Editing Hittites (section)

===The Pankus===
King [[Telipinu]] (reigned {{circa|1525|1500}} BC) is considered to be the last king of the Old Kingdom of the Hittites. He seized power during a dynastic power struggle. During his reign, he wanted to take care of lawlessness and regulate royal succession. He thus issued the ''[[Edict of Telepinu|Edict of Telipinus]]''. In this edict, he designated the Pankus, which was a general assembly, as the high court for constitutional crimes. Crimes such as murder were observed and judged by the Pankus. Kings themselves were also subject to jurisdiction under the Pankus. The Pankus also served as an advisory council for the king. The rules and regulations set out by the edict, and the establishment of the Pankus proved to be very successful and lasted all the way through to end of the New Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Telipinus-Hittite-king#ref52857 |title=Telipinus Hittite king |date=5 May 2017 |website=Britannica |access-date=5 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911120159/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Telipinus-Hittite-king#ref52857 |archive-date=11 September 2017}}</ref>

The Pankus established a legal code where violence was not a punishment for a crime. Crimes such as a murder and theft, which at the time were punishable by death, in other southwest Asian kingdoms, were not [[capital crime]]s under the Hittite law code. Most criminal penalties involved restitution. For example, in cases of thievery, the punishment of that crime would to be to repay what was stolen in equal value.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hittites |last=Eduljee |first=K.E. |date=5 May 2017 |website=Heritage Institute |url=http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/hittites.htm#governance |access-date=5 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505033626/http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ranghaya/hittites.htm#governance|archive-date=5 May 2017}}</ref>