The History of the Hittites
The Hittites were an ancient people that are considered one of the most important civilizations in Mesopotamian history. It's from recovered ancient texts that historians have been able to piece together their history. Information is also found in several biblical passages such as when the Israelites entered the Promised Land and the Hittites fought them, along with other Canaanite tribes. The Hittites were one of 11 Canaanite tribes listed in the Book of Genesis.
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Earliest Beginnings
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The first evidence of the Hittites' existence was roughly 1900 B.C. in the region later known as Hatti. The Hittites were an Indo-European tribe who came to Anatolia (ancient Turkey) and were highly influenced by the Hatti culture, taking on their names of rivers, towns and mountains. The name Hittite is derived from the term "Children of Heth." Heth was a Canaanite and a descendant of Noah's.
The Old Hittite Kingdom: 1750 B.C. to 1500 B.C.
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During this period, the Hittites set up the town of Nesa as their capital city. Their influence grew with an empire being born around 1680 B.C. It's believed a man known as Labarna led the original Hittite kingdom, which later expanded across Anatolia to the Mediterranean Sea. In 1595 B.C., the Hittites raided Babylon. However, because there wasn't a clear plan for the succession of kings, the kingdom started to crumble as it was only as strong as the current king in power.
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The Middle Hittite Kingdom: 1500 B.C. to 1430 B.C.
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Not much information is known about this period. It's assumed rulers from the region of Hangilbat controlled the Hittite kingdom that forged unions with Egyptian kings. A new aristocracy claimed top positions in the society, as a strong new kingdom arose in the south, with nearby Mittani seizing the city of Kizzuwadna. Strong ties developed with the Egyptians during this time.
The New Hittite Kingdom: 1430 B.C. to 1193 B.C.
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As the Old Kingdom faded away, the New Kingdom grew and rivaled Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. During this period, the Hittites had both peace and war, based on whether neighboring civilizations shared their values. During the last few years of the New Kingdom, migrants came into the region, weakening the Hittites, with final attacks coming from the sea people, believed to be islanders who laid siege via boat to attack tribes (see Resources below).
The City-States: 1193 B.C. to 710 B.C.
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People surviving the massacres from invaders and the sea peoples migrated to Northern Syria, mixing with native people and building new towns. Because these people showed a different culture, it's hard to consider them Hittites. Young, smaller city-states began to become established after the New Kingdom fell. Carchemish was the most significant city-state. The people of these city-states were called Syro-Hitties, although the Armenians may have taken over the cities by the 10th century B.C.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Creative Commons Image - Klaus-Peter Simon
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