Kupanta-Kurunta (or Kupanta-Kruntiya [1]) was the first recorded king of Arzawa, in the early 14th century BC.
Kupanta-Kurunta, the "man of Arzawa," is recorded as defeated by the Hittite joint great kings Tudḫaliya II and Arnuwanda I, but avoiding capture and retaining his territory.[2] Either subsequently or on an earlier occasion described retroactively in Hittite sources,[3] Kupanta-Kurunta was attacked by a restive Hittite vassal, Madduwatta of Zippašla, who acted without authorization from the Hittites. Kupanta-Kurunta defeated Madduwatta and invaded the latter's lands in turn, causing him to flee for his life and taking over his refuge Šalawašši.[4] When the Hittites came to Madduwatta's aid under the general Pišeni, Kupanta-Kurunta had to retreat, losing some of his booty, but the Hittites made no attempt to conquer Arzawa.[5] During the reign of Arnuwanda I, Madduwatta made an alliance with his erstwhile enemy, Kupanta-Kurunta, who married Madduwatta's daughter.[6] While doing so, Madduwatta assured the Hittite monarch of his loyalty, portraying his alliance with Kupanta-Kurunta as a ploy. If a Hittite text is to be taken literally, that Madduwatta "took the whole land of Arzawa for himself," he might have eliminated Kupanta-Kurunta in the end.[7]
A letter found at Šapinuwa (Ortaköy) was sent to a Hittite great king by a vassal named Uḫḫamuwa, reporting that a Kupanta-Kurunta, Tarḫunnaradu, and three sons of Kupanta-Kurunta, called Mašturi, Piyam-aradu, and Kupanta-zalma, convened at the town of Ḫappuriya.[8] While it is probable that the Hittite king in question was Tudḫaliya III, it is unclear whether the letter refers to the Kupanta-Kurunta who was an adversary of Tudḫaliya II and Arnuwanda I, or to any king of Arzawa at all.[9] An obscure Uḫḫa-zalma (or Ḫuḫḫa-zalma), who concluded a treaty with Arnuwanda I, has been posited as a possible successor of Kupanta-Kurunta.[10]
Arzawa remained a powerful adversary of the Hittite Kingdom for several generations, until reduced to the position of a Hittite vassal in the reign of the Hittite great king Muršili II.[11]