The Hittites probably originated northeast of the
Caucasus. They migrated into Asia Minor circa
1900 B.C.E. and established a kingdom. They
occupied the Anatolian plateau, ultimately
extending their influence toward Syria. Their
migration may have pushed other populations
southward, creating the Hyksos invasion of
Egypt. The Hittites probably took their name
from the Plain of Hatti, which they occupied and
upon which they imposed their culture and
Indo-European language. Their first conquest
was the town of Nesa (near modern Kayseri,
Turkey), followed by the capture of Hattusha
(near modern Bogazkoy).
Little is known of them until the seventeenth
century B.C.E., when Labarna (ruled
circa 1680–1650) established the Old Hittite
Kingdom and set up his capital at Hattusha.
Labarna was the first major conqueror for the
Hittites, spreading their control throughout
Anatolia to the coast. His successors pushed
their borders southward to Syria. Mursili (or
Mushilish) raided deep into the Old
Babylonian Empire, captured Aleppo, and set
the kingdom’s southern boundary in Syria. This
proved to be the extent of their conquest, for
they spent the next two centuries quelling internal disturbances and fighting the Mitanni
of upper Mesopotamia.
Around 1500 B.C.E., the kingdom returned to
some stability under the leadership of Telipinu,
who laid down strict succession guidelines and
possibly established a law code. Some 50 years
later, the New Hittite Kingdom was established.
The Hittites had just suffered a defeat at the hands
of Egyptian pharaoh Thutmosis III and had begun
paying them tribute. One of the key figures in the
New Kingdom was Suppiluliuma (Shubbiluliu),
who seized power about 1380 B.C.E., reestablished
Hittite authority in Anatolia, and defeated the
Mitanni. He was unable to defeat the Egyptians,
however, and the two powers remained rivals for
the next century. During a time of Egyptian weakness
under Akhenaton, the Hittites made gains in
Lebanon at Egyptian expense; they also spread
their power to the Aegean, Armenia, and Upper
Mesopotamia.
The key battle in the ongoing conflict with
Egypt took place in 1294 B.C.E. at Kadesh, on the
Orontes River. Pharaoh Rameses II led his army
of Numidian mercenaries north to force his will
on the Hittites once and for all. He captured two
Hittite deserters, who informed him that their
army was still many days’ march away, so Rameses
rode ahead of his army to set up camp near
Kadesh. The two prisoners had been planted by
the Hittite king Muwatallis, and the pharaoh,
without most of his troops, was attacked by the
Hittite army. Rameses fought bravely until his
men arrived, and their appearance forced a
Hittite retreat into the city of Kadesh. Without
siege equipment, Rameses could not force their
surrender, so he withdrew. Shortly thereafter, the
two nations signed a peace agreement: The
Egyptians recognized Hittite sovereignty in Syria
in return for Hittite recognition of Egyptian dominance
in Palestine. The alliance was sealed by a
dynastic marriage, and the two nations remained
at peace until the fall of the Hittite Empire,
which came at the hands of the “Peoples of the
Sea,” about 1200 B.C.E
The Hittite legacy showed itself in a mixed
culture in the region of northern Syria. Some of
their written and spoken language remained in
the region, as did their last remaining city-states,
which were ultimately overrun by the Arameans
(forerunners of modern Syrians) and then by the
Assyrians in the eighth century B.C.E. The Hittites
used both cuneiform writing adopted from
Mesopotamia and hieroglyphics influenced by
Egypt, and their formal political writings were in
Akkadian. They had a highly developed literature
and historical writing. Their main strength lay in
their administration; their law codes were based
on those of Babylon, but depended less on retribution
than on compensation. Their artwork,
though recognizable as their own, was heavily
influenced by Babylon, as was much of their pantheon.
The Hittites are believed to have been the
first to smelt iron, which would account for some
of their military superiority at a time when their
enemies, especially Egypt, were still using bronze.
Apparently, it did not prove a sufficient advantage
to save their civilization from invasion.
See also Assyrian Empire; Egypt, Hyksos Invasion of.
References: Ceram, C. W, The Secret of the Hittites,
trans. Richard Winston and Clara Winston (New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956); Lehman, Johannes,
The Hittites: People of a Thousand Gods, trans. J.
M. Brownjohn (New York: Viking Press, 1977);
MacQueen, J. G., The Hittites and Their
Contemporaries in Asia Minor (London: Thames &
Hudson, 1968).
