Editing Muwatalli II (section)

== Move to Tarhuntassa ==
At the start of Muwatalli II's reign the capital of Hatti was Hattusa, located in the northern region of Anatolia. Not long after he came into power, he made the decision to move the capital to a new location, which he named [[Tarhuntassa]]. There is no documentation stating the reason why the capital was moved, but scholars, based on later texts written by his brother [[Ḫattušili III|Hattusili III]] and the campaigns Muwatalli II fought, have come up with two possible reasons.

The first theory is that Muwatlli II moved the capital because of the border skirmishes between the Hittites and the [[Kaskians|Kaska]], and later the rebellion by [[Piyama-Radu|Piyamaradu]].<ref>Bryce, Trevor. ''The Kingdom of the Hittites.'' New ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 pg. 224-227.</ref> These disputes were on the northern border, and the capital of Hattusa is located near the northern border. After stabilizing the northern border, he moved the capital farther south, to the new location of Tarhuntassa. This new location was not only farther away from the troublesome northern border, but it was also strategically better for the upcoming fight against Egypt over Syria.<ref name=":0">Bryce, Trevor. ''The Kingdom of the Hittites.'' New ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 pg. 230-233.</ref>

The second theory of why Muwatalli II moved his capital south is for religious reasons. [[Itamar Singer]], in his essay “The Failed Reforms of [[Akhenaten]] and Muwatalli” states that the reason for the move had deeper roots in a religious reform, although he does acknowledge the political advantages of the move.<ref>Singer, Itamar. “The Failed Reforms of Akhenaten and Muwatalli.” ''BMSAES'' 6 (October 2006): 37-58</ref> The main evidence for this is how the depiction of the Storm God on his royal seals changes significantly after the expulsion of [[Danuhepa]]. Muwatalli II introduces a new motif for seals that is followed by all the Hittite kings that rule after him: the ''Umarmungsszene'' (German) (the protective embrace of the deity). This style is identifiable because it shows the king being embraced by one (or more) gods. In Muwatalli II's seals, he is being embraced by the Storm God of Lightning ([[Hittite mythology and religion|Pihassassa]]) instead of the traditional [[Storm-god of Hatti|Storm God]] of Heaven (Teshub).

This move would eventually lead to a bitter [[Hattusili's Civil War|civil war]] after Muwatalli's death.<ref>{{cite book |last= Bryce |first= Trevor|author-link= |date= 17 November 2022|title= Warriors of Anatolia: A Concise history of the Hittites|url= |location= |publisher= Bloomsbury Academic|page= 183-195|isbn=978-1-3503-4885-1}}</ref>