The Hittites in Turkey (1660 – 1190 BC)

This article is one in the Cultural History of Turkey series. For the description of any cultures or tribes please read that article.

The Hittite tribes which lived under the local rulers since 2100 BC in Asia Minor, along with indigenous tribes, such as the Hattis and Hurrians, united to form a kingdom circa 1660 BC. (BTW The ethnicity of Hattis is disputed. One view is that they migrated to Asia Minor like Hittites (Nesilis).)

Exactly who united these tribes is not known; what is known, however, is that Hattusili I was the first prominent king. After Hattusili I, many kings occupied the throne and the Hittites became a very powerful empire, governing many satellite kingdoms around them and became peer to the well known civilizations of the times, such as the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. (The Hittites became stronger than their neighbors some times.)

In their zenith in the 14th and 13th centuries BC, their land extended from the Aegean sea coast through Mesopotamia to the Euphrates river in the east. The core Hittite territory was the northern half of Central Asia Minor in Kızıl Irmak River bend. The Hittites called this river Marrassantiya and the Greeks called it Halys. The capital was Hattusa (Boğazköy).

The existence of a tribe called Hittites was known for a long time from the Old Testament, which mentions “son of Heth” in Genesis 10. Heth was the second son of Canaan and ancestor of the Hittites. However, the Hittites were thought of a small Canaanite tribe living somewhere in Palestine. The excavations under Hugo Winckler and Theodore Makridi in October 1906 at Hattusa (Boğazköy) brought to the full day light a civilization that had an Indo-European heritage and played a major role in the ancient history of Asia Minor.

The Hittite empire lasted approximately 470 years. They lasted this long and held a large territory in which there were countless number of small kingdoms not because they assimilated these small states but they were militarily very strong in most of their history. The Hittites ruled the lands with their sheer power. In fact, the Hittites had to recapture many kingdoms that rebelled against them or aligned with their enemies.

Around 1460 BC, after the assassination of Muwatalli, the kingdom lost its strength and influence. The Hurrians, taking advantage of this weakness founded the Mitanni state and became the second strongest power after Egypt in the region for a century.

Later, though, the Hittites, under the leadership of Tudhaliya, recovered and reinstated their supremacy in the region. So the Hittites’ history might be split into two phases, although not universally accepted by all the scholars. The first phase is named the Old kingdom (1660-1460 BC) and the second phase, i.e., after recovery, is named the New (Great) Hittite (1460 – 1190 BC) kingdom or Empire. The Hittites reached the peak of their power in the New (Great) Kingdom period.

Hattusili I first established Hattusa as the seat of the royal family. During his reign, the military excursions to nearby areas were the major activities of the Hittites. Reading the records the Hittites kept might not give a clear idea why Hattusili I was attacking cities around Hatti’s land and having expeditions to Syria. According to one view, initially the purpose of these excursions might be to loot the invaded lands. However, later, these excursions became more deliberate state enterprises towards specific goals, namely to reach to the coastal areas and other civilizations. One might surmise that Hittites did this so that they can learn art and culture from these more developed civilizations. Another explanation might be more in strategic and economic terms; they wanted to control the main sea and land trade routes to access the natural resources to build an empire. With the disappearance of the Assyrian Merchants from Asia Minor the importation of tin from Assyria possibly stopped or reduced significantly. Tin was the essential element to make bronze and bronze was needed to make weapons, which in turn was essential for the Hittite army to fight. Another reason might be that, if you read passages in the texts where he is bragging, Hattusili I, as any other Hittite king, wanted to prove his prowess and surpass his predecessors with his successes.

Mursili I extended the empire towards Syria and Mesopotamia. He destroyed Aleppo. Then he went further southeast as far as to Babylon. He conquered and destroyed the city, defeated the Hurrian troops, and put an end to the Hammurabi dynasty (c1595 BC). Samsuditana was the last member of the Babylonian dynasty. The Hittites’ conquest was accomplished during the times that Samsuditana died. Telipinu established the rules for the succession to the throne to stop fighting and bloodshed in the royal family. He signed a peace treaty with Isputahsu, king of Kizzuwadna. The significance of this agreement was that it was Hittite’s first treaty. During the reign of the kings after Hattusili I and Mursili I roughly a span of a century, the Hittite kingdom lost its power. The Hurrians founded Mitanni state and became the second strongest power after the Egyptians. However, later Suppiluliuma I, one of the best and most successful king and commander of the Hittite army made the Hittites very powerful again. He took Charchemish1 and Aleppo2, defeated the Hurrians, destroyed Mitannian empire in Syria. In his time the Hittite Empire was sharing the near east domination with Egypt and Babylonia. During Muwatalli period the contemporary states were the Egyptians, Babylonians, Hanigalbat, Assyrians, and Wilusa3. The most important event in Muwatalli reign was Kadesh4 war (1274 BC) with Egypt. At that time Ramesses II was the pharaoh of Egypt. Muwatalli, as a preparation to the war, moved the capital to Tarhuntassa in a region known as Cilicia, from Hattusa, which was vulnerable to the danger from the north region, mainly the Kaska enemy. The biggest recorded army of the time was the Hittite force in Kadesh (1275-1274 BC), 2500 chariots and 37,000 infantry5. Although the war seemed to be ended without any victor6, overall the Hittites gained more by recapturing the kingdom of Amurru, strengthening their position in the satellite kingdoms surrounding the Hittite lands and buffer zones between the Hittites and Egypt. Mursili III7 moved the capital back to Hattusa. Hattusili III, officially ended Kadesh war with Egypt by signing a peace treaty (1259 BC) in the city of Pi-Ramesses.

Fall of Hittite Empire

The Egyptian records mention the Sea People. The Sea People came with ships, invaded, and burned everything along their path. According to one view, in addition to the Sea People, there were other tribes migrating to Asia Minor and were destroying everything they came into contact with. The Muskis, who were coming from the Balkans, were one of them. Invaders, such as the Muskis and Sea People fought with the Hittites, Egyptians, and other well established civilizations in the region. The Egyptians and some others survived. However, weakened with palace intrigue and internal rebellions the Hittite empire had fallen and was destroyed.

Another view is that people of western Anatolia might have attacked the Hittites too. Or the Kaska People from the north made an alliance with the Muskis and attacked the Hittites together. Here we are introduced the Phrygians. According to Homer’s Iliad, the Phrygians had already settled in Anatolia by the time of the Trojan wars. Another very likely possibility is that the Muskis mixed8 with the Phrygians. The Muski king Mita became the ruler of the Phrygians and attacked the Hittite Kingdom. In fact, later, the king Mita established the city of Gordion (Gordium), which is about 96 kilometers from Ankara. Since the Phrygians created a civilization in the same region where the Hittites were living, this view might get more credence. Yet, another suggestion was that, the people living in Anatolia learned how to make weapons from iron and easily defeated the Hittites who still were using weapons made of bronze.

Since all the art, culture, and written text were the product of the royal family, after the collapse of the dynasty, the Hittite empire could not recover. The written language was forgotten since the subjects of the empire, the common people, did not know how to read and write. Asia Minor went into its dark period. This dark period started around 1190 BC and lasted till 780 BC.

Old Hittite Kings (in chronological order)

Labarna (????-1650 BC)
Hattusili I (1650 – 1620 BC)
Mursili I (1620 – 1590 BC)
Hantili I (1590 – 1560 BC)
Zidanta I
Ammuna
Huzziya I
Telipinu (1525 – 1500 BC)
Alluwamna
Hantili II
Zidanta II
Huzziya II
Muwatalli I

New (Great) Hittite Kings (in chronological order)

Tudhaliya I/II
Arnuwanda I
Hattusili II
Tudhaliya III (1360 – 1344 BC)
Suppiluliuma I (1344 – 1322 BC)
Arnuwanda II (1322 – 1321 BC)
Mursili II (1321 – 1295 BC)
Muwatalli II (1295 – 1272 BC)
Urhi-Tesup (1272 – 1267 BC)
Hattusili III (1267 – 1237 BC)
Tudhaliya IV (1237 – 1228 BC)
Kurunta (1228 – 1227 BC)
Tudhaliya IV (1227 – 1209 BC)
Arnuwanda III (1209 – 1207 BC)
Suppiluliuma II (1207 – ???)

Agriculture and Trade

The agriculture was the main activity in the Hittite lands. However, in addition to agriculture, trade did also exist but mainly left to the foreigners who were based in ports, such as Ugarit and Ura along the eastern Mediterranean coast. No such organizational sophistication like Assyrian Merchants had was observed. Gold, silver, copper, and lead were extracted in Asia Minor, and tin1 and high quality textile were mostly imported. Although textile was manufactured locally foreign textile was known for its higher quality. Horses were imported from Babylonia, Mitanni, and Egypt. However, they were also bred in Arzawa region of Anatolia. Human trade and slavery existed. Responsibility of maintaining the roads belonged to the local principalities which were loyal to Hittites. The interactions between merchants and the regions along the trade routes were source of conflicts. The Hittites knew how to extract and process iron. They were using silver ingots as currency. The Hittites had a fairly sophisticated pricing system. In addition silver, gold was also used as a medium of exchange. Even copper and tin were used to express the prices. Shekel and mina were the main units of money. Prices of the commodities, such as livestock, were set locally, whereas some other prices, such as oil, were set by the laws. During the Assyrian Merchant colony period the local authorities collected taxes from traders. As the Hittites consolidated their power the Assyrian merchants disappeared and the taxation became more centralized and controlled by the Hittite capital, Hattusa, to raise revenue for the empire. Although the Hittites imposed taxes in the central Anatolia, the territories loosely controlled by the Hittite capital maintained their economic independence.

Rights of the citizens, Humanity in Hittites

Considering the times that the Hittites ruled the central Anatolia, it might be argued that the citizen rights and humanity were highly valued, when compared to the other contemporary (i.e., eastern) cultures. The reasonable and forgiving laws were reflecting these values. The punishment was more balanced with the committed crime. The capital punishment was restricted to a small set of crimes. Slavery, although practiced, was less restrictive than the one in other countries around. For example, a slave could marry to a free woman and if the couple divorces the slave could buy his freedom in the process. One area that the laws were harsh was the illegal practice of close relative marriages, which was punishable with death. Since the women were valued highly, Mother Queens, Tawanannas, played a prominent role in the government affairs and kept their authority till their death. Treatment of women and handling marriages and divorces in general were very modern considering the times this civilization existed. In divorce the property was split equally between man and women. It was acceptable for the man, when married, to join and live with his wife’s family, in a reversal of the roles. This is remarkable if even today’s societies are considered. Monogamy was the rule except for the kings, who might have more than one wife to improve inter-governmental relations. Even the younger male members of the royal family have to abide the laws and marry to only one woman.

Conceptually the Hittites were the world’s oldest constitutional monarchy, where king has to share the authority with an assembly, called Panku that is made up of nobles. However, in reality, king had the supreme authority and the final word in the decision making process.

Religion

The religion of the Hittites was a diverse set of many beliefs and rituals reflecting the society’s diversity. The Hittite rulers did not try to impose their own religion on the people living in the Hittite territory, instead, in a reversal of the roles, they borrowed many beliefs from the indigenous people and worshiped to the gods of these people. The tolerance and inclusiveness made common sense for the Hittites since it helped them rule the lands. However, towards the end of the empire, during the Hattusili III period, the tolerance and inclusiveness gave way to intolerance. The Hittites adopted the Hurrians’ religion and developed more eastern cultural attitude. One reflection of this change was that the kings used to become gods after their death in the Hittite culture. However, as the eastern religion and culture were adopted and became more prevalent the Hittites started making kings as their gods even when they were alive.

There were a few gods and goddesses, known with different names in different parts of the kingdom. The main god of the Hittites was the Storm-God. This god was also known as Sky-God or Weather-God. In the Hittite culture since women were important, valued, and respected the importance of the goddesses should also be mentioned. This tradition, which can be traced back to the stone ages in Asia Minor, was prevalent in the Hittites too. A reflection of this tradition was the Sun-Goddess of Arinna, who was also known as Wurusemu by the Hattis and Hebat by the Hurrians. Storm-God and Sun-Goddess of Arinna, were a couple. Additionally, there was also the concept of the God-Father, the God-Mother, and the God-Son.

As in other ancient civilizations of those times the Hittites believed in the gods and spirits of the underworld. They offered the blood of sacrifice to these underworld gods in the rituals. Royal funeral was a ritual that has to be performed according to the strict customs, without any deviation. The funeral used to start with the slaughter of an ox and continue 14 days. Then the king used to become a god. During these 14 days, in addition to the sacrifice of an ox, there was a feast, offering of food and libations, such as wine, to their gods. There were also more slaughter of cattle, sheep, horses, and donkeys, and cremation of the body.

In the Hittite culture, divinity through magical powers was a known practice.

Art

The Hittites were not known for their creativity and originality in pottery making. Excavations showed that besides being ordinary there was also a noticeable deterioration in pottery quality going from the Late Chalcolithic to Bronze age. This might be due to the increase in mass production3 as opposed to handmade earthenware and also partly due to the focus on metallic vessels. Still handmade pottery existed throughout the Hittite period.

The Hittite sculpture were created mostly as reliefs on rocks. The Hittites were heavily influenced by the eastern cultures such as the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Babylonians, in sculpture art.

Seals played an important role in the Hittite life. They were used in agreements and letters to prove the authenticity of the document. Excavated seals gave clues about the Hittite culture and life by the themes used in their design. There were two types of seals. These were stamp and cylinder seals. Workshops used hematite4 to cut the seals, which is called glyptic art. The metal cylinder seals first appeared towards the end of the second millennium BC in the Southern Anatolia.

Statues were mostly in human form placed on stone pedestals in the temples. They were made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, which was a very precious metal in those years. Rhytons were drinking vessels with animal forms, most notably bulls and deer and they were common in the Hittite territory.

Generally the art in the Hittites was not developed as much as in the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Sumerians. However, in some areas their accomplishments were impressive. The Hittites put strong emphasis on arts since they see it as a means to reach their political goals, according to one view. The Hittites built many monuments during their existence. One interesting characteristics of the Hittite architecture was its use of asymmetry. Since the Hittites did not know geometry the contours of the structures they built were reflecting nature’s asymmetry. The asymmetric style continued in Asia Minor after the Hittites.

The sculptures, reliefs, vases, rhytons, axes, ornaments, and all kinds of ceramic artifacts unearthed during excavations indicate that the Hittites created all kinds of excellent art pieces.

Language

Main languages spoken in Anatolia were the Hittite, Luwian, Hattic, and Hurrian. A limited use of Palaic language is also known. The Hittite, Luwian, and Palaic are Indo-European languages. However, the origin of the Hattic language is disputed. The Akkadian and Hittite were used in the official documents. The Akkadian was the lingua franca used in the international correspondence and treaties. Sumerian was used in training scribes, who were the literate professionals, whose job was to copy text, draft treaties, and write letters for the kings. The script used was cuneiform. However, the Hittites, instead of borrowing the cuneiform used by the Assyrian merchants, adopted another version from a scribal school in northern Syria. The Hieroglyphic inscriptions were also used by the Hittites.

Warfare

Although the Hittites did not invent chariots, they used them very skillfully as an initial shock in the war to a devastating effect on their enemies. Chariots – agile two-wheeled horse drawn vehicles – were very effective in the open space warfare, such as Kadesh2 war between Muwatalli II and Ramesses II. However, their use was limited in sieges and wars in mountainous areas. The Hittite infantry was not as good as chariots. Because of that the Hittites had difficulty in conquering the kingdoms in the northern mountainous regions of Anatolia. Each chariot crew consists of three members, namely driver, a second soldier to use the spear, and a third soldier to shield the other two. Spears, daggers, axes, and swords were main weapons of war. In addition to these weapons the Hittite army used body armor, helmets, and shields. Although the Hittites were not inventive, they adopted a few innovations, such as use of the Hurrian3 ram to improve the siege techniques. They also put composite bow into use for a superior archery.

Sources

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