Ever since archaeologists started digging up ancient Hittite records, researchers have endeavored to link them to the legend of the Trojan War from Greek mythology. Many of these records mention prominent individuals by name. According to some researchers, King Priam of Troy actually appears in these Hittite sources. What do the facts really show?
Who was King Priam of Troy?
King Priam was the famous king of Troy during the Trojan War. It was his son, Paris Alexander, who took Helen back to Troy and inadvertently caused the enormous war with the Greeks. Priam himself was allegedly a powerful monarch. He was married to a princess from the nearby kingdom of Phrygia, which itself was a very wealthy and powerful kingdom.
The father of Priam was Laomedon, the king who had fortified the city of Troy. He was the last king in a dynasty going all the way back to Dardanus, some five generations prior to him. While many of the kings in this line had Greek names, scholars generally interpret Priam’s name to be Luwian. This was an Anatolian language common in the Bronze Age.
Traditionally, scholars believe Priam first appears in Homer’s Iliad. However, some researchers claim he appears in records, such as those of the Hittites, long before this.
Piyama-Radu in Hittite records
What are the records in question? They are Hittite documents dating to the 13th century BCE, particularly the middle and late part of that century. These documents reveal that a certain war leader named Piyama-Radu was active in Western Anatolia in that era.
According to these documents, Piyama-Radu was a prominent figure whose career lasted at least 35 years. His activities spanned the reigns of at least four Hittite kings, causing trouble for at least three of them (namely, Muwatalli II, Hattusili III, and Tudhaliya IV).
While there is no certainty regarding Piyama-Radu’s hometown, many scholars believe he was from the kingdom of Arzawa.
Was Priam the Piyama-Radu from Hittite documents?
On a surface level, there is a certain appeal to the identification of Priam with this historical Piyama-Radu. The name “Priam” is quite similar to “Piyama.” Furthermore, the latter was a prominent figure, which fits Priam’s power and prestige in Greek legends.
However, despite this superficial attraction, the theory does not stand up to scrutiny. In virtually all the particulars, Priam and Piyama-Radu are nothing alike. For instance, we have already seen that Piyama-Radu apparently came from the kingdom of Arzawa. This was in southwestern Anatolia. In contrast to this figure from Hittite records, Priam ruled from Troy in the northwest corner of Anatolia.
Another problem is that these Hittite records never call Piyama-Radu a king, as Priam definitely was. They present him as a war leader who, as scholars suggest, may have been trying to carve out a kingdom for himself with limited success. This figure from Hittite records is therefore quite different to King Priam of Troy with his well-established dynasty.
Piyama-Radu as the opposite of Priam
There is something else that argues even more strongly against the identification of Piyama-Radu of Hittite records with the legendary King Priam. These ancient documents very clearly reveal that Piyama-Radu was an ally of the Ahhiyawa.
This nation is widely understood to be the Mycenaean Greeks, with the word “Ahhiyawa” being the Hittite version of the word “Akhaioi,” that is, the Achaeans. According to the Hittites, this nation caused considerable trouble in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. Piyama-Radu aided them in raiding much of that region.
Thus, Piyama-Radu attacked the areas inhabited by the peoples whom Homer presents as the allies of Troy. In fact, there is even a reference to Piyama-Radu attacking Troy itself! If Piyama-Radu and Priam lived at the same time, which is uncertain, they would have certainly been enemies. There is simply no way to identify them as the same person.
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