Labarna I

Labarna was the traditional first king of the Hittites, c. early 17th century BC (middle chronology), the most accepted chronology nowadays. He was the traditional founder of the Hittite Old Kingdom (fl. c. 1680(?)-1650 BC). His wife was Tawannanna.

The existence of Labarna is questioned by some modern scholars. Labarna was also a title of early Hittite rulers, such as Hattusili I. Given the relatively few contemporaneous references to Labarna personally, some scholars have suggested that pioneering Hittitologists may have erred in assuming that Labarna was the personal name of a king. According to this theory, the first Labarna (in the sense of a title) was Hattusili I, who is normally regarded as the second Labarna.

Tabarna, a variant of Labarna, is mentioned often in Hattian, Hittite, Hurrian and Akkadian texts from the Hittite archives.