Hittite royal archive found in Turkey reveals a king's grief and a general's desperate plea
Archaeologists in central Turkey have unearthed the largest Hittite-language archive of the 21st century: 131 cuneiform tablets from the ancient city of Samuha, dating to King Tudhaliya II. The texts record a fever epidemic that killed the king's infant daughter, military logistics, religious rituals, and bird divination—offering rare insight into Hittite royal life 3,400 years ago.
One text tells of a fever epidemic that struck the infant daughter of the king. She was still a nursing baby when she became ill. She never recovered from the fever and her health declined precipitously until she passed away.