Origins of the Hittites

A. First Indo-Europeans to rise to level of civilization.

B. May have come from Europe or across the Caucasus.

A. Several societies having different chronology, geographic locations, and racial makeup

The Hittites are considered one of the major peoples of the second millennium B.C. They have particularly interested historians because they are the first Indo-European group to rise to the level of civilization and their civilization is able to be understood with some clarity. Until recently, however, the Hittites were a people who remained almost unknown, although they are mentioned briefly in the Bible, in the Amarna tablets, and in other Near Eastern sources. They were first discovered in 1906 when a ridge of north-central Asia Minor, called Boghazkoy in Turkish, was excavated. This excavation continues through the present time and has revealed the city of Hattusas, as it was called in ancient times. This city had massive walls, temples, palace, and state archives of more than 10,

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was sacked, and many towns in Syria and Palestine were also destroyed. Even Egypt, under Rameses III, was under siege. The Hittite civilization, which lasted for at least a thousand years, was possessed and developed by several societies which differed in chronological periods, geographical location, and probably in race. The Hittites borrowed from Mesopotamia and the Hurrians, but managed to create a distinctive civilization of their own. The cuneiform system of writing, the form of the Mesopotamian law code, and religious concepts and ceremonies were among their borrowings, but the different environment of Anatolia did not facilitate the adoption of too many Babylonian culture traits. The land of the Hittites was agriculturally self-sufficient without irrigation, and additionally, it produced a diversified economy. Wood, stone, mineral resources, grapevine, and livestock were in abundance and this encouraged metal working, textile manufacturing, and viniculture. Trade during the Hittites time flourished because the civilized world sought the copper and silver controlled by the Hittites. The Hittites were also the first to introduce the manufacture of iron. By controlling the iron deposits, and by having plenty of w

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