23 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Iron Lady of The Bronze Age “Puduhepa”

Puduhepa is the daughter of a priest and at the same time a priestess who served for the goddess Ishtar.  III. Hattusili Returning from the battle of Kadesh, he comes to the city of Lavazantiya in Kumanni to make his traditional sacrifice to his patron goddess Ishtar. Hattusili sees the goddess Ishtar in her dream and marries Puduhepa on his order.

Looking so far, Puduhepa is like the gift of the goddess Ishtar for Hattusili. Nothing else is known of Puduhepa’s family and background, except that her name was Hurrian for “the goddess Hepat has engendered.”

The Hurrians were Caucasian people who were dragged into Mesopotamia and Syria towards the end of the third millennium BC.

Hattusuli ruled the Hittites from about 1267 to 1237 B.C. At the same time, he must cope with a constant febrile illness. During his reign, Hattusili appears to have been on the verge of death several times. Puduhepa’s individual requests to various deities, pleading for Hattusili’s health, are recorded on prayer tablets.

Puduhepa is not only a good wife but also a knowledgeable diplomat. She seems to have married one of her sons to an Amurru princess and two other sons to Babylonian princesses.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



When the arrangements for Ramesses’ marriage to Hattusili’s daughter were made, Ramesses wrote to Puduhepa, not the king: “The Great King, the king of the land of Hatti, has written to me thus: Let the people come and pour sweet-smelling oil on my daughter’s head and let her be taken to the house of the Great King, the king of Egypt, my brother.”

The pharaoh treats her in the manner of the familial manner to another, referring to Puduhepa as his “sister,” just as Hattusili is his brother.

seal of puduhepa
Seal of Puduhepa.

Puduhepa’s other correspondence is about troublesome city-states. She wrote a series of letters to Niqmaddu, king of Ugarit in Syria, chastising him for not paying his overlord, Hattusili, enough tribute. These letters, discovered in the Ugarit archives, also addressed Niqmaddu’s concerns about caravans passing through his territory.

Religious Roles

The royal family saw itself as inextricably linked to God. In certain ways, the Hittite queen was associated with the goddess who presided over the Hittite pantheon, much like the king was identified with the deity who presided over the pantheon.

Puduhepa continued the process of melting down Hittite gods like Arinna’s Sun Goddess and Hurrian gods like Hepat. It is seen that during her time, the Hurri gods added to the god pantheon in the Yazılıkaya increased their power.

The Queen Mother

Puduhepa became one of the most authoritative queens during the Hittite kingdom. Its effects can be seen in both political and religious written documents. It had a political influence on the small kingdoms of the Hitit state.

After her husband died (1237 BC.), The Queen continued her political activity as a mother. In 1936, a bulla, or seal-impressed clay, was discovered at Tarsus in southern Turkey. This seal belonged to Tudhaliya and dubbed the queen mother “Puduhepa, Great Queen, Queen of the Land of Hatti, beloved of Hepat.”

Related Articles

Middle Ages living space uncovered at an altitude of 1,800 meters in eastern Turkey

20 December 2021

20 December 2021

A living space carved into a bedrock considered to belong to the Middle Ages was found at a point overlooking...

Karahantepe will shed light on the mysteries of the Prehistoric period

7 October 2021

7 October 2021

Karahantepe’s ancient site, which is home to Neolithic-era T-shaped obelisks similar to the ones in the world-famous Göbeklitepe, will reveal...

At Göbeklitepe, believed to be the earliest known Mesolithic temple complex, grinding stones were discovered

26 October 2022

26 October 2022

A recent discovery at Göbeklitepe, the oldest known Mesolithic temple complex, has revealed grinding stones, new finds expected to shed...

Underwater excavations start at 1,700-year-old ancient Black Sea port Kerpe

20 September 2021

20 September 2021

The traces of the ancient harbor on the Black Sea coast of Kerpe, in Kocaeli’s Kandıra district, are being brought...

Bergama Ancient City Takes Its Place in Digital Environment

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

As a result of the studies carried out by the German Institute, Bergama Ancient City was It was transferred to...

Central Turkey’s largest Byzantine mosaic structure found

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

A 300-square-meter (3,330 square feet) ​floor mosaic belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period was discovered during excavation work in...

The 2800-year-old Urartians Lake, which is an engineering masterpiece of its time, is drying

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

Keşiş Lake in Van, in eastern Turkey, which was built by the Urartu King Rusa 2,800 years ago, was negatively...

Rare Egyptian-Iconography Relief Discovered at Sagalassos: Afyon Marble Panels Depict God Tutu

5 October 2025

5 October 2025

Archaeologists excavating the ancient site of Sagalassos in the Ağlasun district of Burdur have made a striking discovery: a relief...

Extraordinary Discovery at Göbeklitepe: 12,000-Year-Old Human Statue Found Inside Wall

19 September 2025

19 September 2025

Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced a groundbreaking archaeological discovery at Göbeklitepe, the world-renowned UNESCO...

3500-year-old mysterious hieroglyphs discovered in Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa deciphered

12 October 2023

12 October 2023

Some of the Anatolian hieroglyphs discovered last year in the Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa, the former capital of the Hittite...

8000-year-old unique “fish-figure” small home tool found in Turkey

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

During this year’s excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds in İzmir, a unique “fish-figure” small home tool was found....

4,400-Year-Old Jade Cylinder Seal Found in Western Türkiye

6 December 2024

6 December 2024

A cylindrical seal made of jade stone dating back to 4,400 years ago was found in Kütahya Seyitömer Höyük (Seyitömer...

Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels found in Antiocheia Ancient City, in southern Turkey

24 October 2022

24 October 2022

During excavations in southern Turkey’s ancient city of Antiocheia, archaeologists discovered late Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels. Antakya, better...

Life in Trabzon Started in This Cave 13,000 Years Ago

12 March 2021

12 March 2021

Karadeniz Technical University Archeology Department academicians found that life in Trabzon started 13,000 years ago in the Koskarlı Cave. Koskarlı...

3600-year-old lead weights were unearthed in the Kumluca Bronze Age Shipwreck, one of the oldest shipwrecks in the world

27 November 2022

27 November 2022

Underwater archaeological work continues in the Bronze Age shipwreck off Antalya Kumluca, one of the oldest shipwrecks in the world....