THE ACHAEAN INVASION OF ANATOLIA AND CYPRUS THE FALL OF ARZAWA AND ALASHIYA

By the fourteenth century BC, the Hittites had established themselves as one of the major powers of the Near East, rivalling and often coming into conflict with the New Kingdom Egyptians, as well as the Mitanni and the Assyrians. Operating from their capital, Hattusa, their empire stretched from the Adriatic in the west to the Tigris and Assur rivers in the east, and the lands of Amurru in the south.

By Eoghan Kelly

Controlling such a large empire required a state of military readiness. In around 1350 BC, the Hittite empire was engaged in several conflicts. On its western borders, the vassal state of Arzawa (in modern-day western Anatolia) was under threat of invasion from the Ahhiya; the latter was a Hittite general term for the various Achaean Greek kingdoms that existed at the time. The Greeks had already established a city at MillawandaMilawata (better known as Miletus) in circa 1450 BC, an important toehold on the mainland. The Ahhiya invaders were led by Attarsiya, recognised by the Hittites as a minor king. He was an aggressive leader and probably operated from Miletus, using piracy and raids to disrupt trade and conquer territory from the Hittites. It is also probable that his forces consisted…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 129

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