Hittites

The Hittites were an ancient people from a place called Anatolia, which is now part of Turkey. They were one of the first big civilizations during a time called the Bronze Age, which was a very long time ago. They started in a place far away, maybe near the Black Sea, and then moved to live in central Anatolia around the year 1750 BC. There, they built cities and formed kingdoms, and later, a big empire with a capital called Hattusa.

At their strongest, around the 14th century BC, the Hittites ruled much of Anatolia and parts of Syria and Mesopotamia. They were powerful and often fought with other big empires like Egypt and Assyria. They used chariots in their armies and were known for their skills in war.

We know about the Hittites mostly from old writings found in their old territories and from letters they wrote to other countries. These writings were written in a special language called Hittite, which was one of the oldest known languages from a big group of languages called Indo-European. Today, people are very interested in the Hittites, especially in Turkey, where museums show many of their artworks and old objects.

Etymology

The Hittites named their kingdom Hattusa, a name they got from the Hattians, an earlier group of people who lived in central Anatolia. The name "Hittites" was used by scientists who first thought these people were the same as the ones mentioned in the Bible, but this idea is now being examined more closely.

The Hittites might have called themselves "Neshites" or "Neshians" after the city of Nesha. This city was important for about two hundred years until a king named Labarna changed his name to Hattusili I, meaning "the man of Hattusa," around 1650 BC and made Hattusa their capital.

Archeological discovery

Biblical background

See also: Biblical Hittites

Before archaeologists found the Hittite civilization in a place called Anatolia, the Hebrew Bible was the only source that mentioned a group of people with that name. Some scholars thought the Hittites were not very powerful compared to other kingdoms. But as discoveries continued in the late 1800s, scholars realized the Hittite kingdom was very large and powerful.

Initial discoveries

In 1834, a French scholar found ruins that turned out to be Hittite, but he did not recognize them at first. The first clear evidence of the Hittites came from tablets found at a place called Kanesh, showing trade between Assyrian merchants and a land called Hatti. Some names in these tablets were from an ancient Indo-European language.

In 1884, a monument was found at Boğazkale with a special writing that matched scripts from places in Syria. In 1887, letters from Egypt mentioned a kingdom called Kheta, which scholars believed was the same as Hatti. This helped connect the biblical Hittites with the civilization being uncovered.

Excavations at Boğazköy beginning in 1906 uncovered a royal archive with thousands of tablets, confirming the connection between Kheta and Hatti. These tablets showed that the city was once the capital of a large empire.

During excavations at Boğazköy (Hattusa) starting in 1906, archaeologists found a royal archive with 10,000 tablets written in cuneiform. These tablets confirmed the identity of the empire mentioned in Egyptian letters. The ruins at Boğazköy were proven to be the remains of an empire that once controlled parts of northern Syria.

Excavations at Hattusa have continued since 1907 under the German Archaeological Institute, with some pauses during the world wars. Another site, Kültepe, was excavated by a professor from 1948 until 2005. Smaller excavations have also taken place around Hattusa, including a rock sanctuary called Yazılıkaya with carvings of Hittite rulers and gods.

Writings

The Hittites used a special form of writing called Hittite cuneiform. Many royal archives with cuneiform tablets have been found at Hattusa, written in Akkadian or various Hittite dialects.

Museums

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey, has the largest collection of Hittite and Anatolian artifacts.

Geography

Main article: Hittite sites

The Hittite kingdom was centered around the cities of Hattusa and Neša (Kültepe), in a place called "the land Hatti." After Hattusa became the capital, the area around the Kızılırmak River became very important. The river helped separate different parts of the empire.

To the west and south of this central area were regions known by different names, such as Arzawa and Kizzuwatna. The people there spoke a language called Luwian. To the north lived groups known as the Kaskians, and to the southeast was the Hurrian empire of Mitanni.

At its strongest point, the Hittite empire reached from Arzawa in the west all the way to Mitanni in the east. It also included lands to the north and south, stretching as far as Canaan near Lebanon.

History

The ancestors of the Hittites arrived in a region called Anatolia between 4400 and 4100 BC. They formed their first small kingdoms there, such as Kussara and later the Kanesh or Nesha Kingdom. Eventually, they created a larger empire with their capital at Hattusa around 1650 BC.

The Hittite Empire grew strong under leaders like Šuppiluliuma I in the mid-14th century BC. At its height, it covered much of Anatolia and parts of northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia. The empire faced challenges from other powerful neighbors, such as the Hurri-Mitanni and the Assyrians. Over time, internal struggles and outside pressures led to the empire's decline. By around 1180 BC, the Hittite Empire ended, likely due to a combination of invasions, droughts, and internal issues. After the empire fell, smaller states called Syro-Hittite states emerged in the area.

Government

The Hittites were one of the first groups to create a government led by a king. The king was the main leader, acting as a commander, judge, and religious figure. However, other important people, like the chief of the royal bodyguards or the chief scribe, also had their own areas of control.

The Hittites had special rules and laws created by King Telipinu. He formed a group called the Pankus, which acted like a high court. This group made sure laws were followed and handled serious matters, even for the king himself. Unlike some other places at the time, the Hittites did not always use harsh punishments. Instead, they often made people pay back what they had taken or done wrong.

The Hittite kingdom also dealt with other countries through treaties and alliances. They sometimes married into other royal families to build strong relationships. However, they also faced challenges and battles with neighbors like Egypt and Assyria.

Economy

See also: Palace economy

The Hittite economy was based on farming and raising animals. They grew mainly barley and different types of wheat. They also raised cattle, sheep, goats, horses, mules, and donkeys.

The land was thought to belong to the gods, but the king controlled the best parts. People could get land from the king if they served in the army. Workers were very important because they helped grow food, and wars could affect how much food they could produce. Temples also played a big role in the economy.

They used weights like shekels, minas, and talents made from metals such as copper, bronze, silver, or gold as their form of money. For example, 40 shekels equaled 1 mina. A silver shekel could buy a lot of wheat or a piece of land. Men who worked could earn one silver shekel each month, while women earned half that amount. Sometimes workers were paid with part of the harvest instead of money.

Population

Researchers have tried to guess how many people lived in the Hittite city of Hattuša. Earlier ideas said maybe 9,000 to 15,000 people, but newer work suggests it was closer to 2,300 to 4,600, sometimes reaching 5,000 during big events. For the whole Hittite kingdom, some think there were about 140,000 to 150,000 people, while others guess it could have been over 200,000.

The Hittites could gather around 47,500 soldiers for big battles, and maybe up to 100,000 for other military duties. Big wars that lost many lives made it hard to grow enough food and keep the economy strong. The people they took from other lands during battles may have helped fill in the gaps left by these losses. These guesses about population sizes mostly relate to the time when Hattusili III ruled.

Language

Main articles: Hittite language and Anatolian hieroglyphs

The Hittite language was used from around the 19th century BC until about 1100 BC. It is one of the oldest known languages from the Indo-European family and was first found in writings from places like Kültepe.

A Czech linguist named Bedřich Hrozný figured out the meaning of the language in 1915. His work helped confirm ideas about how Indo-European languages developed. By the end of the Hittite Empire, most people spoke Luwian, another language from the same family, but Hittite was still used for important documents and letters between leaders. The Hittite language included words borrowed from other nearby languages, such as Hurrian and Hattic.

Art

Main article: Hittite art

Though the Hittite Empire was large, there aren’t many pieces of Hittite art left today. What we do have includes some big stone carvings and impressive rock reliefs. There are also beautiful items made from metal, like the Alaca Höyük bronze standards, as well as carved ivory and special ceramics such as the Hüseyindede vases. Some of the biggest sculptures are the Sphinx Gates found in Alaca Höyük and Hattusa, along with a large monument at the spring of Eflatun Pınar. There are also huge stone lions, like the Lion of Babylon in Babylon, though we’re not completely sure if it was made by the Hittites. Many of these artworks are very worn down over time. Other rock reliefs include the Hanyeri relief and Hemite relief. The Niğde Stele is a stone monument from a later time, found in the city of Niğde in modern Turkey.

Religion and mythology

Main article: Hittite mythology

The Hittites had their own special ways of worshipping and telling stories about gods, shaped by nearby cultures like the Hattic, Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Hurrian peoples. Long ago, some of their stories might have come from their Indo-European roots too.

One important god for the Hittites was the Storm god. They called him Tarhunt, and he was known as the great leader of the gods. Symbols of Tarhunt often showed a bull. He was the god of battles and wins, especially against other lands. The Hittites celebrated many festivals for their gods, like the Puruli festival in spring and the KI.LAM festival where they carried images of gods through the streets.

Law

Main article: Hittite laws

The Hittites wrote their laws on special tablets made from baked clay, using a writing style called cuneiform. These tablets contain many rules that tell us about how the Hittite people lived. The laws cover many topics, including punishments for different kinds of actions and how to handle situations like marriage and property.

The laws changed over time. Earlier laws sometimes included very harsh punishments, but later laws became more gentle, often using fines instead of severe penalties. This change might have happened because new leaders wanted fairer rules. The laws also show that not everyone was treated the same—men, women, and slaves had different rights and punishments. For example, men often received larger compensations for harm done to them compared to women. The laws give clear instructions on what to do in many situations, helping to keep order in the Hittite kingdom.

The tablets also include rules about injuries to animals, property damage, and marriages, including those involving slaves. These rules helped guide people in everyday life and settling disputes.

Biblical Hittites

Main article: Biblical Hittites

The Bible mentions people called "Hittites" in several places. It is not clear if these are the same as the Hittite Empire from history. Sometimes, the Biblical Hittites seem to have their own kingdoms and could even defeat armies from Syria. These might be groups from later times known as the Syro-Hittite states.

In most stories, the Biblical Hittites live near the Israelites. For example, Abraham buys a burial place from a man named Ephron the Hittite, and some Hittites serve as important soldiers in King David's army. Scholars are not sure exactly who these Hittites were, but they might have been a local group influenced by the cultures from farther north. Some scholars think the ancient Hittites are mentioned in the Bible as "Kittim," named after a son of Javan.

In ancient Greek mythology

In ancient stories from Greece, a writer named Homer mentioned a group of people called the Keteians. Some thinkers believe these Keteians might have been related to the Hittites, a big and important group of people who lived a very long time ago.