The Hittites and Ancient Anatolia

Hittites meaning as they are referred to as the ancient Indo-European groups who during the 1600 BCE built their empire in the city of Anatolia at Hatussa which is presently known as Turkey. It was situated in the western Peninsula of Asia. During the 1300 BCE, the Hittites dynasty rose to its peak, spreading its empire throughout  Asia Minor, into the northern Levant square and Upper Mesopotamia (northern Middle East). 

At that time they were having a large number of domesticated horses that were considered as the most high-tech form of transportation because of which like many other Indo-Europeans the Hittites were able to move long distances and migrate easily. In Mesopotamia and other related regions, most of the other modern technologies such as wagons and wheels were also introduced during the 1300 century.  This in turn encouraged both animal farming as well as agriculture around the region. 

In 1800 BC the entire empire witnessed a breakdown and was splintered into many small states and cities that were independent of one another. As these states were newly formed thus they were referred to as “Neo Hittites” and were among the few states and cities that lasted till the end of the 8 century BCE. This article primarily deals with the Hittites and ancient Anatolia.

Culture

As Hittites are the members of the Indo-European region, thus they had the language that falls in the family of the languages that are used in modern days in America, Europe, and Western and Southern Asia. According to nineteenth-century archaeology, the Hittites are also named after their initial identification with the Hittites in the bible. Some of the people who are living among the Israelites are identified as Hittites. 

During 3000 BC, that is, during the bronze age, the Hittite Empire was growing and on its way to flourishing in the city of Anatolia. But in the iron age, they were at their peak and were considered as the pioneers of that time. By the start of 1400 BCE, the Hittites started to manufacture the iron artifacts and these were more significant at that period because the tools and the weapons that were made out of iron were much more effective than those that were made from bronze. There have been many theories that exist on how the Hittites have developed such advanced technologies to create various iron artifacts. Thus many historians believe that the Hittites for many years have been experimenting with the metalworks which helped them to discover the smelting process where the iron is melted at a very high temperature than that of the copper. It is because the melting temperature of copper is lesser than that of iron. Some of the other historians believed that their trading relationship with Assyria and parts of the Egyptian empire had led them to create more iron artifacts. It is because their demand in these two countries was very high. They are also believed to have learned some metalwork from the people of the Zagros Mountains in western Iran.

After 1800 BCE, a huge turmoil started in the Levant as the unknown people of the sea started coming in ships to raid the Mediterranean regions as well as Egypt. Soon after the progression of these events, the one single Hittites Empire broke down into many independent small city-states that are then referred to as the Neo-Hittites. Most of their history and the events are recovered from cuneiform texts that are found in the area of their former kingdom and the archives of Egypt that were full of mails from diplomats as well as trade and commercial mails. Through the writings in the cuneiform texts, it was clear that the Mesopotamian writing has been transferred to the Hittites and therefore indicates some direct or indirect connection between the two. Some of the historians believed that the Hittites had some trading relationship with the Mesopotamians and some believed that it is related to the conquest of the Hittites over another empire known as Hatti who was connected to Sumerians, a Mesopotamian king.

The Hittites State

The head of the Hittites state would be the king and his heir who will apparently be one of his offspring who will be the next successor of the throne. However, the king did not have full control of the administration of the kingdom, as many officials independently exercised their authority over many parts of the kingdom. For instance, the Chief of the Royal Bodyguards, the Chief of the Scribe along with the Chief of the Wine Stewards are the ones who were responsible for channelizing the bureaucracy.

The written scripts mostly deal with the kings and their campaigns and describe very little about the day-to-day life of the people of Anatolia or the Hittite empire. Thus it remained a mystery throughout. The Hittites used the scripts in the Akkadian language though they used to translate them into their own Indo-European language and then used to seal them with a cylindrical seal. Their scripts had a very striking similarity to that of the Mesopotamians as they also used Akkadian manuscripts. Thus it is being elaborated that the two had some direct or indirect connections with each other. 

It is also believed that the Hittites have learned about Mesopotamian through the Hatti empire who was one of the rulers of the ancient Anatolia city was later conquered by the Hittites. Though it has been observed through their writings and scripts that the culture, as well as the life of the Hattis, were slightly different from that of the Hittites. But it has been a mystery of what actually the kind of relationship shared by these two groups as very little information in terms of the written scripts are available on their culture or day-to-day life. 

Religion of Hittites

Hittites were polytheists and their storm gods were prominent among the Hittite pantheon that is known as the set of all gods that they believed in being the polytheists. The King of Kummiya, King of Heaven, and Lord of the land of Hatti were the titles given to the Tarhunt who were referred to as the conqueror. He was considered as the supreme power of victory and battle against any foreign powers. This shows their values and beliefs in the military system in their empire. 

Conclusion

Thus Hittites were from the era of 1600 to 1180 BCE who were the flourishing rulers in the bronze age of the ancient state Anatolia which is presently known as Turkey in modern times. They became prominent leaders in the iron age and were very equipped with modern technologies. They could migrate from one place to another very swiftly and in less time as they had domesticated horses that were considered as the most modern way of commutation back then, they were also experienced in metalworking. They had a greater influence on the Mesopotamians in their scripts and therefore it is believed that they had some direct or indirect connection with them. Though the king was the head of the state that would be preceded by his offspring but did not have the entire control of the Kingdom. The Hittites are the polytheists.