Ammunu was King of the Hittites from around 1550 to 1530 BC. He was the son of Hantili. His successor, Huzziya I, may have been his son.

He was the Son of Zidanta I

• Titles Tabarna, King (from the axe)

• Queen [..?]Tawanna

• Family Huzziya, son: Eventually succeeded Ammuna by killing two of his brothers.
  Tittiya, son: At Huzziya's behest, Zuru, Chief of the Palace Guards, sent Tahurwaili, a Man of the Golden Spear, to kill Tittiya and his family, including his sons. This probably means that Tittiya had a better claim to throne either by way of age or his mother's rank.

• Hantili: At Huzziya's behest, Zuru, Chief of the Palace Guards, sent Taruhšu, a courier, to kill Hantili and his sons. This probably means that Hantili had a better claim to throne either by way of age or his mother's rank.

• 5 Unamed Sons: They survived Huzziya's reign, probably by being his junior rather than senior brothers, and apparently supported Huzziya when he attempted to kill Telipinu. Nevertheless, their support must have been less than heart-felt, since although Telipinu did not kill them, he did exile them to estates. But during Telipinu's reign, a group of Telipinu's highest officials sent Tanuwa, the Staff Bearer, to kill the brothers. Telipinu denied any knowledge of the murders.

Ammuna killed his father, Zidanta I, and became king. For the first time in two generations the royal blood was passed on through the father, even though under less than ideal circumstances. The land seems to have suffered badly during his reign, and he lost a considerable amount of territory. His death is explicitly mentioned, but it is not specified how. He had a large family, so he, like Hantili I before him, might have died of old age. This idea is further supported by the fact that his son, Huzziya, was capable of devising and executing a series of assassinations at the time of Ammuna's impending death which secured his accession to the throne (i.e. Ammuna did not die suddenly). See The Proclamation of Telipinu

The empire during the reign of Ammuna. In addition to the loss of much territory, Ammuna still had to wage campaigns against places such as Zalpa, the Hulanna River Land, and even Kaniš.

A fragmentary chronicle of Ammuna's reign is known (CTH #18). The annals seem to indicate that Ammuna successfully plundered Neša, but was fighting it again soon after. He also seems to have fought against the city of Šattiwara, the River Hulanna Land, and the city of Šuluki. Zalpa is also mentioned, as is Purušhanda, which might have been on Ammuna's side. These are all presumably located in the Hittite core lands, which lends credence to Telipinu's portrayal of the weakness of the kingdom during the reign of this king. See SRT's translation, The Annals of Ammuna, files of SRT.

Foreign Relations

Arzawa: He lost Arzawa (= Luwia) & Pala. We don't know who first captured Arzawa.

Kizzuwatna: He lost Kizzuwatna (= Adaniya = Cilicia). The first independent king of Kizzuwatna may have been Pariyawatri, father of Išputahsu. There is the slight possibility that Pariyawatri might have had a predecessor by the name of Pilliya, but the evidence is very very slim. See Beal (1986) n. 11.