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Tushratta (Akkadian: in and in ) was a king of Mitanni, 1358–1335 BCE,Mladjov, I., (2019). "The Kings of Mittani in Light of the New Evidence from Terqa", in: NABU 2019, No. 1, March, p. 34. at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the first half the reign of Akhenaten. He was the son of Shuttarna II. Tushratta stated that he was the grandson of Artatama I.Goetze, Albrecht. “On the Chronology of the Second Millennium B. C. (Concluded).” Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, 1957, pp. 63–73 His sister Gilukhipa (Gilu-ḫepa in Hurrian) and his daughter Tadukhipa (Tadu-ḫepa in Hurrian) were married to the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III;Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. , Tadukhipa later married Akhenaten, who took over his father's royal harem.
He had been placed on the throne after the murder of his brother Artashumara. He was probably quite young at the time and was destined to serve as a figurehead only, but he managed to dispose of the murderer. A tablet was found in a Mitanni building at Tell Brak which stated it was witnessed "in the presence of Tushratta, the king" and had a seal of an earlier king Shaushtatar on the reverse, which was a common practice.N. J. J. Illingworth. “Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1986.” Iraq, vol. 50, 1988, pp. 87–108
Suppiluliuma then recounts how the land of Isuwa on the upper Euphrates had seceded in the time of his grandfather. Attempts to conquer it failed. In the time of his father, other cities rebelled. Suppiluliuma claims to have defeated them, but the survivors fled to the territory of Isuwa that must have been part of Tushratta's realm. A clause to return fugitives was part of many treaties made at the time, so possibly the harbouring of fugitives by Isuwa formed the pretext for the Hittite invasion. A Hittite army crossed the border, entered Isuwa and returned the fugitives (or deserters or government exiles) to Hittite rule. "I freed the lands which I captured; they dwelt in their places. All the people whom I released rejoined their peoples and Hatti incorporated their territories," Suppiluliuma later boasted.
The Hittite army then marched through various districts towards the Mitanni capital of Washshukanni. Suppiluliuma claims to have plundered the district and to have brought loot, captives, cattle, sheep and horses back to Hatti. He also claims that Tushratta fled, but obviously he failed to capture the capital. While the campaign weakened Tushratta's kingdom, he still held onto his throne.
Tushratta had possibly suspected Hittite intentions on his kingdom, for the Amarna letters include several tablets from Tushratta concerning the marriage of his daughter Tadukhipa with Akhenaten, explicitly to solidify an alliance with the Egyptian kingdom. However, when Suppiluliuma invaded his kingdom, the Egyptians failed to respond in time—perhaps because of the sudden death of Akhenaten, and the resulting struggle for control of the Egyptian throne.
According to a treaty later made between Suppiluliuma and Shattiwaza, a son of Tushratta, after a third devastating Hittite raid led to the fall of Carchemish, Tushratta was assassinated by a group led by one of his sons.Devecchi, Elena. “Details That Make the Difference: The Akkadian Manuscripts of the ‘Šattiwaza Treaties.’” Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 48, no. 1, 2018, pp. 72–95 A time of civil war followed which came to an end when Suppiluliuma placed Shattiwaza on the Mitannian throne.
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