{{Infobox royalty | name = Pithana | succession = [[List of monarchs of Kussara|King of Kussara]] | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = c. 1700 BC | death_place = | reign = c. 1728 - c. 1700 BC | predecessor = | successor = [[Anitta (king)|Anitta]] | issue = [[Anitta (king)|Anitta]] }}

'''Pitḫana''' ('''Pythanas''';<ref>{{citation|last=Fortson|first=Benjamin W. IV|title=Indo-European Language and Culture|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2004|isbn=1-4051-0316-7}}</ref> died {{Circa}} 1700 BC) was the King of [[Kussara]] in Central [[Anatolia]] during the late Middle Bronze IIA (late 18th century BC). His dynasty laid the foundation and was a forerunner of the future Old Hittite Kingdom ([[Hittites|Hittite]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Kuhrt |first=Amélie |date=1995 |title=The Ancient Near East, Volume I |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh/page/n422 226] |isbn=0-415-16763-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh |url-access=registration }}</ref>

==Reign== === Samsu-Iluna of Babylon === Pithana appears to be contemporary of [[Samsu-iluna|Samsu-Iluna]] of [[Old Babylonian Empire|Babylon]]. At [[Tell al-Rimah]] (Qaṭṭarā), a seal was discovered belonging to Ilī-Samas, servant of Pithana. Pithana was the king of Kussara. A sealed tablet by Ilī-Samas (OBTR 317) was dated to the eponym of Uṣur-ša-Aššur (KEL G 131), corresponding to Year 22/23 of Samsu-iluna of Babylon around 1727 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lacambre |first1=Denis |last2=Nahm |first2=Werner |title=Pithana, an Anatolian ruler in the time of Samsuiluna of Babylon: New data from Tell Rimah (Iraq) |journal=Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale |date=2015 |volume=109 |access-date=13 January 2022 |publisher=Presses Universitaires de France |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44647922 |issn=0373-6032}}</ref>

=== Conquest of Kanesh === Following the death of [[Shamshi-Adad I]] around 1776 BC, the Assyrian Trade Network in Anatolia fell apart as the Old Assyrian Kingdom weakened. With the death of [[Hammurabi]] of Babylon around 1750 BC, two great powers of trade declined within a short period of time affecting demand/supply along the trade routes into Anatolia. While Kanesh (Level IB) had been a powerful trade center in the first part of the Middle Bronze IIA (c. 1820-1750 BC), the second part of MB IIA (c. 1750-1630 BC) saw its decline. The economic downturn caused both political turmoil and power shifts in Central Anatolia. Kanesh had already been raided by [[Uḫna]] of Zalpuwa, who took the statue of the god Siusum from Nesa to Zalpuwa.<ref>Text of Anitta KBo 3.22</ref> Pithana of Kussara was one petty king who exploited this to expand his power and territory, while his son Anitta brought the statue back to Kanesh.

Pithana is best known for the Conquest of [[Kanesh]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Kuhrt |first=Amélie |date=1995 |title=The Ancient Near East, Volume I |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh/page/n422 226] |isbn=0-415-16763-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh |url-access=registration }}</ref> heart of the [[Assyria]]n trading colonies network in Anatolia, and core of the [[Hittite language|Hittite]]-speaking territories. Dendrochronology indicates, based on the timber from the "Warshama Palace" and associated structures, that Kanesh Level Ib period lasted until roughly 1719 BC.<ref>Manning et al. 2016</ref>

===Succession=== He was succeeded by his son, [[Anitta (king)|Anitta]], who is best known for conquering [[Hattusa]], the future Hittite capital, and memorializing his achievement in [[Hittite language|Hittite]].

==See also== *[[History of the Hittites]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.hittites.info/history.aspx?text=history%2fHattic.htm#Pithana Reign of Pithana]

{{s-start}} {{succession box | title = [[List of monarchs of Kussara|King of Kussara]] | before = | after = [[Anitta (king)|Anitta]] | years = c. 1728 - c. 1700 BC }} {{s-end}}

{{Hittite kings}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kings of Kussara]] [[Category:18th-century BC monarchs]] [[Category:17th-century BC monarchs]] [[Category:2nd-millennium BC births]] [[Category:2nd-millennium BC deaths]]