The Aleppo Treaty is a rare Bronze Age diplomatic document illuminating relations among Hatti, Mittani, and Aleppo in the 13th century BCE.
Key Facts
- Catalogue number
- CTH 75
- Issued by
- Hittite King Muwatalli II
- Original parties
- Talmi-Šarruma of Aleppo and Muršili II
- Writing medium
- Clay cuneiform tablets in Akkadian
- Discovery site
- Bogazkale, Turkey (ancient Hattuša)
- Primary holding institution
- British Museum
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
An earlier treaty between Muršili II of Hatti and Talmi-Šarruma, King of Aleppo, was concluded to regulate relations among the powers of the Bronze Age Near East. When the original copy of this agreement was stolen, the legal basis for the accord was placed in jeopardy, prompting action by the subsequent Hittite ruler.
Muwatalli II reissued the stolen treaty, producing the document now catalogued as CTH 75. The text was preserved in multiple archival copies on clay cuneiform tablets written in Akkadian and stored at Hattuša, the Hittite capital. It records the diplomatic obligations binding Hatti and Aleppo and references the role of Mittani in regional politics.
The tablets survived at Bogazkale and were later recovered by archaeologists, with the most complete copy acquired by the British Museum. The text became a valuable source for scholars studying Bronze Age diplomacy, offering detailed evidence of inter-state relations among Hatti, Mittani, and Aleppo during the Late Bronze Age.
Political Outcome
Muwatalli II reissued the stolen treaty, reaffirming diplomatic obligations between Hatti and Aleppo