Tidal "King of Nations"

 Before the campaign against Sodom, Gomorrah and the other cities of the plains. The Elamite king Chedorlaomer allied with other three Mesopotamian kings Amraphel, Arioch, and Tidal. However, the historic impact of this even has been somehow minimized. As a result of this event, it can be highlighted the advancements in social, politic, and military advancements. In this case, Tidal was a king who ruled Goyim. according to the Jewish Tradition the translation of Goyim is “king of nations”. Which means, that he probably ruled over several nomadic tribes. Unfortunately, information about Tidal is scarce. Nevertheless, Peake's Commentary on the bible, which is a one-volume commentary with special emphasis in archaeological evidence, gives some insight about who this king of nations was.

First of all, Tidal was one of the four kings that battled against the kingdoms Sodom, Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. according to Peake's, Tidal can be considered as the equivalent of Tudhaliya a Hittite King, contemporary to Hammurabi, in the 17^th century BC. The interesting fact about Tidal is that he was a Hittite king that expanded the Hittite empire to the land of Assuwa. Which is believed to be the origin of Asia. Furthermore, by defeating the Asuwwa league he was able to claim also the adjacent territories of Taruisa and Wilusiya. that are generally referred to the mythic city of Troy.

The Hittite empire originated approximately 2,000 years BC. with the migration of ancient Anatolian people who moved from the Armenian highlands to found the city of Hatussa which was the capital of their empire. However, the information about Tudhaliya is confusing the main reason is because there are three consecutive king Tudhaliya wich make hard to settle which one was the one who accompany Chedorlaomer into the battle of Siddim.

Despite the fact that information about Tidal is scarce. We can infer that he was also a mighty king that contributed to the ferocious expansion of the Hittite empire. Furthermore, it also reflects the political bilateral relations that existed between empires.