This gripping biography documents the life and reign of Hattusili, one of the most famous and well-documented Hittite rulers.Hattusili ruled over the ancient kingdom of Anatolia (modern Turkey) during the 2nd millennium BC and was a political rival and, at the same time, treaty-partner of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses the Great. Trevor Bryce offers a chronological account of Hattusili, charting the rise of the Bronze Age Hittite prince from a sickly childhood to become – by ruthless ambition, an illegal coup and a civil war – the most powerful ruler of the ancient Near East. Incorporating the most up-to-date archaeological material, including the archive of clay tablets and new information about the astonishingly small size of the Hittite capital Hattusa, Bryce provides the reader with a detailed examination of Hattusili’s policies and military strategies. Alongside these historical accounts, Bryce weaves in imaginative reconstructions of pivotal moments in the ruler’s life, giving you a complete picture of Hattusili’s remarkable military skills and impressive political prowess. The book is a biography of the Hittite king Hattusili III, from the time of his sickly childhood, when he was not expected to live, to his gradual rise through a series of military and political appointments to the highest office in the Hittite empire. All this while apparently dogged with chronic illnesses throughout his life – which was paradoxically a very long one, ending when he was probably in his late seventies. In covering his rise to supreme power, the book highlights not only Hattusili’s military and political skills but also his ruthless ambition, set within the highy toxic environment of the Hittite court. His duplicitous conduct is illustrated by his apparent support after his brother’s death for the rightful successor to the throne, his nephew, before overthrowing him in a mini-civil war, and seizing the throne for himself. His long reign was a relatively stable one, in which his skills as diplomat both within his own kingdom and on the international scene, were particularly in evidence. They climax in the famous ‘Eternal Treaty’ which he concluded with the pharaoh Ramesses II. Much emphasis is placed on the role Hattusili’s Chief Wife Puduhepa played as her husband’s partner in the administration of the realm, and the continuation of this role after his death..