Who were the Hittites?

The Bronze age is known for its great empires and powers, which flourished in the near east up until the infamous late bronze age collapse. Many of these are well known - the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Mycenaean Greeks with their great palaces, and the ever-mighty Egyptians. However, there was another, far less well-known civilisation which rose to prominence in the mid-2nd millennium BC, even becoming the pre-eminent power in the near east under their most powerful kings - the Hittites.

The picture that emerged from excavations and inquiries into the Hittites has revealed a complex and advanced civilisation. Well versed in the art of war, the Hittites and their mighty charioteers established an empire which stretched across Anatolia and southwards into Syria. Their artisans and metalworkers produced beautiful and intricate works. They had established legal codes, were adept at statecraft, and worshipped a dizzying array of gods and goddesses. In order to better understand this unknown and fascinating people, we will explore their society and culture, and attempt to answer the question - who were the Hittites?


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Sources:

Stone, Damien. The Hittites: Lost Civilizations. Reaktion Books, 2023.

Bryce, Trevor. Warriors of Anatolia: A Concise History of the Hittites. Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.

Cline, Eric H. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton University Press, 2014.

Music:
Blank Light - Adi Goldstein
Europa - Tecnosine
Who Listens to Trees Anyway - Ben McElroy
Incantation - Scott Buckley
Ambient Jam - Tecnosine
Rising - Danijel Zambo

All materials are used under fair use for education and commentary.
Picture and source credits: https://sites.google.com/view/the-his...

0:00 - Intro
1:58 - Early History
4:33 - The Old Kingdom
8:27 - The Middle Kingdom
10:33 - Society
14:46 - Economy
17:27 - Warfare
21:03 - Art
26:11 - Religion
33:31 - Language
34:46 - The New Kingdom
41:42 - Decline and Fall