Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

24
� bc ad �
18th c. 17th c. 16th c. 15th c. 14th c. 13th c. 12th c. 11th c. 10th c. � 2nd c. 1st c. 1st c. 2nd c. � 19th c. 20th c. 21st c.
The Hittite cuneiform tablets
from Bogazköy
Inscribed 2001
What is it
Ancient Hittite texts preserved in cuneiform on
25,000 clay tablets.
Why was it inscribed
The Bogazköy archive of cuneiform tablets is the only
source of information on the Hittites as well as on the
social, political and commercial activities of the area.
The archive sheds light not only on that area and period,
but also on the history and the civilization of human kind
as a whole.
Where is it
Archaeological Museums of Istanbul and Anatolian
Civilizations Museum of Ankara, Turkey
Anatolia forms a bridge between Europe and Asia,
and the area has been the cradle of many civilizations.
The Hittites ruled here for nearly 600 years in the 2nd
millennium BC, after moving from the Caucasus. They
established a powerful state within a bend of the Kızılırmak
river (the ancient Halys) with its capital at Bogazköy. The
civilization of the Hittites was advanced in its military
achievements, political organization, legislation and the
administration of justice. Their military, political, social
� Ancient Hittite cuneiform script
The Hittite cuneiform tablets from Bogazköy
and commercial relations with neighbouring countries
were all recorded and kept in archives meticulously.
The state had a federal structure, and the central
government was headed by the king who was also the
commander of the army, the supreme judicial authority
and the chief priest, though he was never actually deified.
In fact, the Hittite king, for the first time in the history
of the ancient east, possessed no divine attributes.
Excavations from 1906 to 1970 at Bogazköy (ancient
Hattusas) uncovered thousands of cuneiform clay tablets
in the Great Palace and in the Great Temple. The Bogazköy
archive consists of nearly 25,000 cuneiform clay tablets
and is the only extant material about the civilization of the
Hittites. The tablets are mostly on political, military,