Mitanni Empire: Political History

1500 BCE - Mitanni Empire / Kingdom (All Facts)

• Established in the Near East, its capital is centered at Washukani

• Its influence extended as far away as Jerusalem, to Alalakh on the Mediterranean coast, and to Arrapkha on the lower Zab, a tributary of the Tigris

• Its people and rulers spoke the local Hurrian language, an Indo-European language related to Vedic, which, at the time, was being spoken as far away as India

• The Mesopotamian power was plagued by wars, mostly arising from conflicts about the succession of power amongst the ruling families

  • Each group vying for power sought help from other nations including the Egyptians and the Hittites which each of those groups used to their advantage for extending their own power in the region

• Its people worshipped various gods but rarely did so having only done so in times of peace

• Only a few of its cities managed to avoid war

Artatama (All Policies)

• His name meant “he who resides in the divine law”

Tushratta (All Policies)

• His name meant “he who possesses the splendid chariot”

• His death marked the end of stable rule around 1360 BCE

Shaushtatar (All Policies)

• Mitanni King that brought an end to the “Old Kingdom” of Assyria and defeated and reigned over Assyria, to which the Mitanni would rule over Assyria for the next 200 years

• Was defeated by Ashur-uballit I

1360 BCE - 1260 BCE - Collapse of the Mitanni Kingdom (All Facts)

• Phenomenon overseeing the breaking apart of the namesake entity, having never recovered from the plundering of their capital by the Hittites, which led to a series of civil wars