Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:50 AM Sayfa
The Hittites 1650-1200 BC
Around 2250-2000 BC, the Hittites-an Indo-European tribe-came to
Anatolia, mixed with and started living with the Hattians, which in
this time were the indigenous people of Anatolia. This coexistence
blended the cultures of the Hittites and Hattians. The principality of
Kusshara, which is one of the principalities belonging to the Hattian
and Hurrian tribes such as Nesha, Hattusha, Mama, Purushanda and
Zalpa that lived in Anatolia during this period, is a Hittite principality
that newly arrived in Anatolia. With the end of the Assyrian colonial
period as a result of a grassroots rebellion around 1750 BC, the
foundations of the Hittite civilization were set into place. There is no
conclusive data as to when the Hittites established the kingdom.
However, the name of Anitta-the son of King Pithana-is cited on the
written documents obtained. From the documents which are known
as the ‘Anitta text’ and which bear the characteristics of the Hatti
language, it is known that Anitta indicated himself as the son of
Pithana. It was also indicated that he was the king of the city of
Kusshara, that he obtained the city of Nesha by a night raid, and that
he established a city here commissioning a temple to be built with the
pillage he obtained from the war. The fact that his name has been
found today during the excavation in Kültepe on a small bronze
dagger serves as an insight to the historical personality of Anitta.
Anitta, who reigned around 1750-l700 BC, moved the center of the
state to Nesha, took Hattusha in 1720 BC ravaging it so that it could
not be occupied again. Having subjugated many cities such as Zalpa
and Purushanda later on, Anitta established a large princedom. This
princedom was the messenger of the emergence of a strong state.
From a bilingual text obtained in Bo¤azköy and originally written in
the Akkadian language, we find that the first king of the Old Kingdom
Dynasty was Hattushili I who assumed the throne around 1660-l630
BC. The intriguing testament of this king is an important document in
that it tells of his relationships with his family and with the nobles, as
well as providing information about the daily life of the Hittites while
enlightening the events.
The gate sphinx, Yerkapı-Bo¤azköy.
‹stanbul Archaeological Museum.
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