Hittite civilization. Slavic roots
Civilization arose in the 41st century. back.
Civilization stopped in the 26th century. back.
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The Hittite civilization existed between 2000 - 500 AD. BC, 600 years longer than its political formations, among which the main one was the Hittite kingdom..
The self-name of the Hittites is Nesili, Kanesili from the city of Nesa (Kanish). The term Hatti was used to designate the inhabitants of the Hittite kingdom, as well as the more ancient inhabitants of these lands - the Hutts, along with the Luwians..
The ancestral home of the Hittites was the Balkans, which they left at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. They were the first Indo-European people of the Sredne Stogov civilization culture, who settled Bulgaria and Greece in the 4th millennium BC, and then were forced into Asia Minor by the second wave of the Indo-European invasion of the Balkans.
The Hittites are mentioned several times in the Bible.
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The Hittites were strongly influenced by the local autochthonous substrate of the Hutts and, to a lesser extent, the Hurrians (Mitanni).
According to another version, the Hittites are the indigenous aboriginal population of Asia Minor, whose ancestors settled in Asia Minor in the 13th-10th millennia BC.
The culture of the Hittites was greatly influenced by the Babylonian civilization, from which they borrowed cuneiform.
Around 1800, the Hittite civilization initiated the creation of the Hittite kingdom. It existed until 1180 BC.
At the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. The tribal system began to disintegrate among the Hittites. The acceleration of this process was facilitated by the penetration into the XX-XVIII centuries. BC e. Semitic trade colonists (Assyrian and, partly, Amorite). In the territories of the eastern and central parts of Asia Minor there was, apparently, back in the 3rd millennium BC. e. Several political entities such as city-states were created (Purukhanda, Amkuva, Kussar, Hatti, Kanish, Vakhshushana, Ma'ma, Samukha, etc.), headed by kings (rubaum) or queens (rabatum).
The city-states of Asia Minor used writing and a written language borrowed from Ashur merchants. There was a struggle among city-states for political hegemony. At first, Puruskhanda gained the upper hand, whose ruler was considered the “great king” among the other rulers of the city-states of Asia Minor. Later, the situation changed in favor of the city-state of Kussar.
In the first half of the 18th century. BC e. King Anittas of Kussar founded a vast power, later called the Hittite kingdom.
After the fall of the New Hittite kingdom in Anatolia, the former vassal principalities of the Hittites continued to exist as independent states. These are, first of all, Tabal, Kammanu (with Melid), Hilakku, Kue, Kummukh, Karkemish, as well as Yaudi (Samal), Til Barsip, Guzana, Unki (Pattina), Hatarikka (Lukhuti), etc. Their rulers considered themselves the legal successors of the Hittite powers, but did not have the opportunity to realize their ambitions. Having existed for several centuries, in the 9th-8th centuries. BC e. were conquered by the great powers of Mesopotamia - Assyria, and then Babylon.
The Hittites used two scripts for their writing: an adapted version of Assyro-Babylonian cuneiform (for early texts in the Hittite language) and the original syllabic-ideographic script.
Like the Hurrians, the Hittites worshiped the god of thunder - Teshub (Tishub-Tark). They were depicted with Peruns in one hand and with a double ax in the other, with a beard, wearing an Egyptian apron and a headdress, like an Egyptian white crown.
There is a Greek legend about the Amazons, whose origins can undoubtedly be attributed to the Hittites. The Amazons were credited with the construction of many famous cities of Asia Minor - Smyrna, Ephesus. These Amazons were actually priestesses of the great goddess of Asia.
The Hittites had gods Tar or Tarku, Mauru, Kaui, Hepa. Tarku in Cilicia and Lydia was known as Sandana (sun god). There was a god Tisbu or Tushpu, his functions are identified with the functions of the Assyro-Babylonian Ramman, that is, he is considered the god of thunderstorms and storms.
The Hittite god was Kasiu, from where the Greek Zeus later appeared. At their core, the Hittite gods had a wild and warlike character. Animals were revered by the Hittites; an eagle is often found in their images, which speaks of the cult of the eagle. The fact remains mysterious that the Hittites depicted a double-headed eagle holding some kind of animal in each of its paws.
The triangular geometric figure was considered by the Hittites to be a source of powerful strength, even a source of life. Images of an equilateral triangle were placed on seals and other images were attached to it. Sometimes eyes were placed in the triangle. The main female deity of the Hittites was probably the prototype of the Asia Minor “Great Mother” with the name Ma, Cybele, Rhea; she was depicted in a long robe, with a crown like a muralis on her head.
Hittite society was distinguished by the high social status of women; they elected all positions up to the king. The Hittites were distinguished by the rationality of their legislation. The Hittites did not have the death penalty; crimes were punishable by a fine or monetary fine as compensation.
The Hittites were people of the brunette type, with a large nose and a very short and high skull with a very flat, precisely cut off nape. The anthropological type of the Hittites belonged to the Armenoids; it is best preserved among today's Armenians.
In the last centuries of their existence, the Hittites created a powerful New Hittite state, which significantly expanded its influence in the Middle East and entered into military confrontation with the regional hegemon - Egypt. Under Thutmose III, the Hittites still sent rich gifts to the Egyptians, but from Pharaoh Horemheb to Ramesses II (XIV-XIII centuries BC), two competing forces fought wars for control of Syria (part of which was the Battle of Kadesh).
After the destruction of the Hittite kingdom under the blows of the Sea Peoples during the Bronze Age catastrophe, the Hittite people fell into decline.
Separate neo-Hittite states continued to exist on the periphery of the Hittite kingdom in Syria and southern Anatolia until they were defeated by the Assyrians.
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BEgbi classifies it as a peripheral, secondary civilization. The Hittite civilization is considered to have descended from the Sumerian-Akkadian one.
TOynby classifies it as a companion to the flourishing civilizations.
XEttas belong to the white (Nordic) + white (alpine) race.
XThe Ettic society is infraaffiliated (societies connected with previous ones, but less direct, less intimate connection than filial kinship through the universal church, a connection due to the movement of tribes). (Toynbee).
XThe Hetts were an Indo-European people of the Bronze Age who lived in Asia Minor, where they created the Hittite kingdom.
XThe Etta were the first Indo-European people (Sredny Stogov culture), who settled Bulgaria and Greece back in the 4th millennium BC, and then were forced into Asia Minor by the second wave of the Indo-European invasion of the Balkans.
PThe homeland of the Hittites was presumably the Balkans, which they left at the end of the 3rd millennium BC.
INlate III - early II millennium BC Indo-European tribes penetrated the Asia Minor Peninsula, one of which founded in the middle. II millennium BC principality with its center in the city of Nes. This principality became the core of the future Hittite kingdom, the capital of which from the 16th century. BC. becomes the city of Lhatti (Hattusas).
ANDIndo-European tribes called themselves, as far as is known, Nesians (according to the city of Nes). The self-name of the Hittites Nesili or Kanesili came from the city of Nesa (Kanish), while the term Hatti was used to designate the inhabitants of the Hittite kingdom, as well as the more ancient inhabitants of these lands - the Hatti. Hatti is the local name for the people who in the Old Testament are called the “children of Heth,” that is, “Hittites.”
TThe term "hatti" is extremely polysemantic. Here it is used as the name of the Hittite state, but originally it was the name of a city and people, apparently related to the North Caucasian ethnic groups and called in science the Hattians or proto-Hittites.
XThe Etti Nesites are mentioned several times in the Bible.
XThe Etti were strongly influenced by the local autochthonous substrate of the Hutts and, to a lesser extent, the Hurrians (Mitanni).
TThe Hittite culture was also influenced by the Babylonian civilization, from which they borrowed cuneiform.
XEtto kingdom, a state that existed in Asia Minor in the 18th (or 17th) - 13th centuries. BC. During the period of greatest power in the XV-XVI centuries. BC. this state extended power to Syria.
INIn the last centuries of their existence, the Hittites fought with the Egyptians (under Thutmose III and Ramses II - XV-XIII centuries BC) for control of Syria (especially for the city of Kadesh).
PAfter the destruction of the Hittite kingdom by the Sea Peoples, the Hittite people fell into decline. The Phrygians settled in their place, displacing the Hittites to Cilicia, Melid (Melitene) and Kummuh (Commagene), where they lived until the arrival of the Persians and were subsequently assimilated by the Greeks of Asia Minor.
DThe Indo-European origin of the Hittite and Luwian languages - the two main closely related written languages of the Hittite kingdom - is revealed. It has been established that Lycian, Carian, Lydian, Sidetian and a number of other languages of Asia Minor in the 1st millennium BC, which did not survive the era of the Roman conquest, originated from these languages.
XThe Hittites used two scripts for their writing: an adapted version of Assyro-Babylonian cuneiform (for early texts in Hittite) and the original syllabic-ideographic script (for later texts in Luwian).
XHittite frames were similar to Semitic ones. In Eyuk and Bogaz-koy (Izili-Kaya) these were courtyards among natural rocks, decorated with bas-reliefs. The latter represented religious scenes: processions of gods, processions of priests, mystical ceremonies.
PSevdo-Lucian speaks of a city temple on a high platform, with a large courtyard, followed by the sanctuary and the holy of holies separated by a curtain. The brazen altar and the idol stood in the courtyard; there was also a pond for sacred fish; at the entrance stood two huge cone-shaped symbols of fertility; in the temple itself there is the throne of the Sun; there were statues of various deities; At the temple there were kept eagles, horses, bulls, lions dedicated to deities. The gods were imagined walking on these animals.
INColossal sphinxes were found in Eyuka. On one of their sides there is a bas-relief of a double-headed eagle. This symbol is repeatedly found among the Hittites of Asia Minor; for example, in Izili-kaya two deities walk on it. At the temples there were numerous colleges of priests, sometimes reaching several thousand.
TOThe Hittite ult is known from bas-reliefs. The Hittites worshiped the god of thunder - Tishub-Tark. They were depicted with Peruns in one hand and with a double ax in the other, with a beard, wearing an Egyptian apron and a headdress, like an Egyptian white crown.
Gthe main female deity of the Hittites was probably the prototype of the Asia Minor “Great Mother”, with the name Ma, Cybele, Rhea; she was depicted in a long robe, with a crown like a muralis on her head. In Bogaz-koy there is an interesting image of a Hittite deity wearing a tall, sharp, octagonal headdress.
TOThe Hittite ult had an extremely orgiastic character (self-castration, frenzy, ritual prostitution). The priests' robe was long, of the Assyrian type; they had curved staffs in their hands. We know nothing about the myths of the Hittites, except for the tale of Attis, the favorite of the Great Mother, who mutilated himself. This myth is of the same order as the story of Tammuz and Adonis and refers to the young god of spring.
PSeudo-Lucian speaks of the existence of a flood legend in Hierapolis. In content it is almost identical to Babylonian and biblical; The hero's name is Deucalion Sisitheus. The priests localized the flow of the flood waters in a cleft in the rock under the temple.
Athe anthropological type of the Hittites is brachycephalic; they have dark hair, a long curved nose, prominent cheekbones, a short round chin, and fair skin color. The hair is long and falls over the shoulders in two braids; on Hittite monuments there is one braid at the back. Many wore long beards.
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Pre-Hittite civilization of Asia Minor .
During the last phase of the existence of Assyrian trading centers (approximately in the 18th century BC), the struggle of the rulers of the city-states of Anatolia for political leadership noticeably intensified. The leading role among them was initially played by the city-state of Puruskhanda. Only the rulers of this kingdom bore the title "great ruler". Subsequently, the fight against Puruskhanda and other city-states of Asia Minor was waged by the kings of the Asia Minor city-state of Kussar: Pithana and his son Anitta. After a long struggle, Anitta captured the city-state of Hattusa, destroyed it and forbade its settlement in the future.
He took Nesa into his hands and made it one of the strongholds of that part of the population that spoke the Hittite language. Based on the name of this city, the Hittites themselves began to call their language Nesian or Kanesian. Anitta managed to gain the upper hand over the ruler of Puruskhanda. In recognition of his vassalage, he brought Anitta the attributes of his power - an iron throne and a scepter.
The names of the kings of Kussara Pithana and Anitta, who achieved significant success in the struggle for political hegemony in Anatolia, are mentioned in the “Cappadocia tablets”. A dagger with a short inscription containing Anitta’s name was also found. However, the very story of the successful struggle between Pithana and Anitta is known to us from a later document identified in the archives of the Hittite state, which was formed approximately 150 years after the events associated with Anitta.
This period of time between the reign of Anitta and the formation of the Hittite state is not covered in written documents. One can only assume that the formation of the Hittite state (XVII-XII centuries BC) was a natural result of socio-economic, ethnocultural and political processes, especially intensified at the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. and at the very beginning of the 2nd millennium BC.
Hittite civilization .
Written documents - cuneiform tablets covering the history of the Hittite state were discovered at the very beginning of our century in the archives of the Hittite capital Hattusa (modern Boğazköy, 150 km east of Ankara). Relatively recently, another Hittite archive was found in the town of Mashat Huyuk, in the northeast of Asia Minor, near the city of Zile. Among the several tens of thousands of cuneiform texts and fragments found at Hattusa (more than 150 texts and fragments were discovered at Mashat Höyük), there are historical, diplomatic, legal (including a code of laws), epistolary (letters, business correspondence), literary texts and documents of ritual content (descriptions of festivals, spells, oracles, etc.).
Most of the texts are in Hittite; many others are in Akkadian, Luwian, Palayan, Hattian and Hurrian. All documents in the Hittite archives are written in a specific form of cuneiform, different from the orthography used in the letters and business documents of the Ashur trading centers. It is assumed that Hittite cuneiform was borrowed from a variant of Old Akkadian cuneiform used by the Hurrians in Northern Syria. The decipherment of texts in the Hittite cuneiform language was first carried out in 1915-1917. the outstanding Czech orientalist B. Grozny.
Along with cuneiform, the Hittites also used hieroglyphic writing. Monumental inscriptions, inscriptions on seals, on various household items and writing are known. Hieroglyphic writing was used, in particular, in the 1st millennium BC. for recording texts in the Luwian dialect. This writing system was also used in the 2nd millennium BC. However, the ancient hieroglyphic texts that have reached us have not yet been deciphered, and it is not known exactly in what language they were compiled. Moreover, most of the hieroglyphic texts of the 2nd millennium BC, written on wooden tablets, apparently have not reached us.
Hittite cuneiform texts often refer to "scribes (in hieroglyphs) on wooden tablets."
Many cuneiform documents note that they were made according to the original, compiled (in hieroglyphs) on a wooden tablet. Based on these and many other facts, some researchers suggest that hieroglyphic writing could be the earliest writing system of the Hittites. Many foreign scientists made important contributions to the decipherment of the hieroglyphic Luwian language, in particular P. Merigi, E. Forrer, I. Gelb, H. Bossert, E. Laroche and others.
The history of the Hittite state is now usually divided into three periods: Ancient Kingdom 1650-1500. BC. Middle Kingdom 1500-1400 BC. New Kingdom 1400-1200 BC.
The creation of the ancient Hittite state (1650-1500 BC) in the Hittite tradition itself is attributed to a king named Labarna. However, no texts that were composed on his behalf have been found. The earliest king known from a number of documents recorded in his name was Hattusili I. Following him, several kings ruled during the Old Kingdom, among whom the most important political figures were Mursili I and Telepinu.
The history of the Middle Kingdom (1500-1400 BC) is less documented. The Hittite kingdom reached its greatest power during the time of the kings of the New Hittite period (1400-1200 BC), among whom the personalities of Suppiluliuma I, Mursili II, Muwatalli and Hattusili III are especially notable.
The power of the king and queen in Hittite society largely retained a sacred character. The performance by the ruler and ruler of many religious functions was regarded as an activity that contributed to ensuring the fertility of the country and the well-being of the entire population. Many essential aspects of the entire complex of ideas about the king and queen as symbols of fertility (as well as about the specific attributes associated with them: the royal throne, staff, etc., sacred animals - embodiments of power) retain clear connections with ideas characteristic of the traditions of the country of Hatti .
At the same time, the institution of royal power of the Hittites appears to be influenced by the practice that existed among the Hittite-Luwian population of the early period, and in particular the custom of electing a king (leader) at a national assembly. The Hittite pankus is considered a relic of such a meeting. During the period of the Old Kingdom of the Hittites, the “assembly” included warriors (part of the free population of the kingdom of Hatti) and high dignitaries. Pancus had legal and religious functions. Subsequently, this institution dies out.
The government was carried out with the help of a numerous administration. Its leadership consisted mainly of relatives and in-laws of the king. They were usually appointed rulers of cities and regions of the country and became senior courtiers.
The basis of the Hittite economy was agriculture, cattle breeding, and crafts (metallurgy and the manufacture of metal tools, pottery, construction, etc.). Trade played an important role in the economy. There were state lands (palace and temple), as well as communal ones, which were at the disposal of certain groups. Ownership and use of state land was associated with the performance of natural (sakhkhan) and labor (luzzi) duties.
The lands that belonged to temples and other religious institutions were liberated from sakhkhan and luzzi. The lands of a private person who was in the royal service, received by him as a “gift” from the king, could also be released from the obligations associated with the sakhan and luzzi.
At the same time, some Hittite documents preserve some evidence that in the early period of the history of societies of ancient Anatolia, the relationship of the king with his subjects could be regulated on the basis of the institution of exchange gifts. Such an exchange was voluntary in form, but in essence it was mandatory. The offerings of the subjects were intended for the king because he had the function of ensuring the fertility of the country. For their part, the subjects could count on reciprocal gifts from the king. Mutual exchange apparently took place at moments of the most important public celebrations, timed to coincide with the main seasons of the year.
The institution of mutual services is reflected in a number of Hittite texts, which instruct to give “bread and butter to the hungry” and to give “clothing to the naked.” Similar ideas are attested in the culture of many ancient societies (in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India) and cannot be derived from some kind of utopian humanism of ancient societies.
At the same time, it is obvious that throughout the history of Hittite society there was a gradual displacement from social practice of the institution based on the principle of mutual obligations of ruler and subjects. It is likely that the Hittite sakhhan and luzzi, which already during the period of the Old Kingdom of the Hittites designated certain duties in favor of the state, originated from the system of initially voluntary services provided by the population to the leader (king).
This conclusion is quite consistent with the tendency reflected in some Hittite texts towards a gradual reduction in the rights of free citizens. In particular, one of the paragraphs of the Hittite laws states that a person who has fields received as a “gift” from the king does not perform sakhana and luzzi. According to the later version of the laws, the owner of such gift fields already had to fulfill duties and was exempt from them only by a special royal decree.
Other articles of the Hittite laws also indicate that the freedoms from performing duties, which were enjoyed in the Hittite state by residents of a number of cities, warriors, and some categories of artisans, were abolished. Ancient privileges were reserved for the gatekeepers, priests, and weavers of the most important cult centers of the state (the cities of Arinny, Nerika and Tsipland). At the same time, those who lived on the land of these priests and weavers as co-owners of the land were deprived of such rights. The freedom from carrying out duties not only for priests, but also for gatekeepers is apparently explained by the fact that the latter professions were regarded as occupations of a ritual nature.
The entire history of the Hittite state is the history of numerous wars that were fought in various directions:
in the north and northeast - with the warlike Kaska peoples of the Black Sea, who constantly threatened its very existence with their campaigns,
in the southwest and west - with the kingdoms of Kizzuwatna and Arzawa, inhabited by Luwians and Hurrians;
in the south and southeast - with the Hurrians (including the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni).
The Hittites fought wars with Egypt, which decided which of the major powers of the Middle East of that period would dominate the areas of the Eastern Mediterranean through which important trade routes for the entire subregion ran. In the east they fought with the rulers of the kingdom of Azzi.
Hittite history saw periods of extraordinary ups and downs. Under Labarna and Hattusili I, the borders of the country of Hatti were expanded from “sea to sea” (this meant the territory from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean). Hattusili I conquered a number of important areas in southwest Asia Minor. In Northern Syria, he gained the upper hand over the powerful Hurrian-Semitic city-state of Alalakh, as well as over two other major centers - Urshu (Warsuwa) and Hashshu (Hassuwa) - and began a long struggle for Halpa (modern Aleppo).
This last city was captured by his successor on the throne, Mursili I. In 1595 BC. Mursili, moreover, captured Babylon, destroyed it and took rich booty. Under Telepinu, the strategically important region of Asia Minor Kizzuwatna also came under Hittite control.
These and many other military successes led to the fact that the Hittite kingdom became one of the most powerful states in the Middle East. At the same time, already in the ancient Hittite period, the eastern and central regions of the Hatti country were subject to devastating invasions of the Hurrians from the Armenian Highlands and Northern Syria. Under the Hittite king Hantili, the Hurrians captured and even executed the Hittite queen along with her sons.
Particularly loud victories were achieved during the period of the New Hittite kingdom. Under Suppilulium I, the western regions of Anatolia (the country of Arzawa) came under the control of the Hittites. The victory was gained over the Black Sea Kaska union, over the kingdom of Azzi-Haias. Suppiluliuma achieved decisive successes in the fight against Mitanni, to the throne of which he elevated his protege Shattiwaza. The important centers of Northern Syria, Halpa and Karkemish, were conquered, and Suppiluliuma's sons Piassili and Telepinu were installed as rulers. Many kingdoms of Syria, right up to the Lebanese mountains, came under the control of the Hittites.
The significant strengthening of the Hittite positions in Syria ultimately led to a clash between the two largest powers of that time - the Hittite kingdom and Egypt (see Ancient Egypt). In the battle of Kadet (Kinza) on the river. The Orontes Hittite army under the command of King Muwatalli defeated the Egyptian troops of Ramesses II. Pharaoh himself miraculously escaped captivity.
Such a major success of the Hittites, however, did not lead to a change in the balance of forces. The struggle between them continued, and eventually both sides were forced to recognize strategic parity. One of its evidence was the already mentioned Hittite-Egyptian treaty, concluded by Hattusili III and Ramesses II around 1296 BC. e.
Close, friendly ties were established between the Hittite and Egyptian courts. Among the correspondence of the kings of the country of Hatti with the rulers of other states, the majority are messages sent from Hatti to Egypt and back during the reign of Hattusili III and Ramesses II. Peaceful relations were cemented by the marriage of Ramesses II with one of the daughters of Hattusili III.
At the end of the Middle Hittite and especially in the New Hittite period, Hatti came into direct contact with the state of Ahhiyawa, apparently located in the extreme southwest or west of Asia Minor (according to some researchers, this kingdom may be localized on the islands of the Aegean Sea or in mainland Greece ). Ahhiyava is often identified with Mycenaean Greece. Accordingly, the name of the state is associated with the term “Achaeans,” which denoted (according to Homer) a union of ancient Greek tribes.
The bone of contention between Hatti and Ahhiyawa was both the regions of western Asia Minor and the island of Cyprus. The struggle was carried out not only on land, but also at sea. The Hittites captured Cyprus twice - under Tudhalia IV and Suppilulium II, the last king of the Hittite state. After one of these raids, an agreement was concluded with Cyprus.
In their policy of conquest, the Hittite kings relied on an organized army, which included both regular formations and militia, which were supplied by the peoples dependent on the Hittites. Military operations usually began in the spring and continued until late autumn. However, in some cases they went hiking in the winter, mainly to the south, and sometimes even to the east, in the region of the mountainous country of Hayas.
In the periods between campaigns, at least part of the regular forces were quartered in special military camps. In many border cities of the Hatti country, as well as in settlements controlled by the Hittite kings of the vassal states, special garrisons of Hittite regular troops served. The rulers of the vassal countries were obliged to supply the Hittite garrisons with food.
The army consisted mainly of charioteers and heavily armed infantry. The Hittites were one of the pioneers in the use of light chariots in the army. The Hittite chariot, drawn by two horses and carrying three people - a charioteer, a warrior (usually a spearman) and a shield-bearer covering them, was a formidable force.
One of the earliest evidence of the military use of chariots in Asia Minor is found in the ancient Hittite text of Anitta. It says that for 1,400 infantry, Anitta's army had 40 chariots. The ratio of chariots and infantry in the Hittite army is also evidenced by data from the Battle of Kadesh. Here the forces of the Hittite king Muwatalli consisted of approximately 20 thousand infantry and 2500 chariots.
Chariots were products of high technical skill and were quite expensive. For their manufacture, special materials were required: various types of wood that grew mainly in the Armenian Highlands, leather and metals. Therefore, the production of chariots was probably centralized and carried out in special royal workshops. Hittite royal instructions for craftsmen who made chariots have been preserved.
No less labor-intensive, expensive and highly professional was the preparation of a large number of horses harnessed to chariots using a special method. Hittite techniques for caring for horses and training draft horses are known from the world's oldest treatise on training, compiled on behalf of Kikkuli, and other similar texts. The main goal of training horses for many months was to develop the endurance necessary for military purposes.
The Kikkuli manual is written in the Hittite language. However, the very name of the trainer, apparently invited to the Hittite service, is Hurrian. Some special terms found in the treatise are also Hurrian. These and many other facts give reason to believe that the history of the invention of war chariots and methods of training horses harnessed to them is closely connected with the Hurrians.
At the same time, Indo-Iranian tribes also had a certain influence on Hurrian horse training techniques. Thus, special horse breeding terms - “horse trainer”, “stadium” (manege), “turn” (circle) - and the numerals used to indicate the number of “turns” were borrowed from the “Mitanni”, an Aryan dialect whose speakers spread to part of the territory of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni.
To capture cities, the Hittites often resorted to siege, using assault guns; they also widely used the tactics of night marches.
An essential tool of Hittite foreign policy was diplomacy. The Hittites had diplomatic relations with many states of Asia Minor and the Middle East in general; these relations in a number of cases were regulated by special agreements. More diplomatic acts have been preserved in the Hittite archives than in all the archives of other Middle Eastern states combined.
The content of the messages exchanged between the Hittite kings and the rulers of other countries, as well as the content of the international agreements of the Hittites, shows that in the diplomacy of that time there were certain norms of relations between sovereigns, and a largely standard type of agreement was used. Thus, depending on the balance of power of the parties, the kings addressed each other as “brother to brother” or as “son to father.” Periodic exchanges of ambassadors, messages, gifts, as well as dynastic marriages were regarded as acts indicating friendly relations and good intentions of the parties.
International relations were supervised by a special department under the royal chancellery. Apparently, the staff of this department included ambassadors, envoys and translators of various ranks. Through ambassadors, often accompanied by translators, letters from sovereigns and diplomatic acts (cuneiform tablets in clay envelopes) were delivered to the recipient sovereigns. The delivered letter usually served as a kind of credentials for the ambassador.
Letters sent from the country of Hatti by the rulers of the kingdoms of Asia Minor, as well as agreements concluded with these latter, were drawn up in the Hittite language. Letters were sent to other kings of the Middle East in Akkadian, which was the language of international relations. Treaties in this case were usually drawn up in two versions: one in Akkadian and the other in Hittite.
Messages from sovereigns of foreign powers, as well as texts of international agreements, were sometimes discussed by the Hittite king at a special royal council called tulia. It is also known that the approval of the treaty could be preceded by lengthy consultations, during which a mutually acceptable draft agreement was agreed upon, as, for example, in connection with the conclusion of the treaty between Hattusili III and Ramesses II.
Treaties were sealed with the seals of the kings; sometimes they were written down not on clay, but on metal (silver, bronze, iron) tablets, which was practiced, in particular, by the Hittites. Tablets of treaties were usually kept in front of the statues of the supreme deities of the country, since the gods, the main witnesses to the treaty, had the right to punish those who violated the agreement.
Most of the international agreements of the Hittites were acts that consolidated the military victories of the Hittite army. Therefore, they often feel the unequal nature of the relationships between the parties. The Hittite king is usually presented as a "suzerain" and his partner as a "vassal". Thus, the Hittite kings often obliged the vassal to pay tribute and return fugitive farmers and dignitaries who were hiding with him, involved in political intrigues.
They oblige the “tributer” to make an annual visit before the eyes of the Hittite king, to take care of the garrisons of Hittite troops stationed in the cities of the vassal, to march with an army to the aid of the Hittite ruler at the first call, and not to maintain secret relations with the sovereigns of other countries hostile to the Hittites.
The vassal was obliged to reread the agreement annually (sometimes three times a year). The sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of the vassal were obliged to comply with the agreement; in other words, it was concluded as if for eternity. However, in reality such hopes were rarely justified. To encourage the subordinate party to act together against hostile forces, some treaties contain clauses regulating the rules for the division of spoils: the booty belongs to the army that captured it.
Dynastic marriages were also a characteristic feature of the Hittite diplomatic practice. The Hittites apparently viewed international marriages differently than, for example, the Egyptians. Among the latter, as evidenced by the correspondence between Amenhotep III and the Kassite ruler of Babylon, Burnaburiash, it was believed that an Egyptian princess could not be given as a wife to the king of another country. Not only the princess, but even a noble Egyptian woman was not given as a wife to Burnaburiash, although the latter agreed to such a replacement.
One reason for the refusal appears to have been that the Egyptians were guided by the principle that the status of "wives-givers" was inferior to that of "wives-takers" (similar beliefs are attested in many other archaic communities). Accordingly, “giving away a wife” could mean belittling the status of the pharaoh and the country as a whole. At the same time, it is known that during periods of decline in the power of Egypt, the pharaohs sometimes gave their princesses in marriage to foreign sovereigns. Moreover, during the heyday of the Hittite state under Suppilulium I, the widow of Tutankhamun tearfully begged the Hittite ruler to send her any of his sons to be her husband.
Unlike the Egyptians, the Hittite kings were quite willing to marry off their daughters and sisters. Often they themselves took foreign princesses as wives. Such marriages were used not only to maintain friendly relations. Dynastic marriages sometimes tied the vassal hand and foot. After all, when getting married, a representative of the Hittite royal family did not end up among the harem concubines, but became the main wife. This was precisely the condition that the Hittite rulers set before their sons-in-law.
This is stated, in particular, in the treaties concluded by Suppiluliuma I with the ruler of Hayasa Hukkana and with the king of Mitanni Shattiwaza. True, such a condition is not in the Hatti treaty with Egypt. Nevertheless, it is known that, unlike the Mitanni princesses, who were taken into the harem of the Egyptian pharaoh, the Hittite princess, married to Ramesses II, was considered his main wife.
Through their daughters and sisters, the Hittite kings strengthened their influence in other states. Moreover, since the children of the main wife became the legal heirs to the throne of a foreign state, there was a real possibility that in the future, when the nephew of the Hittite king ascended the throne, the influence of the Hatti state in the vassal country would be further strengthened.
During the existence of the Hittite state, its people created many cultural values. These include monuments of art, architecture, and various literary works. At the same time, the Hatti culture has preserved a rich heritage drawn from the traditions of the ancient ethnic groups of Anatolia, as well as borrowed from the cultures of Mesopotamia, Syria, and the Caucasus. It became an important link that connected the cultures of the ancient East with the cultures of Greece and Rome.
The original genre of literature includes the annals - the ancient Hittite Hattusili I, the Middle Hittite Mursili II. Among the works of early Hittite literature, the “Tale of the Queen of the City of Kanesa” and the funeral song attract attention. In “The Tale of the Queen of the City of Kanes” we are talking about the miraculous birth of 30 sons to the queen. The twins were placed in pots and allowed to float down the river. But they were saved by the gods. After some time, the queen gave birth to 30 daughters. Having matured, the sons went in search of their mother and came to Kanes. But since the gods replaced the human essence of their sons, they did not recognize their mother and took their sisters as wives. The youngest, recognizing his sisters, tried to oppose the marriage, but it was too late.
The legend about the queen of the city of Kanesa has a ritual folklore source. The motif of the marriage of brothers and sisters reveals obvious typological parallels with written and folklore texts of many nations, which present the theme of incest. The archaic custom of killing twins, similar to the one described in the Hittite text, is also widely known in many cultures.
Among the original genres of Hittite literature of the Middle and New Kingdoms, prayers should be noted, in which researchers find coincidences with the ideas of Old Testament and New Testament literature, as well as the “Autobiography” of Hattusili III - one of the first autobiographies in world literature.
During the Middle and New Kingdoms, Hittite culture was strongly influenced by the culture of the Hurrian-Luwian population of the south and southwest of Anatolia. This cultural influence was only one aspect of the impact. Just as during the Old Kingdom the Hittite kings bore mainly Hattic names, during this period the kings descended from the Hurrian dynasty had two names. One - Hurrian - they received from birth, the other - Hittite (Hattian) - upon accession to the throne.
Hurrian influence is found in the reliefs of the Hittite sanctuary at Yazilikaya. Thanks to the Hurrians and directly from the culture of this people, the Hittites adopted and translated into their own language a number of literary works: Akkadian texts about Sargon the Ancient and Naram-Suen, the Sumerian epic about Gilgamesh, which generally has a Mesopotamian primary source - the Middle Hittite hymn to the Sun, the Hurrian epics “On the Kingdom of heavens”, “Song of Ullikummi”, stories “About the hunter Kessi”, “About the hero Gurparantsakhu”, tales “About Appu and his two sons”, “About the Sun god, a cow and a fishing couple”. It is to the Hittite transcriptions that we owe, in particular, the fact that many works of Hurrian literature did not disappear irretrievably in the mists of time.
One of the most important meanings of Hittite culture is that it served as an intermediary between the civilizations of the Middle East and Greece. In particular, similarities are found between the Hittite texts, which are transcriptions of the corresponding Hattian and Hurrian ones, with the Greek myths recorded in the “Theogony” of the Greek poet of the 8th-7th centuries. BC. Hesiod. Thus, significant analogies can be traced between the Greek myth about the fight of Zeus with the snake-like Typhon and the Hittite myth about the battle of the Thunder God with the Serpent. There are parallels between the same Greek myth and the Hurrian epic about the stone monster Ullikummi in the “Song of Ullikummi”. This latter mentions Mount Hazzi, where the Thunder God moved after the first battle with Ullikummi. The same Mount Kasion (according to a later author - Apollodorus) is the site of the battle between Zeus and Typhon.
In Theogony, the origin story of the gods is described as a violent change of several generations of gods. This story may have its roots in the Hurrian cycle of kingship in heaven. According to him, at first the god Alalu (connected with the Lower World) reigned in the world. He was overthrown by the sky god Anu. He was replaced by the god Kumarbi, who in turn was dethroned by the thunder god Teshub. Each of the gods reigned for nine centuries. The successive change of gods (Alalu - Anu - Kumarbi - the thunder god Teshub) is also represented in Greek mythology (Ocean - Uranus - Cronus - Zeus). The motive for changing not only generations, but also the functions of the gods coincides (Hurrian Anu from the Sumerian An - “sky”; the thunder god Teshub and the Greek Zeus).
Among the individual coincidences between Greek and Hurrian mythologies are the Greek Atlas, who holds Heaven on his shoulders, and the Hurrian giant Upelluri in the “Song of Ullikummi,” who supports Heaven and Earth (a similar image of the god is known in Hutt mythology). On Upelluri's shoulder grew the stone monster Ullikummi. The god Ea deprived him of his power by separating him from Upelluri's shoulder with a cutter. According to Hurrian mythology, this cutter was first used to separate Heaven from Earth.
The method of depowering Ullikummi has parallels in the myth of Antaeus. Antaeus, the son of Poseidon, ruler of the seas, and Gaia, goddess of the Earth, was invincible as long as he touched mother earth. Hercules managed to strangle him only by lifting him up and tearing him away from the source of power. As in the “Song of Ullikummi”, according to Greek mythology, a special weapon (sickle) is used to separate Heaven (Uranus) from the Earth (Gaia) and emasculate the latter.
Around 1200 BC e. The Hittite state ceased to exist. His fall was apparently due to two reasons. On the one hand, it was caused by increased centrifugal tendencies that led to the collapse of the once mighty power. On the other hand, it is likely that the country, which had lost its former strength, was invaded by the tribes of the Aegean world, called “peoples of the sea” in Egyptian texts. However, exactly which tribes among the “peoples of the world” participated in the destruction of the Hatti country is not known exactly.
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Hittites. Destroyers of Babylon Gurney Oliver Robert
3. EMPIRE (NEGO HITTE KINGDOM)
All we know for certain about Tudhalia II, the founder of the dynasty that later created the Hittite Empire, is that he captured and destroyed Aleppo. Consequently, the Hittite kingdom restored internal political stability and was again able to dictate its will to the rebellious tributaries.
The exact date and circumstances of this attack on Aleppo are unknown to us, and this event has yet to be written into the chronicle of Syrian history of the 15th century BC. e. During a long period of unrest, which began with the assassination of Mursili I, Northern Syria managed to come under the rule of Hanigalbat, a political union of Hurrian tribes organized around 1500 BC. e. The impotence of the Hatti kingdom is evidenced by the fact that the Syrians, themselves tributaries of the Hurrians, could raid Hittite lands with impunity. In 1457 BC. e. The victories of Thutmose III in the eighth military campaign put an end to the rule of the Hurrians, and Syria became dependent on the Egyptians for 30 years. However, after the death of the energetic Thutmose, the Egyptians were unable to hold Northern Syria for long and were soon forced to retreat to the new Hurrian power - Mitanni. Under the Tsararii dynasty, the Mitanni state achieved dominance over all of Western Asia. We do not know what the internal political factors of this process were, since the archives of the kings of this dynasty have not yet been found. But from the next century, when the power of Mitanni had already begun to decline, many monuments have been preserved, from which it is clear that the Hurrian language and Hurrian culture as a whole managed to exert a very noticeable influence in all territories from Hittite Anatolia to Canaanite Palestine.
The document reporting the Hittite campaign on Aleppo explains that it was a punitive campaign undertaken as punishment for the city coming under Hanigalbat's rule. Consequently, it took place no later than 1457 BC. e., when Hanigalbat was defeated by Thutmose III. It is possible that the Hittites timed their campaign to coincide with the Egyptian campaign, acting in alliance with the Egyptian pharaoh: it is known that at that time Thutmose accepted gifts from the “Great Kheta”. This version explains why there is no mention of the capture of Aleppo in reports of the Egyptian campaign.
The rise of Mitanni plunged the Hittite kingdom into another crisis. Many principalities that had previously fallen into the orbit of Hittite influence now came under the rule of the Hurrian power or declared their independence. Under Hatgusili II and Tudhaliya III, the kingdom came to the very edge of the abyss. Apparently, the description of the critical situation left by one of the later kings refers specifically to this period:
“In the old days, the lands of Hatti were plundered from abroad (?). The enemy from Kaski came and plundered the lands of Hatti and made Nenassa his border. An enemy from Artsawa came from beyond the Lower Lands, and he also plundered the lands of Hatti and made Tuvana and Uda his border.
An enemy from outside, from Arawnna, came and plundered the entire land of Hassia.
And again an enemy from outside, from Azzi, came and plundered all the Upper Lands and made Samukha his border. And the enemy from Isuwa came and plundered the land of Tegarama.
And an enemy came from outside, from Armatana, and he also plundered the lands of Hatti and set the city of Kizzuwatna as his border. Hattusa was burned to the ground and<…>but home Hasty <…>survived."
It seems completely improbable that all these attacks occurred at the same time, for in this case all that would remain of the entire kingdom would be a piece of barren land south of Halys. But partly this description corresponds to the known facts about the situation of that time: the raids of Hatti’s eastern neighbors can be explained by the support provided to them by the Mitannian power, and the facts of the independence and expansion of Arzawa are confirmed by letters found in the archives of El-Amarna from the Egyptian pharaoh to the king of this state.
The end of this period of weakening and the beginning of a new era was marked by the accession of Suppiluliuma I. He ascended the throne around 1380 BC. e. under not entirely legal circumstances, despite the fact that he was the son of Tudhalia III and accompanied his father on several campaigns.
We know not much about the struggle for the unification and strengthening of the Hatti lands, to which this king, in all likelihood, devoted the first years of his reign. It must have been Suppiluliuma who built the massive defensive wall along the southern border of Hattusa and other fortifications in the capital city, which will be discussed below. And only after this he was able to begin his main task - settling scores with Mitanni, a formidable enemy, through whose fault the Hittite kingdom fell into decline under the previous rulers.
The first campaign against Syria through the Taurus Range resulted in defeat and heavy losses; King Tushratta of Mitanni sent part of the war trophies captured from the Hittites to his ally, the king of Egypt. The next campaign was prepared more carefully. Apparently, the Hittites managed to find out that the main means of defense of the Mitannians were concentrated in Northern Syria. But one way or another, the new plan was to cross the Euphrates at Malatya and attack the Mitannian kingdom itself from the rear. This was a dangerous route, since wild tribes lived in the northern mountains, and to conquer them they first had to make a separate trip. As a result, a peace treaty was concluded with a certain kingdom, called Azzi in some texts and Hayasa in others, sealed by marriage between Suppiluliuma’s sister and the leader of this mountainous country. So the Hittites secured themselves from the left flank. Having transported the army across the Euphrates, Suppiluliuma easily returned the previously lost region of Isuwa to his power and, suddenly falling on the capital of Mitanni, the city of Vashshukanni, captured it and plundered it. Apparently, the Mitannian king was unable to resist and avoided battle. After this, Suppiluliuma again crossed the Euphrates and returned to Syria, where the local kings, having lost the support of Mitanni, hastened to show him complete obedience. Apparently, the conflict with Egypt was not part of the plans of the Hittite king, and it is possible that he would have been content with establishing the border along the Orontes River. But the prince of Kadesh - a city that at that time was an outpost of Egyptian influence - himself went to battle against him. He could not resist the Hittite chariots, and as a result, the Hittite army moved further south to Abin (biblical Hobah, Gen. 14:15), a city near Damascus, and Suppiluliuma declared the ridge of Lebanon as its border. Fortunately for him, the Egyptian kings during this period stopped paying attention to the defense of their borders and began to engage in religious reform within the country.
As a result of this brilliant expedition, carried out around 1370 BC. e., the Hittite kingdom included Halpa (Aleppo) and Alalakh (Atshana). Apparently, it was at that time that the treaties that have reached us were concluded with the kings of Nuhassi (Central Syria) and Amurru, which included the territory of Lebanon and most of the coastal strip. However, Karkemish, which controlled the main crossing of the Euphrates, and the area known to the Hittites as "Astata" and stretching along the Euphrates from Karkemish south to the mouth of the Khabur, did not submit to the Hittites and could still count on the support of Tushratta, who, at the cost of his own reputation, preserved the army.
Suppiluliumu was called back to the capital by urgent matters. The task of holding Syria, which the king entrusted to his son, Telepin the “priest,” turned out to be very difficult. The Syrian principalities were divided into two warring factions: one supported the Hittites, the other the Mitannians, and both closely followed the struggle between the two great powers. But, fortunately for the Hittites, the kingdom of Mitanni itself was mired in civil strife. King Tushratta and his predecessors maintained allied relations with Egypt, and the dynasties of these two countries were linked by diplomatic marriages. But in light of recent events, it appeared that there was little hope for Egypt, and a rival branch of the Mitannian royal family decided to seize power, taking advantage of Tushratta's disgrace. This group turned for help and support to the power-hungry Assyrian king Ashuruballit, whose predecessors paid tribute to the kings of Mitanni. As a result, Tushratta was killed, and the new king Artadama and his son Shuttarna, who succeeded him, recognized the independence of Assyria and rewarded its king with rich gifts.
Despite all the dangers that this sudden rise of a new state on the Tigris, full of young forces, was fraught with for the Hittites, after the collapse of Mitanni it was no longer difficult to conquer Syria. Returning to Syrian lands around 1340 BC. BC, Suppiluliuma captured the huge fortress of Karchemish after only eight days of siege, and all of Syria from the Euphrates to the sea became dependent on the Hittites. Telepin became the king of Aleppo, and another of the king's sons, Piyassili, became the king of Karchemish. The kingdom of Kizzuwatna found itself isolated and was forced to make peace with the Hittites, who recognized it as a friendly power.
The wide popularity Suppiluliuma acquired in his time can be judged by one incident that occurred while the Hittite army was camped near the walls of Karchemish. An envoy from Egypt arrived at Suppiluliuma with a letter from his queen, which said: “My husband has passed away, and I have no son, but they say about you that you have many sons. If you would send one of your sons to me, he would become my husband. I will never take any of my subjects as my husband. I am very afraid". Suppiluliuma was so surprised that he sent his envoy to the Egyptian court to make sure that he was not deceived. The ambassador returned with a second letter from the queen: “Why do you say: “They are deceiving me”? If I had a son, would I write to a stranger, publicly announcing my misfortune and the misfortune of my country? By saying this, you insult me. The one who was my husband is now dead, and I have no son. I will not marry my subject for anything. I didn't write to anyone but you. Everyone says that you have many sons; give me one of them so that he can become my husband.” The Egyptian queen who wrote these letters is none other than Ankhesenamun, the third daughter of the “heretic” king Akhenaten, who already in her early youth became the widow of King Tutankhamun, who did not live to be eighteen years old. Remaining childless, she had the right (at least formally) to choose a second husband on her own and thereby decide the future fate of the Egyptian throne. Of course, Suppiluliuma did not want to miss such an incredible chance. But the plan failed. The Hittite prince was killed immediately upon his arrival in Egypt - apparently on the instructions of the court priest Ey, who later became Tutankhamun's successor, entering into a fictitious marriage with Ankhesenamun and thereby legitimizing the usurpation of the throne. There is no doubt that it was from this marriage that Ankhesenamun tried to escape with the help of the Hittite king.
Soon after this, the son of the late Tushratta, who himself narrowly escaped death, approached Suppiluliuma with a request for help. Being a subtle politician, the Hittite king was not slow to take advantage of this opportunity to create a buffer state that would protect the Hittites from Assyria, which was rapidly gaining strength. He sent the young petitioner under the command of Piyassili. Together, the two princes crossed the Euphrates at the head of a large army and captured the Mitanni capital of Vashshukanni for the second time. As a result, a new dependent kingdom of Mitanni was formed, which, however, turned out to be too weak and could not withstand the onslaught of Ashuruballit, who soon after the death of Suppiluliuma annexed this territory to his possessions. After this, only the Euphrates separated the Hittite lands from the Assyrians.
But the rule of the Hittites in Syria was no longer threatened. Even when illness took King Suppiluliuma to the grave, and soon his eldest son Arnuwanda II, and the throne passed to the inexperienced younger son Mursili II, the governors of Aleppo and Karchemisha remained faithful to him. The threat now came mainly from the western regions of the empire, but in this regard much remains unclear, since it has not yet been possible to establish the exact location of most of the settlements mentioned in documents of that period. The powerful kingdom of Artsawa, once conquered by Labarna himself, separated from the Hittite kingdom, once it fell into decline, and the king of Artsawa even carried on friendly correspondence with the Egyptian king. Suppiluliuma conquered Artsawa again, but during the reign of Mursili II it rebelled again, and a number of city-states joined this rebellion: Mira, Kuwaliya, Hapalla and the “land of the Seha River”.
However, Mursili turned out to be the true son of his father. As a result of a large-scale military campaign, which lasted two years and about which a detailed account has been preserved, Artsawa was crushed, its king was killed, and Hittite governors were placed on the thrones of several small kingdoms. At least one of the latter was already connected with the Hittite royal house by ties of kinship: he was married to a Hittite princess. This state of affairs continued until the death of Mursili, but peace on the western outskirts of the Hittite Empire was always fragile, and each successive king had to suppress another uprising.
The northern borders also caused a lot of trouble, although for a different reason. Here the problem was not the proximity to a powerful rival, but, on the contrary, the fact that there was no state at all adjacent to the Hittite Empire from the north with which a peace treaty could be concluded. Hittite garrisons were stationed at strategic points, but, apparently, they did not have enough strength to restrain the raids of the violent Kaska barbarians who inhabited the mountain valleys north of Hatti. We have no reason to believe that the helmets received any help from other opponents of the Hittite kingdom; but, despite this, every few years the king had to lead an army into the northern mountains and pacify these violent tribes. Mursili II conducted ten such campaigns - in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 19th, 24th and 25th years of his reign (detailed descriptions have been preserved these trips). All campaigns ended successfully, but complete victory was never achieved: as soon as the empire began to show the slightest signs of weakness, the raids were resumed. Therefore, one can suspect that the reasons for these troubles lay deeper than it seemed to the Hittites themselves.
In the seventh year of Mursili's reign, the kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa separated from the Hittite Empire and had to be re-conquered. At the first stage, the command was entrusted to one of the royal commanders, since the king at that time was fulfilling the religious duties prescribed to him by law in the city of Kummanni (ancient Comana).
Meanwhile, even Syria rebelled (here, apparently, this was not without incitement from Egypt, where at that time the commander Haremheb usurped power). The governor of Karkemish, Shar-Kushuh, brother of Mursili, who successfully ruled the lands entrusted to him for ten years, also went to the holiday in Kummanni, but fell ill there and died. During his absence, someone apparently captured Carchemish. One way or another, the need arose for the king’s personal intervention, and in the ninth year of his reign, Mursili led an army to Syria. To pacify the Syrian kings, the mere appearance of the Hittite army was enough. Shar-Kushuh's son ascended the throne at Carchemish, and in the same year Mursili was able to move further north and lead the fighting against Azzi-Hayasa.
It is not possible to correlate other campaigns of this king with known geographical locations. Oddly enough, the documents from the period of his reign say nothing about a campaign against Kizzuwatna, although it is known that soon after Mursili's accession to the throne this area rebelled. Since after the death of Suppiluliuma I, references to the kings of Kizzuwatna completely disappear from the documents, and under Mursili II this state apparently completely lost its independence and became part of Hatti, it would be natural to assume that Mursili conquered it again, and the text describing this campaign is simply lost.
King Mursili II left his son and heir Muwatali a strong empire surrounded by many dependent kingdoms. Upon his accession to the throne, Muwatali did not face any serious difficulties. It is only known that a demonstration of force was required on the western borders, but history has not preserved the name of the enemy who disturbed the peace of the new king. Muwatali confirmed the powers of the kings of Arzawa, who remained tributaries of Hatti, and concluded a new peace treaty with a certain Alaksandu, king of Wilusa - a country that was part of Arzawa, but which had always remained faithful to Hatti since the time of king Labarna. Having thus secured the western borders, Muwatali was able to focus his attention on the new threat from the south. The Egyptian colossus awoke from a long sleep. The pharaohs of the 19th dynasty were eager to reconquer the Syrian lands, once conquered by Thutmose III, but lost during the reign of Akhenaten, who paid attention only to his religious reforms. Around 1300 BC e. Seti I set out on a campaign against Canaan. Having restored law and order there, he moved on and reached Kadesh itself, which is on the Orontes. But the Hittites, apparently, quickly repulsed him, and until the end of the reign of Seti I, peace remained between Egypt and the Hittite power. However, after Ramesses II ascended the throne in 1290 BC. e. it became clear that it would no longer be possible to avoid a large-scale clash between the two rival empires. Muwatali gathered troops from all allied states. A list of them is given by Egyptian scribes (the Hittite annals from the reign of Muwatali have not survived), and here for the first time mentions of the Dardans, known to us from Homer’s Iliad, and the Philistines, as well as the Sherdans, a people whose name is often found in Egyptian inscriptions, appear. But in the Hittite documents that have reached us, none of these peoples are mentioned, and since we do not have Hittite chronicles of that period, we can only guess about the reasons for their participation in the war on the side of the Hittites. The armies of the two empires met at the walls of Kadesh in the fifth year of Ramesses' reign (1286/1285 BC). Inscriptions on the walls of an Egyptian temple praise the pharaoh for his valor in this campaign, but in reality the Hittites retained Syria. Muwatali even managed to expand his possessions by conquering Abu (Abina), a region near Damascus. Thus, there is no doubt that the Battle of Kadesh ended in victory for the Hittites. Some details of this battle will be outlined below.
During the reign of Muwatali, the northeastern regions of the Hittite state acquired the status of a principality with the capital in Hakpi, where the king's talented and ambitious brother, Hattusili, ruled. The king himself moved his residence further south, to the city of Datassa, closer to the theater of military operations in Syria. As a result, Hattusili's position was too strong, and it is not surprising that Urhi-Teshub (3), the young son of Muwatali, who succeeded him on the throne around 1282 BC. e., tried to take away part of the lands from his uncle. He probably suspected that Hattusili was making plans to seize power in the country. But records from the short period of the reign of this king also have not survived, and we can only glean information about him from the tendentious story of Hattusili. The latter claims that for seven years he suffered undeserved insults from Urkha-Teshub, then declared war on his nephew and overthrew him. From the fact that the coup succeeded without difficulty, it can be concluded that Urhi-Teshub was an unpopular and short-sighted ruler. For some time, his uncle kept him captive in the city of Samukha (near Malatya), but treated him leniently, and subsequently sent him into honorable exile in Nuhassi, one of the distant Syrian regions.
Hattusili III ascended the throne in 1275 BC. e., at the age of about 50, already an experienced commander. Under his rule, the Hittite Empire entered a period of relative peace and prosperity. True, at first there were some frictions with Egypt, and the Kassite king Kadashman-Turgu even promised Hattusili to provide military assistance if it came to conflict. But the differences were settled peacefully. Obviously, Hatti and Egypt were forced to unite in the face of a new formidable enemy - Assyria, which was gaining strength. Since then, the friendship between the two former rivals grew stronger every year, and in 1269 BC. e. a famous peace treaty was concluded to ensure peace and security in the lands of the Levant. Not only the kings, but also the queens of the two powers exchanged congratulatory messages on this occasion; one of these letters has survived. Finally, 13 years after the conclusion of the treaty, the two empires sealed their friendship with marriage: the Hittite princess became the wife of Ramesses II. The fact that the 69-year-old Hattusili had a daughter of marriageable age is explained by the fact that he himself married Puduhepa, the daughter of the priest of Kizzuwatna, only twenty-nine years earlier, upon returning from a campaign against the Egyptians, in which he participated under the command of his brother.
Under Hattusili III, the capital of the Hittite kingdom again became Hattusa, which was plundered by the Kasque tribes during Muwatali's stay in the south. The city was rebuilt; In addition, by order of the king, scribes made copies from the archives. Hattusili and his wife Puduhepa issued many religious and administrative decrees, which at first glance can be taken as evidence of order and prosperity in the country.
However, the only small fragment remaining from the annals of Hattusili suggests that not all was well in the western part of the empire. Apparently, there was a need for military action against the ancient enemy - Artsawa; but the details of this campaign are unknown to us. Relations with Babylonia after the death of Kadashman-Turgu in 1270 BC. e. also worsened. In a letter that has come down to us to the young Kadashman-Enlil, Hattusili expresses dissatisfaction that this new Kassite king has not sent an envoy to Hatti since his accession to the throne. Perhaps Urhi-Teshub was involved here, since in one of the documents Hattusili reports that the exiled king was noticed in relations with the Babylonians and for this reason was exiled from Nuhassi “away to the sea.” The meaning of this phrase is not entirely clear, but perhaps the island of Cyprus was meant. We learn that Urkhi-Teshub later lived in a foreign land - it is possible that it was in Cyprus - from another document. Here he tried to gain the confidence of the king of Egypt. But if he sought to enlist the help of the pharaoh in order to regain his throne, he clearly did not achieve success.
King Hattusili is the author of one very remarkable document, which we will discuss in detail in Chapter VIII. Apparently, he set himself the task of justifying the usurpation of the throne and the expulsion of the legitimate king. Hattusili declares that he did so only under the pressure of circumstances and on the direct orders of the goddess Ishtar, the patroness of the city of Samukha. Naturally, one cannot completely trust such a tendentious description of events, but as evidence of a highly developed political consciousness, this document has no equal in the Ancient World.
Since Hattusili ascended the throne already in adulthood, it can be assumed that he died soon after his daughter married the Egyptian pharaoh. His son and successor, Tudhalia IV, appears to have paid special attention to religion and introduced a number of reforms related to religious holidays and other ceremonies. It is possible that it was Tudhalia IV who ordered the decoration of the rock in Yazilykaya with reliefs, for on the main gallery this king is depicted with his “monogram” (Fig. 8, 64), and on the side - in the arms of his patron god (photo 15). All this suggests that, at least in the first years of his reign, peace and prosperity reigned in the country. Only in the west was there still unrest, but eventually order was established there too: the lands of Assuwa (later the Roman province of Asia, the name of which now bears the entire Asian continent) became part of the Hittite Empire.
But shortly before the end of Tudhalia's reign, a new threat loomed from the west. The territories of the dependent countries in the extreme west of Anatolia began to be devastated by the Ahaivasha tribes (possibly the Achaeans) of the country of Akhhiyawa and the leader Attarissia. A certain Madduwatta (whose name researchers compared with the names of the ancient kings of Lydia - Alyatta and Sadyatta), expelled from his country by Attarissia, appeared before the Hittite king and received as a gift a small dependent kingdom somewhere in the west of Asia Minor. From this we can conclude that Tudhalia still had enough strength to repel further attacks.
But the power of the Hittite Empire had already been undermined. Under the next king, Arnuwand III, the situation in the west deteriorated sharply. Madduwatta went over to the side of Attarissia, and although the Hittite king in his lengthy rescript calls him nothing more than a treacherous servant, it is easy to see that the balance of power in the region has changed significantly. In particular, it is reported that Madduwatta "seized the entire land of Arzawa." At the same time, in the eastern mountains, where the kingdom of Hayas was previously located, another enemy appeared - a certain Mitas. The identity of his name with the name of the king of the “country of the Mushki”, who ruled in the 8th century BC. e. and who is usually identified with the Phrygian Midas - a character of Greek myths, may turn out to be no more than a coincidence, but it is possible that the Phrygian flies had already invaded this area and that the name "Mitas" was dynastic. However, be that as it may, we know for certain that during that period there was a great migration of peoples; and although we do not find any harbingers of impending disaster in Arnuwanda’s decrees, it was already obvious that the fragile union of states that were part of the Hittite Empire would not withstand the onslaught of migrants. Arnuwanda was succeeded by his brother, Suppiluliuma II, but his reign seems to have been short, since the name of this king is not mentioned anywhere except in the record of several dignitaries and officials swearing allegiance to him. The annals of Ramesses III tell how the Hittites and other peoples fled to Syria from certain conquerors who, with hordes of the so-called “peoples of the sea”, found themselves dangerously close to the borders of Egypt and drove the Philistines to the coast of Palestine (which thus received its modern Name). If you believe the Homeric legend, then it was during this period that Asia Minor came under the power of the Phrygians.
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Political integration of Eastern Anatolia. Hittite kingdom in the 18th-15th centuries. At the beginning of the second millennium, a more variegated system of new states emerged.
International trade flowed through the system of trading colonies.
Military clashes between new states are becoming more frequent. In the first half of the 18th century. The unification of most of Eastern Asia Minor by the kings of Kussar - Pithana and Anitta - takes place.
Anitta became the true founder of the “Hittite” kingdom.
Ancient Hittite period (XVIII-XVI centuries) the traditions of the clan system are strong. The Hittite kings ruled relying on the people's militia, which at the same time constituted a military people's assembly - pankus. The activities of the pankus were largely directed by the council of “tulia” (the top of the pankus, something like a senior squad). Members of the royal family occupied an important place in the latter. The king's successor was his sister's son. Pancus and tulia significantly limited the power of the kings.
At the end of the 18th century. Anitta's dynasty came to naught, losing power to another royal house. Under one of the kings of this dynasty, Labarne I (c. 1675-1650) the formation of the state was completed. Labarna expanded the borders of the Hittite kingdom “from sea to sea. His nephew-successor Hattusili I (c. 1650-1625) moved the capital to Hattusa. His adopted grandson Mursili, who soon became his grandfather's co-ruler, was appointed the new heir to the throne. Already under sole rule Mursili I (c. 1625-1590). This powerful ruler annexed Halpa, defeated the Hurrians of Upper Mesopotamia, and in 1595 made a campaign to the distant. Having overthrown the Hammurabi dynasty, Mursili returned home with enormous booty.
The Hittite nobility, however, did not want such a growth in royal power. Mursili was killed by his sister's husband. For several decades, palace unrest continued. As the crisis grew, the nobility seized more and more power. The apogee of its successes was the famous decree of the Tsar Telepinu (ruled ca. 1530-1500), granting Tulia the right to judge and execute kings, and at the same time establishing a strict order of succession to the throne, depriving the king of the opportunity to choose a successor of his own free will. Finally, without the consent of the Tulia, the king could not execute its members and under no circumstances had the right to confiscate their property.
Middle Hittite period (first half of the 15th century). At this time, the Hittite kings were forced to fight Mitanni without much success. OK. 1450, the successful usurper, taking the throne name of Tudhalia (II), founded a new Hittite dynasty. The duration of her reign is New Hittite period (mid-XV - early XII centuries).
During the period of the Old Kingdom, the role of the people's assembly - pankus, which included warriors (part of the free population of the kingdom of Hatti) and high dignitaries, was still significant. The assembly performed legal and religious functions, but over time its importance has greatly decreased and the institution itself is dying out.
New Hittite kingdom. Domestic and foreign policy of the Hittite kings. Hittite laws. Decline of the state. The king became an absolute ruler and appointed his own successor, so that from now on palace coups did not develop into unrest. It is characteristic that members of the new, ethnically Hurrian royal house accepted Hittite throne names and considered the Hurrian states their worst enemies, however, it was during their reign that Hittite culture was increasingly absorbed by Hurrian culture. In the 13th century even the state pantheon was almost entirely borrowed from the Hurrians.
The Great New Hittite Power (XIV-XIII centuries BC). Death of the Hittite Kingdom
At the beginning of the 14th century. a usurper comes to power in Hatti Suppiluliuma I (c. 1380-1335)- a brilliant politician and commander. He was able to completely restore the strength of the Hittite kingdom, conquer almost all of Asia Minor and, as a result of two big wars, defeat Mitanni.
All successes, however, threatened the Hittites with fatal consequences. The state talents of Suppiluliuma brought vast areas under the rule of the Hittites, control over which far exceeded the natural political capabilities of the Hittite kingdom. However, Mursili II (c. 1335-1305), could still retain his father's inheritance in full. Destroyed Artsawa, Hittite actions also affected Millawanda. Then Mursili brought the war with Egypt to an end, concluding a peace beneficial for the Hittites with Pharaoh Horemheb. He successfully pushed back Assyria, and in the north he systematically destroyed the Kaskov regions. Second half of the 14th century. can be considered the apogee of Hittite power.
Under the successors of Seti I, he launched a large-scale counter-offensive in Syria-Palestine, which was then continued by Ramesses I. In general, this counter-offensive turned out to be quite successful for the Egyptians, despite the defeat of Ramesses II in the grandiose Battle of Kadesh (1286). Throughout the XIII century. the west of Asia Minor sought to break away from the Hittites with the help of the rulers of Achaean Greece. At the same time, Assyria repeatedly invades Upper Mesopotamia and tries to take possession of the valleys of the Upper Tigris and Upper Euphrates. Another usurper saved the situation, Hattusili III (second quarter of the 13th century). As king, Hattusili proved himself, first of all, to be an extraordinary diplomat. In 1270 he concluded a peace and alliance treaty with Egypt.
Under the last Hittite kings - Tudhalia IV and his two sons, the Hittite kingdom is fighting on two “fronts” - in Upper Mesopotamia and Western Asia Minor. A kind of third “front” is the discord between the great Hittite kings and their relatives. Tudhalia IV was eventually able to restore the position in the west. However, he fought with Assyria to no avail. The last Hittite king, ironically named Suppilulium (I), recaptured Cyprus. Around 1180 three invasions hit them simultaneously. Peoples of the Aegean (“peoples of the sea”). At the same time, the Helmets, a new wave of Thraco-Phrygians (“Mushki”). The New Hittite statehood perished forever. The newly formed state, with centers in Karkemish and Melida, was considered a restored Hittite kingdom, but only Luwian was spoken and written there. Moreover, it soon fell apart into many fragments. All of them are at the end of the 8th century. BC e. were captured by Assyria.
Socio-economic and state structure of Hittite society. The basis of the Hittite economy was productive agriculture. Livestock farming has become widespread. In the middle of the 2nd millennium, horse breeding developed.
Agriculture among the Hittites depended primarily on the abundance of precipitation - artificial irrigation was possible only on a limited scale. Gardening and viticulture played an important role.
Craft development. Metallurgy played a special role here.
The main public wealth - land - belonged to the state or community groups of cities and villages. State lands were at the direct or general disposal of the king. A significant share of state land consisted of large farms that served to provide for the king personally and members of his family, the central administration, various state institutions and temples, as well as conditional holdings of officials. The temple lands were controlled by the king, but in reality they were autonomous corporate farms.
The main types of state exploitation were sakhan - compulsory service to the king (as well as taxes) and luzzi - labor service. In the community sector, the purchase and sale of land was freely carried out. Communities were territorial in nature. In both the private-community and public sectors, the labor of slaves, mercenaries, etc. was also widely used.
The Hittite class division did not coincide with the class division. From the point of view of Hittite laws, the entire population of the country was divided into two groups, distinguished by the free or forced nature of labor. The first of these groups - the class of "free" - included persons exempted from duties in favor of the state and the temple. The second estate - “unfree” - included all persons who were subject to state and temple exploitation. Accordingly, they, like all “unfree” people, could be called “slaves”. The position of the “unfree” was very diverse: among them were slaves in the strict sense of the word, and bonded debtors, and mercenaries, and serf land users, and, finally, serf landowners, who were sometimes rich enough to have their own slaves. Regardless of class, persons outside the communities often sought to acquire membership in one of them by purchasing a plot of communal land.
The political system of the Hittites was distinguished by a certain looseness and some features of confederation. The system of vassal-alliance treaties tied all entities to the Hittite crown. This state of affairs led to the rapid development of Hittite diplomacy.
The supreme power was represented by the “great king” (tabarna). The queen played an important and independent role. Hittite culture
The Hittite civilization was the fruit of centuries-old coexistence and synthesis of several ethnocultural traditions. Its core was the legacy of the Indo-European “Hittites”-Nasites. On the other hand, having assimilated in the 17th-16th centuries. BC e. Abori-gens-"Hatti", the Hittites absorbed their culture. Having developed under the influence of a much earlier and more developed civilization of Mesopotamia, Hittite society adopted many Mesopotamian achievements and norms (primarily cuneiform). Finally, in the XV-XIII centuries. BC e. The Hittites were subject to the strongest cultural influence of the Hurrians (especially at the top of society) and the Luwians (mainly at the mass level), while maintaining the official Nesi tradition.
All this determined the syncretic appearance of the Hittite religion. Sources speak in total about “a thousand gods and goddesses of Hatti,” but the cult of a much smaller number of deities was of practical importance. According to the Indo-European tradition, the God of Thunder was considered the supreme god, the patron of statehood, and was identified with the thundermen of many traditions at once, from the Nesite Pirva to the Hurrian Tessoba (with whom he eventually merged). He was depicted with a beam of lightning and a battle ax in his hands, being at the same time a military deity. The Sun Goddess of the city of Arinna, who was of Hutt origin, was no less revered; she was considered the wife of the Thunder God. A masculine sun deity is also known. Gods and goddesses of fertility were popular, including the Hutt Telepinu, a dying and resurrecting deity associated with the changing of the seasons. The Cilician god of fertility was Sandon, depicted with a huge bunch of grapes. The Hurrian goddess of love, destruction and war, Sauska, identified with the Mesopotamian Ishtar, enjoyed exceptional influence; it is possible that it was thanks to her cult that the Hittites turned into semi-fairy-tale Amazons of Asia Minor in Greek memories. The minor gate god Apullu became, apparently, the prototype of the Greek Apollo. There were cults of the bull, lion, and other sacred animals and birds. As a result of the gradual systematization of cults in the 13th century. BC e. a single national pantheon was created, consisting mainly of Hurrian gods. It is represented by the rock reliefs of Yazilikaya near Hattusa, depicting two counter processions of male and female deities standing on animals and birds; Apparently, they participate in the ritual of the sacred marriage of the god and goddess who lead them. Among the surviving works of Hittite literature, edifying stories are very interesting, as well as detailed royal “annals” and “autobiographies”, probably compiled by scribes, but bearing a clear imprint of the personality of the customer-king. Vivid in imagery, emphasizing the most dramatic moments of history, these texts also promote a certain ethical concept, an important feature of which was a kind of knightly generosity: the Hittites liked to emphasize that they did not do evil except in response to evil, and even then they could refuse from revenge on the defeated enemy, morally exalting himself over him. In the detailed “autobiography” of Hattusili III, this king considers it necessary to specifically justify to the audience the overthrow of his nephew, citing intolerable oppression on his part, the sanction of Sauska-Ishtar, his patroness, and God’s judgment, expressed in the very success of his usurpation. The Hittite elite were extremely interested in their own and others' past. The Hattusa archive contains texts telling about the kings of Akkad (which, by the way, was perceived as a kind of example of a great power). In the Hittite language there were
Many works of Middle Eastern literature have been translated (including the Epic of Gilgamesh, Hurrian myths, etc.).
The multilingualism of Anatolia and the need to maintain international relations led to the rapid development of Hittite lexicography. Trilingual Hittite-Sumero-Akkadian dictionaries are known. An important monument of Hittite culture is the famous treatise on horse breeding, compiled by the chief equerry of the Hittite king, the Hurrian Kikkuli, based on Mitannian models.
As a great and primarily military power, the Hittite kingdom was famous for its fortifications and monumental architecture and sculpture. The Hittite cities were surrounded by double walls; an additional rampart lined with stone was erected at Hattusa. The walls were erected from Cyclopean stone blocks carefully fitted to each other. In general, the Hittite culture is characterized by rational efficiency, a pragmatic orientation towards the main needs of society and its members, for whom military successes and the strengthening of the administration were of greatest importance.
The Hittite state was one of the most powerful kingdoms of the Ancient World, stretching from Eastern Anatolia to the Aegean Sea in the west and from the Black Sea in the north almost to the Levant. The Hittite Empire absorbed the kingdom of Mitanni, took possession of northern Syria, colonized the western edge of Asia Minor and competed for dominion with Egypt itself.
The colonial and aggressive policy of the Hittites was characterized by the fact that they sought to resolve territorial conflicts not through military victories, but through diplomacy. It was through the conclusion of treaties between the Hittites and representatives of the elite of neighboring states that Alalakh and Khalpa, Tarhuntassa and Karkemish were annexed to the state.
The German historian Frank Starke wrote about the Hittites: “If no peace demands helped, the Hittite king warned his opponent: “The gods will take my side and decide the matter in my favor.”
The Hittites did not take unaffordable tribute from the conquered lands and even often left the former ruler in power of the annexed territory, depriving him, however, of the right to pursue an independent policy.
The most powerful enemy of the Hittite Empire was Egypt. In 1275 BC, a battle took place near the Syrian city of Kadesh between the troops of Ramses II and the Hittite army of Muwatalli II. This battle was the first in history, whose description we can find in the sources of both warring parties, and the last battle in the history of the Bronze Age - the Hittites already used iron weapons.
The long battle did not lead to anyone's victory. Muwatalli proposed a truce to the Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses agreed. Hittite sources ultimately attributed the victory to the Hittites, and Egyptian sources attributed the victory to the Egyptians.
The Hittites conquered Artsawa, Ahhiyawa, Misa, Wilusa and other states in western Anatolia. But the conquered rebelled and entered into an anti-Hittite coalition with the “peoples of the sea” who lived on the islands of the Aegean Sea. Between 1200 and 1190 BC. they reached the Hittite capital Hattusa. The city was taken by storm.
First constitution
The Hittites were very sensitive to legal issues, because they believed that contracts were concluded not only between people, but also before the gods. Breaking the law was equivalent to insulting the gods. The Hittite laws were sacred, they were carved on tablets of iron, silver and gold, and kept in temples. Only clay copies of laws were sent to the royal palaces, by which we can today judge the legal system of the Hittites.
There are many interesting things in the Hittite laws. Thus, the ruler of the captured territory entered into an agreement with the “country of the Hittites.” It is with the country, and not with the ruler of the state. The Hittites revered the state more than a ruler who does not rule the country, but only serves it. This is the fundamental difference between the Hittite state and the eastern despotisms of the Ancient World.
The first constitution known to history was created by the Hittites - a decree of King Telepinu (about 1500 BC), he reformed the system of transfer of power in the country and described the existing governing bodies, clearly delimiting their powers. The king was a symbol of the unity of the country, the tulia - the council of elders - was the council of ministers and generals, the pankus was the name of the military council, which included clan members, high dignitaries and warriors.
According to the principles of its work, Pankus can be compared to the German Thing. The division of rights that King Telepinu approved remained in the Hittite state for three centuries, until its fall.
Without calendar
Serious research into the history of the Hittite state began only in the 20th century. In 1906, the Boğazköy archive of the Hatti kings was discovered, and in 1915-1916, the Czech linguist Bedrich the Terrible deciphered the Hittite writing.
The problem for historians was that the Hittites never reported exact dates. In their “tables of the courageous deeds” of the kings there are many notes “for the next year,” but the year of the report is unknown. The Hittites did not count their history from a specific point and did not mark the reign of their rulers. We know the chronology of the Hittite state from the sources of its neighbors.
Religion
The Hittite religion was a mixture of local and state cults. The thunder god Teshibu was considered the supreme god. He was depicted with lightning and an ax in his hands, in the form of a charioteer drawn by oxen.
The pantheon of Hittite gods was extensive and could change depending on the dominance of one or another cult. The Hittites also revered images of animals. Thus, the well-known double-headed eagle came from the Hittites.
The Hittites held services both in open-air sanctuaries (the rock sanctuary in Yazilikaya) and in temples. The cyclopean masonry of one of the Hittite temples was discovered by Boğazköy.
Language
Eight languages were spoken in the Hittite Empire. Hittite and Akkadian were spoken by kings during official ceremonies, and texts were usually written in Hurrian. The dictionaries used by the scribes were compiled on the basis of Sumerian characters.
The already mentioned Czech linguist Bedrich Grozny in 1915 proved the Indo-European origin of the Hittite and Luwian languages. Further research revealed that Lycian, Carian, Lydian, Sidetian and a number of other languages of Asia Minor in the 1st millennium BC originated from these languages.
Where did the Hittites disappear to?
The question remains: where did the Hittites disappear? Johann Lehmann in his book “The Hittites. People of a Thousand Gods” gives a version that the Hittites went to the north, where they assimilated with the Germanic tribes. Tacitus mentioned the Hittites in his description of the Germanic tribes. He wrote: “Compared to other Germans, the Hutts are extremely prudent and prudent... And what is quite amazing and accepted only among the Romans with their military discipline, they rely more on the leader than on the army.”
This version remains just a version for now.
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✪ Hittite kingdom (narrated by historian Boris Alexandrov)
✪ History of the Khet kingdom
✪ Kingdom of Pontus (narrated by historian Sergei Saprykin)
✪ Ancient Hittites (narrated by historian Boris Alexandrov)
✪ Times and warriors. Assyrians. Masters of War.
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Early history
In the beginning, the seat of the Labarna dynasty was Kussar, which was abandoned as a capital by the Anitta dynasty. Over time, in the struggle for hegemony with the city of Nesoy, the latter was defeated, and Kussar gained power over all of Central Asia Minor. At the beginning of the existence of the Ancient Hittite kingdom, there was a matrilineal principle of inheritance of power. Among the proto-Hittites of Asia Minor, according to trade documents from Kanish, next to the ruler - rubaum- there was always a ruler almost equal to him in cult and political significance - Rabatum, identified with the Sumerian-Akkadian priestess - entum, participant in the ritual of “sacred marriage”. Therefore, apparently, it was more important that the king was not so much the son of the ruler as the son of the ruler's daughter.
The Hittite state had a loose structure. In addition to the cities and regions subordinate directly to the king or queen, there were small semi-dependent kingdoms (for princes), as well as regions allocated for the management of major dignitaries. At the head of the entire state was a king (Khassu), who (unlike less significant kings) also bore the title of Tabarn.
Labarna I (c. 1680-1650 BC), was a prominent figure in the history of the kingdom, expanding its dominion “from sea to sea.” His successor Hattusili I (circa 1650-1620 BC) led conquests as far as Syria, and Mursili I (circa 1620-1594 BC) annexed Halpa, Upper Mesopotamia and made a campaign against Babylon.
After the assassination of Mursili I, the Ancient Hittite kingdom began to decline due to constant civil strife within the ruling dynasty and attacks by the Hurrians. All the following kings of the Hittites - Hantili I, Tsitanta I, Ammuna, Khutstiya I - did not die a natural death. Only Telepin, who introduced the law on succession to the throne, managed to temporarily stabilize the situation, but not for long, and after the death of Telepin, the Ancient Hittite kingdom finally collapsed.
Middle Hittite Kingdom (c. 1500-1380 BC)
Main article: Middle Hittite Kingdom
The memorial lists of the kings do not name Tsitanta and Khutstia as predecessors of Telepinu, but they mention other Khantili, Tsitanta and Khutstiya - after Telepina and Alluvamna. Hittologists disagree here about the chronology of the Hittites. While some see in them Hantili II, Tsitanta II, Khutstiya II - the kings of the Middle Hittite kingdom, others deny the very existence of the Middle Hittite kingdom and suggest a mistake by the compilers of the memorial lists, believing that they mean the same Hantili I, Tsitanta I and Khutstiya I. However, denying the existence of the Middle Hittite kingdom creates additional difficulties in chronology. It is known that the king of Kizzuwadna Pilliya concluded an agreement with the Hittite king Tsitanta, but it is also known that the same Pilliya entered into an agreement with the king of Alalakh Idri-Mi, who ruled in the first half of the 15th century BC. e. Thus, it is difficult to date Pillia before Telepina and Pillia's contemporary was the Hittite king Citanta II.
The period of the Middle Hittite Kingdom is relatively little studied due to the paucity of sources. This period is characterized by the further weakening of the Hittite kingdom as a result of war with external enemies and internal turmoil. To the east of the Hittites, back in the 16th century BC. e. a strong Mitannian power arose, which became their powerful rival.
New Hittite Kingdom or Hittite Empire (c. 1460-1190 BC)
Main article: New Hittite Kingdom
Around 1460 BC e. The New Hittite dynasty was founded, under which the empire reached its peak. The campaigns against Syria resumed, greatly weakening the country, which lost most of its territories. Under King Suppilulium I (1380-1335 BC), who ruled his state from the capital Hattusa (but until 1480 BC the capital was the city of Kanish), he managed to defeat Mitanni and Egypt, conquering the entire Eastern Mediterranean up to to Palestine. In the conquered territories in northern Syria and Mesopotamia, vassal principalities were created, whose rulers Suppiluliuma I appointed his younger sons. Mursili II (circa 1335-1305 BC) made peace with Pharaoh Horemheb, leading the Hittite kingdom to the height of its power.
However, already in the next century, the struggle for Syria and Palestine resumed between the Hittite army of King Hattusili III and the army of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II. The confrontation ended with the grandiose but inconclusive battle of Kadesh (in northern Syria). As a result, most of Syria and Phenicia came under full control of the Egyptians, and in 1280 BC. e. a peace treaty was concluded with them (English), and Hattusili's daughter Maathornefur became the pharaoh's wife. A truce was also concluded with Achaean Greece, but warlike Assyria left the conquered Upper Mesopotamia under control.
The subsequent decline of the kingdom in the 12th century BC. e. coincided in time with the general Middle Eastern crisis known as the bronze collapse. Due to internal strife and external failures, famine may have broken out in the country. Under the onslaught of the “peoples of the sea,” the Hittite kingdom was destroyed and ceased to exist.
Syro-Hittite kingdoms (circa 1190-700 BC)
After the fall of the New Hittite kingdom in Anatolia, the former vassal principalities of the Hittites continued to exist as independent states. These are primarily Tabal, Kammanu (with Melid), Hilakku, Kue, Kummukh, Karkemish, as well as Yaudi (Sam'al), Til Barsip, Guzana, Unki (Pattina), Hatarikka (Luhuti) and others. Their rulers considered themselves the legitimate successors of the Hittite power, but did not have the opportunity to realize their ambitions. Having existed for several centuries, in the 8th century BC. e. were conquered by the great powers of Mesopotamia - Assyria, and then Babylon. The eastern part of the Hittite kingdom united with the power of Hayas, eventually forming the state of Urartu with other tribes.
State structure of the Hittite state
The Hittite rulers did not demand exorbitant tribute from the conquered lands and, more often than not, did not even encroach on the sovereignty of the countries they captured. The heads of the conquered states remained in power. The transfer of power to their legal heirs was guaranteed. If the vassal was loyal to the Hittite state, he was allowed to participate in its administration - the vassals were allowed by the Hittite king to make the most important decisions in the Hittite kingdom. The occupied territory only lost the right to conduct an independent foreign policy, but there were exceptions to this.
Thus, the Hittite kingdom was organized on a confederal principle. This “will to decentralization,” as Frank Starke of the University of Tübingen put it, was completely innovative in the Ancient East. The Hittite state in a sense was not a kingdom, not an empire, but the “United States of Asia.”
The king is surrounded by officials and a personal secretary. The palaces of the kings were built on the Assyrian model and were decorated with bas-reliefs representing scenes from the king’s hunts, feasts, etc.
From the mention in the Assyrian chronicles of Carchemish mine Winkler draws a conclusion about the special system of weights and measures among the Hittites and the development of urban life among them. We [ Who?] we can state only on the basis of Amarna correspondence the development of industry in Mitanni, which supplied chariots and jewelry to Egypt.
Warfare
From images in Egyptian temples and Hittite bas-reliefs, one can get an idea of the military affairs of the Hittites: there were infantry, chariots (three warriors each: a driver, a shield bearer and a shooter) and cavalry. The revolutionary features of the “Hittite Chariot” are not reflected in the Egyptian bas-reliefs. The axle of the wheels was not located at the rear, like the Egyptian ones, but in the middle of the cart. This made it possible to accommodate not 2, like the Egyptians, but 3 people. Weapons - a small triangular bow, a small quadrangular or oval wicker shield, similar to that depicted in classical art among the Pontic Amazons; the phalanx was armed with daggers-swords; the latter had not a Syrian, but a Cilician form - the same as that depicted by the Egyptians among the maritime peoples of the west. In addition, there were long spears. The soldiers were dressed in Egyptian-style aprons, the officers in a long dress; kings wore (especially in later times) Assyrian attire. Long suits of private individuals and headdresses are typical - pointed for men, cylindrical for women, and could be made of felt or leather. Shoes are also typical - mostly shoes with toes turned up.
see also
Notes
Sources
- Ivanov V.V. The moon fell from the sky. Ancient literature of Asia Minor. [Sat. lane] - M., 1977.
- History of the Ancient East: Texts and documents: Textbook. a manual for university students... / Ed. IN AND. Kuzishchina. - M. Higher. school, 2002.
- Reader on the history of the Ancient East / Comp. A.A. Vigasina. - M. Vost. lit., 1997.
- Reader on the history of the Ancient East: [Textbook. manual for students... In 2 hours] Part 1. [Egypt, Kush, Front. Asia.] - M. Higher. school, 1980.
Literature
- Alexandrov B. E. » .
- Giorgadze G. G. Questions of the social system of the Hittites. - Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1991. - 192 p.
- Giorgadze G. G. Inheritance of royal power in the ancient Hittite state: (Before Telepinu) // Questions of ancient history (Caucasian-Middle Eastern collection. III). - Tbilisi, 1970.
- Giorgadze G. G. Essays on the socio-economic history of the Hittite state: (On the direct producers in the Hittite island). - Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1973. - 312 p.
- Giorgadze G. G.“Text of Anitta” and some questions of the early history of the Hittites // Bulletin of Ancient History. 1965. No. 4.
- Giorgadze G. G. Hittite kingdom // History of the ancient world. - Book I: Early Antiquity / Ed. I. M. Dyakonova. - M., 1982.
- Giorgadze G. G. Hittites and Hurrians according to ancient Hittite sources // Bulletin of ancient history. - 1969. - No. 1.
- Gindin L. A., Tsymbursky V. L. Homer and the history of the Eastern Mediterranean. - M.: Vost. lit., 1996. - 328 p. - 2,000 copies.
- Dovgyalo G. I. On the history of the emergence of the state: Based on the material of Hittite cuneiform texts. - Minsk: BSU Publishing House, 1968. - 160 p.
- Dovgyalo G.I. The formation of the ideology of early class society: (Based on cuneiform texts). - Minsk: BSU Publishing House, 1980. - 162 p.
- Ancient languages of Asia Minor: Sat. Art. / Ed. I. M. Dyakonova, Vyach. Sun. Ivanova. - M., 1980.
- Ancient Anatolia: Sat. / Ed. B.B. Piotrovsky, Vyach. Sun. Ivanova, V. G. Ardzimba. - M.: Science, Chapter. ed. eastern lit., 1985. - 256 p.
- Dyakonov I. M. Prehistory of the Armenian people: (History of the Armenian Highlands from 1500 to 500 BC: Hurrians, Luwians, Proto-Armenians). - Yerevan, 1968.
- Dyakonov I. M. Languages of ancient Western Asia. - M., 1967. review.
- Khachatryan V. N. Eastern provinces of the Hittite Empire: (Questions of toponymy). - Yerevan, 1971.
- Hittites and Hittite culture: Sat. / Ed. I. Borozdina. - M.; L.: World. lit., 1924. - 154 p.: ill. - Ser.: “Culture of the East.”
