The Kingdom of the Hittites

by Bryce, Trevor

• ISBN13: 9780199240104
• ISBN10: 0199240108
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-13
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book presents a comprehensive history of the Late Bronze Age kingdomof the Hittites, and the role it played within the context of the ancient NearEastern world. From their capital, Hattusa, in central Anatolia, the Hittitekings ruled a vast network of subject territories and vassal states reachingfrom the Aegean coast of Anatolia through Syria to the river Euphrates. In thefourteenth century BC the Hittites became the supreme political and militarypower in the Near East. How did they achieve their supremacy? How successfulwere they in maintaining it? What brought about their collapse anddisappearance? In seeking to answer these questions, the book begins with anaccount of the Hittites predecessors in Anatolia, particularly in the earlycenturies of the second millennium, traces the rise and development of theHittite kingdom over a period of some five hundred years, and ends with theevents which followed in the wake of the kingdoms collapse. Translations fromthe original texts are a particular feature of the book; thus on many issues theHittites and their contemporaries are allowed to speak to the modern reader forthemselves.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
List of Hittite Kings
Maps
Introduction	p. 1
The Origins of the Hittites	p. 7
Anatolia in the Assyrian Colony Period	p. 21
Territories and Early Rivals of Hatti	p. 44
The Foundations of the Kingdom: The Reigns of Labarna and Hattusili I	p. 64
The Struggles for the Royal Succession: From Mursili I to Muwatalli I	p. 101
A New Era Begins: From Tudhaliya I/II to Tudhaliya III	p. 131
The Supremacy of Hatti: The Reign of Suppiluliuma I	p. 168
A Young King Proves His Worth: The Reign of Mursili II	p. 206
The Showdown with Egypt: The Reign of Muwatalli II	p. 241
The Ill-Fated Reign of the Second-Rank Son: The Reign of Urhi-Tesub	p. 268
Hatti and the World of International Diplomacy: The Reign of Hattusili III	p. 292
New Enterprises, New Threats: The Reign of Tudhaliya IV	p. 326
The Fall of the Kingdom and its Aftermath	p. 361
The Trojan War: Myth or Reality?	p. 392
A Final Comment	p. 405
App. 1: Chronology	p. 408
Sources for Hittite History: An Overview	p. 416
Bibliography	p. 428
Index	p. 455
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