in Hittite rule, where a single name could be associated with multiple rulers across generations. This practice has necessitated scholarly efforts to distinguish the individual reigns and to place them within the broader framework of Hittite political and diplomatic history.

See also: Hittite Empire, Hattusa, Hittite chronology.