Letters from the Hittite Kingdom (Writings from the Ancient World/Society of Biblical Literature) Paperback – July 5, 2009

A collection of 3000-year-old letters, preserved on clay tablets, makes for fascinating reading, for the right reader. Admittedly, most general readers would probably find the letters of little interest, but they -- mostly to and from various Hittite kings, but some from other royal family members or scribes -- give a vivid, kaleidoscopic picture of life among the Hittite elite. Occasionally, the writers engaged in biting sarcasm (To one unsuccessful general, the king wrote: "So -- was the enemy enchanted, that you did not recognize him?"; and to a presumptuous Assyrian king who took too many familiarities, the Hittite king blasted back: "Why then should I call you 'brother'? Were you and I born of the same mother?"). At times, the letters speak of wars and great international affairs, at other times only of law suits or seemingly trivial matters ("Read my greetings aloud to Pulli and say: 'Send me the ox that you promised me.'") A number of the letters speak to the vexed question of whether the Mycenaean Greeks and the Trojan War perhaps appear in the Hittite historical archives.This collection contains all the known (relatively) well-preserved Hittite letters, well over a hundred of them (many others have been found only in fragmentary form and so are not included), presented both in transliterated Hittite and English translation.

Hoffner's Letters from the Hittite Kingdom is a scholarly but approachable collection of translations and commentary on an extensive corpus of letters from the Hittite capital of Hattusa as well as other provincial centers from 1600 to 1200 BCE . Hoffner begins with a thorough introduction to ancient Near Eastern letter writing. He summarizes his book in this manner:"It will be the purpose of this book to acquaint the wider public to the rich epistolary documentation of the ancient Hittite kingdom. The approach will be as follows. First, the subject of letter writing will be explored as it manifests itself in all the major kingdoms of the ancient Hear East (Egypt, Syro-Palestine, Anatolia, Assyria, and Babylonia). Secondly, the practice of writing, sending, receiving, and storing of letters in the Hittite kingdom itself will be outlined. This will provide the necessary background for the understanding of the present letter corpus, which forms the third major division."Hoffner's first two sections are invaluable for anyone wishing to understand how the Hittite king maintained communications throughout his empire. No personal letters have survived, only official mail either between the king or queen and others, or between governmental or military officials.The letters themselves tantalize the lay reader with glimpses into this complex empire, but they will also frustrate at times since too often the clay tablet is broken off or illegible just at the place where the key information was originally written down. Additionally, the translation of the Hittite language is still a work in progress and, while Hoffner is one of the very foremost scholars of Hittite philology, the meaning of some words in these letters remains to be unlocked. Do not expect to read long, flowing discourses. Instead the reader gains insight in starts and stops as the vagaries of current knowledge and clay tablet survival permit.At times the voice of the writer (or more often person dictating the letter to a scribe) comes through vividly, as in a letter from the Hittite king (either Muwattalli II or Mursili III) to King Adad-nirari I of Assyria. The Assyrian king has committed the apparently unforgiveable gaff of addressing the Hittite king as "Brother," the standard term of address between the Great Kings, such as the Egyptian pharaoh and the Hittite king. At this point in time the Assyrian king is not included in this exclusive club of equals."So you've become a "Great King," have you? But why do you continue to speak about "brotherhood" and about coming to Mt. Ammana? What is this, (this) "brotherhood"? ... For what reason should I call you my "brother"? (From page 323)At other times the letters sound more like a conversation on a bad cell-phone connection--disconnected words that never quite form sense."Because I deferred (lit., "rose") to Your Majesty, ... to Your Majesty, ...to Your Majesty, my lord, a finished word...across the...not yet anywhere...I will take the matter in hand, and will look the matters over..., and will write it to the (regional?) palace... the princess of Babylonia not yet...will come down quickly." from page 346)Read cover to cover, Letters from the Hittite Kingdom will give the dedicated reader a much deeper sense of the Hittite world than secondary sources alone can provide. To hear through these letters the actual voices of Hittite kings, queens, and officials from 1600 to 1200 BCE is an awe-inspiring experience.

Maybe it is great for some specialists on this particular matter, but the selection of the sources and the book organization make it much less usable for more general audience interested in Mediterranean history of Late Bronze (like me).