Hittites
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| + | The '''Hittites''' were a [[Bronze Age]] people of [[Anatolia]]. | ||
| + | They established a kingdom centered at [[Hattusa]] in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The [[Hittite empire]] reached its height c. the 14th century BC, encompassing a large part of [[Anatolia]], north-western [[Syria]] about as far south as the mouth of the [[Litani River]] (in present-day [[Lebanon]]), and eastward into upper [[Mesopotamia]]. | ||
| + | The Hittite military made successful use of [[Chariot#Hittites|chariot]]s. | ||
| - | In ancient times, small '''tablets''' made out of '''clay''' were used as a writing medium. | + | ==See also== |
| + | *[[History of the Hittites]] | ||
| + | *[[List of Hittite kings]] | ||
| + | *[[List of artifacts significant to the Bible]] | ||
| + | *[[Short chronology timeline]] | ||
| - | From the [[4th millennium BCE]] in the [[Sumer]]ian, [[Babylon]]ian, [[Assyria|Assyrian]] and [[Hittites|Hittite]] civilizations of the [[Mesopotamia]] region, [[Cuneiform (script)|cuneiform]] characters were imprinted on a wet clay tablet with a [[stylus]] often made of [[Reed_(plant)|reed]]. Once written upon, many tablets were dried in the sun or air, remaining fragile. Later, these unfired clay tablets could be soaked in water and recycled into new clean tablets. Other tablets, once written, were grilled in a [[kennal]] or fired in [[kilns]] (or inadvertently, when buildings were burnt down by accident or during conflict) making them hard and durable. Collections of these [[clay]] documents made up the very first [[archives]]. They were at the root of first [[library|libraries]]. Tens of thousands of written tablets, including many fragments, have been found in the Middle East. | ||
| - | The [[Tărtăria tablets]], thought to be from the [[Vinča culture|Danubian civilization]], may be older still, having been [[carbon dating|carbon dated]] to before 4000 BCE, and possibly dating from as long ago as 5500 BCE, but their interpretation remains controversial. | ||
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| - | In the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]]/[[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] civilizations, writing has not been observed for any use other than accounting. Tablets serving as labels, with the impression of the side of a wicker basket on the back, and tablets showing yearly summaries, suggest a sophisticated accounting system. In this cultural region the tablets were never fired deliberately, as the clay was recycled on an annual basis. However, some of the tablets were "fired" as a result of uncontrolled fires in the buildings where they were stored. The rest are still tablets of unfired clay, and extremely fragile; some modern scholars are investigating the possibility of firing them ''now'', as an aid to preservation. | ||
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The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia. They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c. the 14th century BC, encompassing a large part of Anatolia, north-western Syria about as far south as the mouth of the Litani River (in present-day Lebanon), and eastward into upper Mesopotamia. The Hittite military made successful use of chariots.
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See also
- History of the Hittites
- List of Hittite kings
- List of artifacts significant to the Bible
- Short chronology timeline
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