Eager to make his mark and establish himself as a worthy potential successor to his father, King Tudhaliyas on the Hittite throne, Crown Prince Suppiliulimas led his forces north, in order to tame the barbaric Amazons.
The Amazons received forewarning of the threat, and Queen Antibrote led her warriors in an effort to repulse the attack at the landmark known (to the Amazons) as "Penthesilea's Gate" - the place where the road enters the mountains south-west of the Amazon lands, between two rocks. The Amazons regard the site as a sacred place, with the rock formations marking out a "gateway" separating the lands of the various hill-tribes, and the plains beyond, claimed by the Hittites.
Reaching the site first (as shown in the photo above), Queen Antibrote initially deployed her forces in the foothills around the "gate". With the Hittites still not making an appearance, she pushed her forces further forward, hoping to establish her archers in forward positions from which they could harass the Hittites as they advanced toward the gate.
As the Amazons attempted this however, the Hittites (shown above breaking camp for the morning) arrived, catching them on the wrong foot.
Hittite Archers were able to drive their Amazon counterparts out of a woodland area east of the road, and while Antibrote and her bodyguard warband were able to destroy the threat of the Hittite archers (the skirmish is shown in the photo above), the time it took them to do this had enabled the main Hittite army to force the Amazon warriors on the opposite flank into full withdrawal.
A counter-attack by the late-arriving Princess Iphinome and her cavalry couldn't save the day as the Hittite chariots pressed on remorselessly (see above).
Realizing the day was lost, Queen Antibrote ordered a full retreat, handing the Hittites a decisive victory.
As a result of the battle, Antibrote was subsequently challenged for the status of Queen (of Military Affairs) of the Amazons by Matriarch Clemache. Antibrote successfully retained her crown. However, her 11-year-old nephew, the son of Queen (of Civil Affairs) Lysippe, died shortly thereafter. The death of a family member - even though it was only a male - was seen as Antibrote's "atonement" to the "Mother Goddess" for her defeat.
Footnote: The Amazons were ruled by two queens - one each responsible for military and civil matters. Antibrote and her sister Lysippe are the two current Amazon Queens.
Crown Prince Suppiluliumas subsequently demanded that the Amazons supply a unit of Heavy Horse, led by a member of the tribes royalty and serving in the capacity of a "Subordinate General", to assist the Hittites in future campaigns. Much to their embarrassment (the Amazons didn't like taking orders from men), the Amazons agreed to provide such a unit, led by Princess Iphinome, to assist the Hittites in their 2016 campaigns.
The victory also saw the Paphlagonian tribes ruled by King Mursilis seek an alliance with the Hittites, agreeing to send troops to assist with future campaigns. (Historically, the Paphlagonians don't really appear on the scene until the era of the Achaemenid Persians - some 600 years after the Hittites and the legends of the Amazons, but they came from the same area, so I'm letting them in. In the absence of an Assyrian army, I will probably let my Persians join in also as the campaign proceeds).
Crown Prince Suppiluliumas celebrated his success with a marriage to the Hittite Princess, Kamrusepa, grand-daughter of Gal Bentepharis (commander) of the Royal Bodyguards.
Story to be continued........
Always good to see some Hittites take the field! I don't recognize the Amazon miniatures, though--where are they from?
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