Hittite Empire

  • The Hittite Empire was a Bronze Age Empire which occupied the area of modern Turkey between c.1700-c.1200 BCE.
  • The capital was Hattusa which was at it’s most powerful in c.1,350 BCE.

History

  • The Hittite Empire is mentioned in the Book of Kings of The Bible, as supplying Judah with cedar trees, horses and chariots.
  • Uriah the Hittite served as a senior captain in King David’s army.
  • The Hittite Empire and it’s capital city, Hattusa, collapsed c. 1,200 BCE, as part of the wider Bronze Age collapse.
  • It was replaced by the Phrygian Kingdom (1200-700 BCE), also known as the Sea Peoples.

Archeological Site of Hattusa at Bogazkale

  • Hattusa was the capital city of the Hittites, today its ruins lie in the modern village of Bogazkale, 121 miles (194km) east of Ankara.
  • An earlier city was burnt in 1,700 BCE, then immediately rebuilt, which lasted to c.1,200 BCE.
  • The city had an inner wall and an outer wall, of which the impressive ramparts remain.
  • A pair of sphinxes found at one of the gates are now in the Bogazkale Museum.
  • Two giant Sphinxes from one of the city gates are still in situ.
  • The outline of the circuit of walls and temples is visible and a section of the walls has been reconstructed.

Cuneiform Tablets

  • 30,000 Cuneiform tablets were discovered in the ruins.
  • The tablets contain the royal archives, correspondence, contracts, laws, ceremonies and a famous peace treaty with Egypt written after the Battle of Kadesh (c.1274 BCE).
  • The Double Headed Eagle symbol appears on some cylindrical seals dating from circa 1600-600 BCE. This seems to have been the symbol of the Hittite Kings.
  • The tablets are now housed in the Ankara Archeological Museum and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.
  • The city was destroyed c.1,200 BCE.

Battle of Kadesh (c.1,274 BCE)

  • The Battle of Kadesh was the greatest Chariot Battle ever fought and involved 5-6,000 Chariots.
  • The Battle took place in Kadesh, on the River Orontes in Syria between the Armies of the Pharaoh Rameses II and the King of the Hittite Empire, Mutawalli II.

Museums

  • Bogazkale Museum
    • This museum is next to the site of Hattusa, and houses many of the finds from Hattusa.
  • Istanbul Archaeology Museums
    • Holds part of the 30,000 Cuneiform Tablet Archive from Hattusa.
    • Holds the tablets which describe the Peace Treaty after the Battle of Kadesh
  • Ankara Archeology Museum
    • Also holds part of the Cuneiform Tablet Archive.

 

Hattusa

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