Telepin

Telepinu - king of the Hittite kingdom , ruled around 1525-1500 BC. e. The husband of the sister of Hutsi I of Istaparia , who had the rights of the tavananna queen. Telepinu seized the throne, overthrowing Huzi I. Apparently, Telepinu had undeniable rights to the throne, as in his "Decree", he claims to have taken the throne of his father ^[1] . Perhaps Telepin was the surviving son of Ammuna , since he gave the name of Ammun to his own son.

Telepin
m Te-le / li-pi / bi-nu-u [-uš]
Royal seal of Telepin
Hittite king OK. 1525 - 1500 BC e.
Predecessor	Huzia I
Successor	Alluvamna
Birth
Death
Spouse
Children	and

In connection with new attempts at coups, in which his wife Istaparia and then his son Ammuno died, Telepinu issued a decree “on the inheritance of tsarist power” . According to this decree, only the king’s sons of seniority were now granted access to the throne. In the absence of such, only the daughter’s husband could ascend the throne. All other royal relatives were excluded from the list of possible candidates for the throne and the national assembly ( punk ) was supposed to monitor compliance with this law. This order of inheritance, which greatly strengthened the tsarist power, acted throughout the existence of the Hittite state . Telepin was limited by the power of the punk (national assembly), allowing him only to deal with the king’s disputes with members of the royal family and giving him the right to convene a conference ( thulia ) for the trial of the king, who dared to encroach on the lives of his relatives. Punk could no longer intervene in other state affairs ^[1] .

Telepin left a short description of all the events of the Hittite royal house, starting with Labarna I. Around the era of Telepin can also be attributed to the compilation of one of the variants of the Hittite laws. It is possible that under Telepin there was a legislative reform that led to a significant mitigation of punishments and the abolition of certain ceremonies (in particular, to the replacement in some cases of human sacrifice by sacrificing sheep).

Telepinu entered into a friendly agreement with the king of Kizzuvadna Ishputahshu (Sputahsus) son of Pariyavatri , who, apparently, recognized the independence of Kizzuvadna from the Hittite kingdom . But, despite the restoration of the kingdom of Kizzuvadna, Telepin continued to try to hold in his hands a junction of roads to Northern Syria . He went on campaigns to Hashsha and Lavazzantia (Luhuzzantiya, apparently, in the Taurus mountains on the road from Tamalkiya to Hakhu). Telepinu canceled the privileges of the cities of Manda (possibly Mandakuni), Sala (possibly Salkuni), Tamalkii, Khatra, Tsalpa (Tsalpuva).