How did the fall of Hattusa affect the movements of the Luwian people?
Following the fall of the Hittite capital, Hattusa, around 1180 BCE, the Luwian people migrated eastward and southward into regions including Cappadocia, Cilicia, and North Syria.1
In these new territories, the Luwians established a series of small successor kingdoms, often referred to as "Syro-Hittite" or Late Hittite states. Shortly after this migration, the Phrygians arrived from Thrace and occupied the central Anatolian plateau. This movement effectively cut off a remnant population of Luwians in the extreme southwest, who became known as the Lycians and continued to honor traditional Luwian deities such as Tarhun, Runda, Arma, and Santa into the classical era.21
The East Luwians, who utilized Hittite hieroglyphic script, maintained these religious traditions while elevating the goddess Kubaba to a position of prominence, largely due to the political significance of the city of Carchemish.1