The period of the Hittite New Kingdom lasts from about 1400-1180 BCE although the dynasty that created it, originating from the city Kumbnani within the Kizzuwatna polity, came to power in the mid-fifteenth century BCE. The rulers of this dynasty were the creators of the Hittite empire, which during the reign of King Suppiluliuma I (1356-1319 BCE) and his successors achieved the greatest prosperity. In the period of its greatest splendor, the Hittite king controlled up to 400,000 squared kilometers of land including the areas of Northern Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine.
The central bureaucracy was relatively sophisticated: a Chief of the Scribes headed up the Hittite chancellery
[1]
whilst a separate administrator, the hazannu, had responsibility for the city of Hattusa.
[2]
Keepers of the Royal Storehouses were also important officials.
[3]
District governors known as Lord of the Watchtower were appointed for the provinces
[2]
whilst the conquest of Syria c1340 BCE lead to the position of viceroy being created for the important urban centre of Karkamis.
[4]
The power of the state was based on the army, which was great for the times - it had iron weapons, armor, and excellent war chariots.
During the reign of Muwattalli, Ramses II was in power in Egypt, and the war between two most powerful states in the Middle East area resulted in the first written international treaty known to us as " Kadesh Treaty ". Although this treaty was originally written in the Akkadian language, copies in Hittite and Egyptian languages were made. Around 1200 BCE, the Hittite state probably fell under the pressure of the Sea Peoples, although a few Hittite city-states in Northern Syria survived until 708 BC.
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 66)
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 16)
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 18)
[4]: (Thuesen 2002, 45)
| 36 N |
| Hatti - New Kingdom |
| Hattusa |
| Hittite Kingdom | |
| Hittite Empire | |
| Kingdom of the Hittites | |
| Hethiter | |
| Hittites | |
| Hetyci | |
| Hititler veya Etiler |
| Hittite |
| Neo-Hittite Kingdoms |
| continuity |
| Preceding: Konya Plain - Late Bronze Age II (tr_konya_lba) [continuity] | |
| Succeeding: Neo-Hittite Kingdoms (tr_neo_hittite_k) [continuity] |
| unitary state |
| [15,000 to 20,000] people |
| [250,000 to 350,000] km2 | 1300 BCE |
| [300,000 to 400,000] km2 | 1200 BCE |
| [1,300,000 to 2,000,000] people |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| unknown |
| absent |
| unknown |
| present |
| inferred present |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| Year Range | Hatti - New Kingdom (tr_hatti_new_k) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1344 BCE 1181 BCE) | Konya Plain |
[1]
[2]
[3]
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. It was found to be located near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızılırmak River. Hattusa exerted dominating influence upon the civilizations of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC in Anatolia and Northern Syria. The palaces, temples, trading quarters and necropolis of this political and religious metropolis provide a comprehensive picture of a capital and bear a unique testimony to the disappeared Hittite civilization. The city’s fortifications, along with the Lion Gate, the Royal Gate and the Yazılıkaya rupestral ensemble with its sculptured friezes, represent unique artistic achievements as monuments.
Hattusa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986
[4]
.
[1]: Makowski M. (2009) Świat późnej epoki brązu. pp.154-156 [In:] A. Smogorzewska (ed.) Archeologia starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu, Warszawa: Instytut Archeologii UW, pp. 151-187
[2]: Neve P. (1992). Hattuša-- Stadt der Götter und Tempel : neue Ausgrabungen in der Hauptstadt der Hethiter (2., erw. Aufl. ed.). Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern.
[3]: Bryce T. (2004) Life and Society in the Hittite World, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 230-257
Hethiter; Hittites; Hetyci; חתים; Hititler veya Etiler
Hethiter; Hittites; Hetyci; חתים; Hititler veya Etiler
Hethiter; Hittites; Hetyci; חתים; Hititler veya Etiler
Hethiter; Hittites; Hetyci; חתים; Hititler veya Etiler
Hethiter; Hittites; Hetyci; חתים; Hititler veya Etiler
Hethiter; Hittites; Hetyci; חתים; Hititler veya Etiler
Hethiter; Hittites; Hetyci; חתים; Hititler veya Etiler
1322-1240 BCE
[1]
During the "Hittite Empire period" (c. 1400 BC- c. 1200 BC.) in central Anatolia, the people of the Hittites experienced the greatest prosperity and expanded across the largest territorial area. Can we express this in a smaller time window? Ed.
"it is somewhat ironic that the capital’s most splendid material phase, both on the acropolis and in the upper city, should correspond with the beginning of an irreversible decline in the kingdom’s political and military fortunes." referring to Hattusili III and Tudhaliya IV.
[2]
"Tudhaliya IV, to whose credit lie the massive expansion and redevelopment of Hattusa in the final decades before its fall."
[3]
[1]: Ziółkowski A. 2009 Historia Powszechna. Starożytność, Warszawa: PWN, pp. 252-250
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 24-25)
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 30)
1650-1175 BCE
[1]
c. 1650 BC: (Old Kingdom) The founding of the Hittite Kingdom. (Labarna I or Hattusili I) -c. 1175 BC: The fall of the Hittite state caused by the invasions of the Sea Peoples, and attacks the people of Kaskians and Assyrians. End date: the destruction of Hattusa.
EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/the-last-days-of-hattusa/
[1]: Bryce T. R. (2005) The Kingdom of the Hittites, New York: Oxford University Press
(Relationship): "the Neo-Hittite kingdoms of the Land of Hatti were essentially an evolution out of the peoples who were already there rather than the result of large waves of new immigrants from devastated homelands in the west. And whether they were of post-Bronze Age or earlier origin, the Luwian-speaking inhabitants of these kingdoms probably constituted only a minority of their populations."
[1]
"Carchemish and probably Malatya apparently continued from their Late Bronze Age predecessors with little or no interruption."
[2]
Tabal region (Konya Plain): "There is nothing in the material record to indicate that it was significantly affected by the upheavals at the end of the Late Bronze Age, or by the collapse of the Hittite empire. Certainly there is no evidence of a shift of peoples from it in this period."
[3]
(Entity): "Hittite appanage kingdom called Tarhuntassa, which extended eastwards through part of Classical Cilicia and inland to the region of modern Konya."
[4]
"According to a proposal recently made by I. Yakibovich, the core area of Luwian population was located in central Anatolia, in the region of the Konya Plain, and Luwian migration into western Anatolia occurred only after the Arzawan kingdom had been established."
[5]
[1]: (Bryce 2012, 60)
[2]: (Bryce 2012, 63)
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 43)
[4]: (Bryce 2012, 38)
[5]: (Bryce 2012, 17)
And many others. [1] "We find that no fewer than eight languages are represented in the tablet archives of the capital. Probably as many if not more languages were spoken in the streets of the capital every day, some of them quite different from the languages of the archives." [2] "The official language of the kingdom was an Indo-European language called Nesite, which we commonly refer to today as the ’Hittite’ language." [3] Luwian was not the official language but it "very likely became the most widely spoken language of the Late Bronze Age Hittite empire." [4] "The Cuneiform script was used throughout its history to write a number of different languages, and the Hattusa archives are composed for the most part in their writers’ own language, generally termed by us ’Hittite’, but by them ’Nesite’, i.e. the language of Nesa or Kanes (modern Kultepe), which had presumably been an earlier Hittite centre, before Hattusa in Hatti. ... The Hittites also used the language Akkadian (’Babylonian’ to them) as the international language of communication." [5] Other languages "found in the archives, mostly of ritual and mythological content. These include Hattian, the pre-Hittite language of Hatti, and Hurrian, the language of the Hittites eastern neighbours; also Luwian and Palaic, languages closely related to Hittite, spoken by their kinsmen dwelling respectively to the south and south-west, and to the north-west of Hatti, and constituting with Hittite the IInd millennium B.C. section of the Anatolian group of Indo-European." [5]
[1]: Popko M. (1999) Ludy i języki starożytnej Anatolii, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog, pp. 51-70
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 5-6)
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 8)
[4]: (Bryce 2012, 15)
[5]: (Hawkins 2000, 2) John David Hawkins. 2000. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Volume I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin.
And many others. [1] "We find that no fewer than eight languages are represented in the tablet archives of the capital. Probably as many if not more languages were spoken in the streets of the capital every day, some of them quite different from the languages of the archives." [2] "The official language of the kingdom was an Indo-European language called Nesite, which we commonly refer to today as the ’Hittite’ language." [3] Luwian was not the official language but it "very likely became the most widely spoken language of the Late Bronze Age Hittite empire." [4] "The Cuneiform script was used throughout its history to write a number of different languages, and the Hattusa archives are composed for the most part in their writers’ own language, generally termed by us ’Hittite’, but by them ’Nesite’, i.e. the language of Nesa or Kanes (modern Kultepe), which had presumably been an earlier Hittite centre, before Hattusa in Hatti. ... The Hittites also used the language Akkadian (’Babylonian’ to them) as the international language of communication." [5] Other languages "found in the archives, mostly of ritual and mythological content. These include Hattian, the pre-Hittite language of Hatti, and Hurrian, the language of the Hittites eastern neighbours; also Luwian and Palaic, languages closely related to Hittite, spoken by their kinsmen dwelling respectively to the south and south-west, and to the north-west of Hatti, and constituting with Hittite the IInd millennium B.C. section of the Anatolian group of Indo-European." [5]
[1]: Popko M. (1999) Ludy i języki starożytnej Anatolii, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog, pp. 51-70
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 5-6)
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 8)
[4]: (Bryce 2012, 15)
[5]: (Hawkins 2000, 2) John David Hawkins. 2000. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Volume I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin.
Hattusa (Bogazköy): 15,000-20,000
[1]
Hattusa (Bogazköy)
Reconstruction of the population is very difficult. Researchers suggest very different populations. 15,000-20,000 inhabitants
[2]
or 9000-11,000
[3]
or 9000 - 15,000
[4]
Sarissa
5000 inhabitants
[5]
based on the capacity of the granary.
Lisipra
2400-3000 inhabitants
[6]
Even for sites which have been excavated more extensively, such as Bogazköy or Kusaklı, a realistic estimate of the number of inhabitants cannot be given yet
[7]
[1]: Mielke D. P. (2011) Hittite Cities: Looking for a Concept, pp. 184 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 153-194
[2]: Bittel K. and Naumann R. (1952) Bogazköy-Hattusa I. Architektur, Topographie, Landes kunde und Siedlungsgeschichte Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, pp. 26 n. 16.
[3]: Mora, C. (1977) ‘Saggio per uno studio sulla popolazione urbana nell’Anatolica Antica. I. Hattuscha’. "Studi micenei ed egeo-anatolici" 18, pp. 227-41.
[4]: Bittel K. (1983) 1983: Hattuscha. Hauptstadt der Hethiter. Geschichte und Kultur einer altorientalischen Großmacht,Cologne, p. 85
[5]: Müller-Karpe A. (2002) ‘Kusaklı-Sarissa. Kultort im Oberen Land’,pp. 182[In:] Die Hethiter und ihr Reich. Das Volk der 1000 Götter, Katalog der Ausstellung, Bonn 18. Januar-28. April 2002, Bonn, pp.176-189. 2002, 176-89.
[6]: Alp S. (1991) Hethitische Briefe aus Masat Höyük (Turk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlari VI.35) Ankara, p. 119
[7]: Mielke D. P. (2011) Hittite Cities: Looking for a Concept, pp. 184 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 184
Includes
a) ’core territory’ (Hittite capital Hattusa and a number of regional administrative centres)
b) territories peripheral to the core,under the direct control of the king or his officials;
c) vassal states subject to the king but under the immediate authority of local rulers;
d) from the reign of Suppiluliuma I onwards, two viceregal kingdoms in northern Syria.
Includes
a) ’core territory’ (Hittite capital Hattusa and a number of regional administrative centres)
b) territories peripheral to the core,under the direct control of the king or his officials;
c) vassal states subject to the king but under the immediate authority of local rulers;
d) from the reign of Suppiluliuma I onwards, two viceregal kingdoms in northern Syria.
People.
Turkey contained 3 million "during the course of the full Bronze age".
[1]
The polity territory isn’t anywhere near 750,000 km2 of Anatolia. At greatest extent according to map
[2]
possessed about one third, which if equally distributed would be 1 million people. We could suppose this is a lower limit if the developed Hittite region was the most densely populated part of Anatolia. Territory also contains part of Syria which may have had 250,000 by 3000 BCE and 600,000 by 1000 BCE.
[1]
If we grant 300,000 for Syrian possessions the total baseline for our range estimate is about 1,300,000.
[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 133) McEvedy, Colin. Jones, Richard. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. Penguin Books Ltd. London.
[2]: geacron.com
1. Capital Bogazköy-Hattusa.
2. Large settlements (e.g. Masat Höyük-Tapikka, Ortaköy-Sapinuwa, Alaca Höyük, Inandıktepe).3. Small villages and farmsteads 0,1-5 ha (very poorly investigated, data about their existence comes from field walking surveys, not regular excavation).
levels.
_Great Temple in Hattusa_
1. King
"The king himself was not only his kingdom’s war leader, but also its supreme judicial authority and chief priest."
[1]
"the gods’ agent-in-chief on earth."
[2]
2. Tawananna
"reigning queen and chief consort of the king, high priestess of the Hittite realm and sometimes a politically powerful figure in her own right, who retained her status until the end of her life even if she outlived her husband."
[2]
3. Priests of the great4. Preists of the minor
Priests SANGA (het. sankunni-). The distinction of priests of the great (SANGA GAL) and priests minor (SANGA TUR) was made.
[3]
?. Scribes
"In the thirteenth century some fifty-two scribes (including thirty-three scribes of the wooden tablets) were attached to the service of the Great Temple in Hattusa, making up just over a quarter of the temle’s total cult personnel."
[4]
?. Scribes of the wooden tablets
"In the thirteenth century some fifty-two scribes (including thirty-three scribes of the wooden tablets) were attached to the service of the Great Temple in Hattusa, making up just over a quarter of the temle’s total cult personnel."
[4]
Eg. priest GUDU, priestess "lady of daity" (EREŚ.DINGER), priestess "mother of God" (AMA DINGIR).
[5]
Different priests (eg. priest tazzeli, priest hamina-).
[5]
[1]: (Bryce 2007, 11)
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 21)
[3]: Tarach P. (2008) Religie Anatolii hetyckiej, pp. 206, [In:] K. Pilarczyk and J. Drabina (ed.) Religie starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu, Kraków: Wydawnictwo WAM, pp. 177-259
[4]: (Bryce 2002, 60)
[5]: Tarach P. (2008) Religie Anatolii hetyckiej, pp. 207, [In:] K. Pilarczyk and J. Drabina (ed.) Religie starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu, Kraków: Wydawnictwo WAM, pp. 177-259
1. King, commmander-in-chief
[1]
king could "delegate military command to a subordinate, probably a member of his own family."
[2]
2. High Military Command / Chief of the Bodyguards"The king’s brothers often seem to have been appointed to high military commands immediately below the king and the crown prince, particularly if they held the highly prestigious post of GAL MESHEDI (chief of the Bodyguards).
[2]
2. ’Chief of the Wine (Stewards)’ Commander-in-chief"an unpretentious-sounding but in fact highly prestigious title. Its holder was assigned important military commands either under the general command of the king or as commander-in-chief in his own right. The use of such a term, which goes back to the early days of the Old Kingdom, no doubt reflects a time in early Hittite history when the king’s most trusted confidants and advisers were those who attended him in a range of capacities, some quite humble, on a daily basis."
[3]
3. Chief of the Chariot-Warriors of the Right / Chief of the Chariot-Warriors of the Left"usually of princely status"
[2]
"Each of these officers apparently commanded a brigade of 1000 men."
[4]
3. Chief of the Standing Army-Troops of the Right / Chief of the Standing Army-Troops of the Left"Each of these officers apparently commanded a brigade of 1000 men."
[4]
3. Chief of the ’Shepherds’ of the Right / Chief of the ’Shepherds’ of the Left."Each of these officers apparently commanded a brigade of 1000 men."
[4]
4. ???"The lower-ranking officers included, in descending order of importance, ’overseers of military heralds’, ’dignitaries’, and ’gentlemen’. There was a gradation of rank within the dignitaries category, raging (in modern equivalents) from captain to sergeant. The gentlemen were the lowest-ranking officers. Each officer’s importance was determined by the number of men he led. At the lower levels, some were in charge of 100 men, some of just 10."
[4]
5. Officer of 100 men"The lower-ranking officers included, in descending order of importance, ’overseers of military heralds’, ’dignitaries’, and ’gentlemen’. There was a gradation of rank within the dignitaries category, raging (in modern equivalents) from captain to sergeant. The gentlemen were the lowest-ranking officers. Each officer’s importance was determined by the number of men he led. At the lower levels, some were in charge of 100 men, some of just 10."
[4]
6. Officer of 10 ("Gentlemen"?)"The lower-ranking officers included, in descending order of importance, ’overseers of military heralds’, ’dignitaries’, and ’gentlemen’. There was a gradation of rank within the dignitaries category, raging (in modern equivalents) from captain to sergeant. The gentlemen were the lowest-ranking officers. Each officer’s importance was determined by the number of men he led. At the lower levels, some were in charge of 100 men, some of just 10."
[4]
7. Individual soldier
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 109)
[2]: Bryce T. and A. Hook (2007). Hittite Warrior. Warrior. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 8-9
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 23)
[4]: (Bryce 2007, 7)
levels.
The Hittite Empire was more centralized than the Old Kingdom and the general assembly is no longer apparent.
1. The King
judge and a military leader.
"He held his appointment by divine right. But he ruled merely as the steward of the Storm God, for ’the land belongs only to the Storm God..."
[1]
"By the New Kingdom, the panku had become all but defunct as more formal bureaucratic structures developed."
[2]
Imperial civil service.
[3]
2. "Chief of the Scribes" head of the Hittite chancellery
[4]
"We can hardly overestimate the power and influence which the Chief of the Scribes and indeed other high-ranking members of the scribal hierarchy must have exercised within the kingdom. These men were amongst the king’s closest confidants and advisers."
[5]
3. Scribe to take dictation"We do know that scribes who reached the more elevated levels of their profession employed others to take dictation for them."
[6]
3. Scribe of the Wooden Tabletshad their own bureaucratic category in the Hittite chancellery.
[7]
3. Scribes
[8]
[9]
Tablet archivists
[10]
2. Chief administrator of Hattusa (the hazannu)
[11]
3. ???
2. Keepers of the royal storehouses
[1]
"located in various parts of the kingdom (a hundred or more are attested), were directly appointed by the king and dealt with him on a one-to-one basis."
[1]
3. Royal storehouse worker (inferred)
4? Gatekeepers
[11]
Couriers (inferred)
[12]
"cooks, domestic servants, doorkeepers, pages, heralds, prayer-reciters, barbers, cleaners, craftsmen, and grooms."
[10]
_Provincial government_
2. Viceroy"After the conquest of the region of Syria in ca. 1340 B.C. the Hittite king, Suppiluliuma I, placed a viceroy in what may be considered the most important urban centre, Karkamis."
[13]
"all power was centralised in Hattusa under the Hittite Great King. Under him were viceroys, in the case of Karkamis a direct descendent of the Great King. This viceroy governed the urban centres of the province, each probably being administered by a governor or vassal king."
[13]
2. District governors "BEL MADGALTI (Hittite auriya ishas) (literallly ’lord of the watchtower’)"
[11]
"In Hatti’s outlying regions they were responsible for the security of the frontier and had charge of garrisons stationed in the area. They were strictly required in the instructions issued to them to ensure that fortresses and towns under their control were securely locked in the evenings. They had to keep an adequate supply of timber on hand in case of siege. They were warned to keep particularly on the alert against one of the Hittites’ greatest fears - the outbreak of fire. They had to ensure that all who left the fortified community in the morning .... returned in the evening ... were carefully scrutinized, to ensure there was no enemy presence among them. They were responsible for the maintenance of buildings, roads, and irrigation canals. They managed the king’s lands and collected his taxes. They were responsible for the upkeep and restoration of temples. They had judicial functions which entailed travelling around their district to preside at local assizes. And they were obliged to submit reports on all these activities to the king himself."
[14]
"obliged to submit reports on all these activities to the king himself"
[14]
suggest post was directly responsible to the king and thus the same level as the viceroy
3. Sub-official (Finance Officer? / Chief scribe?)The wide-ranging responsibilities of the district governor
[14]
- security, fire watch, town entry and exit, infrastructure, taxes, building upkeep - imply that tasks must have been delegated to sub-officials as he couldn’t have done all of this on his own. Since the district governor collected taxes and had to pay for the upkeep of temples and infrastructure one of these persons in the local government might have been a finance officer. The district governor might also have employed a chief scribe to write the reports to the king.
4. Scribe / Tax-collector / GatekeeperThe sub-official would have had a scribe.
5? Couriers (inferred)
3. "Council of Elders"Locally administered justice.
[15]
. Local council lowest identifiable judicial authority.
[16]
_Vassal states/Viceregal kingdoms_
"Beyond the core territory of its homeland in central Anatolia, the Hittite empire consisted largely of a network of vassal states, whose rulers enjoyed considerable local autonomy but were bound by a number of obligations to their Hittite overlord, formalized in the personal treaties he drew up with them. In the latter half of the fourteenth century, direct Hittite rule was extended to parts of northern Syria with the establishment of viceregal kingdoms at Aleppo and Carchemish."
[17]
2.
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 18)
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 23)
[3]: (Bryce 2002, 57)
[4]: (Bryce 2002, 66)
[5]: (Bryce 2002, 67)
[6]: (Bryce 2002, 69)
[7]: (Bryce 2002, 69-70)
[8]: Burney C. (2004) Historical Dictionary of the Hittites, Lanham: Scarecrow Press, pp. 242
[9]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 11
[10]: (Bryce 2002, 24)
[11]: (Bryce 2002, 16)
[12]: (Bryce 2002, 17)
[13]: (Thuesen 2002, 45)
[14]: (Bryce 2002, 16-17)
[15]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 38
[16]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 41
[17]: (Bryce 2002, 9)
Not known for Old Kingdom, present in the New Kingdom. [1] "the core of the defence force was a full-time, professional standing army. ... They lived together in military barracks, so that they could be mobilized at a moment’s notice." [2]
[1]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 111
[2]: (Bryce 2007, 11)
Palaces. The most important elements in the larger cities were palaces, which in textual sources are characterized with the Sumerogram É.GAL = great house. The palaces were a crucial element for the administration and organisation of the Hittite state. However, they were not specialized government buildings.
Hittite palaces:
(1) Büyükkale/Bogazköy-Hattusa
[1]
(2) Masat Höyük-Tapikka
[2]
(3) Ortaköy-Sapinuwa, Building A
[3]
(4) Alaca Höyük
[4]
(5) Inandıktepe
[5]
[1]: Seeher J. (2002) ‘Großkönigliche Residenz - Mittelpunkt staatlichen Lebens. Die Palastanlage in der hethitischen Hauptstadt’, [In:] Die Hethiter und ihr Reich. Das Volk der 1000 Götter, Katalog der Ausstellung, Bonn 18. Januar-28. April 2002, Bonn, pp. 94-99.
[2]: Özgüç, T. (1982) Masat Höyük II. Bogazköy’ün kuzeydogusunda bir Hitit merkezi. Masat Höyük II. A Hittite Center Northeast of Bogazköy (Turk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlari V.38a)Ankara
[3]: Süel A. (2002) ‘Ortaköy-Sapinuwa’. [In:] K.A. Yener and H.A. jr Hoffner (eds.) 2002: Recent Developments in Hittite Archaeology and History. Papers in Memory of Hans G. Güterbock,Winona Lake, IN., pp 157-65.
[4]: Bittel K. (1976) Die Hethiter, Munich, Abb. 111
[5]: Özgüç, T. (1988) Inandıktepe. Eski Hitit çagında önemli bir kült merkezi. An Important Cult Center in the Old Hittite Period (Turk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlari V.43) Ankara.
Old Kingdom
Scribes
[1]
[2]
. The assembly panku/tuliya.
"Chief of the Scribes", a powerful figure
[3]
- a professional official.
New Kingdom:The Hittite Empire was probably more developed than the Old Kingdom.
[1]: Burney C. (2004) Historical Dictionary of the Hittites, Lanham: Scarecrow Press, pp. 242
[2]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 11
[3]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 67
"... the collection we have called The Laws ... consists of some 200 clauses, the earliest surviving version of which dates to the Old Kingdom, around 1650 BC. From references it makes to revisions to previous laws we know there must have been an even earlier version, probably going back to the reign of the original Labarna, the earliest known Hittite monarch... only one New Kingdom version, the so-called ’Late Parallel Version’, contains any substantive revisions."
[1]
Archaeological research in the twentieth century has produced interesting findings, demonstrating the existing legal culture of the Hittites. The result of this research is to find two pieces of code of the Hittite from the end of the XV or the beginning of the XIV century BC, and therefore subsequent to the Code of Hammurabi, early and from a set of assarynian law, including customary law. Also found Hittite texts of several laws and contracts concluded with Egypt. One of the pieces of that code was given to us in two editorial and this is the year 1390 BC and later contains only 22 articles. Recognition of specific issues in the code allows you to present as part of the most general laws of the Hittite.
[2]
Public Law
In terms of political system, the law regulates the powers and duties of Hittite warriors from the tribe of Manda presumably later Medes or would be the position of slaves who knows the different types (public and private). More specifically, however, deals with the Hittite code of criminal law. A feature of his in this area is greater than humanity criminal legislation of other peoples of the Ancient East . Penalties for offenses are too harsh and often meets next penalty fines for damages in nature. Qualification of murder and murder of passion or would be unintentional homicide near complete removal of private vengeance, argues with already developed legal concepts , but on the other hand, determination of penalties in a casuistic points to the primitive nature of the legislation.
[2]
Private Law
Family law is based on the exogamous patriarchal family organization, since endogamous marriage within the family is forbidden under death penalty. In the field of trade and commerce law, there are set prices for individual goods, thereby controlling the development of economic relations in the country. The uniformity of legislation throughout the Hittite is intended to more closely anastomosis various neighboring provinces of the country of Hatti.
[2]
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 34)
[2]: Hoffner H. A.Jr. (1997) The Laws of the Hittites: a Critical Edition, Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill
[1]
Level 2: Royal Courts
[2]
Level 1: the Council of Elders
[1]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 38-39
[2]: Billie J. C.(2007) The Hittites and Their World, (Society of Biblical literature archaeology and Biblical studies ; no. 7) Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 101-103
[1] [2] Public squares such as the Agora in Athens or the Forum Romanum are so far unknown in the Hittite period. Nevertheless, smaller squares, for instance for market places, surely must have existed [3] .
[1]: Hoffner H. A. (2002) Some Thoughts on Merchants and Trade in the Hittite Kingdom, [In:] T. Richter, D. Prechel and J. Klinger (ed), Kulturgeschichten. Altorientalistische Studien für Volkert Haas Zum 65. Geburtstag, Saarbrücken: Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, pp. 179-89.
[2]: Bryce T. (2002) Life and Society in the Hittite World, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 92.
[3]: Mielke D. P. (2011) Hittite Cities: Looking for a Concept, pp. 175 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 153-194
The Hittites did not have its own ports, nor a fleet. They used the services of vassal states, such as Ugarit.
Irrigation canals, but these are not transport infrastructure.
The Citadel Büyükkale at Hattusa was connected to a system of stone viaducts and bridge with the Büyükkaya [1] Which period does this refer to?
[1]: Makowski M. (2009) Świat późnej epoki brązu. pp.157 [In:] A. Smogorzewska (ed.) Archeologia starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu, Warszawa: Instytut Archeologii UW, pp. 151-187)
stone building activities (e.g. viaduct) required stone
Archives discovered in the capital, Hattusa. These include military annals and festival programmes. [1] Remains of the Hittite language were found in excavations of Hattusa. Hittite cuneiform archives have been discovered at Ortaköy (ancient Sapinuwa), Kuşakli (ancient Sarissa) and Maşat (ancient Tapikka).
[1]: (Bryce 2002, 6)
Cuneiform system. [1] "During the period of the primacy of Hattusa, the Hittites are best known from their royal library and archives excavated at that site, written in the Cuneiform script on clay tablets, a script and medium borrowed from Mesopotamia." [2] A hieroglyphic script was used on monuments, Cuneiform was not used for monumental inscriptions on stone. "The two scripts, Cuneiform and Hieroglyphic, only appear together on one type of document, the royal seals, where the King’s name is written in the centre in Hieroglyphic and in a circular ring around it in Cuneiform." [2]
[1]: Gamkrelidze T. (2008) The Problem of the Origin of the Hittite Cuneiform, Bulletin Of The Georgian National Academy Of Sciences, vol. 2, no. 3,pp. 169-174
[2]: (Hawkins 2000, 2) John David Hawkins. 2000. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Volume I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin.
Hittite was an Indo-European language
(1) The relief carvings: the Hittites also expressed some messages through relief carvings that were characteristic during the New Kingdom. Usually represent a single character (king or deity) or cult scene involving a ruler. Among some of the reliefs, especially those located at the communication routes, symbols of royal power were represented - e. g. Yazılıkaya, Sirkeli, Firaktin [1] . (2) Hittite royal seals - seals of punching are a distinctive type for Hittites. After period of medium bronze, cylinder seals were used sporadically. Royal seals can be clearly distinguished, showing the image of the monarch. In the Suppiluliumma, a distinctive cartouche appears, which also has the name of the ruler and his titulary. Sometimes the ruler is shown in the arms of one of the most important deities in the country or its tutelary deity. There are also royal seals with representations of the king dressed as a priest or a warrior, or together with the queen [2] . (3) Sculpture and bas-relief - Stone sculptures date primarily from the New Kingdom, and are represented by statues of lions and sphinxes made in sculpture semi-double, and partly in relief. They were part of the city gates (Gates of Lions at Hattusa, Gates of Sphinxes at Alaca Höyük) and temples’ entrances. Submit lions served as apotropaic and sphinxes emphasized a symbolic move from a profane zone to a sacred zone. [2] Eflatun Pınar Orthostates, quadrilateral stone slabs set vertically along the wall monumental buildings, usually decorated with reliefs. Orthostates are characteristic of Hittite art and decorated with temples, palaces, gates(Hattusa and Alaca Höyük).(4) Vessels relief - Vase from the vicinity of Inandik depicting a festival celebration.
[1]: Makowski M. (2009) Świat późnej epoki brązu. pp.162 [In:] A. Smogorzewska (ed.) Archeologia starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu, Warszawa: Instytut Archeologii UW, pp. 151-187
[2]: Makowski M. (2009) Świat późnej epoki brązu. pp.164 [In:] A. Smogorzewska (ed.) Archeologia starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu, Warszawa: Instytut Archeologii UW, pp. 151-187
Hittite was an Indo-European language
The Hittite language was related to Luwian and Palaic. Hittite adopted the Akkadian cuneiform to write their language. Approximately 375 cuneiform signs were adopted from Akkadian cuneiform. As in Akkadian, signs can be roughly categorized into phonograms, logograms, and determinatives. [1]
[1]: Gamkrelidze T. (2008) The Problem of the Origin of the Hittite Cuneiform, Bulletin Of The Georgian National Academy Of Sciences, vol. 2, no. 3,pp. 169-174
For the most part, “Hittite” mythological narratives belong to either the Hattian or Hurrian traditions, but some compositions of Hittite origin are also identifiable. [1] "During the period of the primacy of Hattusa, the Hittites are best known from their royal library and archives excavated at that site, written in the Cuneiform script on clay tablets, a script and medium borrowed from Mesopotamia. These archives, comprising many thousands of tablets, contain every kind of royal chancellery document: annals; edicts, treaties and laws; verdicts, protocols and administrative texts; letters; and a large number of religious texts, rituals and festivals." [2] There were also prayers. [3]
[1]: Collins B.J.(2007) The Hittites and Their World, (Society of Biblical literature archaeology and Biblical studies; no. 7), Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 147
[2]: (Hawkins 2000, 2) John David Hawkins. 2000. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Volume I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin.
[3]: Collins B.J.(2007) The Hittites and Their World, (Society of Biblical literature archaeology and Biblical studies; no. 7), Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 153
"These archives, comprising many thousands of tablets, contain every kind of royal chancellery document: annals; edicts, treaties and laws; verdicts, protocols and administrative texts; letters; and a large number of religious texts, rituals and festivals." [1]
[1]: (Hawkins 2000, 2) John David Hawkins. 2000. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Volume I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin.
Hittite historiographic texts include primarily royal annals and edicts. [1] "During the period of the primacy of Hattusa, the Hittites are best known from their royal library and archives excavated at that site, written in the Cuneiform script on clay tablets, a script and medium borrowed from Mesopotamia. These archives, comprising many thousands of tablets, contain every kind of royal chancellery document: annals; edicts, treaties and laws; verdicts, protocols and administrative texts; letters; and a large number of religious texts, rituals and festivals." [2]
[1]: Collins B.J.(2007) The Hittites and Their World, (Society of Biblical literature archaeology and Biblical studies; no. 7), Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 143
[2]: (Hawkins 2000, 2) John David Hawkins. 2000. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Volume I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin.
The cultic calendar. [1] "During the period of the primacy of Hattusa, the Hittites are best known from their royal library and archives excavated at that site, written in the Cuneiform script on clay tablets, a script and medium borrowed from Mesopotamia. These archives, comprising many thousands of tablets, contain every kind of royal chancellery document: annals; edicts, treaties and laws; verdicts, protocols and administrative texts; letters; and a large number of religious texts, rituals and festivals." [2]
[1]: Collins B.J.(2007) The Hittites and Their World, (Society of Biblical literature archaeology and Biblical studies; no. 7), Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 162
[2]: (Hawkins 2000, 2) John David Hawkins. 2000. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions. Volume I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin.
Money was not used as means of exchange in the Hittite period yet. Silver and iron were alike used as a medium of exchange. Articles used in local trade.
Hittite rulers had correspondence with rulers of the neighbouring countries. They needed an efficient system of couriers. [1] Letters were "dispatched by the king to his local officials" [2]
[1]: Hoffner H. A. (2009) Letters from the Hittite Kingdom, Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 17)
(e.g. Hattusa) The fortification walls were built in a casemate system with a width of up to 8 m. Two parallel walls were connected by diagonal walls, and the compartments thus constructed were filled with rubble. Towers protruded at regular intervals from the outer face of the walls. The walls are always situated on earthen ramparts, which provided protection against battering rams. As usual in Hittite architecture, the foundations and the lower parts of the walls were made of stone, whereas the upper parts consisted of a timber-framed structure of mud-brick. The superstructure of the walls can be reconstructed with a high degree of certainty thanks to the discovery of vessels showing fortification walls with battlements and towers. The gates were always flanked by towers. The Lion’s Gate in Hattusa was approached via a ramp, which ran parallel to the wall to the right, thus exposing the unshielded side of potential attackers to fire from the wall. Every gate could be closed on the outer and inner side by heavy wooden doors, which could be bolted with copper bars. A peculiarity of Hittite fortifications is the so-called postern, a narrow tunnel of up to 50 m in length and 3-4 m in width and height that led through the earthen ramparts on which the fortification stood. According to one theory, these posterns may have served as sally ports, enabling the defenders to make quick sorties. The length and the narrowness of the posterns made them easily defendable against intruders who, on the other hand, were exposed to fire from the fortification walls during their approach. [1]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 141 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-151
same as the previous polity: ’this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’ [1]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985
based on stone only being used as a wall foundation (e.g. Hattusa) The fortification walls were built in a casemate system with a width of up to 8 m. Two parallel walls were connected by diagonal walls, and the compartments thus constructed were filled with rubble. Towers protruded at regular intervals from the outer face of the walls. The walls are always situated on earthen ramparts, which provided protection against battering rams. As usual in Hittite architecture, the foundations and the lower parts of the walls were made of stone, whereas the upper parts consisted of a timber-framed structure of mud-brick. The superstructure of the walls can be reconstructed with a high degree of certainty thanks to the discovery of vessels showing fortification walls with battlements and towers. The gates were always flanked by towers. The Lion’s Gate in Hattusa was approached via a ramp, which ran parallel to the wall to the right, thus exposing the unshielded side of potential attackers to fire from the wall. Every gate could be closed on the outer and inner side by heavy wooden doors, which could be bolted with copper bars. A peculiarity of Hittite fortifications is the so-called postern, a narrow tunnel of up to 50 m in length and 3-4 m in width and height that led through the earthen ramparts on which the fortification stood. According to one theory, these posterns may have served as sally ports, enabling the defenders to make quick sorties. The length and the narrowness of the posterns made them easily defendable against intruders who, on the other hand, were exposed to fire from the fortification walls during their approach. [1]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 141 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-151
‘judging from the fact that in the Late Bronze I (Period V B, 1750-1600 b.c.e.), a town gate was built in the Arslantepe earthen wall defense system, flanked by two bipartite quadrangular towers, which was highly reminiscent of similar central Anatolian gates, such as those at AliŞar or Boğazköy (Palmieri 1978). ... this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’ [1]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985
same as the previous polity: ’this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’ [1]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985
(e.g. Hattusa) The fortification walls were built in a casemate system with a width of up to 8 m. Two parallel walls were connected by diagonal walls, and the compartments thus constructed were filled with rubble. Towers protruded at regular intervals from the outer face of the walls. The walls are always situated on earthen ramparts, which provided protection against battering rams. As usual in Hittite architecture, the foundations and the lower parts of the walls were made of stone, whereas the upper parts consisted of a timber-framed structure of mud-brick. The superstructure of the walls can be reconstructed with a high degree of certainty thanks to the discovery of vessels showing fortification walls with battlements and towers. The gates were always flanked by towers. The Lion’s Gate in Hattusa was approached via a ramp, which ran parallel to the wall to the right, thus exposing the unshielded side of potential attackers to fire from the wall. Every gate could be closed on the outer and inner side by heavy wooden doors, which could be bolted with copper bars. A peculiarity of Hittite fortifications is the so-called postern, a narrow tunnel of up to 50 m in length and 3-4 m in width and height that led through the earthen ramparts on which the fortification stood. According to one theory, these posterns may have served as sally ports, enabling the defenders to make quick sorties. The length and the narrowness of the posterns made them easily defendable against intruders who, on the other hand, were exposed to fire from the fortification walls during their approach. [1]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 141 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-151
same as the previous polity: ’this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’ [1]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985
same as the previous polity: ’this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’ [1]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985
"Iron was first utilized as a technology of war around 1300 BCE by the Hittites." [1] At the earliest times bronze was preferred and iron had mainly ornamental uses. [2] In Eastern Anatolia "the shift from bronze to iron was more gradual than abrupt" and in some areas bronze was used into the 750-400 BCE period. [3] Iron was used for weapons and tools, and by non-elites, from the Urartian period after about 850 BCE. [4] In nearby Georgia, a regional center for iron smelting, massive finds of iron tools and weapons appear from about 700 BCE. [5]
[1]: (Carey, Allfree and Cairns 2006, 25)
[2]: Angela Ryczkowski. April 25 2017. Weapons Used by Hittites. Sciencing.
[3]: Lori Khatchadourian. The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia. Sharon R Steadman. Gregory McMahon. eds. 2011. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE). Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[4]: (Cifci 2017, 139) Ali Cifci. 2017. The Socio-Economic Organisation of the Urartian Kingdom. BRILL. Leiden.
[5]: (Gamkrelidze 2013) Gamkrelidze, Gela. Researches in Iberia-Colchology (History and archaeology of ancient Georgia). Braund, David. ed. 2012. Georgia National Museum.
Siege warfare is attested in Old Hittite written records. [1] . In Anatolia siege warfare was mentioned in Old Hittite records. [2] Presumably at this time the catapult was not used? In India, according to Jain texts, Ajatashatru, a 5th century BCE king of Magadha in North India, used a catapult "capable of hurling huge pieces of stone". [3] Marsden (1969) said archaeological records exist before the 4th century BCE. [4] The Achaemenids (c400 BCE?) are assumed to have had the catapult because the Macedonians did. [5] Pollard and Berry (2012) say torsion catapults first came into widespread use in the Hellenistic period 4th - 1st centuries BCE. [6] The Syracuse Greek Dionysios I invented a form of crossbow called the gastraphetes in 399 BCE which encouraged the development of large tension-powered weapons. [7] There is no direct evidence for catapults for this time/location. The aforementioned evidence we currently have covering the wider ancient world suggests they were probably not used at this time, perhaps because effective machines had not been invented yet.
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 144 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-138
[2]: Siegelova I. and H. Tsumoto (2011) Metals and Metallurgy in Hittite Anatolia, pp. 278 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 275-300
[3]: (Singh 2008, 272) Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Longman. Delhi.
[4]: (Marsden 1969, 5, 16, 66.) Marsden, E. W. 1969. Greek and Roman Artillery: The Historical Development. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
[5]: (Dandamaev 1989, 314) Dandamaev, M A. 1989. A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire. Brill.
[6]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 45) Pollard, N, Berry, J (2012) The Complete Roman Legions, Thames and Hudson, London Rives, J (2006) Religion in the Roman Empire, Wiley
[7]: (Keyser and Irby-Massie 2006, 260) Paul T Keyser. Georgia Irby-Massie. Science, Medicine, And Technology. Glenn R Bugh. ed. 2006. The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
The counter-weight trebuchet was first used by the Byzantines in 1165 CE.
The written sources do not allow us to draw any conclusions concerning the use of the sling in the Hittite army, whereas it seems likely that the enemies of the Hittites made use of this weapon [1] .
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 138 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-138
[1] . The bow is regularly depicted as the weapon of the king. "Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE. The Scythian bow was different from the Mesopotamian one primarily in its overall dimensions - it was smaller so that it could be used from the horseback. At the same time, self bows were also in use, but because of their large size they were not suitable for use by horse riders." [2]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 131 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-138
[2]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
The principal weapon of the Hittite chariot contingent was the bow and arrow. The bow was made of a composite of wood and horn glued together, which gave it a lot of strength and flexibility. [1] "Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE. The Scythian bow was different from the Mesopotamian one primarily in its overall dimensions - it was smaller so that it could be used from the horseback. At the same time, self bows were also in use, but because of their large size they were not suitable for use by horse riders." [2] "The composite bows spread into Palestine around 1800 BCE and were introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos in 1700 BCE." [3]
[1]: Bryce T. (2007) Hittite Warrior, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, pp. 20
[2]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
[3]: (Roy 2015, 20) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.
Examples of swords used by the Hittites: Tell Atchana, Ugarit, Tell es-Sa’idiye, Sarkoy, Warrior God from the King’s Gate in Bogazkoy (with a helmet, sword and axe) [1] . According to a military historian (data requires check by polity expert): "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken." [2]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 128 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-138
[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.
[1] According to a military historian (data requires check by polity expert): Spear-using phalanx first used in Sumer 2500 BCE. The phalanx was in use until the 1st century BCE. [2]
[1]: Collins B.J.(2007) The Hittites and Their World, (Society of Biblical literature archaeology and Biblical studies; no. 7), Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 107
[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 25) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.
Examples from Kiiltepe, Sivas and Bogazkoy
[1] . "The horse and light chariot were introduced into the Hittite world, as elsewhere in the Near East, probably around 1600..." [2] "So important were their chariot horses in their lives that the very land-measurement system of the Hittites came to be based upon the average height of their horses: twelve hands (1.21m). Yes: to the modern reader such is not even considered to be a horse, but a lowly ’pony’ - nevertheless, that is the average size of the original, wild horse of Asia Minor and Iran, and such horses, trained and used as they were, were fully big enough to terrify every army in the Middle East not provided with their equals, as the panicked testimonials of the Hebrews of the Old Testament amply convey." [3]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 139 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-151
[2]: (Bryce 2002, 111)
[3]: (Bennett 31-32) Deb Bennet. 1998. Conquerors. The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Amigo Publications.
Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later
Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later
The shields are either rectangular or of the figure-of-eight type [1] .
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 139 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-151
Greaves: present. [1] According to a military historian (data requires check by polity expert): Greece c1600 BCE: "Early Mycenaean and Minoan charioteers wore an arrangement of bronze armor that almost fully enclosed the soldier, the famous Dendra panoply." [2]
[1]: Bryce T. (2007) Hittite Warrior, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, pp. 15
[2]: (Gabriel 2007, 78) Richard A Gabriel. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Ancient World. Greenwood Press. Westport.
"There was no Hittite fleet, and we do not know what ships were used for intercourse with the island of Cyprus, which the Hittites appear to have controlled. They used the services of the countries covered, especially Ugarit. However, the last king of Hatti, Suppiluliuma II actually boasts of victory in two sea battles (but does not describe them)." [1]
[1]: Gurney, O. R. (1952) The Hittites, Penguin. pp. 103
"There was no Hittite fleet, and we do not know what ships were used for intercourse with the island of Cyprus, which the Hittites appear to have controlled. They used the services of the countries covered, especially Ugarit. However, the last king of Hatti, Suppiluliuma II actually boasts of victory in two sea battles (but does not describe them)." [1]
[1]: Gurney, O. R. (1952) The Hittites, Penguin. pp. 103
"There was no Hittite fleet, and we do not know what ships were used for intercourse with the island of Cyprus, which the Hittites appear to have controlled. They used the services of the countries covered, especially Ugarit. However, the last king of Hatti, Suppiluliuma II actually boasts of victory in two sea battles (but does not describe them)." [1]
[1]: Gurney, O. R. (1952) The Hittites, Penguin. pp. 103