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Document Details :

Title: KBo 6.28+, or: Ḫattušili III between Past and Future
Author(s): BALZA, Maria Elena
Journal: Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Volume: 59    Date: 2022   
Pages: 145-169
DOI: 10.2143/ANES.59.0.3291192

Abstract :
This paper focuses on a well-known but still enigmatic Hittite document, KBo 6.28+. The first part of the text (KBo 6.28+, obv. 6-15) describes the so-called ‘concentric invasion’ of the Hittite land, a devastating attack on and invasion of the Hittite country that took place before the rise to power of Šuppiluliuma I in the first half of the 14th century BC. As a result, this section of the text specifically deals with the situation that occurs when both military frontiers and man-made defences break down, allowing enemies to penetrate into the inner country. After several poorly preserved lines, the second part of the text (KBo 6.28+, rev. 18ff.), with no apparent connection to the previous one, deals with an exemption decree on behalf of the NA4ḫekur pirwa. This paper seeks to return to the text of KBo 6.28+, to speculate about how the two aforementioned sections relate to each other, and to contribute to the understanding of the political discourse of the Hittite king who authored the document. For this very reason, KBo 6.28+ (CTH 88) will be presented in transcription and translation and a commentary on some crucial passages will be provided.

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