The collection of Hittite legal texts is generally referred to as The Laws, suggesting that it does not make up a document produced by a central authority but rather it is a compilation of civil and criminal law traditionally observed by society, as illustrated by the excerpts given here from among somewhat over two hundred clauses. The earliest record of it dates to the Old Kingdom, about 1650 B.C., but that refers to still earlier versions. Many copies have survived, four from the Old Kingdom alone; these maintain the collection with little or no change. As a general characteristic, the provisions require cooperation rather than vengeance or imprisonment for offenses. Like the initial clauses given here, some deal with criminal offenses such as abduction, theft, homicide and so on. Others deal with civil offenses related to marriage, management of livestock, and various services. Further knowledge of the practice of law in Hittite society is provided by texts on court proceedings and statements by the king or other administrators, but the basic information on legal practice of the Hittites is given in The Laws.
All 10 clauses given here are included in the collection catalogued as "KBo VI," mostly KBo VI 3. The first three clauses (1, 2, 5) deal with criminal offenses; they illustrate nicely the identification of specific offenses and the resultant punishment. The third is especially notable in specifying different punishments according to the type and place of offense. In all three, the sentence translated "he shall look to his house for it" has been the subject of great attention and a variety of interpretations. By what is probably the best interpretation, it indicates that the estate of the person performing a criminal action will be involved in any penalty.
The fourth and fifth clauses (9, 10) deal with less serious offenses; among other things, they illustrate that legal practice has undergone change from former times.
The sixth and seventh clauses (28, 37) deal with civil offenses and are self-explanatory. But if, as in the seventh (37, from KBo VI 2 with a near-duplicate in KBo VI 3), a criminal offense occurs in the attempt at solution, the perpetrator is outlawed as a wolf and subject to the usual punishments for such a criminal offense.
The last three clauses (66, 86, 55) also deal with civil offenses, and illustrate the extent to which the laws deal with minor infractions. Yet the last, 55 (from KBo VI 13 and 26), seems to lead to a remarkably serious punishment. It is explained in accordance with a widespread belief associating a snake with a specific person, and making it clear when killing the snake that a similar action is to strike its surrogate.
1 - tak-ku LÚ-an na-as-ma MUNUS-an su-ul-la-an-na-az ku-is-ki ku-en-zi a-pu-u-un ar-nu-zi Ù 4 SAG.DU pa-a-i LÚ-na-ku MUNUS-na-ku par-na-as-se-e-a su-wa-a-ez-zi
2 - tak-ku ARAD-an na-as-ma GEME-an su-ul-la-an-na-az ku-is-ki ku-en-zi a-pu-u-un ar-nu-zi Ù 2 SAG.DU pa-a-i LÚ-na-ku MUNUS-na-ku par-na-as-se-e-a su-wa-a-ez-zi
5 - tak-ku LÚDAM.GÀR URUHa-at-ti ku-is-ki ku-en-zi 1 ME MA.NA KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i par-na-as-se-e-a su-wa-a-ez-zi tak-ku I-NA KUR URULu-ú-i-ya na-as-ma I-NA KUR URUPa-la-a 1 ME MA.NA KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i a-as-su-se-et-ta sar-ni-ik-zi ma-a-an I-NA KUR URUHa-at-ti nu-za ú-na-at-tal-la-an-pat ar-nu-uz-zi
9 - tak-ku LÚ.U19.LU SAG.DU-ZU ku-is-ki hu-u-ni-ik-zi ka-ru-ú 6 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR pi-is-ke-er nu hu-u-ni-in-kan-za 3 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR da-a-i A-NA É.GAL 3 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR da-as-ke-er ki-nu-na LUGAL-us SHA É.GAL pe-es-si-et nu-za hu-u-ni-in-kan-za-pat 3 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR da-a-i
10 - tak-ku LÚ.U19.LU-an ku-is-ki hu-ú-ni-ik-zi ta-an is-tar-ni-ik-zi nu a-pu-u-un sa-a-ak-ta-a-iz-zi pe-e-di-is-si-ma LÚ.U19.LU-an pa-a-i nu É-ri-is-si an-ni-es-ke-ez-zi ku-it-ma-a-na-as la-a-az-zi-at-ta ma-a-na-as la-az-zi-at-ta-ma nu-us-se 6 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i LÚA.ZU-ya ku-us-sa-an a-pa-a-as-pat pa-a-i
28 - tak-ku DUMU.MUNUS LÚ-ni ta-ra-an-za ta-ma-i-sa-an pit-te-nu-uz-zi ku-us-sa-an pit-te-nu-uz-zi-ma nu ha-an-te-ez-zi-ya-as LÚ-as ku-it ku-it pe-es-ta ta-as-se sar-ni-ik-zi at-ta-as-sa an-na-as Ú-UL sar-ni-in-kan-zi
tak-ku-wa-an at-ta-as an-na-as-sa ta-me-e-da-ni LÚ-ni pi-an-zi nu at-ta-as an-na-as-sa sar-ni-in-kan-zi
tak-ku at-ta-as-sa an-na-as mi-im-ma-i na-an-si-kan tuh-sa-an-ta
37 - tak-ku MUNUS-an ku-is-ki pit-te-nu-uz-zi EGIR-an-da-ma-as-ma-as sar-di-ya-as pa-iz-zi tak-ku 2 LÚMESH na-as-ma 3 LÚMESH ak-kan-zi sar-ni-ik-zi-il NU.GÁL zi-ik-wa UR.BARRA ki-sa-at
66 - tak-ku GU4.APIN.LÀL tak-ku ANSHE.KU.RA tu-u-ri-ya-u-wa-as tak-ku GU4ÁB tak-ku ANSHE.MUNUS.AL.LAL ha-a-li-as har-ap-ta tak-ku MÁSH.GAL e-na-an-za tak-ku UDU.SÍG.MUNUS tak-ku UDU.NITÁ a-sa-u-ni har-ap-ta is-ha-as-si-sa-an ú-e-mi-ya-az-zi na-an-za sa-ku-wa-as-sa-ra-an-pat da-a-i LÚNÍ-ZU-an Ú-UL e-ep-zi
86 - tak-ku SHAH se-e-li-ya na-as-ma A.SHÀ-ni GISHKIRI6-ni pa-iz-zi ta se-e-li-ya-as is-ha-a-as A.SHÀ-na-as GISHKIRI6-as wa-al-ah-zi na-as a-ki na-an is-hi-is-si EGIR-pa pa-a-i tak-ku-an Ú-UL-ma pa-a-i na-as LÚNÍ-ZU-as ki-i-sa
55 - tak-ku LÚ EL-LAM MUSH-an ku-en-zi ta-me-el-la SHUM-an te-ez-zi 1 MA.NA KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i tak-ku ARAD-ma a-pa-a-as-pat a-ki
1 tak-ku LÚ-an na-as-ma MUNUS-an su-ul-la-an-na-az ku-is-ki ku-en-zi a-pu-u-un ar-nu-zi Ù 4 SAG.DU pa-a-i LÚ-na-ku MUNUS-na-ku par-na-as-se-e-a su-wa-a-ez-zi
2 tak-ku ARAD-an na-as-ma GEME-an su-ul-la-an-na-az ku-is-ki ku-en-zi a-pu-u-un ar-nu-zi Ù 2 SAG.DU pa-a-i LÚ-na-ku MUNUS-na-ku par-na-as-se-e-a su-wa-a-ez-zi
5 tak-ku LÚDAM.GÀR URUHa-at-ti ku-is-ki ku-en-zi 1 ME MA.NA KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i par-na-as-se-e-a su-wa-a-ez-zi tak-ku I-NA KUR URULu-ú-i-ya na-as-ma I-NA KUR URUPa-la-a 1 ME MA.NA KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i a-as-su-se-et-ta sar-ni-ik-zi ma-a-an I-NA KUR URUHa-at-ti nu-za ú-na-at-tal-la-an-pat ar-nu-uz-zi
9 tak-ku LÚ.U19.LU SAG.DU-ZU ku-is-ki hu-u-ni-ik-zi ka-ru-ú 6 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR pi-is-ke-er nu hu-u-ni-in-kan-za 3 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR da-a-i A-NA É.GAL 3 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR da-as-ke-er ki-nu-na LUGAL-us SHA É.GAL pe-es-si-et nu-za hu-u-ni-in-kan-za-pat 3 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR da-a-i
10 tak-ku LÚ.U19.LU-an ku-is-ki hu-ú-ni-ik-zi ta-an is-tar-ni-ik-zi nu a-pu-u-un sa-a-ak-ta-a-iz-zi pe-e-di-is-si-ma LÚ.U19.LU-an pa-a-i nu É-ri-is-si an-ni-es-ke-ez-zi ku-it-ma-a-na-as la-a-az-zi-at-ta ma-a-na-as la-az-zi-at-ta-ma nu-us-se 6 GÍN KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i LÚA.ZU-ya ku-us-sa-an a-pa-a-as-pat pa-a-i
28 tak-ku DUMU.MUNUS LÚ-ni ta-ra-an-za ta-ma-i-sa-an pit-te-nu-uz-zi ku-us-sa-an pit-te-nu-uz-zi-ma nu ha-an-te-ez-zi-ya-as LÚ-as ku-it ku-it pe-es-ta ta-as-se sar-ni-ik-zi at-ta-as-sa an-na-as Ú-UL sar-ni-in-kan-zi
tak-ku-wa-an at-ta-as an-na-as-sa ta-me-e-da-ni LÚ-ni pi-an-zi nu at-ta-as an-na-as-sa sar-ni-in-kan-zi
tak-ku at-ta-as-sa an-na-as mi-im-ma-i na-an-si-kan tuh-sa-an-ta
37 tak-ku MUNUS-an ku-is-ki pit-te-nu-uz-zi EGIR-an-da-ma-as-ma-as sar-di-ya-as pa-iz-zi tak-ku 2 LÚMESH na-as-ma 3 LÚMESH ak-kan-zi sar-ni-ik-zi-il NU.GÁL zi-ik-wa UR.BARRA ki-sa-at
66 tak-ku GU4.APIN.LÀL tak-ku ANSHE.KU.RA tu-u-ri-ya-u-wa-as tak-ku GU4ÁB tak-ku ANSHE.MUNUS.AL.LAL ha-a-li-as har-ap-ta tak-ku MÁSH.GAL e-na-an-za tak-ku UDU.SÍG.MUNUS tak-ku UDU.NITÁ a-sa-u-ni har-ap-ta is-ha-as-si-sa-an ú-e-mi-ya-az-zi na-an-za sa-ku-wa-as-sa-ra-an-pat da-a-i LÚNÍ-ZU-an Ú-UL e-ep-zi
86 tak-ku SHAH se-e-li-ya na-as-ma A.SHÀ-ni GISHKIRI6-ni pa-iz-zi ta se-e-li-ya-as is-ha-a-as A.SHÀ-na-as GISHKIRI6-as wa-al-ah-zi na-as a-ki na-an is-hi-is-si EGIR-pa pa-a-i tak-ku-an Ú-UL-ma pa-a-i na-as LÚNÍ-ZU-as ki-i-sa
55 tak-ku LÚ EL-LAM MUSH-an ku-en-zi ta-me-el-la SHUM-an te-ez-zi 1 MA.NA KÙ.BABBAR pa-a-i tak-ku ARAD-ma a-pa-a-as-pat a-ki
1 If someone kills a man or a woman in a quarrel, he (the killer) produces the body (lit. 'that one') and gives (in recompense) four people (lit. 'heads') -- whether (he kills) a man or a woman -- he shall look to his house for it.
2 If someone kills a male slave or a female slave in a quarrel, he (the killer) produces the body (lit. 'that one') and gives (in recompense) four people (lit. 'heads') -- whether (he kills) a man or a woman -- he shall look to his house for it.
5 If someone kills a Hittite merchant, he shall give one hundred mina of silver. He shall look to his house for it. If (the killing occurs) in the land of Luwiya or in the land of Pala, the shall pay one hundred mina of silver and restore his goods. If (the killing occurs) in the land of Hatti, he shall also produce the merchant himself (for burial).
9 If someone injures a person's head, they used to give 6 shekels of silver: the injured person took three shekels of silver, and they used to take three shekels of silver for the palace. But now, the king has waived the palace share, so that the injured person alone takes three shekels of silver.
10 If someone injures a person and makes him ill, he performs sick maintenance for him. In his place, he provides a person to work his estate while he recovers. When he recovers, (the assailant) will give him six shekels of silver, and he will also pay the doctor's fee himself.
28 If a daughter (is) promised to a man, and another (man) abducts her and steals the bride price, the one who abducts her, gives the first man whatever he paid (as bride-price) and he makes restitution to him. The (woman's) father and mother do not make restitution (to the original prospective son-in-law). If the father and mother give her to another man, then the father and mother do make restitution (to the original prospective son-in-law). If the mother and father refuse (to make restitution), they shall separate her from him (the second man).
37 If someone abducts a woman and a (group of) helper(s) goes after them, if two or three men are killed, there is no restitution: 'You (sg.) have become a wolf.'
66 If a plow ox, a draft horse, if a heifer, (or) a mare wanders into (another owner's) corral; if a tame? he-goat, if a ewe, if a ram strays into (another owner's) fold, and its owner finds it, he shall take it back by right. He (the animal's owner) shall not seize him (the corral or fold's owner) (as) a thief.
86 If a pig goes into a grain-heap, a field, (or) a garden, and the owner of the grain-heap, field, (or) garden strikes it and it dies, he shall give it back to its owner. But if he does not give it (back), he shall become a thief.
55 If a free man kills a snake and speaks another's name (while killing it), he shall pay forty shekels of silver. If he (the offender) is a slave, however, he himself shall die (i.e. 'be executed').
Hittite has two widely attested demonstrative pronouns: one that indicates that what it refers to is nearby, corresponding to English "this," and another that indicates that the referent is more distant, corresponding to English "that." As with the tonic personal pronouns, and the relative and interrogative pronouns, the demonstratives have a set of pronominal endings distinct from nominal endings.
The demonstrative ka:- 'this (one)' has a stem that alternates between ka:-, k-, ki:- and ke:-. In early texts, the the nominative-accusative neuter singular ki:- is kept distinct from the nominative-accusative neuter plural and nominative plural animate ke:. In later texts, however, one finds ke: functioning as a nominative-accusative singular neuter and ki: functioning as a nominative plural animate and nominative-accusative plural neuter. The instrumental occurs in three forms, one with the pronominal ending -anda, one with the ending -t that occurs with both nouns and pronouns, and another with the ending -anna. In the genitive plural, the original ending -enzan was eventually replaced by the -l of the singular.
| anim. | neut. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||
| nom. | ka:s | ki:, ke: | ||||
| acc. | ku:n | ki:, ke: | ||||
| gen. | ke:l | |||||
| dat/loc. | ke:dani | |||||
| abl. | ke:z | |||||
| inst. | ke:danta, ke:danna, ke:t, ki:t | |||||
| Plural | ||||||
| nom. | ke:, ki: | ke:, ki: | ||||
| acc. | ku:s | ke:, ki: | ||||
| gen. | ke:nzan, ke:l | |||||
| dat/loc. | ki:tas, ke:das |
The demonstrative apa:- 'that (one)' is also used as a third person pronoun. Its archaic genitive plural ape:nzan was replaced by ape:das with the nominal genitive plural ending.
| anim. | neut. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||
| nom. | apa:s | ape: | ||||
| acc. | apu:s | ape: | ||||
| gen. | ape:l | |||||
| dat/loc. | ape:dani | |||||
| abl. | ape:z | |||||
| inst. | ape:t | |||||
| Plural | ||||||
| nom. | ||||||
| acc. | ||||||
| gen. | ape:nzan, ape:das | |||||
| dat/loc. | ape:das | |||||
| abl. | ape:daz |
As noted above, ka:- is used to refer to people or objects considered relatively near, while apa:- refers to people or objects considered relatively distant. When used as a third person pronoun, apa:- literally means 'that one'.
| nu-mu | ki: | IGI-zi | LÚ-natar-mit | |||||
| and-to-me | this | first | manly deed-my | |||||
| "This was my first manly deed." | ||||||||
| nu | ka:sa | kedani | uddani: | LIM | DINGIRLIM | tuliya | halziuen | |||||||||
| and | look | for this | for matter | 1000 | gods | to the assembly | we called | |||||||||
| "Look, for this matter, we have called the thousand gods to the assembly!" | ||||||||||||||||
| takku | LÚ-an | nasma | MUNUS-an | sullannaz | kuiski | kuenzi | ||||||||
| if | man | or | woman | from a quarrel | someone | kills | ||||||||
| apu:n | arnuzi | |||||||||||||
| that one | he brings back | |||||||||||||
| "If someone kills a man or a woman as the result of a quarrel, (the murderer) brings (back) that one (the body)." | ||||||||||||||
| takku | LÚ.U19.LU-an | kuiski | húnikzi | |||||||
| if | person | someone | injures | |||||||
| t-an | istarnikzi | nu | apu:n | sa:kta:izzi | ||||||
| and-him | makes sick | and | that one | he takes care of | ||||||
| "If someone injures a person and makes him sick, (the offender) takes care of that one (the injured party)." | ||||||||||
Adverbs, many of which describe spatial or temporal relations are formed from the case forms or stems of both demonstratives. For example: ka:ni 'here', ke:t 'on this side', kitpandalaz 'from now on', or kisssan 'in this way, thus' are from ka:-, while, for example, ape:da 'there', apiya 'there, then', apiyakku 'even there', and ape:nissan 'thus' are from apa:-, ape:-. Since apa:- may be used as a third person pronoun, it can take the reflexive suffix -ila, making the reflexive pronoun apa:sila 'himself, herself, itself'.
The word ka:sa, which is used to begin sentences, is conventially translated "look!, lo!" or "behold," and is found beside a ka:sma of similar function is also from the stem of ka:-. Its force was perhaps originally to draw the listner's attention to an utterance, and it is perhaps more literally translatable as "here, then!":
Beside the demonstratives ka:- and apa:- Hittite has a third set of pronouns from a stem tamai-, tama-, tame- 'other, another'. The animate accusative plural is found only in the Empire period, a time during which the original accusative plural animate ending -us could be used for the nominative plural in pronouns and nouns.
| anim. | neut. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||
| nom. | tama:is | tamai | ||||
| acc. | tama:in | |||||
| gen. | tame:l, tame:das | |||||
| dat/loc. | tammatta, dame:dani | |||||
| abl. | tame:daz | |||||
| inst. | ||||||
| all. | ||||||
| Plural | ||||||
| nom. | damaus | tama:i | ||||
| acc. | damaus | tama:i | ||||
| dat/loc. | tame:das |
The following sentence from the "Law Code" provides an example of tama:i- in the genitive:
| takku | LÚEL-LAM | MUSH-an | kuenzi | tamell-a | SHUM-an | tezzi | ||||||||
| if | free man | snake | kills | and-another's (gen.) | name | says | ||||||||
| "If a free man kills a snake and pronounces another's name..." | ||||||||||||||
Sentences with more than one enclitic are quite common, and the enclitic function words in such sentences appear in a rigid order after the word or sentence connective to which they are attached.
Such combinations of enclitics can be though of as strings composed of locations, or "slots" that can be occupied by specific enclitic particles. The full enclitic string has five slots and can be represented as follows:
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| conjunctions | quotative | personal pronouns | reflexive | locational | ||||||
| -a 'but', -ma | -war-, -wa- | -za- | -kkan, -ssan | |||||||
| -a, -ya 'and' | -asta, -apa |
Enclitic strings with each slot filled are rare, but strings with three enclitics are not uncommon and strings with four enclitics are not unknown. When the second-person singular dative-accusative pronoun -tta, the third person singular dative -ssi, and the first person plural dative-accusative -nnas- precede enclitics beginning with vowels, their initial consonants are often doubled. Similarly, when the locatival particles -ssan and -kkan, which always end the enclitic string, are preceded by enclitics ending in vowels, their initial consonants are often doubled.
The following examples illustrate some of the possible combinations of enclitics:
ug-a-war-us
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -a 'but' | -war- | -us | -kan |
GUD-ya-wa-mu
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ya 'and, but' | -wa- | -mu | -kan |
zik-kan
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -kan |
mahhan-ma-za-kan
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ma- | -za- | -kan |
nu-wa-kan
| Slot 1 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -wa- | -kan |
nu-tta-kkan
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -tta- | -kkan |
nu-za-kan
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -za- | -kan |
nu-mu-za
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -mu | -za |
nu-wa-mu-za
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -wa- | -mu- | -za- |
nu-war-at-san
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -war- | -at- | -san |
n-an-za-kan
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -an- | -za- | -kan |
When the second person singular dative-accusative pronoun -tta- precedes the reflexive particle -za, it shows up as -tu-, -ddu-. For example:
nu-wa-du-za
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -wa- | -du- | -za- |
More than one enclitic pronoun may occur in slot three, the pronoun slot, for example:
n-an-si-kan
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -an- 2 sg. acc.anim. | ||||||||||
| -si- 3 sg. dat. | -kan |
nu-war-an-mu
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -an- 2 sg. acc.anim. | ||||||||||
| -war- | -mu- 1 sg. dat. |
n-as-mu-kan
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 sg. nom.anim. | ||||||||||
| -mu- 1 sg. acc. | -kan |
n-at-mu
| Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 4 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 sg. acc.anim. | ||||||||||
| -mu- 1 sg. dat. |
There are, however, restrictions on the case forms that may occur together in the pronoun slot. In a string with two personal pronouns, a third person pronoun generally precedes other pronouns, for example, nu-war-an-mu and n-at-mu with third person singular animate -an- and third person singular -at followed by first person singular -mu in dative function are possible, but strings such as *nu-mu-an and *nu-mu-at with the third person pronouns -an- and third person singular -at coming after the dative -mu- would not be expected.
Two dative pronouns may not co-occur. Therefore, if two pronouns with dative-accusative function do occur in an enclitic string, the first is to be interpreted as an accusative and the second as a dative, e.g. nu-tta-mu with dative-accusative -tta- and -mu- should be understood as 'and you to me'; nu-smas-mu with dative-accusative -smas- and dative-accusative -mu- is understood as 'and them to me'; and nu-mu-smas with dative-accusative -mu- and dative-accusative -smas- is understood as 'and me to them'. A string *nu-ssi-mu with -mu in dative function is not possible. Two accusative pronouns may also not cooccur. Therefore, a string like *n-an-us with the third person singular animate accusative pronoun -an- and the animate accusative plural pronoun is not a possible string.
A string with an accusative pronoun in direct object function will not have an enclitic pronoun in nominative function. Therefore, strings such as *nu-as-an with nominative singular animate -as- and accusative singular animate -an, and *n-e-an with nominative plural animate -e- and accusative singular animate -an, are not possible. This is because the enclitic nominative pronoun is used only with certain intransitive verbs.
In addition to the tonic and enclitic personal pronouns, there was also a series of enclitic possessive pronouns in the archaic language. The pronouns are attached to the nouns they modify, and they agree in case and number with the nouns, for example: genitive attas-mas 'of my father' or dative-locative kissari-ti 'in your hand'. There are, however, no distinct forms for the ablative; where an ablative is required, the forms of the instrumental are used. These pronouns are found in early texts, in later copies of earlier texts, and in texts from the Empire period in which the content is traditional, such as myths, prayers, rituals, and festivals. Although the enclitic possessives seem robust in the oldest texts, the evidence suggests that they had dropped out of use in the living language by the Empire period, having been replaced by genitive forms of the tonic pronouns. Although Akkadian enclitic possessive pronouns are found in texts from all periods, it seems likely that by the Empire period, they were read with the genitives of the tonic pronouns rather than with Hittite enclitic pronouns. The enclitic possessive pronouns are clearly related to the enclitic and tonic personal pronouns, though the third person possessive pronoun resembles the defective third person pronouns -sye- and enclitic dative -ssi rather than a-. In the first, second, and third person possessive pronouns, stems with the vowel a alternate with stems with the vowels e and i. The second and third person enclitic possessives, which also have alternating stems, appear to be shortened forms of the tonic pronouns to judge from variant forms like the third person plural nominative-accusative neuter singular -summit and the dative-locative singular -summi.
There are enclitic possessive pronouns for the first, second, and third persons singular:
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||
| nom. | -mis, -mas | -tis | -sis, -sas | |||
| acc. | -man, -min | -tin | -san, -sin | |||
| nom/acc. neut. | -met, -mit | -tit | -sit, -set | |||
| gen. | -mas | -tas | -sas | |||
| dat/loc. | -mi | -ti | -si | |||
| inst. | -mit | -tit | -set, -sit | |||
| all. | -ma | -ta | -sa | |||
| voc. | -mi | |||||
| Plural | ||||||
| nom. | -mis | -tis | -ses, -sis | |||
| acc. | -mus | -tus | -sus | |||
| nom/acc. neut. | -mit, -met | -set | ||||
| gen. | -man | |||||
| dat/loc. | -tas |
There are also pronouns for the second and third person plural. A first person plural enclitic possessive does not seem to occur.
| 2nd person | 3rd person | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||
| nom. | -smis | -smes | ||
| acc. | -sman | |||
| nom/acc. neut. | -smet | -summit, -smet | ||
| gen. | ||||
| dat/loc. | -smi | -summi, -smi | ||
| inst. | smit | |||
| all. | -sma | |||
| Plural | ||||
| nom. | -smes | |||
| acc. | -smus | |||
| nom/acc. neut. | ||||
| dat/loc. | -smas |
The following are some examples:
| kisras-ma-ssi | galulupe:s-ses | talugae:s | ||||
| of hand-but-her | fingers | long | ||||
| n-at-kan | miyawe:s-pat | galulupe:s | ||||
| and-they-locatival | soft-indeed | fingers | ||||
| "The fingers of her hand are long and they are indeed soft fingers." | ||||||
| HUR.SAGTudhaliyas | pe:di-ti | e:s | ||||
| Mt. Tudhaliyas | place-in-your | be | ||||
| "Mt. Tudhaliyas, remain in your place!" | ||||||
| GISHTUKULHI.A-us-sus-sta | ZAG.LU.ZA | da:hhun | ||||||
| weapons-their-locatival | shoulder | from | I took | |||||
| "I took their weapons from their shoulder(s)." | ||||||||
| nu-mu | wasdul-mit | teddu | ||||
| and-to me | sin-my | let him tell | ||||
| "Let him tell me my sin." | ||||||
| kardi-smi-ya-at-kan | da:hhun | |||
| heart-and-your (pl.)-it-locatival | I took | |||
| "And from your heart I have taken it (illness)." | ||||
The enclitic possessives are used in archaic texts after spatial adverbs, for example: se-e-er-sa-me-et (for se:r-smet 'above them'), or peran-tit 'before you'.
The final -s of a noun is lost before a pronoun beginning with s, for example, *are:s-smes 'your companions' becomes are:s-mes.
In some texts, the final n of an accusative singular is subject to changes before the initial consonant of an enclitic possessive. The final n of the animate accusative singular may be lost before a pronoun beginning with s, for example, *arhan-ssan 'its border' shows up as arha-ssan.
The final n of the accusative may be lost or it may become m before the initial m of the first person singular pronoun. In the following sentence sahhan-met 'my feudal duty' shows up as sahha-met with the final n of sahhan 'feudal duty' lost before the m of the first person pronoun:
| ki: | GISHTUKUL-li-met | ki:-ma | sahha-met | |||||
| this | craft-my | this-but | feudal duty-my | |||||
| "This is my craft, but this is my feudal duty" | ||||||||
In this sentence, from an archaic prayer, the final n of the accusative becomes m:
| nu-za | tuekkam-mam | natta | paprahhun | |||||
| and-reflexive | body-my | not | defiled | |||||
| "I have not defiled my body." | ||||||||
The Hittite dative-locative combines the forms and functions of two Indo-European case forms. The dative, the case used to signal a recipient, beneficiary, or goal of motion, and the locative, the case used to indicate where action was located. The ending -i, which is most common, is either from the Indo-European dative ending *-ei or from the Indo-European locative ending *-i. A few archaic locatives, so-called endingless locatives, are made with the bare stem (e.g., taga:n 'on earth'), but the ending -i tended to spread at the expense of the endingless locative in most paradigms.
The dative is the case of the indirect object, recipient, or beneficiary:
| nu-war-an | ammuk | para: pa:i | ||||
| and-quotative-him | to me (dat) | give over | ||||
| "Give him over to me." | ||||||
| nu-ssi | hatra:nun | |||
| and-to-him (dat.) | I wrote | |||
| "And I wrote to him." | ||||
| nu-ssi | ABU-YA | TUPPAHI.A | RIKILTI | iyat | ||||||
| and-for him (dat.) | father-my | tablets | treaty | made | ||||||
| "My father made treaty tablets for him." | ||||||||||
Nouns in the dative, whether inflected or not, may be accompanied by the Akkadian preposition ANA 'to'. When ANA precedes a Sumerogram or Akkadogram without a phonetic complement, or when it precedes a personal or place name in the stem form, it is a graphic indicator that the word that follows is a dative. The Akkadian preposition may, however, be used redundantly before Hittite nouns in the dative or before Sumerograms or Akkadograms with phonetic complements that indicate that they are datives:
| A-NA | MUhha-LÚ-ma | LÚTE4MU | wiyanun | |||||
| to | to Uhhazitti-moreover (dat.) | a messenger | I sent | |||||
| "Moreover, to Uhhaziti I sent a messenger." | ||||||||
| nu-mu | A-NA | DINGIRLIM | ARAD-anni | pesta | ||||||
| and-me | to | of the deity | the service (dat.) | he gave | ||||||
| "He gave me to the service of the deity." | ||||||||||
| nu-wa | memiyan | ANA | DUTUSHI | hatra:i | ||||||
| and-quotative | word | to | to my majesty (dat.) | write | ||||||
| "Send word to my majesty (by letter)." | ||||||||||
| INA | KUR | URULawzantiya | ANA | DINGIRLIM | BAL-uwanzi | |||||||
| to | country | Lawanzantiyas | to | the deity (dat.) | to sacrifice | |||||||
| iyahhahat | ||||||||||||
| I went | ||||||||||||
| "I went to the country of Lawanzantiyas to sacrifice to the deity." | ||||||||||||
With verbs of motion, the dative-locative may indicate a goal:
| n-as | mahhan | wappui | ari | |||||
| and-she | when | at the riverbank (dat.) | arrives | |||||
| "And when she arrives at the river bank..." | ||||||||
A dative in sentences with forms of the verb "to be" has a possessive sense. Such sentences can often be translated by English sentences with "to have":
| nu-mu | É-er | kuit | e:sta | |||||
| and-to me (dat.) | house | what | was | |||||
| "What house I had (lit. 'What house was to me')..." | ||||||||
| kanissu:war-wa-mu | SHA | DISHTAR-pat | GASHAN-YA | e:sta | ||||||
| favor-quotative-to me (dat.) | of | Ishtar-herself | Lady-my | was | ||||||
| "I had the favor or my lady Ishtar herself (lit. 'To me was the favor of my lady Ishtar herself')." | ||||||||||
The possessive dative is also found in so-called nominal sentences in which a present form of "be" has been elided:
| ANA | MHattusili-wa | MU.KAMHI.A | maninkuwantes | |||||
| to | Hattusilis (dat.)-quotative | years | short | |||||
| "Hattusilis' years are short." | ||||||||
The dative is used with adjectives indicating feelings, such as assu- 'dear' and nahhant- 'careful, respectful, fearful', to indicate the object of the emotion:
| n-asta | DISHKUR-unni-ma | ma:n | a:ssus | e:sta | ||||||
| and-locatival | to the Stormgod (dat.) | when | dear | he was | ||||||
| "And when he was dear to the Stormgod..." | ||||||||||
| nu | we:s | DINGIRMESH-as | kuit | nahhantes | ||||||
| and | we | to the gods (dat.) | because | respectful | ||||||
| "Because we are respectful to the gods..." | ||||||||||
| nu | ma:n | ANA | SAL.LUGAL | a:ssu | ||||||
| and | if | to | to the queen (dat.) | agreeable | ||||||
| "If it is agreeable to the queen..." | ||||||||||
Hittite has a construction like the "ethical dative" of many of the other Indo-European languages. In such constructions, a pronoun in the dative indicates that the subject of the sentence is the beneficiary of some action. The pronoun may often be translated with an English reflexive pronoun.
| le:-ta | na:hi | |||
| negative-yourself (dat.) | fear | |||
| "Don't fear for yourself." | ||||
| nu-nnas | DUMU.NITAMESH | DUMU.MUNUSMESH | iyawen | |||||
| and-for ourselves (dat.) | sons | (and) daughters | we made | |||||
| "And we had sons and daughters for ourselves." | ||||||||
| LU-as-wa-mu-kan | BA.USH | |||
| man-quotative-me (dat)-locatival | died | |||
| "My husband died on me." | ||||
Comparative consructions are relatively rare in Hittite, but the dative is the case used for the standard against which something is compared:
| nu-wa-kan | ANA | ERÍNMESH-KA | ERÍNMESH-YA | mekki | ||||||
| and-quotative-locatival | to | army-my (dat.) | army-your | numerous | ||||||
| "My army is more numerous than your army." | ||||||||||
Hittite had a number of i-stem adjectives and nouns formed with suffixes containing a suffix -i-, which become -y- before vowels. This suffix was often spelled iy before a, and was normally spelled -i- before e. To this suffix, nominal and adjectival endings were added. As with the u-stems, nouns and adjectives were affected by various analogical changes. For example, adjectives sometimes took nominal inflection and vice versa. Originally, however, the adjectives had a suffix of the shape -i- in the nominative and accusative singular animate, in the neuter singular, and in the neuter nominative accusative plural. This suffix alternated with a suffix beginning with a in the rest of the paradigm. The paradigm was, however, affected by a sound change in which y was lost between vowels fairly early, and i-stems sometimes have case forms in -a- plus ending; in other words, individual forms of i-stem adjectives can look like a-stems. The y, however, tended to be analogically restored, and case forms with a suffix -ay- before vowels are also found. The original form of the neuter nominative-accusative plural ended in the suffix -i, likely with regular lengthening of the suffix vowel, but this was eventually replaced by a form -iy-a with the neuter nominative-accusative ending -a of other nouns and adjectives. The paradigm of the adjective salli- 'big, great' is representative:
| animate | neuter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||
| nom. | sall-i-s | sall-i | ||||
| acc. | sall-i-n | sall-i | ||||
| gen. | sal-as, sall-ay-as | |||||
| dat/loc. | sall-ai | |||||
| abl. | sall-az, sall-ay-az | |||||
| Plural | ||||||
| nom. | sall-a-es, sall-ay-es | sall-i:, sall-iy-a | ||||
| acc. | sall-ay-us, sall-i-us | sall-i:, sall-iy-a |
In addition to the i-stem adjectives, there are also a handful of adjectives in which a suffix -i-, -y- is added to a stem in final -u, which is often spelled uw before vowels. As with other i-stem adjectives, forms in which the y of the suffix has been lost between vowels are found beside forms in which y has been restored analogically. The nominative-accusative neuter also originally ended in -i, but the regular nominative-accusative plural ending -a was eventually extended to these forms. Occasionally, forms that follow the declension of i-stem nouns occur, for example, nominative plural animate parku-y-e:s for parkuw-ay-e:s 'pure'. The paradigm of parkui- 'pure' is representative:
| animate | neuter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | parku-i | |||||
| nom. | parku-i-s | parku-i | ||||
| acc. | parku-i-n | |||||
| gen. | par-kuw-as, parkuw-ay-as | |||||
| loc. | par-kuw-i | |||||
| abl. | parkuw-ay-az | |||||
| inst. | parkuw-a:i-t | |||||
| Plural | ||||||
| nom. | parkuw-a:es | parku-i, parkuw-ay-a | ||||
| acc. | parku-i, parkuw-ay-a | |||||
| loc. | parkuw-ay-as |
The declension of the i-stem nouns parallels that of u-stem nouns. The suffix has the shape -i- or -y- before vowels throughout the paradigm. The words halki- 'grain' and pu:ri- 'lip, rim, edge' provide representative examples of animate i-stem nouns. Halki- is used as a collective in the plural, and a collective form with the neuter plural ending halki is found. Halki- is also often attested as DHalki- 'deified grain'. Pu:ri- is well attested in the plural as an animate noun.
| Singular | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | halk-i-s | pu:r-i-s | ||
| acc. | halk-i-n | pu:r-i-n | ||
| gen. | halk-iy-as | *pu:r-iy-as | ||
| dat/loc. | halk-i | pu:r-i | ||
| abl. | halk-iy-aza | *pu:r-iy-az | ||
| inst. | halk-i-t | *pu:r-i-t | ||
| all. | halk-iy-a | |||
| Plural | ||||
| nom. | halk-i-e:s | pu:r-y-e:s | ||
| acc. | halk-i-us | pu:r-i-us | ||
| gen. | *pu:r-iy-as | |||
| dat/loc. | pu:r-iy-as | |||
| abl. | pu:r-iy-az | |||
| inst. | pu:r-i-t |
Beside the nouns with a suffix -i-, -iy- throughout their paradigms, there are also a handful of nouns in which a suffix -i-, -iy- alternates with a suffix -a:i-, -a:y-. Although the inflection of nouns of this type may in some cases have been influenced by the inflection of the nouns with -i-, -iy-, the declension of these nouns was originally parallel to that of the nouns in -a:u-, -a:w-. The noun linga:i- 'oath', which is very common, is mostly animate, although a few neuter forms, are found, while hasta:i- 'bone' is neuter. The agreement of adjectives and nouns suggests that at least some ostensibly singular forms of the latter are best taken as collectives meaning "bones." Loss of y between vowels is found in forms like animate accusative ling-a-us for *ling-ay-us. The dative-locatives linga:i and hasta:i have a suffix and ending that is presumably from *ay:-i or *-ay:-ei with contraction of the suffix and ending.
| Singular | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | ling-ai-s | hast-a:i | ||
| acc. | ling-ai-n | hast-a:i | ||
| gen. | link-iy-as | hast-iy-as | ||
| dat/loc. | ling-a-i | hasta:-i | ||
| abl. | link-iy-az | *hast-iy-az | ||
| inst. | hast-i-t | |||
| all. | link-iy-a | |||
| Plural | ||||
| nom. | ling-a-us |
The neuter noun ke:r, kard-, kardi- 'heart' is anomalous in having three stems. One stem, ke:r, normally written as the Akkadogram SHÀ with phonetic complement (i.e. SHÀ-er) is found in the nominative-accusative singular and plural and with the dative-locative ending -i. The stem kard- is found in the ablative and allative, while the i-stem kard-i-, kard-iya- occurs in the genitive and in the instrumental. The dative-locative kard-i is presumably also an i-stem form.
| Singular | ||
|---|---|---|
| nom/acc. | ker, kert-i | |
| gen. | kart-iy-as | |
| dat/loc. | gerd-i, kard-i | |
| abl. | kart-az | |
| inst. | kardi-t | |
| all. | kart-a | |
| Plural | ||
| nom/acc. | ker |