Page 203 - Four Thousand Years Ago by Geoffrey Bibby

164 The Argosies [1650-1580 b.c.]

first campaign. King Hattusilis fell ill that year, and lay long in
his sickbed within the palace. Prince Labarnas automatically as­
sumed the regency, but much too eagerly and thoroughly for
the sick kings liking. He proceeded to reorganize the affairs of
state according to his own ideas, dismissing the old kings officials
and appointing his own, confining the king to the palace and
neglecting to consult him, clearly waiting only for Hattusilis
to die and for his own proclamation. He misjudged things badly,
for Hattusilis recovered and with the support of his loyal palace
guard arrested Labarnas and his supporters.
Summoning his warriors and court dignitaries to an official
council of state within the palace, Hattusilis made an official
proclamation (which he later caused to be recorded in cuneiform
in the royal archives). “I had fallen sick,” he said, “and the young
Labarnas, whom I had proclaimed my successor and exalted and
called my son, showed himself cold and heartless. He shed no
tears and showed no pity. He did not listen to the words of his
king, but only to the words of the serpent, his mother. Enough!
He is my son no more! I have granted him a house and an estate
and flocks, and there let him dwell. Only if he causes no trouble
may he come to the city.
“Behold, Mursilis is now my son, and when a call to arms
goes forth you, my servants and leading citizens, must give him
aid. And you, Mursilis, must obey my word. Eat only bread and
drink only water. So will Hattusas stand high and my land be
at peace. And be on the watch for the intrigues which, since my
grandfather’s day, have beset our family. Neither delay nor re­
lax. For if you delay the same old mischief will come upon you.
Lay this up in your heart, my son, and act always upon it.”
In the years that followed, as Mursilis grew to manhood, he
took an ever greater part in the administration of the Hittite
kingdom. Hattusilis recovered his health completely, and to­
gether the old king and his heir toured the country, exercising
the army along the frontiers and in the disputed regions beyond
during the long warm summers, and in the winters moving from
city to city, taking advantage of the temple festivals to confer
with the viceroys and councils of elders governing the cities and
provinces, judging disputes and assessing taxes and awarding