Hittite Laws

About the Author

Although many of the Hittite texts can be identified with specific kings, the author of the Hittite Laws is unknown. A king often plays an important role in a text, such as initiating and setting out the terms of a treaty or recording his deeds in his annals. Sometimes on cuneiform tablets the name of the king is mentioned in a section at the end of the tablet (called a colophon), which gives such details as the name of the author or the copyist or the title of the text. This is not the case with the Hittite Laws. The surviving colophons on the different copies identify only the title of the composition—“If a man” or “If a vine”—or the name of the scribe who copied the tablet. However, in the colophon of one tablet belonging to the first series, the enigmatic statement “Of the father of His Majesty” appears. In addition, an unnamed “father of the king” is mentioned in law 55. These references provide hints, but not conclusive evidence, about the authorship.

Scholars have speculated about the identity of this “father of the king.” Alfonso Archi suggests that the “father” is Hattusilis I, the earliest clearly verifiable ruler of Hatti, who reigned from approximately 1650 to 1620 bce. This suggestion is attractive because of Hattusilis I's importance in Hittite history. Hattusilis I not only moved the capital to Hattushah but also portrayed himself as a model king, known for both his military prowess and his mercy. This would mean that the king in question is Mursilis I (ca. 1620–1590 bce), who was Hattusilis I's grandson, adopted son, and chosen successor. Mursilis I was known for his military exploits, including the destruction of Babylon in about 1595 bce. This identification cannot be proved conclusively, however.

Other scholars propose that these laws could be attributed to Telipinus (ca. 1525–1500 bce), because he issued a proclamation that deals with a case of ordinary premeditated murder, a crime not mentioned in the Hittite Laws. The existence of Telipinus's proclamation about premeditated murder, as noted by Harry Hoffner, could explain its omission from the law collection. This is a theory that also cannot be proved irrefutably. (Telipinus was the first known Hittite king to make a treaty of alliance, setting a policy that would be continued by later kings.)