Introduction

Around 1600 BCE, the ancient Indo-European¹ group known as the Hittites formed an empire at Hattusa in Anatolia (the western peninsula of Asia, which is mostly modern-day Turkey). The Hittite Empire peaked in the mid-1300s BCE, when it spread across Asia Minor, into the northern Levant² and Upper Mesopotamia (northern Middle East). Like many Indo-Europeans, the Hittites could travel long distances thanks to a type of transportation that was pretty high-tech at the time: domesticated horses. The spread of technologies like the wheel and wagon, which were also used in ancient Mesopotamia and other early societies in the region, boosted the success of both pastoralists (animal farmers) and agrarian (farming) states.

After about 1180 BCE, the empire ended and splintered into several independent city-states, some of which survived until the eighth century BCE. These were Neo-Hittites, and of course neo means “new.”

Culture

The Hittite language was part of the Indo-European family of related languages. Today these languages are widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, and Western and Southern Asia.

Although their society thrived during the Bronze Age, starting around 3000 BCE, the Hittites were trend-setters of the Iron Age. They began manufacturing iron artifacts around 1400 BCE. Tools and weapons using iron were much more efficient than those made of bronze, so iron became the hot new thing. Literally, as it turns out, since iron melts at a higher temperature than copper or tin. Some scholars believe they had been experimenting with metalworking for years, and eventually discovered a smelting process hot enough to melt iron. Or maybe they learned some of this technology from communities in the Zagros Mountains in western Iran. However they figured it out, the Hittites now had a gold mine—in iron production, that is. As they profited from the high demand of iron, they established new trade networks.

After 1180 BCE, a community of unknown origin known as the Sea Peoples caused unrest in the Levant. They had enough ships to raid Mediterranean and Egyptian cities. The raids caused the Hittite kingdom to scatter into several independent Neo-Hittite city-states. What we know of Hittite history and society comes mostly from cuneiform³ texts found in the area of their former kingdom. We have also learned about them from diplomatic and commercial mail found in Egypt and the Middle East. The cuneiform writing suggests that the Hittites had some connection with the city-states of Mesopotamia. Perhaps this was due to established networks with Mesopotamia.

The Hittite state

Now for some politics. The head of the Hittite state was the king, followed by the heir-apparent, usually the king’s son. But some other officials did have independent authority over various branches of the government. That means the king didn’t really control all aspects of the kingdom. For example, there was a Chief of the Royal Bodyguards, a Chief of the Scribes,⁴ and even a Chief of the Wine Stewards.

Not much is known about the actual day-to-day life and culture of the Hittites. The written documents that survived are mostly about kings and their campaigns. It is known that the Hittites wrote using Akkadian script (cuneiform) but in their own Indo-European language. They used cylinder seals to sign documents and mark property, just as people did throughout Mesopotamia. That suggests a link or network between Hittite and Mesopotamian cultures. Then again, it’s possible the Hittites learned those Mesopotamian customs from other groups they had conquered, like the Hattians. Some scholars have suggested this connection because the details of Hittite life and culture seem to be slight variations on those of the Hattian people. Even the name “Hittite” is derived from the word Hattie. But we don’t know the exact nature of the relationship between the Hittites and the Mesopotamians because so few primary sources survived.

Some of the writings and artifacts we have from the Hittites tell us about their belief system, which was similar to the Hatti’s. Storm gods were important in the Hittite pantheon— that is, the group of gods in a religion that worships many. The storm god known as Tarhunt was called the Conqueror, the King of Kummiya, King of Heaven, and Lord of the land of Hatti. He was the god of battle and victory, especially against foreign powers. This suggests the Hittites cared much about military might.

Military technology

One military engagement the Hittites are famous for is the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE. They faced the army of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II. This battle is especially important because both sides claimed victory, and that led to the first known peace treaty in the history of the world, in 1258 BCE.

The Hittites had been pushing into Egyptian territory for centuries before Pharaoh Ramesses II resolved to drive the Hittites from his borders in 1274 BCE. He hoped to gain an advantage by capturing of the city of Kadesh, a center of commerce, which the Hittites held. Ramesses marched from Egypt leading over 20,000 soldiers to fight. Their opponents’ troops were being led by the king of the Hittites, named Muwatalli.

1 Indo-Europeans are people speaking any of the family of languages spread across Europe, the Middle East, and northern India.
2 The Levant refers to the eastern Mediterranean, including what are now Israel, Lebanon, part of Syria, and western Jordan.
3 Cuneiform—literally meaning “wedge shape”—is a writing system invented by the Sumerians. The symbols are wedge-shaped and usually carved into clay tablets.
4 Scribes created and maintained written records for the government.