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Prince Zannanza (died c.1326 BC) was one of the middle of the thirteen sons of Suppiluliuma I, king of the Hittites. He is best known for being the cause of a diplomatic incident between the Hittite Empire and Egypt.
A mysterious queen of Egypt (possibly Ankhesenpaaten) asked King Suppiluliuma to send over a son during the late 18th dynasty due to being recently widowed by Nibhururia (possibly Akhenaten but more likely Tutankhamun) and having borne no heir. After suspiciously sending an envoy to prove she was not lying, he obliged her. Zannanza was chosen and sent to Egypt to become the new pharaoh and help make Egypt part of the Hittite empire. He never made it passed the Egyptian border, and exactly what became of him is under speculation. His father accused the Egyptians of murdering him, while the then king of Egypt, Ay, denied the murder but acknowledged the death. Angry letters were passed between the nations, but suddenly stopped some time later without coming to a conclusion. Some accounts state that Hittite forces attacked Egyptian settlements in Syria as a result *.
Zannanza in fiction
A fictionalized version of Prince Zannanza as well as the historical events mentioned above are depicted in the Japanese manga Red River. Zannanza is portrayed as being a bit of a womanizer, but a close comrade of his half-brother Prince Kail Mursili, and a skilled swordsman, and is a fairly central character in the first several chapters.
External links
"Zannanza"