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Hattusha

Hattusha, left the city in hunger and then finally burnt it down. Anitta states: “I took Hattusha with a night attack. I planted wild grass where the city had stood. Whoever becomes king and restores the city after me, let the curse of the Gods be upon him.” This led to the city being left empty for a long time. However, after one century, Hattusha appears in history as the Capital of the Hittites.

Hattusha was discovered in the town of Bogazkale in Corum. After its discovery in 1834 archaeological writings and literature began. Archaeological scientific excavations started in 1906 and have been continuing systematically until today. After restoration the historical city has attracted many visitors as an open-air museum.

In 1986, Hattusha was named as one of nine sites in Turkey on the UNESCO World Culture Heritage and an historical National Park was formed because of this. In 2001 the written cuneiform tablets found here have been added to UNESCO’s “World Memory List”.

From foundation to fall, during the period between 1650 and 1200 BC, although the boundaries of Hittites sometimes grew and sometimes shrank the overall areas of influence extended over a wider geography. During the reign of Suppiluliuma I the Hittite Kingdom consisted only of Anatolia and became an empire by taking parts of Syria and North Mesopotamia. During this period, Muwatalli changed the Capital from Hattusha to Tarhuntasha.

During the reign of Muwatalli, the Hittites were in conflict with the Egyptians because of the Amurru Kingdom in Central Syria. This conflict reached its climax with the Kadesh War.

This famous war of the Near East was depicted on the reliefs on the walls of the temples of Abydos, Luxor and Abu Simbel in Egypt. Hieroglyph texts accompany these reliefs celebrating the victory of Ramses in defeating the Hittite King Muwatalli. However, the Hittites won the historic war since Ramses II made a strategic error leaving Kadesh castle in the hands of the Hittites (1285 BC). The Kadesh Treaty signed after the Kadesh War between the Hittite King Hattushili III and Egypt Pharaoh Ramses II in 1269 BC is the first written international peace treaty that has come down to us. There are many reasons for the fall of Hittite Empire soon after 1200 BC. Some public disturbances and conflicts between the Hittite aristocrats started during the period of the last Great King. The written texts from the last years of the Hittite Empire prove that vast quantities of cereals were transported from Syria and Egypt since the population was in need of food.