A dynamic and aggressive people, the Hittites are first noted in tablets of trade found at the karum of Kanesh (Kültepe) in Anatolia, modern day Turkey. Hittites establish a long prolific legacy in Anatolia.
They are conquerors but prefer to shake hands and form partnerships or mergers. Trade and trade routes are vital cross-culturally, and in the Bronze Age, trade is more lucrative than war.
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Several towns share this approach, which is part of the reason Anatolia is a leading civilization of the Bronze Age. Trade stabilizes. Growth creates channels of administration. People settle. Some urban populations rise to over 50,000 inhabitants, with more spread out in the suburbs.
During the Mid Bronze Age c. 1900 - 1650 BCE, the Hittites emerge as a conglomeration of many small regions in North-Central Anatolia. They settle the banks of the Kızılırmak or Red River, the longest river in Turkey. The area is conducive to fishing, farming, travel and trade.
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Major advances happen in the Bronze Age, and also stunning calamities. Agriculture and commerce ramp up in Anatolia, but the 1600 BCE eruption on the island of Thera in the Aegean pulverizes much of Minoan civilization in Greece. The rest is accomplished by the Mycenaean Greeks.
Effects of the eruption are felt in China, where records mention a yellow sky and climate changes. Ash fills the air over North Africa. The ensuing tsunami kills thousands of people along the coasts, and destroys the entire fleet of Minoan ships in Crete. The sun's blacked out for five days. Not only that, the volcano keeps erupting until 1450 BCE.
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As early as c. 1800 BCE, Anatolians begin working iron into steel. The first evidence of steelmaking appears, with a few small objects in Kaman-Kalehöyük in Anatolia. Larger production of steel occurs a couple of centuries later. The European Iron Age begins c. 1200 so the Anatolian or near Eastern Bronze Age takes a pioneering role.
Also in Anatolia, the Kaskian mountain people launch attacks on settlements. The Kaska inhabit lands along the south coast of the Black Sea, placing Anatolian towns within reach of frequent raids. It's thought they are one reason the Hittites didn't push north to the Black Sea.
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People barricade the settlements nearest the domain of the raiders with towers and walls. The Kaska hire themselves out as mercenaries, then attack and raid those who hire them, which does nothing to improve their image.
Among the influential cultures of Anatolia, the Hittites are top ranked. Their ancestors arrive between 4400 and 4100 BC, breaking off from the Proto-Indo-European language groups. They conquer or assimilate other Neolithic cultures and establish themselves as a dominant force.
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The Hittite Empire goes through four stages of growth and civilization: the Early Age, the Old Kingdom, Middle and New Kingdoms. During this time writing first emerged, based on early trade tablets of credit and receipt. Laws and justice were enacted. Building and commerce made steady advances.
At first the Hittite region includes villages and trade centers in North-Central Anatolia. By the 18th century BCE the Hittites have established a commanding spread through the regions south of the Black Sea to border on the Aegean. By 1750 BCE they create the Kingdom of Kussara. The kingdom is the forerunner of the ruling Hittite dynasty.
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The Kingdom of Kussara is occasionally mentioned as Ku-ša-ra in clay tablets of Old Assyrian traders in Anatolia. Very little information exists and the exact borders of the Kingdom are still unknown.
The people who lived in the area when the Hittites arrived were the Hatti. After assimilating them, the Hittites kept the name of their Empire as the Land of the Hatti, and established their capital at Hattusa.
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Between 15th - 13th centuries BCE, Hittites are among the strongest powers of the Near East. Conflicts arises from competition such as the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Middle Assyrian Empire and the empire of Mitanni (a Hurrian state) for control of the region.
Eventually the Hurrian and Hittite empires merge under the Hittites. Hurrian policy, society and religion makes a strong impression on the Hittites, who adopt some of the Hurrian systems and gods including Teshub (Teššub) the weather god. His chariot is pulled by twin benevolent bulls, who have their own centers of worship. Below are rhytons of the bulls.
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In the 14th century BCE, disaster strikes. An epidemic of tularemia, also called rabbit fever or Hittite plague devastates the region. The Hittite plague is considered the first documented use of disease as a biological weapon.
Hittite tablets from the mid-14th century BCE enumerate disabilities and death caused by the plague. Hittite King Muršili II writes prayers begging relief from the sickness. The plague lasts two decades and kills many of his subjects. Donkeys are banned, as one theory names them as possible carriers.
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By the 12th century BCE, the Hittites are floundering. Part of the kingdom is annexed by the Assyrians, the rest sacked by opportunistic Phrygian invaders. During the later part of the century the Bronze Age collapse causes the Hittites to break into smaller groups, without real identity as a people.
Some regions survive until the eighth century BCE, when they come under control of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Hittite groups scatter further and eventually merge with people of the Levant, Turkey and Mesopotamia.
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Prior to the discovery of the Hittite Kingdoms in the 19th century CE, the Hebrew Bible is the only source of documentation about the Hittites. According to the writings, the Hittites supply the Israelites with cedar, chariots and horses. Uriah the Hittite is mentioned among the loyal men of King David.
Hittites were warriors, but also wise enough to build a powerful kingdom and its operating systems. They're one example of the cultures to disappear due to a series of disasters including the great crisis of the known world, the Bronze Age collapse c. 1200 BCE. By that time, Hattusa stood abandoned.
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Remains of the Hittite legacy were discovered in 1834, but not identified. In 1906, an archaeologist found a royal archive at Hattusa with 10,000 tablets, inscribed in cuneiform Akkadian and an unknown language.
Ongoing excavations at Hattusa and other locations continue to reveal artifacts of a thriving ancient culture.
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