In the ancient world, the Hatti or Hattians occupy the area of modern-day Turkey. They've been in the rapidly-shaping Anatolia since the Stone Age. The Hatti speak their own language and appear in archaeological and historical sources. Before the arrival of the Hittites, the Hattians have worked out a substantial empire.
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Several urban sites in Anatolia are established by the Hatti after c. 2500 BCE. Archaeological finds reveal a complex culture with strong social stratificiation. In the early Bronze Age the region is a collection of kingdoms and city states.
By c. 2000 BCE, the area's known as Land of the Hatti, with Hattush (Hattusa) in central Anatolia as its capital. Edging ever closer are the encroaching Hittites, a warlike people from the east. The Hittites have bronze weapons, sickle-shaped swords and three-man chariots.
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Religion among the Hatti is observed as nature-based worship of the Earth and the Mother Goddess. She brings harvest abundance from the land, fecundity of domestic animals and wild; health, luck and protection to the household.
The Hattian god pantheon includes storm-god Taru (represented by a bull), the sun-goddess Furušemu or Wurunšemu (a leopard) and other elemental gods. Art and written sources show a primary form of worship around groundwater or water emerging from deep in the earth.
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Worship of a terrestrial water God appears in pictures and records. A number of Hattian deities are connected to earth and water. Hittite legends of Telipinu and the serpentine dragon Illuyanka originate in lore of Hattian civilization.
A Solar Goddess, Arinniti or Wuru(n)šemu is also part of the Hattian pantheon. She's identified with the golden Sun Goddess of Arinna.
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Other cities described in Hattic include Tuhumiyara and Tissaruliya. In the 18th century BCE, speakers of the Hittite language conquer Hattus (Land of the Hatti) from Kanesh (Kültepe) roughly middle Anatolia, to the south.
By c. 1700 BCE the pre-existing Hattians have been assimilated into the Hittite Empire. Although they're able warriors the Hittites prefer to trade than fight. As a conquering people they make a lot of compromises to keep the peace.
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In the 15h century BCE, tribal warrior Kaskans from the mountains harry and raid northern settlements of the Hittite/Hatti lands. Later the mountain raiders would weaken the empire of the Hittites.
The Hittites import numerous Hatti gods into their pantheon and leave the capital at Hattusa. The Hittite Kingdom continues to operate under the name "Land of the Hatti". Scale armor is introduced for men and horses.
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In 13th-century BCE correspondence between Hittite Queen Puduhepa and Egyptian Queen Nefertari, the Egyptian monarch refers to Puduhepa as "Great Queen of the Hatti land."
Evenually the Hattians merge with other inhabitants. It's a cosmopolitan environment. Most people speak Indo-European languages of the Anatolian group, such as Hittite, Luwian, and Palaic.
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The Hattian influence lives on, not just on the god lists. The capital of Hattusa (Hattusha) still retains its name after all these centuries. It may take a slight move into the occult, with the legendary Green Stone of Hattusa.
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