Hittite

people

Hittite, member of an ancient Indo-European people who appeared

in Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE; by 1340 BCE they had
become one of the dominant powers of the Middle East.
Probably originating from the area beyond the Black Sea, the Hittites first
occupied central Anatolia, making their capital at Hattusa (modern Boğazköy).
Early kings of the Hittite Old Kingdom, such as Hattusilis I (reigned c. 1650–
c. 1620 BCE), consolidated and extended Hittite control over much of Anatolia
and northern Syria. Hattusilis’ grandson Mursilis I raided down the Euphrates
River to Babylon, putting an end (c. 1590 BCE) to the Amorite dynasty there.
After the death of Mursilis, a dynastic power struggle ensued,
with Telipinus finally gaining control about 1530 BCE. In the noted Edict of
Telipinus, long upheld by succeeding generations, he attempted to end
lawlessness and to regulate the royal succession.
After Telipinus historical records are scarce until the Hittite New Kingdom,
or empire (c. 1400–c. 1200 BCE). Under Suppiluliumas I (c. 1380–c. 1346 BCE),
the empire reached its height. Except for a successful campaign
against Arzawa in southwestern Anatolia, Suppiluliumas’ military career was
devoted to involved struggles with the kingdom of Mitanni to the southeast
and to the establishment of a firm Hittite foothold in Syria.
Under Muwatallis (c. 1320–c. 1294 BCE) a struggle for the domination of Syria
with resurgent Egypt under Seti I and Ramses II led to one of the greatest
battles of the ancient world, which took place at Kadesh on the Orontes in
1299 BCE. Though Ramses claimed a great victory, the result was probably
indecisive, and 16 years later, under Hattusilis III (c. 1275–c. 1250 BCE), a
peace treaty, mutual defense pact, and dynastic marriage were concluded
between the Hittites and the Egyptians.