According to Homer’s Iliad, the king of Troy at the time of the Trojan War was Priam. His dynasty had ruled Troy for generations. However, his family’s rule came to an end during the Trojan War, partly through the death of Prince Hector at the hands of Achilles. Is there any evidence that this legendary line of kings of Troy really existed?
The most famous piece of evidence that supposedly supports the existence of these kings comes from ancient Hittite letters. The Hittite Empire ruled over much of Anatolia in the Bronze Age, and they exerted much influence over the Troad, where Troy is located.
Ancient Hittite letters refer to Troy as Wilusa, and indicate that it was an important city. In many of these letters, they mention the kings of Wilusa. Since these are contemporary documents, we can be confident that the kings mentioned in these letters really existed.
Since these letters broadly cover the period in which the ancient Greeks placed the Trojan War (1200 BCE) this is significant. One of the kings mentioned in one of these letters is a certain Alaksandu. This is notable, since Homer explains that Paris, son of Priam, was also called Alexander.
Many scholars agree that the name ‘Alaksandu’ in this Hittite letter is a version of the Greek name Alexandros. For this reason, many researchers have tried to associate this historical King Alaksandu with the legendary prince of Troy, Paris.
However, does this identification stand up to scrutiny? Can this really be used to argue that the legendary kings of Troy really existed? In reality, there are a number of issues with it.
For one thing, the Hittite letter in which he appears clearly describes him as a king, not a prince. It also presents Alaksandu as sealing a treaty with the Hittite king Muwatalli II.
This does not fit the profile of the Paris Alexander of the legends. Not only was he a prince rather than a king, but he was not even the eldest son of Priam. If he were the heir to the throne, then maybe we could argue that he might have been representing his father as crown prince. However, according to Homer, Hector was the eldest son and heir to the throne.
As well as his status, something else that does not match is the chronology of Alaksandu. Scholars believe that King Muwatalli II reigned from 1295 to 1272 BCE. Furthermore, the letter mentioning this treaty implies that Alaksandu previously had a treaty with Mursili II, a Hittite king who ruled from c. 1321 to 1295 BCE.
Therefore Alaksandu was definitely a king c. 1300 BCE. This is substantially earlier than the traditional date of 1184 BCE for the Trojan War. It is even much earlier than the date given by Herodotus, who placed the Trojan War in about 1250 BCE.
Based on these objections, it is not reasonable to use the record of Alaksandu as evidence that the legendary kings of Troy really existed.
Another argument that supposedly shows that the legendary kings of Troy really existed is that King Priam himself appears in Hittite letters. This argument identifies Priam with a figure named Piyama-Radu. Unlike Alaksandu, he appears prominently in several Hittite letters.
These letters explain that Piyama-Radu was raiding Hittite territory all over much of western Anatolia. He was a powerful war leader. Some scholars argue that he was attempting to carve out a kingdom for himself.
However, does this mean that he can be used to show that the legendary kings of Troy really existed? In reality, this identification has even more issues with it than the identification of Alaksandu as Paris Alexander.
There are three major reasons why Piyama-Radu cannot realistically be interpreted as the historical basis for Priam.
For one thing, Homer makes it clear that Priam was from a dynasty that ruled over Troy for generations. In contrast, the Hittite letters never refer to Piyama-Radu as a king, despite elsewhere referring to kings of Wilusa without issue.
Secondly, there is no evidence that Piyama-Radu was from Troy. In fact, although we do not know where he was from, the available evidence indicates that he came from Arzawa. This is in south-west Anatolia, far from Troy.
Thirdly, and perhaps most significantly, his activities do not match those of Priam. In fact, they go directly against Priam’s profile in the Iliad. Homer describes Priam as being the king of Troy and having allies from all over western Anatolia. These allied nations assist Troy throughout the Trojan War, fighting against the Greeks.
In contrast, the Hittite letters reveal that Piyama-Radu was fighting against the nations of western Anatolia. Wilusa, or Troy, was one of the specific cities that he is described as attacking. Furthermore, the Hittites refer to Piyama-Radu as allying himself with the Ahhiyawa during these campaigns. Most scholars identify the Ahhiyawa as the Mycenaean Greeks.
Therefore everything that we know about Piyama-Radu goes directly against what Homer tells us about Priam.
While this does not mean that the legendary kings of Troy did not exist, it is clear that they cannot be found in ancient Hittite documents.
