- Key People:
- Suppiluliumas I
- Muwatallis
- Hattusilis III
- Labarnas I
- Telipinus
- Related Topics:
- history of Mesopotamia
- ancient Middle East
Hittite
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Who were the Hittite people?
The Hittites were an ancient Indo-European people who appeared in Anatolia around the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE. By 1340 BCE, they had risen to become one of the dominant powers in the Middle East.
Originating from beyond the Black Sea, the Hittites established their capital at Hattusa (modern Boğazköy) in central Anatolia. Under leaders like Hattusilis I, they consolidated control over much of Anatolia and northern Syria. The Hittite empire reached its peak under Suppiluliumas I (c. 1380–c. 1346 BCE). The empire fell around 1193 BCE due to migrations, including the Sea Peoples.
Hittite society was feudal and agrarian, with a king who was ruler, military leader, judge, and earthly deputy of the storm god. They were polytheistic and tolerant of other religions. The Hittites were advanced in iron-working technology, which helped initiate the Iron Age.
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Where did the Hittites live?
The Hittites, an ancient Indo-European people, lived in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) around the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE. They likely originated from the area beyond the Black Sea.
Initially, the Hittites occupied central Anatolia, establishing their capital at Hattusa (modern Boğazköy). They extended their control over much of Anatolia and northern Syria. While the heartland of the Hittite empire was overrun by Phrygians, some Cilician and Syrian areas maintained their Hittite identity for another five centuries, evolving into small principalities and city-states. These were gradually incorporated by Assyria until, by 710 BCE, the last vestiges of Neo-Hittite political independence disappeared.
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What was the Hittite Empire known for?
The Hittite Empire, flourishing from the 17th to 13th centuries BCE, was known for several significant achievements. They were pioneers in iron-working technology, which helped initiate the Iron Age. The Hittites also fought one of the ancient world's most famous battles against Egypt at Kadesh in 1299 BCE. Their legal system, as reflected in the Edict of Telipinus, aimed to regulate royal succession and curb lawlessness. The empire reached its peak under Suppiluliumas I, who expanded Hittite control across Anatolia and Syria. They engaged in diplomacy with Egypt, resulting in a peace treaty and dynastic marriages. The Hittites provide valuable insights into political organization, social structure, economy, and religion through cuneiform tablets discovered in Boğazköy.
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What language did the Hittites speak?
The Hittites spoke the Hittite language, the most important of the extinct Indo-European languages of ancient Anatolia. In Hittite cuneiform texts, the language is referred to as nesili (or nasili) meaning “in the language of Nesha,” or nesumnili meaning “in the language of the Neshite”.
Hittite is closely related to Carian, Luwian, Lydian, Lycian, and Palaic. The language is primarily known from approximately 30,000 cuneiform tablets or fragments of tablets preserved in the archives of the Hittite capital city, Hattusa (near Boğazkale, Turkey). The majority of the tablets come from the period of the Hittite empire (c. 1400–c. 1180 BCE).
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What achievements or inventions are associated with the Hittites?
The Hittites were an ancient Indo-European people who became a dominant power in the Middle East by 1340 BCE.
Some notable achievements of the Hittites include:
* Iron-working technology During their empire period, the Hittites developed iron-working technology, initiating the Iron Age.
* Chariots The Hittites were among the ancient civilizations that utilized chariots in warfare. The chariot provided armies with unprecedented mobility.
* Cuneiform writing The Hittites used cuneiform script, a variant of Mesopotamian cuneiform, for writing. They recorded on clay, wood and metal tablets.
* Law Edict Telipinus attempted to end lawlessness and regulate royal succession with the Edict of Telipinus.7 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did the Hittite Empire interact with other ancient civilizations?
The Hittite Empire, a dominant power in the Middle East by 1340 BCE, interacted with other civilizations through both conflict and diplomacy.
The Hittites engaged in struggles for control of Syria with a resurgent Egypt under Seti I and Ramses II, culminating in the Battle of Kadesh in 1299 BCE. This confrontation likely ended indecisively, leading to a peace treaty, mutual defense pact, and dynastic marriage between the Hittites and Egyptians 16 years later under Hattusilis III.
The empire also faced challenges from migrations and the Sea Peoples, contributing to its sudden fall around 1193 BCE. Despite this collapse, some Hittite identity persisted in Cilician and Syrian dominions, evolving into independent principalities and city-states before being incorporated by Assyria by 710 BCE.
Hittite culture was influenced by foreign cultures, but roughly 80% of their core vocabulary is inherited from Proto-Indo-European languages. The religion of the Hittites included not only indigenous Anatolian deities but also Syrian and Hurrian divinities.
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Hittite, member of an ancient Indo-European people who appeared in Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium bce; by 1340 bce they had become one of the dominant powers of the Middle East.
Probably originating from the area beyond the Black Sea, the Hittites first occupied central Anatolia, making their capital at Hattusa (modern Boğazköy). Early kings of the Hittite Old Kingdom, such as Hattusilis I (reigned c. 1650–c. 1620 bce), consolidated and extended Hittite control over much of Anatolia and northern Syria. Hattusilis’ grandson Mursilis I raided down the Euphrates River to Babylon, putting an end (c. 1590 bce) to the Amorite dynasty there. After the death of Mursilis, a dynastic power struggle ensued, with Telipinus finally gaining control about 1530 bce. In the noted Edict of Telipinus, long upheld by succeeding generations, he attempted to end lawlessness and to regulate the royal succession.
After Telipinus historical records are scarce until the Hittite New Kingdom, or empire (c. 1400–c. 1200 bce). Under Suppiluliumas I (c. 1380–c. 1346 bce), the empire reached its height. Except for a successful campaign against Arzawa in southwestern Anatolia, Suppiluliumas’ military career was devoted to involved struggles with the kingdom of Mitanni to the southeast and to the establishment of a firm Hittite foothold in Syria.
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Under Muwatallis (c. 1320–c. 1294 bce) a struggle for the domination of Syria with resurgent Egypt under Seti I and Ramses II led to one of the greatest battles of the ancient world, which took place at Kadesh on the Orontes in 1299 bce. Though Ramses claimed a great victory, the result was probably indecisive, and 16 years later, under Hattusilis III (c. 1275–c. 1250 bce), a peace treaty, mutual defense pact, and dynastic marriage were concluded between the Hittites and the Egyptians.
The fall of the Hittite empire (c. 1193 bce) was sudden and may be attributed to large-scale migrations that included the Sea Peoples. While the heartland of the empire was inundated by Phrygians, some of the Cilician and Syrian dominions retained their Hittite identity for another five centuries, evolving politically into a multitude of small independent principalities and city-states, which were gradually incorporated by Assyria until by 710 bce the last vestiges of Neo-Hittite political independence had been obliterated.
Hittite cuneiform tablets discovered at Boğazköy (in modern Turkey) have yielded important information about their political organization, social structure, economy, and religion. The Hittite king was not only the chief ruler, military leader, and supreme judge but also the earthly deputy of the storm god; upon dying, he himself became a god. Hittite society was essentially feudal and agrarian, the common people being either freemen, “artisans,” or slaves. Anatolia was rich in metals, especially silver and iron. In the empire period the Hittites developed iron-working technology, helping to initiate the Iron Age.
The religion of the Hittites is only incompletely known, though it can be characterized as a tolerant polytheism that included not only indigenous Anatolian deities but also Syrian and Hurrian divinities.
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The plastic art of pre-imperial Hittite culture is scarce; from the Hittite empire, however, many examples have been found of stone sculptures in a powerful, though somewhat unrefined, style. The art of the Late Hittite states is markedly different, showing a composite of Hittite, Syrian, Assyrian, and, occasionally, Egyptian and Phoenician motifs and influences. See also Anatolia: The rise and fall of the Hittites.