A hundred years ago knowledge of the Hittites was derived only from mentions in the Bible and in Mesopotamian records, but then, in the nineteenth century, discoveries began in Turkey of monuments and massive fortifications which had obviously survived from a flourishing and powerful civilization. This civilization was quickly identified as Hittite. What finally brought these peoples into vivid life was the discovery at Bogazkoy, the site of the Hittite capital Hattusas, of more than 10,000 cuneiform tablets. The tablets were written in several languages, including Akkadian, Hattian, Hurrian, Luwian, and Sumerian as well as Hittite, and were found to be the state archives.

 

Origins of Hittite civilization

Little is known about the earliest period of the Hittite civilization before contact with Mesopotamia. The Hittites came into Asia Minor before 2000 BC from Europe or southern Russia. In the middle of the 17th century BC King Hattusilas I seems to have united a number of small states and established his administrative center at Hattusas. Hittite power evidently grew rapidly, for in the early sixteenth century BC Mursilis I was able not only to occupy Syria but to march on Babylon, sacking the city and bringing to an end the dynasty of which Hammurabi was the greatest figure. The last king of the so-called Old Kingdom was Telepinus (reigned c. 1525–1500 BC), who is best known for his edict laying down rules of con-duct for the nobles and the king.

 

After a period of which there are few records, the Hittite Empire began about 1460 BC. The first king of the new dynasty was apparently Tudhaliyas II, who is said to have captured Aleppo. Mitanni, a state founded by the Hurrians in northern Mesopotamia, seems to have kept further Hittite expansion in check.

 

The situation changed radically when Suppiluliumas seized the throne in about 1380. He fortified Hattusas and in a brilliant campaign conquered Mitanni and its Syrian satellites. Carchemish, which commanded an important crossing point on the Euphrates, remained independent, but Suppiluliumas then led a second campaign, captured this fortress and occupied all of Syria between the Euphrates and the ocean.

 

Suppiluliumas died in about 1346 BC; his son Mursilis II proved equally capable, defeating the kingdom of Arzawa to the west and suppressing a revolt in Syria. The next king, Muwattalis, inherited a secure and prosperous empire. But Egypt was determined under Ramesses II (reigned 1304–1237 BC) to regain the possessions and influence she had lost in Syria. The two armies met at Kadesh (Figure 6) on the River Orontes. Egypt claimed an overwhelming victory, but the Hittites seem, at least, to have held their own and maintained their ascendancy in Syria. Relations between the two powers improved as Assyria became more of a threat, and in about 1284 BC they signed a treaty of friendship and non-aggression.

 

The end of the Hittite Empire

The records of the Hittite Empire end abruptly in the late thirteenth century BC, when Indo-European invaders known as the "Sea-Peoples" poured into the area from Europe. The Hittites fled southwards as the Phrygians overran Asia Minor. But although the homeland was lost, the Hittite way of life survived as the refugees established city states in northern Syria, which had so long been under Hittite control. Most of the archaeological evidence comes from this neo-Hittite revival rather than from the early imperial period. The writing of these petty kingdoms is hieroglyphic Hittite, but the language was essentially Luwian, so that we may assume that the Hittites did not necessarily form the majority of the population.

 

This basalt carving of a lion, dated probably about 1000 BC, is fairly typical of the sculpture of the neo-Hittite period, when the use of stone lions to flank entranceways was not uncommon.

 

Structure of Hittite society

The neo-Hittite city states, which were often isolated geographically, were unable to unite effectively against the growing power of Assyria. After exacting tribute over many years and putting down occasional rebellions. Assyria, under Tiglath-Pileser III (reigned 744–727 BC), decided to incorporate the Syrian kingdoms into its empire, and by the end of the 8th century BC the Hittite Empire was little more than a memory.

 

During the period up to the end of the 13th century BC the Hittite king, although perhaps not quite such a dominant figure as in Mesopotamia, made the final decision on military, religious and judicial matters. On his death he joined the gods, and indeed "he became a god" was a euphemism for the death of a king. The queen was also important, having a role to play in state affairs. Nepotism was institutionalized, most of the highest offices falling to the king's relations. There seems to have been an exclusive caste of privileged nobility and landowners. The common people worked as farmers, craftsmen and laborers, and those of the servant class, while having some legal rights, were little better than slaves.

 

Most surviving Hittite sculpture takes the form of monumental bas-reliefs in stone, often with inscriptions in hieroglyphic (as distinct from cuneiform) Hittite. The almost total absence of sculpture in the round is partly compensated for by a few beautiful miniature figures like this gold statuette (4.2 centimeters (1.7 inches) high) of a man, perhaps a king, wearing a full tunic with short sleeves. It was found at Yozgat, near Booazkoy, and dates from about the fourteenth century BC.

 

The brutality that so disfigures the history of Assyria was quite lacking among the Hittites. A city captured in war suffered grave retribution in that it was generally destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, but we know of no mass killings or systematic torture such as Assyria's enemies could expect. Similarly, punishment for crime was generally based on restitution to the injured party or his relatives, even in the case of murder.