Hittites
The ancestors of the Hittites arrived in Anatolia between 4400 and 4100 BC. Recent genetic research indicates that Proto-Anatolian speakers entered this region sometime between 5000 and 3000 BC. A team at the David Reich Lab demonstrated that their route must have been via the Caucasus rather than through the Balkans. This conclusion stems from DNA analysis showing that Yamnaya expansion into the Balkans carried a component of Eastern Hunter Gatherer ancestry absent in ancient Anatolian samples. The dominant indigenous inhabitants were Hurrians and Hattians who spoke non-Indo-European languages. These groups coexisted with the incoming Hittites either by conquest or gradual assimilation. Archaeological evidence links the Hittites to the Ezero culture of the Balkans and the Maykop culture of the Caucasus. Scholars like J. P. Mallory believed the Anatolians reached the Near East from the north during the third millennium BC. Petra Goedegebuure noted that Hittite language borrowed many agricultural words from eastern border cultures, supporting a southern migration path across the Caucasus.
The Hittite state formed from small polities in North-Central Anatolia around 1900 BC. King Pithana of Kussara conquered neighboring Neša around 1750 BC. His son Anitta continued these conquests and captured Hattusa, which he later cursed. A noble family named Labarna I usurped the throne but adopted Huzziya's grandson as his heir. Hattusili I eventually established Hattusa as the capital city around 1650 BC. He campaigned as far as the Semitic Amorite kingdom of Yamkhad in Syria. Mursili I conducted a great raid down the Euphrates River in 1595 BC. This campaign sacked Mari and Babylon before turning control over to Kassite allies. Internal instability followed Mursili's assassination by his brother-in-law Hantili I. Telepinu reigned until about 1500 BC and marked the end of the Old Kingdom. Tudhaliya I initiated the Hittite Empire period with significant strengthening of kingship. Šuppiluliuma I reached the empire's peak during the mid-14th century BC. His rule encompassed most of Anatolia and parts of the northern Levant.
The Battle of Kadesh took place in the fifth year of Ramesses II around 1274 BC. Egyptian reinforcements prevented total Hittite victory despite their timely arrival. The Egyptians forced the Hittites to take refuge in the fortress of Kadesh while suffering heavy losses themselves. A peace treaty signed in the twenty-first year of Rameses fixed mutual boundaries in southern Canaan around 1258 BC. This document is one of the oldest completely surviving treaties in history. During the reign of Mursili II, Arzawan forces attacked weakened Hittite territories. The Hittites repelled this attack by sending infected rams to the enemy lines. This event represents the first recorded use of biological warfare in ancient history. Assyrian expansion under Shalmaneser I posed a growing threat to trade routes. Muwatalli fought against Egypt while Assyria annexed Hurrian and Mitanni lands. The Battle of Nihriya saw Tudhaliya IV heavily defeated by Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria. Šuppiluliuma II won some victories including a naval battle against Alashiya off Cyprus before the empire's final collapse.
Bedřich Hrozný announced his decipherment results on the 24th of November 1915 at the Near Eastern Society of Berlin. His book titled The Language of the Hittites appeared in Leipzig in 1917. Hittite cuneiform tablets were found in royal archives containing records written in Akkadian or various dialects of the Hittite confederation. The language remained in use from about the 19th century BC until approximately 1100 BC. It is the oldest historically attested Indo-European language alongside Luwian. Early philologists like Warren Cowgill argued that Hittite should be classified as a sister language rather than a daughter language. The decipherment confirmed the laryngeal theory which had been predicted decades earlier. By the end of the empire, most citizens spoke Luwian instead of Hittite. Sacred texts from Hattusa often contained words borrowed from Hurrian and Hattic languages. Craig Melchert suggests Proto-Indo-European evolved with Anatolian speakers becoming isolated early in their history.
The Hittite economy functioned as an Agro-Pastoral system growing fruits and vegetables alongside cattle and sheep. Grain silos were placed in administrative centers like Hattusa. Land ownership theoretically belonged to gods while kings controlled the best territories. Workers critical to food production faced shortages when military campaigns removed them from farms. Shekels, minas, and talents served as standard currency weights made from copper, bronze, silver, or gold. One mina equaled forty shekels unlike other kingdoms where sixty shekels formed a mina. A single shekel weighed 8.3 grams and held the value of 150 liters of wheat. Silver prices allowed purchase of land plots ranging from 2 to 40 shekels depending on size. Population estimates suggest Hattuša housed between 2,300 and 5,000 people during special occasions. Total kingdom population reached approximately 140,000 to 150,000 individuals according to Zsolt Simon. Military campaigns costing lives created difficulties maintaining food production and economic stability.
Hittite religion absorbed deities from Hattic, Hurrian, and Mesopotamian cultures while maintaining distinct storm god worship. Tarhunt was chief among the gods with the bull serving as his symbol. He appeared as Teshub depicted as a bearded man astride two mountains bearing a club. Festivals like Puruli occurred in spring while nuntarriyashas took place in autumn. The KI.LAM festival paraded images of the Storm God through streets alongside up to thirty other idols. Sacred texts written at Hattusa often contained words borrowed from non-Indo-European languages. Kattaha was originally named Hannikkun before being renamed to align with Hittite tradition. This reconfiguration helped legitimize authority over newly included regions. Storm gods were prominent throughout the pantheon especially when conflicts involved foreign powers. Teshub engaged in conflict with the serpent Illuyanka representing cosmic struggle. The Hittite kings acted as high priests conducting annual tours of holy cities.
Tree ring studies revealed drier conditions from the 13th century BC into the 12th century BC. Three consecutive years of drought struck between 1198 and 1196 BC according to juniper tree analysis. The Sea Peoples pushed down the Mediterranean coastline starting from the Aegean region. They founded Philistia taking Cilicia and Cyprus away from Hittite control. Hattusa burned to the ground around 1180 BC following combined attacks from Kaskians, Phrygians, and Bryges. Political instability led to fragmentation into several small independent states by 1160 BC. Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I defeated Mushki tribes attempting to enter southern Anatolia. Syro-Hittite kingdoms emerged at Carchemish and Melid as successors to the central kingdom. These states gradually fell under Neo-Assyrian Empire control during the reigns of Shalmaneser III and Sargon II. Luwian hieroglyphs and cuneiform became obsolete after the alphabet entered Anatolia simultaneously from multiple sources. Modern Turkish archaeologists like Halet Çambel and Tahsin Özgüç revived interest in these ancient ruins.
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Common questions
When did the ancestors of the Hittites arrive in Anatolia?
The ancestors of the Hittites arrived in Anatolia between 4400 and 4100 BC. Recent genetic research indicates that Proto-Anatolian speakers entered this region sometime between 5000 and 3000 BC.
Who conquered Neša around 1750 BC to begin the formation of the Hittite state?
King Pithana of Kussara conquered neighboring Neša around 1750 BC. His son Anitta continued these conquests and captured Hattusa, which he later cursed before Hattusili I established it as the capital city around 1650 BC.
What happened during the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC involving Ramesses II?
The Battle of Kadesh took place in the fifth year of Ramesses II around 1274 BC. Egyptian reinforcements prevented total Hittite victory despite their timely arrival while the Egyptians forced the Hittites to take refuge in the fortress of Kadesh.
How was the language of the Hittites deciphered and when were results announced?
Bedřich Hrozný announced his decipherment results on the 24th of November 1915 at the Near Eastern Society of Berlin. His book titled The Language of the Hittites appeared in Leipzig in 1917 confirming that Hittite is the oldest historically attested Indo-European language alongside Luwian.
When did King Telepinu issue the Edict of Telipinu to regulate royal succession?
King Telepinu issued the Edict of Telipinu to regulate royal succession around 1500 BC. He designated the Pankus assembly as the high court for constitutional crimes and made kings themselves subject to jurisdiction under this general assembly.
What caused the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1180 BC?
Hattusa burned to the ground around 1180 BC following combined attacks from Kaskians, Phrygians, and Bryges. Three consecutive years of drought struck between 1198 and 1196 BC while Sea Peoples pushed down the Mediterranean coastline starting from the Aegean region.