Muksus, the King of Troy Who Led the Sea Peoples

Karatepe bilingual inscription, Cilicia, eighth period BCE. Credit: Wikipedia Commons, Klaus-Peter Simon, CC-BY-SA 3.0

We cognize precious small astir Troy’s existent Late Bronze Age history. However, the arguable Beykoy texts whitethorn supply a elaborate account of immoderate events involving Troy successful that era. These Bronze Age texts talk of a large king named Muksus who engaged successful a run successful Palestine and whitethorn good person led the mysterious Sea Peoples.

What we cognize astir Muksus, the king of Troy

A fig named Muksus appears successful assorted sources. The sanction is equivalent to the signifier ‘Mopsus’ seen successful Ancient Greek texts. These texts notation to Mopsus, lad of Manto, arsenic a seer and impermanent king of Colophon successful occidental Anatolia. He is besides credited with founding respective cities connected the confederate seashore of Anatolia, including places arsenic acold eastbound arsenic Cilicia.

Two inscriptions dated to the 2nd fractional of the eighth period BCE supply grounds that the kings of Adana successful Cilicia were of the ‘house of Mopsus’. One of these inscriptions is the celebrated Karatepe bilingual. This demonstrates that the forms ‘Mopsus’ and ‘Muksus’ are equivalent.

Much earlier than the eighth period BCE, a Hittite tablet confirmed the beingness of a definite Muksus successful the Late Bronze Age. Many researchers, though not all, judge that this whitethorn beryllium the humanities fig down the Mospus of Greek legend.

The arguable Beykoy texts

The Beykoy texts were discovered successful the 19th century, though they person unluckily been destroyed. Thankfully, broad drawings survive, allowing historians to analyse them and larn much astir the events successful Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age.

There is immoderate contention surrounding the authenticity of these texts, but determination is beardown grounds successful their favor. Therefore, the accusation is apt invaluable and accurate, akin to immoderate different modern inscription from that era.

These texts are written successful Luwian hieroglyphs and notation to the activities of Luwian kings successful occidental Anatolia. They link with assorted Hittite tablets from that era. For instance, the texts notation a king of the kingdom of Mira named Kupanta-Kurunta, whose great-grandfather had the aforesaid name. Hittite tablets corroborate this great-grandfather.

Ancient Walls of Troy. credit: Jorge Láscar/Flickr CC BY 2.0

The activities of the Bronze Age Muksus

Interestingly, the Beykoy texts notation the Kingdom of Wilusa. Historians mostly hold that this is Troy. According to these arguable texts, the king of Troy was a definite Walmu. King Mashuitta, the begetter and predecessor of Kupanta-Kurunta II, had installed him successful this position.

This would mean that Troy, oregon Wilusa, was a lawsuit kingdom of Mira and was not, arsenic sometimes assumed, nether the power of the Hittite Empire (at least, not during this period).

The Beykoy texts picture Muksos arsenic the large king of Apaisos successful the Troad. Just earlier this, Muksos is described arsenic the large king successful Mira and Wilusa. Therefore, helium appears to person been the successor of King Kupanta-Kurunta II.

What is peculiarly absorbing is that this transition astir Muksus explains that helium led a run with respective different kings to onslaught respective regions successful the Levant, including Philistia successful Palestine. He is past described arsenic establishing a frontier fortress astatine Ashkelon.

Connection to the Sea Peoples

Some scholars person attempted to link the activities of Muksus described successful the Beykoy texts with those of the Sea Peoples arsenic outlined successful Egyptian records. One ground for this proposition is that Muksus appears to person been progressive successful the archetypal 4th of the 12th period BCE.

This ties successful precise good with the dating of the Sea Peoples. They bash look successful Egyptian records passim the 13th period BCE. However, their astir important campaigns against the Hittites and the Egyptians occurred astatine the commencement of the 12th period BCE.

Since the Levant was Egyptian territory during Muksus’ time, it is evident that helium would person been warring them. Furthermore, the kings of Mira occasionally fought the Hittites. It is plausible that Greeks joined the kings of Mira successful their campaigns, arsenic the Hittites independently recorded the Ahhiyawa (likely Greeks) warring against their empire.

This ties successful good with grounds for immoderate of the Sea Peoples being Greek tribes. Therefore, it could good beryllium that Muksus, the king of Troy, was the person of the Sea Peoples during immoderate of their astir important attacks.