Artatama I

Who is Artatama I?

Artatama I was a king of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni in the late fifteenth century BC. His reign coincided with the reigns of Egyptian pharaohs Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV.

Little is known of this king who has not left any inscriptions. Artatama is referred to in the Amarna letters as an ancestor who established an alliance with Thutmose IV of Egypt. According to modern interpretation of scarce available sources, Artatama came to power when the Mitanni kingdom was severely weakened by the Hittite invasion. Facing the perils of fighting a war on two fronts, the Hittites in the north and Egypt in the south, Artatama approached Amenhotep II with an offer of peaceful division of contested lands in Syria. A peaceful resolution of an old conflict could grow into a political and military alliance, but the Egyptians suspected foul play and denied definite answer for years. At one point during the reign of Thutmose IV they proposed a marriage between Thutmose and Artatama's daughter, but for unknown reasons Artatama rejected the offer. The Egyptians had to make seven consecutive marriage proposals before Artatama finally agreed.