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Between the 15th and 13th centuries BC, the Hittites were one of the dominant powers of the Near East, coming into conflict with the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Middle Assyrian Empire and the empire of Mitanni.
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. Learn more about the history and achievements of the Hittite people in this article.
The history of the Hittites resumes with the so-called New Kingdom (1400-1200 BCE), also known as the Hittite Empire. Although there were Hittite kings before him (such as Tudhaliya I and Tudhaliya II), this history really begins with King Suppiluliuma I who took the throne c. 1344 BCE.
The Hittites were an ancient group of Indo-Europeans who moved into Asia Minor and formed an empire at Hattusa in Anatolia (modern Turkey) around 1600 BCE. The Hittite Empire reached great heights during the mid-1300s BCE, when it spread across Asia Minor, into the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia.
The Rise And Downfall Of The Hittite Empire. The Hittites entered Anatolia around 2000 B.C., and their capital would eventually be Hattusha in what is today modern Turkey. It took them about 400 years before they developed. The empire's first ruler was Hattusili, which meant "the one from Hattusha."
Operating from the heartland of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), the Hittite Empire not only wielded considerable power but also left an indelible mark on the cultural, political, and military dynamics of the ancient Near East.
Between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E. the Hittites established one of the great empires of the ancient Middle East. At its height, the empire encompassed central Turkey, north western Syria, and Upper Mesopotamia (north eastern Syria and northern Iraq).
The Hittites occupied the ancient region of Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey) prior to 1700 BCE, developed a culture apparently from the indigenous Hatti (and possibly the Hurrian) people, and expanded their territories into an empire which rivaled, and threatened, the established nation of Egypt.
Sometime around 1650 B.C., under Hattushili I, the city of Hattusha was established as the Hittite capital. Situated on a plateau, Hattusha was heavily fortified over time with elaborate defensive walls and gateways. From this secure base, Hattushili led his armies south onto the plains of Syria.
Between the 15th and 13th centuries BC, the Empire of Hattusa, conventionally called the Hittite Empire, came into conflict with the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Middle Assyrian Empire and the empire of the Mitanni for control of the Near East.