HATTUSAS - CAPITAL OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE Hattusas, the capital of the Hittites, lies in north central Anatolia at the northern edge of the region of Cappadocia. The first settlers arrived in the 6th Millennium during the Chalcolithic era. The region was sparsely populated with villages on the mountain slopes. Settlement developed during the 3rd Millennium = the Early Bronze Age when we start to see political and religious centres based on trade in mineral resources. The local people were known as the Hatti. Towards the end of EBA they created a settlement at Bogazköy and the site has been occupied for the last 4200 years. During the Middle Bronze Age the Hattian settlement was significant enough to warrant a Karum = an Assyrian trading post for merchants who had come up from Assur on the Tigris River in Iraq. These traders were interested in acquiring the natural resources of the area, namely copper, silver, gold and precious stones. In exchange they bought tin, garments and fabric. The entire region was crisscrossed with trade routes. The Assyrians lived in separate quarters, enjoying the protection of Hattian lords and paying tax in return. The centre of this network was Kanesh near Kayseri. The Assyrians introduced writing to Anatolia, mainly in the form of purchase records, credits and exchange. The name of the city was given as Hattusas. The rulers appear to have lived in a fortified base on Büyükkale with the rest of the population living on the northern slopes. The Karum was further north. The city was burnt down around 1700 BC. This appears to have been the work of King Anita of the immigrant Hittites who based himself at Kanesh 160km to the south. By the second half of the 17th Century BC (around 1650), the site of Hattusas was chosen as the new Hittite capital, mainly because of its defensible position and the numerous springs in the area. The city was now called Hattusas in the Hittite language. The Hittite city occupied roughly the same area as the Hattian city, based on Büyükkale Hill and the region to the north. The city was enclosed within a boundary wall and was fairly modest in scale = 900m by 1.2km. The Period of the Hittite Empire saw major changes for the city of Hattusas. Under the rule of Hattushilli III and his son Tudhkaliya IV the city underwent a major revival. Many of the structures which are visible today date from this period. A new defensive wall was constructed to encompass the Upper City to the south of the earlier settlement. A new 3.3km long wall brought the area enclosed up to 180 hectares. Many large structures were built including many temples. The royal citadel (Büyükkale Hill) was completely renovated into a large palace. Tudhkaliya IV also brought the religious sanctuary of Yazilikaya to it final arrangement. The period after Tudhkaliya IV was one of disorder. There was a succession crisis as contenders fought for the throne; with poor harvest the state was weakened. At the end of the 13th Century additional fortification were built to guard the city against invasion. Temples went into decline and were now used to house refugees. The Hittite Empire came to an end at the same time as the migrations of the Sea peoples throughout the eastern Mediterranean (1200-1180 BC).These mass migrations saw the collapse of societies over a wide area including Greece and ushered in the Iron Age after a period of economic collapse. In central Anatolia, the old Imperial structures disappeared and the population returned to a pastoral, partially nomadic existence. Hattusas was no longer a political, economic and religious centre. The residents gradually migrated away. The city reveals evidence of a fiery destruction but by this point the buildings had largely been emptied of their contents – except unwanted things like the library. Evidence of foreign settlers has been found on Büyükkaya ridge. There was a Phrygian settlement on the site in the 9th to 6th Century BC. They restored the fortifications and built a shrine to Cybele. But the days of the Hittite Empire were over. B.C. Archaeology Travel is organising a tour of Turkey in June 2015 which visits Hattusas. For more information see our website at: Itinerary: bcarchaeology/turkey.html
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 07:17:53 +0000
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