Muwatalli's prayer to the assembly of gods through the storm-god of lightning (CTH 381)

by Itamar Singer

Muwatalli's Prayer is the first full philological edition of the longest and best preserved Hittite prayer (290 lines). The two main duplicates were already published as early as 1916, but collation of the originals in Berlin by the author has provided numerous corrections and new observations on the redactional history of the text. Comparison with other prayers of Muwatalli and with the prayers of earlier and later kings sheds new light on the development of royal prayers in Hatti and in the ancient Near East in general. An in-depth study of the list of deities in the prayer, arranged by their cult centers, provides new insights into Hittite theology and history. Not least, Muwatalli's Prayer offers a better understanding of the poorly documented age of Muwatalli II and the theological climate, that led to the transfer of the Hittite capital from Hattusa to Tarhuntassa.