For centuries, the principal source of knowledge about the Hittites (HI-tytz) was the Bible, which refers to them throughout the Old Testament as one of many nations that made war on Israel. Many historians believed that the Hittites never really existed, especially because their neighbors to the west, the Greeks, knew nothing of them. But the Hittite culture flourished and died long before Greek civilization came into being, so the omission is understandable. Beginning in the late a. d.1800s, as archaeological evidence of the Hittites' existence mounted, historians were forced to recognize the truth of the Biblical account.
Like the peoples who founded later civilizations in Persia and India, the Hittites were descendants of the Indo-European tribes who came from the region of the Caucasus (KAW-kuh-sus) around 2000 b. c.. When they arrived in Asia Minor, there was already a Semitic people there called the Hatti (HAH-tee), from which the name “Hittite” comes. This has created some confusion for students of history, because the people later referred to as the Hittites simply took over the lands belonging to the Hatti and adopted their name, but in fact they were a new and distinct culture.
Around 1750 b. c., the Hittites established their capital at Hattush (hah-TOOSH), about 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of the present-day Turkish capital of Ankara (ANG-kuh-rah). From there, they began conquering neighboring peoples,
Assyro-Babylonian Empire, 479 B. C. Archive Photos. Reproduced by permission.
Expanding all the way to the Mediterranean, more than 500 miles west of Hattush. In about 1600 b. c., they sacked Babylon but did not stay around to make it a Hittite possession. As it turned out, they had run out of supplies for their army and had to return home. On their retreat, they were defeated by the Hurrians, whose kingdom of Mitanni (mi-TAHN-ee) was briefly a great power in the region. This began a period of decline for the Hittites.
The Hittites always had trouble staying organized, which is why they are usually referred to in the plural form, rather than as “the Kingdom of Hatti” or some other term that would indicate a firmly established nation. King Telipinus (teh-li-PIE-nus) in about 1525 b. c. tried to bring a measure of organization to his people, but after his death the land of the Hittites became unstable again. A new dynasty arose in the mid-1400s b. c., however. From this line would come the greatest of the Hittite kings, Suppiluliumas I (suh-pil-oo-LEE-uh-mus), whose reign began around 1380 b. c.
Ramses II.
The Library of Congress.
There followed a century of conquest, during which time the Hit-tites continually threatened Egypt and Babylonia, the world powers of the time. The Hittites conquered the Hurri-ans, paying them back for their defeat centuries before and establishing a vassal (VA-sul) king in Mitanni. They maintained their power through such vassals—that is, a king who is subject to another king—and by marrying their princesses to the rulers of other lands. In about 1285 b. c., they fought the Egyptians under Ramses II at Kadesh (KAY-desh), and it appears that the Hittites gained the upper hand. They did not conquer Egypt, but the fact that Ramses agreed to marry a Hit-tite princess suggests that he was eager to develop and maintain good relations with them.
For many years, the Hittites controlled most of Asia Minor and Syria, and faced only occasional trouble from the Assyrians to the southeast. But their enemies had also learned from the Hittites, who at the time possessed the most advanced military technology in the world. Not only were they the first people to discover how to smelt iron, an important advancement for any civilization—particularly one that was almost constantly at war, as the Hittites were—but they also became the first to use chariots in warfare. Later the Egyptians and especially the Assyrians would make great use of these horse-drawn wagons, which gave them the advantage over armies on foot.
By all appearances, however, the group that brought an end to the Hittites came neither from Egypt nor Assyria; rather, it appears that in about 1200 b. c., they were destroyed by the mysterious “Sea Peoples.” Historians do not know the exact origin of the Sea Peoples, though it is possible they came from the land of Canaan (KAY-nun) conquered by the Israelites. The Sea Peoples may have included the Philistines. In any case, the Sea Peoples threatened much of the region
Before vanishing, probably by intermarrying with the peoples they conquered; and afterward, the Hittites ceased to exist as a distinct group.
Despite their warlike character, which is symbolized by the fact that their principal contributions to civilization were military in nature, the Hittites also had a highly developed culture. Theirs was the first Indo-European language known to scholars. Study of Hittite inscriptions has helped linguists (LING-gwistz) better understand how the languages of Europe and India developed. The Hittites were also unusual among most ancient peoples in that Hittite queens often had as much power as kings. Among notable female leaders was Puduhepa (poo-doo-HAY-pah), who ruled alongside her husband Hattusilis III (hah-tuh-SIL-us) in about 1250 b. c. She continued to reign even after he died.
Many centuries later, Alexander the Great would travel to the city of Gordian.
Carts Corporation (Bellevue). Reproduced by permission.
World History
