The Lives of Hittite Women in the Late Bronze Age.

Debbie Turkilsen - student University of New England January 2014, Sydney.

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This article provide an in-depth examination and discussion into thelives of Hittite women.

Ever since the Hittite city of Boğazköy was discovered in

1834, Hittite people, their culture, and society have been a

great source of both archaeological and historical interest.

Their kings, known as one of the three Great Kings of the

Ancient Near East in the Late Bronze Age, has fascinated

scholars and readers alike. Hittite religion, and recently

their magic rituals, have also recently captivated academic

and public interest. However, there has been no definitive

scholarship concerning Hittite women. This essay will provide

a perspective on the role of Hittite women. It will provide an

in-depth analysis into the lives of Hittite women of all

classes, beginning with aspects of a Hittite woman’s life from

birth, through to marriage, and death. It will also examine

the lives of Hittite royal women and the so-called Wise Women,

who played an important role in the lives of Hittite people.

In the process, it will show that women in Hittite society had

an important role to play in many aspects of life. They could

have a career, they had law texts protecting their rights, and

the fact that they were able to carry and bear children was

highly respected. However, there were many downsides to being

of the female sex in Hittite society. This is by no means an

easy task: to date, thousands of written records have been

discovered and translated. However, no known private records

exist. Neither any family documents have been discovered, nor

any marriage contracts. However, by careful analysis of the

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Hittite laws, Royal Annals and treaties, as well as diplomatic

correspondence, ritual, divination, and religious texts, it is

possible to gain a glimpse of the lives of Hittite women.1 By

the end of this essay, an understanding of what the life of a

Hittite woman entailed will provide the reader with a

widespread understanding of their place in society.

The term used to signify Hittite women in the Land of Hatti

was MUNUS. A girl was identified as DUMU.MUNUS. A baby girl

was termed DUMU.MUNUS.GABA, an old woman as MUNUS.SU.GI, and

the female slave was identified as GEME.2 The female symbols

were the spindle and the distaff. Incantations provide

evidence that the birth of a female child was as highly valued

in Hittite society as the birth of a male child. These

incantations were recited right after the birth, when they

chanted “…give her the goods of a female child and let a male be born a year

forth…” If a male child had been born, this incantation was

recited in the reverse.3 As the act of procreation was deemed

very important in Hittite society it is easy to understand why

female births were highly welcomed. Demographic evidence

indicates that both infant and child mortality rates were as

high as 50%.4 There is evidence from King Mursili II’s Plague

1 Roth, M. T., Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, Atlanta, 1997, pp. 215-216: The Hittite Law texts are actually a combination of judgement guidelines concerning forbidden acts stemming from judicial decisions, and are not like our modern day law code system.2 Wilhelm, G., ‘Demographic Data from Hittite Land Tablets’, University of Wurzburg, 2009, p.227.3 London, J., ‘Hittite Birth Rituals’, in Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit, 1983, p. 132.4 Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 230.

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Prayers which show that the Hittite population suffered

considerably for nearly 20 years, with a large portion of the

people being decimated with disease. This was not the only

known case of plague in the Land of Hatti.5 In times of crisis

like these, the stress would have been laid upon Hittite women

to reproduce.

Hittite law texts clearly stated that a woman was to be

compensated if someone caused her to miscarry. Law text 17

declares that during the time of the New Empire (c.1500BC) a

free woman was to be compensated with 20 shekels of silver.

What is most surprising is that Law text 18 stipulated that a

female slave was to be compensated 10 shekels of silver if an

incident occurred which caused her to experience a

miscarriage.6 This provides evidence that Hittite society

placed a vast significance on the breeding, as well as

capturing, of slaves.

Women dressed in a chaste fashion when they ventured outside

of their home. They wore a long cloak which covered them from

head to toe. When inside the home, they generally wore a

lighter garment fastened with ornamental bronze pins. Both

sexes wore jewellery, with women wearing earrings, necklaces,

rings, and bracelets. Many also wore amulets that were

5 Mineck, K., van den Hout, T., & Hoffner, H., ‘Hittite Historical Texts II’, in The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation, Victoria, 2006, pp.259-266.6 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 219.

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fashioned as sun-discs, lunar shapes, and divine figures.7 The

purpose of their use would have been ritualistic or protective

in function. Hittite society had a strong belief in matters of

sorcery and witchcraft.8 Some women also wore headwear known as

the kuressar.9

Law text 182 provides evidence that fine garments were also

used on occasion, and that blue coloured garments were highly

prized and deemed a luxury.10 Epigraphic evidence depicts the

presiding Tawananna dressed in special ceremonial attire when

she fulfilled her duty as High-Priestess. This showed her in a

long-pleated skirt, with a high polos hat and a broad-style

belt. (Figure 1). This is important, for it suggests that at

religious ceremonies she was the human representation of the

goddess.

Despite women being able to hold such a high religious

position, Hittite society was patriarchal in nature. The

senior male of the family possessed absolute authority over

all family members, especially their wives, daughters,

daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren.11 According to Harry A. 7 Macqueen, J. G., The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor, London, 1986, pp. 100-101.8 Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 224, 230.9 The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, (eds.) Guterbock, H, H. Hoffner, & T. van den Hout, accessed at http://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/eCHD/, on 03.12.13, unpageinated.10 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 23511 Beckman, G., ‘International Law in the Second Millennium: Late Bronze Age’, in A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law, Vol. 1, Leiden & Boston, Brill Publishing, 2003, p. 775.

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Hoffner Jnr., it appeared a female was deemed ready for

marriage when she attained puberty.12 Demographic evidence

supports this theory. Tablet Bo 90/732 demonstrates that in a

list of 17 different households, the number of old women who

were still alive outnumbered the number of old men.13Of course,

it is possible that many of these men were killed in warfare.

However, one can hypothesise that many of these women may have

been significantly younger than their husbands upon marriage.

They would have naturally outlived their husbands if this was

so.

Hittite society recognised many different types of marriage.

Law texts 27 and 31 provide evidence that both arranged and

de-facto marriages were recognised as valid.14As Trevor Bryce

states, this is quite a liberal and pragmatic approach.15 When

it came to arranged marriages, there were three explicit

stages which required fulfilment. Law text 28 shows that the

first phase of marriage negotiations began with a promise

which may have occurred quite early in the girl’s life.16 Law

text 29 discusses the formal betrothal.17 This involved the

payment of a bride price, or kusata, to the girl’s family.18The

final requirement of marriage negotiations came after the

12 Hoffner, H. A., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, in Life and Culture in the Ancient Near East, Bethseda, 2003, p. 113.13 Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 231.14 Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 220-221.15 Bryce, T., Life and Society in the Hittite World, Oxford & New York, 2002, p. 119.16 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.17 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.18 Bryce, T., 2002, pp. 199-200.

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marriage had been consummated. This involved the payment of a

dowry.19

All the evidence suggests that marriage was an important

cultural rite in Hittite society. The discovery of a Hittite

vase at Inandik portrays depictions of a wedding ceremony.20

Upon careful examination of these depictions, it can be

discerned that weddings were both a joyful and public affair.

(Figure 2). It may to be stated that the depiction on the vase

could only be symbolic of a royal or aristocratic wedding. The

wedding of the poorer class citizen may have had more of a

focus on the expansion of familial prospects. It may have been

a more humble affair.

The fact that law texts existed in the Hittite society which

stipulated certain compensations were to be paid to either the

intended husband, or to the bride’s family, in the event of

something causing a breakdown in marriage negotiations, almost

surely suggests that both the bride price and the dowry were

quite sizeable.21 According to Bryce, the bride’s dowry would

19 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.20 The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, accessed athttp://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/eCHD/, on 03.12.13, unpageinated.21 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221: Law 28a stipulated that if a daughter had been promised to a man and elopes with another, then compensation from the eloper must be paid to the man who had been promised her hand. Law 28b stipulated that if parents decided to give their daughter to another man they must pay the compensation tothe wronged man. Law 29 stipulated that if a daughter was betrothed to a man and he had paid the bride price for her, but her parents decided to contest the agreement, then they must pay him back double

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have equated to be the representation of her share of the

familial estate, or inheritance.22Law text 27 protected her

right to this property, as the husband only gained possession

in the event she predeceased him.23

Law text 27 also declared that a husband ‘takes’ his wife and

‘leads her away’ to his house.24 According to Gurney, this

signified that she was considered to be nothing more than a

husband’s possession.25However, if one carefully analyses the

Hittite collection of Law texts, this is an inaccurate

assessment. Law text 28b clearly indicated that a wife could

play an equal role alongside her husband in her daughter’s

marriage negotiations. Law text 171 gave the wife the power to

disown her son if she so chose. Whereas Law text 26a clearly

stated that a woman had just as much right to instigate a

divorce as the husband did.26

Furthermore to this, according to Bryce, provisions were also

made to ensure the economic security of widows upon their

husband’s death.27 This definitively proves that women were not

just seen as their husband’s possession to do with as he

pleased. However, with the fact that most marriages appeared

the amount.22 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 120.23 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.24 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 220.25 Gurney, O., The Hittites, Victoria, 1969, p. 100.26 Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 220, 221, 234.27 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 119.

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to have been arranged, it tends to suggest that the female may

not have had any choice when it came to selecting who would

become her husband.

The Hittite Law text 27 stated that, in certain circumstances,

upon marriage daughters did not have to leave their family

home. It declared that the daughter had the option to either

leave her ancestral home with her new husband to set up her

own house, or to choose to remain in the home of her

parents.28This second option would most likely have been

encouraged if the daughter’s family had no sons to pass on an

inheritance too, effectively becoming an antiyant marriage. If

the woman died in the home she had established with her

husband, he inherited her dowry as mentioned above. This

implies that upon marriage, if the bride did choose to set up

home with her new husband, she may no longer have effectively

been a member of her birth family, therefore becoming one with

her new clan.29 If she died in her parent’s house and the

couple had brought forth children, then her dowry was kept in

reserve for their future.30

Evidence from royal archives suggests royal daughters were

seen as no more than diplomatic tools when it came to their

marriages. Hittite society was based upon the concept of the

clan. Hittite daughters had to be subordinate to the fate that

28 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.29 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.30 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.

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the king had designated for them. The daughter of Hattusili I

and Queen Puduhepa was used to seal the treaty with Egypt

after the Battle of Kadesh, where she became the Bride of

Ramses II.31For this reason alone, one would expect that royal

daughters were to be both highly obedient and beautiful.

Law text 32 stated that a free born woman was authorized to

marry a male slave. If the slave paid a bride price to marry

her then she retained her free born status. This allowed for

the said slave to gain some leverage in society. If divorce

occurred, all possessions were split equally. The woman would

have gained custody of all but one child.32 Law 36 stipulated

that if the male slave could not pay a bride price for the

woman, then she became a slave herself for three years.33 It is

not known how many times a marriage under these circumstances

occurred. However, there was opportunity for a slave in

Hittite society to become affluent. According to Bryce, they

could acquire land through tenant farming, and by working it

productively accumulate wealth.34

Levirate marriages took place in Hittite society. Law text 193

stated “If a man has a wife, and the man dies, his brother shall take his widow as

wife. (If the brother dies) the father shall take her. After the father dies his brother

31 Ceram, C. W., The Secrets of the Hittites: The Discovery of an Ancient Empire, London, 2001, p. 193.32 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.33 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 222. 34 Bryce, 2002, pp.122-123.

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shall take her”.35 This strengthens the premise that society was

patriarchal in nature. However, a woman could not have sexual

relations with her brother-in-laws, or other male members of

her husband’s family, while her husband was still alive.

Specific laws firmly stated that this was deemed to be

incest.36Illegal sexual coupling was known as hurkel. 37 It was

extremely important that morality was practiced within a

woman’s marriage. Her sin could bring down the anger of the

gods upon her entire familial clan if she failed to do so.38

Law text 26b stipulated that the husband was able to sell his

wife to another man for 12 shekels of silver upon divorce.39As

disturbing as that sounds, when all the other law texts that

discussed divorce are considered, this may only have

eventuated if another male was interested in the woman for

himself. Demographic evidence does definitively show that Land

Donations from the Royal Household were given to single women

on occasion.40 This evidence seems to indicate that the female

was able to give her agreement on whether she wanted to be

sold to another man.

35 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 236.36 Beckman, G., Hittite Diplomatic Texts, Georgia, 1996, p. 27.37 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 50.38 Blasweiler, J., The Royal Family of the Early Old Kingdom of Hattusa and Their Tawanannas: Cultural History of Anatolia 1700-1600BC, Arnhem, 2013, p. 15.39 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 220.40 Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 232.

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Hittite marriages were mainly monogamous in practice. It was

only the very wealthy households, and of course the royal

males, who partook in polygamous marriages.41 In the case of

royal males, both secondary wives and a harem filled with

concubines were considered a necessary requirement. The King

would have desired to have as many daughters as possible, to

be used as diplomatic tools with rulers of other foreign

states, as well as rulers of vassal kingdoms. Male children

were essential to represent the king in important military,

diplomatic, or bureaucratic positions.42 It is likely that

becoming either a secondary wife or concubine of the king was

viewed as quite a prestigious position in society. These women

would have been looked after very well.

The wedding ceremony involved the act of ‘unveiling’ the

wife.43 Art work depicted on the Inandik vase demonstrates the

act of unveiling occurred on the marriage bed, just before the

couple consummated their marriage. (Figure 3). No other

Hittite art has been discovered which shows that a woman being

veiled was an everyday occurrence. This tends to suggest that

the veiling was either sacred or ritualistic in meaning. Myths

reveal the importance of engaging in sexual intercourse for

procreation. The mythical cycle concerning the Disappearing

Gods lamented the barrenness of animals, nature, and

humankind, within their themes.44

41 Hoffner, H., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, 2003, p. 106.42 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 28.43 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 279.44 Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, Atlanta, 1998, p. 21.

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According to Hoffner, the Hittites viewed their ability to

perform the sex act as an essential aspect to their identity,

both male and female.45The story of Appu and His Two Sons

highlighted the feelings of emasculation if no children were

conceived, focussing the reasoning for this upon the male.46

This is quite a refreshing attitude for the Bronze Age era. If

all else failed, the married couple could hire the services of

a Wise Women to perform a Fertility Ritual.47 Evidence from the

Royal Archives discovered at Bogazkoy give details of a ritual

belonging to a Wise Woman known as Paskuwatti. This entailed a

potency incantation that assisted men and women who had been

unable to conceive with reproductive power and desire.48

Another myth of significance is the story of The Hunter Kessi and

His Beautiful Wife. The theme involved a man who became obsessed

with his wife, thereby causing him to neglect his societal

obligations and worship of the gods.49 A wife was not to

monopolise her husband’s time. This myth appeared to be the

only piece of evidence which stated that mothers were to be

respected, as Kessi neglected her too. Parables existed which

highlighted the son’s duty to his father, and the position of

dominance the father possessed.50 However, there was no Parable

45 The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, accessed athttp://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/uCHD/, on 03.12.13, unpageinated.46 Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 82-84.47 Gurney, O., 1969, p. 162.48 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, Weisbaden, 1983, p. 18.49 Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 87-89.50 Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 70-72.

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or guideline which stipulated the importance of a mother to

her children.

Only one artistic depiction has been discovered which

demonstrated Hittite sexual activity. (Figure 4). As stated

above, the theme of the Inandik Vase is a wedding, which then

culminated after the act of unveiling into the consummation of

the marriage. According to Bryce, Hittite mythology is lacking

in the concept of romance.51 However, the act of sexual union

is an important element in myths such as the Iluyanka Myth

version one, and the Song of Ullikummi.52 Hittite myths such as The

Song of Birth, The Song of Hedammu, and The Song of Keshshi all indicated

that womankind were revered for the power they possessed to

conceive and bear children.53

The story of Appu and His Two Sons outlined the concept that

Hittite people followed and believed in when it came to

conception and birth. This began with a declaration of having

conceived, and then the counting down of the months of

gestation until birth. This was calculated correctly at 10

months. Labour then ensued, and upon delivery it appeared the

father would agree to hold his child. The baby was then given

a name.54It is not known if the reasoning behind the father

51 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 125.52 Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp.11-12, 56-60.53 Backvarova, M., ‘Hurro-Hittite Stories and Hittite Pregnancy and Birth Rituals’, in Women in the Ancient Near East: A Sourcebook, London & NewYork, 2014, p. 272.54 Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 82-84.

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agreeing to hold the child was for reasons of acceptance or

denial of whether the child was his.

A large number of Birth Rituals have been discovered which

highlighted the importance of procreation. These were all

recorded from the perspective of the practitioner.55In cases of

Royal births, and those of families who were well off

financially, there would be two types of professionals to

assist the birthing mother. The first was known as the

Hasnupallas. This translated as ‘the woman who knows the internal

organs’. It was her job to chant incantations and perform

rituals to keep evil away from the child as it was being born.

This woman was also the one who recited the blessing of

welcome to the child after birth, and sent a prayer for

another child to be born a year henceforth.56 Manuals that

originated from Babylon have been found in Royal Households

which catalogued the omens which occurred while the royal

woman was giving birth.57

The other practitioner who assisted the mother was known as

the Hasawas. This translated as ‘the one of the birth-giving’.

Scholars such as Bryce and Joost Blasweiler have identified

her as the Wise Woman.58However, she could also signify a

family midwife who was experienced through her own acts of

55 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 2.56 London, J., 1983, p. 132.57 Hoffner, H., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, 2003, p. 112.58 Bryce, T., 2002, pp. 201-202; Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 41.

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birth giving, or a wet nurse, as well as one who specialised

in magico-medical techniques.59 It is known that Queen Puduhepa

declared herself to be a Hasawas. In her prayers and royal

correspondence she often spoke of her skills in both the acts

of birthing and raising many children.60 The Hasawas woman

prepared the utensils that were used in a woman’s labour.61

However, poorer households would have only had the services of

a Hasawas.62

Hittite society believed a number of guidelines had to be

complied with while a woman was pregnant, the first being upon

conception. A festival or celebratory offering to the Mother-

goddess was to be performed.63 There is no known record of what

this offering entailed. One Birth Ritual, KBo XVII 65,

stipulated a cleansing ritual had to be performed on the

expectant mother. Once the seventh month of gestation was

reached, all sexual relations between husband and wife had to

cease. The mala-offering was then performed, followed by the uzi

and the zurgi offerings. There is no clear indication of what

these offerings entailed either. According to Beckman they

assisted the expectant mother in attaining purity of some

sort.64

59 London, J., 1983, p. 133.60 Singer, H., Hittite Prayers, Georgia, 2002, p. 101.61 London, J., 1983, p. 133.62 Hoffner, H., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, 2003, p. 112.63 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 143.64 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, pp. 133-147.

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When pregnancy had reached seven months and one day, a seer

performed a cleansing ritual in the mouth of the mother. The

purification of the mouth was seen to equate a symbolic

purification of the vagina.65This involved the use of cedar and

tamarisk woods, and an unknown component of harnai. The seer

also recited a Hurrian chant.66 It is interesting that many of

the Hittite ritual texts were recited in other languages than

the Hittite tongue. As Hittite society absorbed many different

cultures and beliefs into their own when they conquered other

cities and states, there were at least eight different

languages represented in the Royal Archives of the Hittite

capital Hattusa.67

KBo XVII 65 goes on to stipulate that certain foods were

disallowed. These were ground up cress, and another item of

food known as astauwar. The husband and wife were no longer

permitted to eat at the same table when they dined together.68 A

patili priest was then summoned to perform a special purification

ritual of the room where the Hittite woman was to give birth.

For most women this was the bedroom. This priest was an expert

in both birth and death rituals. To ensure a successful

pregnancy and delivery, pegs and binding were used to close

the birth chamber, and then re-open it. While doing this, he

led the mother in and out of the room. This process of

binding, sealing, and closing was representative of the

65 Bachvarova, M., 2014, p. 292.66 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, pp. 133-147.67 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 5.68 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, pp. 133-147.

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binding, sealing, and closing of the womb, which was only to

be opened when labour occurred.69

The ritual performed by the patili priest contained a magical

element to it. Red wool was believed to be symbolic of

menstrual blood. Hittite practitioners thought this to be the

source of nourishment for the foetus. For a royal couple, red

and white wool was intertwined into a special belt. Both the

king and queen wore this to promote fertility. The likelihood

is that other aristocratic families with the financial means

would have had the resources to partake in this same magical

ritual. The poorer Hittite woman had a bundle created from

cedar, tamarisk, and olive wood, which was then tied together

with red wool. This bundle was then placed inside her girdle.

Hittite women thought this to be especially significant, as

the girdle had be untied when giving birth, like the symbolic

opening of the womb.70 The woman was not allowed to leave the

house after the purification of the birth chamber had been

performed.71

Details of what occurred during labour have survived within

the Birth Rituals as well. The Incantation of Crying Out was to be

chanted as the woman screamed through the pain of her labour.72

This is significant as it provides evidence that symbolic

69 Bachvarova, M., 2014, p. 292.70 Bachvarova, M., 2014, p. 292.71 London, J., 1983, p. 138.72 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 33.

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silence was not believed an essential requirement when giving

birth. A bronze knife and 4 bronze pegs essential implements.

These were provided by the Hasawas woman to cut the umbilical

cord.73

Two stools and three cushions, or two footstools, were

required. One stool and one cushion was each used for the

birthing mother and midwife. The delivered baby fell into a

receiving blanket. If any of this equipment happened to break

during labour, it was deemed a bad omen.74An outing ceremony

for a boy child was performed at 3 months, while a girl had

her ceremony at 4 months.75

Evidence from surviving royal correspondence show that Hittite

practitioners did not have an understanding of female

menopause. The letter, written by King Hattusili III to Ramses

II, asked for special doctors to concoct medicine for his

sister Massanauzzi to enable her to conceive a child. She had

been identified as being past her child-bearing age when this

was written. There was no understanding by the Hittites as to

why the medicine would not be able to help.76

73 London, J., 1983, p. 133.74 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 250.75 Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 147.76 Bryce, T., Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East: The Royal Correspondence of the Late Bronze Age, London & New York, 2003, p. 113.

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Depending on the extenuating circumstances, Hittite society

was strict on its condemnation of female adultery. Law text

198 of the Hittite Legal corpus stated that if a wife

committed adultery, the husband had to right to kill her and

the male she copulated with. The husband could also choose to

save her life. However, if he did choose that option, he could

not do harm to the offending male.77 If the husband took too

long in making a formal decision on whether to punish or

forgive, the case then became the property of the King’s

Court. This almost always ended in capital punishment for both

the adulterer and adulteress, unless the husband clearly

announced in the presence of the King he wished to ta.SAG.DU-

ZU wa-as-si-e-iz-zi. This is translated as ‘and the husband

may cover her head’. This act entailed the same veiling and

unveiling of the wife’s head that was symbolically performed

on their wedding day.78 The woman ideologically became her

husband’s new bride.

The Hittite Law text 197 dealt with the issue of female rape.

It stipulated that if a woman was raped in the mountains, it

was the fault of the attacker and he became an outlaw.

However, if the rape occurred in the home of the victim, the

fault was then laid upon her.79This suggests that a woman was

either never left in her home alone, or that submission in an

attack was not tolerated, even if it was a matter of life or

77 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 237.78 Tsevat, M., ‘The Husband Veils a Wife (Hittite Laws, Sections 197-198)’, in The Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 27, No. 4, 1975, p. 275.79 Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 237.

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death. In the time period classified as the New Kingdom women

who did choose to live a single life could be given a male

slave through royal channels. A prayer recited by Queen

Puduhepa to the goddess Lelwani when King Hattusili III was

intensely ill discussed the allocation of a Prisoner of War to

the home of each single woman to assist them with heavier

tasks.80

A woman was able to gain employment and become a contributing

citizen to Hittite society. Evidence discovered from Temple

Inventories, ritual texts, and Hittite art indicate that

females were employed as weavers, millers, cooks, and

fullers.81They were employed as musicians, dancers, and

singers. (Figure 2). Linear B Tablets signify that the

reputation of Hittite women for their work with textiles,

fabrics, and needlework was highly valued. The Aa sequence of

tablets, discovered at Pylos, show that they were exclusively

placed in occupations of pe-ki-ti-ra (this is called carding the

wool), ri-ne-ja (linen or flax workers), i-te-ja (weaving and

spinning fibres), and finally ra-pi-ti-ra (women responsible for

sewing).82For their craft to have been so extensively

recognised in the Late Bronze Age, females may have begun

training in their childhood.

80 Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 224.81 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 81.82 Ergin, G., ‘Anatolian Women in Linear B Texts: A General Review ofthe Evidence’, in Vita: Festschrift in Honour of Belkis Dincol and Ali Dincol, Istanbul, 2007, p. 271.

21

Hittite Law texts 150 and 158b stipulated that a woman could

be employed in labour tasks. For her services the wage rate

was to be half a shekel of silver a month. When it came to the

harvest season, her wages equated to 600 litres of barley

earned for 3 months of work.83 This suggests that, in certain

situations at least, a woman was deemed to be just as capable

as men for certain duties. In harvest season there was a

necessity to make sure all the labour had been completed

before the onset of the harsh winters. Communal incentive

would have placed stress on the concept of every person doing

their share, whether it was deemed hard labour or not. It is

evident from military rituals that women had no place on the

battlefield. Lower-order officers on initiation into the

military ranks had to swear an oath upon the Hittite feminine

symbols, while they swore to uphold the virtues of loyalty and

bravery.84

There is evidence which shows that a periodic census was

performed on Temples by the King. These indicate that every

temple possessed female staff.85 Some women were employed to

prepare bread and food for the temple god, as well as to tend

to the god’s needs. These needs involved the waking of the god

each morning, and the cleansing and dressing of them in clean

clothes before the god was given their daily sustenance. These

women had to be ritually pure in their body. Fingernails had

83 Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 222-223.84 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 113.85 Hoffner, H., ‘Hittite Religion’, in The Gale Encyclopedia of Religion, London & New York, 2005, p. 505.

22

to be short and clean, and hair had to be pulled away from the

face. Cleaning staff were to ensure the temple itself,

including the kitchen where the food was cooked, had been

swept and was tidy.86When it came to the personal ritual and

religious ceremonies, no evidence can be discerned which shows

any segregation of the sexes occurred when in the act of

worship. The size of some of these temples, such as the Storm-

God’s, were massive. (Figure 5). They would have required an

immense staff.

Certain women were selected to become priestesses, with

different cults having different requirements. Priestesses who

were identified as MUNUS.MES, or Suppissares, had to take an oath

of virginity.87 Priestesses who were known as entanni women have

been recorded in Tablet Bo 4952, which stipulated they had to

take a vow of poverty. The woman appears to have been

identified as either the daughter-in-law or bride of the cult

god she attended. These women forewent their inheritance and

became dependent on the cult temple for their daily needs.

According to Hoffner, they were similar to the entu priestess

identified in Mesopotamian religious culture, who also became

the bride to their god.88 They could also be likened to modern

86 Sturtevant, E. H., & Bechtel, G., A Hittite Chrestomathy, Philadelphia, 1935, p. 150.87 The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, accessed athttp://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/eCHD/, on 03.12.13, unpageinated.88 Hoffner, H., ‘The Institutional Poverty of the Hurrian Diviners and Entanni Women’, in Pax Hethitica: Studies on the Hittites and Their Neighbours inHonour of Itamar Singer, Wiesbaden, 2010, pp. 216, 219, 222, 223.

23

day nuns who voluntarily take a vow of poverty and become a

bride of Christ.

A small fragment of a ritual text, KUB XXXII 83, discussed the

presence of Zintuhi priestesses. They were involved in a ritual

dedication recited in the Hittite tongue and performed for the

goddess Tetesapi. A NIN.DINGIR priestess also played an

important role in this ceremony. They would perform this

ritual in Hittite before the presence of the King, in the

temple of the Sun-god.89 It is not known if the Zintuhi

priestesses had to take a vow of poverty or if they had to

remain virgins.

The NIN.DINGIR translated into either ‘the sister’ or ‘the

Lady of the Deity’. She appeared to have been highly elevated

within the assemblage of the Hittite religious cultic

priestesses. There was only one who held the position at any

one time. She played a role in many different religious

rituals and ceremonies, not only the worship of the goddess

Teteshapi. The NIN.DINGIR priestess also played an important

role in the KI.LAM festival either alongside the king, royal

couple, and/or the royal princes.90The KI.LAM festival

translates as meaning the ‘gate’ festival and was celebrated

in autumn.91 One can assume this had something to do with

89 Bin-Nun, S., The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, Heidelberg, 1975, p. 35.90 Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 44.91 Bryce, T. 2002, p. 194

24

ensuring the gods’ protection and sustenance throughout the

winter.

The name of the NIN.DINGIR so far has been discovered 51 times

on ritual texts. Tablet KUB 59.2.ii.6-7 recorded a portion of

her cultic activity. “…she goes to the temple of Katahha, where she spins

the spindle that represents long years, to gain a long life for the king…” She was

transported when ceremony in the royal carriage, the huluganni,

wore the deity’s vestment, and was led in the procession by a

sceptre-bearer.92Considering that it was only the royal queen

and king who were allowed to wear the deity’s vestments in

ritual ceremonies, and also the fact that she was entitled to

use the royal carriage and sceptre, she must have been a

member of the royal family herself. It is not known if the

princess chosen to fulfil the duty of a NIN.DINGAR priestess

of the state cults was able to marry.

The most important priestess in Hittite religious belief was

the Chief Siwanzanni priestess. This position was held by the

reigning queen Tawananna. In the Old Kingdom (c.1700-1500BC) she

was known in Hattic as the SANGA. Priestess. In the New

Kingdom (c.1500-1150BC) she was identified as the AMA-DINGAR

priestess. This translated as ‘Mother of the Deity’.93 Each

temple had a Siwanzanni priestess in attendance.94 Evidence

92 Blasweiler, J., 2013, p.45, 55.93 Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 44. 94 Hoffner, H., ‘A Prayer of Mursili II about His Stepmother’, in The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 103, No. 1, 1983, p. 191.

25

suggests that each of these priestesses fulfilled their duties

for the sake of the Tawananna in every temple in Hittite

territory, and that they would have been just as dedicated to

her as they were to the goddess.95

Evidence provided by the prayers of King Mursili II indicate

what her religious duties entailed. She not only held the

highest religious priestess position in the Hittite kingdom,

she also possessed immense wealth. All the votive offerings,

statues, religious taxes, and donations offered to the Sun-

goddess of Arinna were seen as the Tawananna’s to delegate or

use as she wished. This also included temple lands that had

been dedicated to the goddess.96 In the Old Kingdom, evidence

indicates that she also had the religious duty of attending to

the hearth fire. The fire of the hearth was directly connected

with the religion of common life and the house cult.97This

ensured a city’s safety from the danger of evil forces.98

Epigraphic evidence provides proof that her role in cultic

state ceremony was at times as equally as important as the

king’s. (Figure 6). Ritual texts have recorded certain

ceremonial procedures involving the pair. “The king and queen put

95 Blasweiler, J., 2013, p.44.96 Hoffner, H., ‘A Prayer of Mursili II about His Stepmother’, 1983, pp. 187-189.97 Hutter, M., ‘Religion in Hittite Anatolia Some Comments on “Volkert Haas: Geschichte der Hethitischen Religion”, in Numen, Vol. 44, 1997, pp. 83-84.98 Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p. 108.

26

on their ritual dress in the hal-e-nt-u-w-a house (palace)…then the king and queen

come forth from the hal-e-nt-u-w-a house” The king and Tawananna then

washed to attain ritual purity and entered the temple.99 It was

also believed that the Tawananna was able to receive omens from

the gods.100According to Bryce more is known of particular

Hittite queens than their royal husbands.101

Their official title of Tawananna derives from the Hattian root

tafa/tawa. This signified ‘to have honour, authority,

power’.102However, this position was not exclusively held by

the king’s wife. The reigning Tawananna held her position even

if her husband had predeceased her, meaning that at times it

was the new king’s mother or step-mother who possessed this

role. In this circumstance, the new king’s wife would have to

wait and inherit the position of Tawananna after her death.103

Evidence of royal factions regarding a reigning Tawananna and

the king’s wife have been recorded numerous times in the Royal

Annals. Evidence indicates that Queen Danuhepa had been

involved in a coup as she attempted to have her son succeed to

the throne. Being married to King Muwatalli II, she was 99 Bittel, Kurt, ‘The Great Temple at Hattusha-Boğazköy’, in American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 30, No. 1, 1976, p. 70.100 Collins, B. J., The Hittites and Their World, accessed at http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_KOmaQgkkUn&sig=aVpwJyxcQsiWvchM7c_12talfik&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Billie%20Jean%20Collins%22, on 12.01.14, unpageinated.101 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 13.102 Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 29.103 Gurney, O., 1969, pp. 66-67.

27

allegedly supported by many palace officials and nobles. She

was banished under the suspicion of witchcraft. After a number

of years Danuhepa was allowed to return, which signified the

enormous amount of power she still wielded in the Royal

Court.104Another Tawananna involved in court faction was King

Suppiluliuma I’s Babylonian wife. Her reported knowledge of

Black Magic allegedly killed Mursili II’s wife.105Queen

Puduhepa was also targeted by her daughter-in-law, who did not

like the amount of influence and power she still possessed in

the Royal Court and State, wanting it for her own.106Hittite

Queens were not only beautiful consorts sitting at the side of

the king. They had ambition which ran through their veins.

The first known Tawananna was the aunt of King Hattusili I.

Hattusili had decided to adopt his sister’s son as his future

heir. However, it appeared both her and his aunt tried to use

his nephew as a vehicle to initiate their own political

policies. Hattusili cast his aunt out and labelled her a

snake.107This woman would have wielded enormous influence and

power. Not only was the Tawananna chief priestess in the

kingdom, she also partook in political and judicial

activities. Evidence has been recorded of Queen Puduhepa as

she officiated over a trial. The case involved a damaged boat 104 Cammarosano, M., ‘Tanuhepa: A Hittite Queen in Troubled Times’, accessed at http://www.academia.edu/496653/Tanu_epa_a_Hittite_Queen_in_Troubled_Times, on 02.12.13, p. 48.105 Hoffner, H., ‘A Prayer of Mursili II about his Stepmother’, 1983,pp. 187-192.106 Bryce, T, 2002, p. 27.107 Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p. 108.

28

in Ugarit. She even passed down judgement by using the king’s

royal title of ‘My Sun’.108

Queen Asmunikal, who was married to King Tudaliya I,

introduced a ruling that all those involved in the building of

her deceased husband’s Mausoleum (c.1400BC) were exempt from

paying taxes for the rest of their lives.109 It appeared

certain tax-collectors, at some stage, attempted to overturn

her decision. She is alleged to have stated ‘A dog barks but when

he arrives, he is silent”.110 Hittite queens were also provided with

their own seals to be used on official decrees, royal

correspondence, and at times foreign treaties. (Figure 7).

They resided in their own quarters within the palace.111

Royal Archives have recorded when royal women took the

opportunity to assert their power. The enormous number of

military campaigns undertaken by the Hittite kings would have

been one cause of enabling opportune moments to have appeared.

In each of these circumstances, the Queen sat as proxy on the

Royal Throne.112 This allowed her the time to incite the palace

staff, nobility and public. Hattusili I’s daughter was the

cause of the loss of many lives through the instigation of a

108 Bryce, T., 2002, p. 44.109 Hasse, R., ‘The Hittite Kingdom’, in A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law Vol. 1, Leiden & Boston, 2003, pp. 639.110 Collin, B. J. ‘Animals in the Hittite Literature’, in A History of theAnimal World in the Ancient Near East, Leiden, Boston & Koln, 2002, p. 242.111 Güterbock, H. G., ‘An Outline of the Hittite AN.TAH.SUM Festival’, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1960, p. 85.112 Bryce, T. The Kingdom of the Hittites, New York, 1998, p. 96.

29

massive Civil War. HAB II 14 recorded, “Then [she made] Hattusa and

the cou[rt disloyal and the nobles] and my palace officials became enemies [to

me]”.113

Death was no different for either Hittite male or female. The

myth, The Voyage of the Immortal Soul, clearly stated that after death

the soul travelled along the great Invisible Road. Sisters,

brothers, even mothers, did not recognise their own kin. There

were no fine tables laid out with feasts and wine. Everyone

was to eat and drink mud.114 Hittite society ostensibly

believed in the ideology of possessions being a necessity in

the afterlife. A woman was burned with her spindle, and

personal possessions were buried along with her ashes.115All

households were responsible for the service to their own

ancestors.116

Sacrificial lists show that both kings and queens had

sacrifices dedicated to them after their death.117Royal bones

were buried in a tomb known as E.NA.118On the first day, the

Queen would be cremated. Wise women would then extinguish the

flames the next day with beer, wine, and a Hittite drink known

as walhi. The Queen’s bones would be wrapped in a fine garment

113 Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p. 73.114 Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 34-35.115 Hoffner, H., ‘Hittite Religion’, 2005, p. 506.116 Beckman, G., ‘The Religion of the Hittites’, in The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 52, No. 2/3, 1989, pp. 101-102.117 Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p.77.118 Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p.181.

30

and then laid upon a stool. After certain ritual observances

were followed, they would be interred.119

Wise women were viewed as an essential element to Hittite

society. As practitioners in the art of sympathetic magic

rituals, they were required for their services in times of

illness and misfortune. Evidence also exists from Tablet CTH

379 which shows that they dealt with exorcism.120 There are

many records of their rituals which still exist, highlighting

their importance in every facet of Hittite society. Some of

these were known as Tunnawiya’s Ritual of Impurity, used when either

a couple were having trouble conceiving, or when a woman or

man was suspected of homosexuality. There were rituals to be

performed in times of plague, and rituals to reverse curses,

just to name a few.

It is not known how Wise Women were selected, whether they

were born into the profession, or selected for training at a

young age.121They would have wielded enormous power within

Hittite society. One only has to consider the many secrets and

personal details they would have attained through their

position on many members of the Hittite population, including

the royal household. A tablet discovered in the city of

Hattusa also suggests that the Wise Women had their own cult 119 Gurney, O. 1969,pp. 164-165.120 Mouton, A. ‘Hittite Witchcraft’, in Acts of the VIIth International Congress of Hittitology Forum, Vol. 2, 2008, p. 517.121 Collins, B. J., ‘Women in Hittite Ritual’, in Women in the Ancient Near East: A Sourcebook, London & New York, 2014, pp. 246-265.

31

where they celebrated the Chief of the Wise Woman. They were

strongly associated with the Mother Goddess Hannahanna.122

They almost certainly had a business network, as they would

have had to have essentials on hand to treat any sudden

situations that would have arose. The paraphernalia needed to

perform their rituals included clay to make figurines, live

animals for sacrifice, and other necessities such as oils,

herbs, and textiles. They would have also needed an archive

area where their ritual texts would have been easily

accessible in times of emergency. They would have been

literate and bi-lingual, as evidenced by the number of texts

discovered in at least eight different languages.123There is no

evidence that has so far been discovered which asserts whether

they were allowed to marry or not.

There is still so much information about Hittite women that,

because of limitations, has been left unsaid. However,

hopefully the above discussion indicates just how interesting

these Hittite women were. More research and scholarly focus

needs to be initiated concerning the intricacies of their

lives. Everyday women were obviously not Bronze Age male

possessions. These women had identities of their own. They had

positions of societal importance in the Hittite world. Hittite

women had necessary roles in the duty of procreation. Hittite

Queens were strong, confident, and powerful women. Their 122 Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 42.123 Bryce, T., 2002, pp. 201-202.

32

influence extended not only throughout the Land of Hatti, but

well into the foreign states as well. The decisions they made

and the royal correspondence they engaged in prove their high

esteem and intelligence. Hittite Wise Women were venerated,

and considered to be an essential member of Hittite society

and of cultural beliefs. When the lives of these women are

examined closely it shows not only how fascinating they are,

but that they also deserve a voice.

I would like to extend a special thank to Joost Blasweiler, student Universiteit van Leiden, for his help to collect material for the writing of this paper.

APPENDIX

Figure 1.

33

http://www.hittitemonuments.com/fraktin/fraktin07.jpg, on 17.12.13.

Figure 2.

34

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kqEyeU-9nU/UWeOtVGtnAl/AAAAAAAAGns/GZxvFkoYxNg/51600/imellion+-+20130410+-+0075.jpg, on 13.12.13.

35

Figure 3.

http://www.qaraqalpaq.com/images/kiym85.jpg, on 13.12.13.

36

Figure 4.

http://www.phase.com/dosseman/image/136367248, on 13.12.13.

37

Figure 5.

38

http://www.atamanhotel.com/whe/hattusa-temples.html, on 27.12.13.

Figure 6.

http://www.hittitemonuments.com/alacahoyuk/alaca15.jpg, on 13.12.13.

Figure 7.

39

http://u.jimdo.com/www43/o/seaf7c468f61db2b4/img/i21a8ab9515b8bfc5/1375822409/std/seal-of-great-queen-puduhepa-on-the-peace-treaty-between-egypt-and-hittites.gif, on 02.01.14.

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