Then I could see no king, no brother, no allies, just the enemy: the Meshedi, the hostile lords. To get there, I hacked my way through a Meshedi’s neck with my ax, tore another off my back – too late to avoid a long slash on my chest.

Then I faced the Great Ones, the Chiefs, and the lords, saying, “I give you each warning! Make your decisions!”Įven as I spoke, Kantuzilis screamed “Take them!” springing on Zida a moment before I loosed my men and, with bare sword and ax, waded into the battle suddenly boiling around the Great King. Let the Oath Gods decide between us, or cede me the seat you cannot hold!” I whirled around, checking to be sure that my men awaited me, that their resolve was strong, that their courage would hold. You have made a mockery of this kingship before the people. Then, as Kantuzilis’ white claws came down on Tuthaliyas’ shoulder, I shouted: “You are nothing. He conquered more than forty nations and brought fear and war to the very doorstep of Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt, but he could not conquer the one woman he truly loved. They called him Great King, Favorite of the Storm God, the Valiant. From palace coups in the lost city of Hattusas to treachery in the Egyptian court of Tutankhamun, I, the Sun, the saga of the Hittite King Suppiluliumas, rings with authenticity and the passion of a world that existed fourteen hundred years before the birth of Christ.

Suppiluliumas I and the Amarna pharaohs: Biographical novel of the greatest Hittite king.

I, the Sun by Janet E. Morris