Hittites – Founders of the first empire in Anatolia

The Hittite state was one of the great powers of the then Asia Minor. Although the Hittites were an ethnic and language mix, But they were characterized by political and cultural unity. The greatest development of their empire falls in the years of OK. 1700 – 1190 p.n.e.. When the capital was the city of Hattusas (Ok. 150 km east of Ankara). One of the first powerful rulers was hattusilis and, which began the implementation of the great conquest program. It was his army that extended the territory of the kingdom north and south, thus making both seas: Black and Mediterranean, the limits of the state. During the reign of Hattusilis and his successors, Mursilis and Hittites began to pusher southeast to Syria and Babylonia. Aleppo first won, Later Babylonia. The absence of troops in the Hittite state was used by another people, which came to a great importance in this region then – Huryci. They attacked Anatolia, But the Hittites managed to repel them, but with huge own losses. Hurics took Syria and most of the Cilicia, as well as the eastern borders of the Anatolian Upland.

After the death of Mursilis, the fall of the state took place (Dynastic large and court intrigues), why he managed to prevent Teilpinus briefly (Ok. 1525 r. p.n.e.), But after his descent, the empire weakened again. The new era began for the Hittites along with the reign of Suppiluliumas 1 (Ok. 1380 – 1450 r. p.n.e.). He quickly extracted the kingdom from a catastrophic situation, And his main opponent were the Hurici, who, in the meantime, founded the Mitannia in their areas. He mastered their kingdom, settling the ruler on the throne, and then he got Syria – to Damascus. Successor of Suppilulianas, Mursilis II, and he took the Western lands, that is, the territories of the Arzawa state reaching the coast of the Aegean Sea. In this way, a power competing with Babylonia and Egypt was created.

The conflict of interest led to the rehearsal of forces between the Hittites and the Egyptians. The famous battle for Kadesh in 1285 r. p.n.e. Although it did not bring the decision (Although each of the fighting pages later presented her as a general victory), But Ramzes II, then Pharaoh, He had to abandon the idea of ​​mastering Syria. To this day, the first peace treaty from history has survived 1270 r. p.n.e., handed over both in Hittite, and Egyptian, Strengthening Hittite rule in Syria. The slow twilight of the Empire has occurred since the time of Tuthalijas IV (Ok. 1250- 1220 r. p.n.e.), when it is the so -called. naval peoples, In the vast majority of Greeks, They began to flow to Anatolia. Tuthalijas conducted a religious reform and he probably left a great testimony of Hittian art in the form of beautiful reliefs near Hattusas, w post. The last historical text found in Hittite archives was the mention of this, yak Suppelumus II (The successor of Tuthalijas IV) defeated the enemy holding Cyprus. However, nothing could stop the fall of the state – European tribes began to pus, among which the Frygowie and Lidians were the leader.