Since the Hittites did not learn to write until after they had begun to borrow from the Mesopotamian civilizations, their earlier history can be reconstructed only on the basis of archeological hints and linguistic distributions. Historians generally agree that the Hittites came into Asia Minor from either Europe or across the Caucasus mountains. This movement seems to have been a part of a great migration of Indo-Europeans at the turn from the third to the second millennium B.C., although the Hittites were in Asia Minor before 2000 B.C.

Ancestors of the Aryans of India, of the Medes, and of the Persians, the Hittites were fierce warriors. They occupied a land whose position compelled them to be conquerors. South of them lay the metal-bearing areas of Cilicia; between these were the ports and cities of Syro-Phoenicia where the merchants of Babylonia and Assyria had established trading routes; and east and south was the Euphrates, with its fertile valley and prosperous towns.

Possession of these areas could make the Hittites more powerful and gradually they conquered Cappadocia and Carchemish on the Euphrates. In 1926 B.C. the Hittites, under Mursilis I (d. 1590) captured Babylon, but another Aryan t

The Hittite civilization, which lasted for at least a thousand years, was possessed and developed by several societies which differed in chronological periods, geographical location, and probably in race. The Hittites borrowed from Mesopotamia and the Hurrians, but managed to create a distinctive civilization of their own. The cuneiform system of writing, the form of the Mesopotamian law code, and religious concepts and ceremonies were among their borrowings, but the different environment of Anatolia did not facilitate the adoption of too many Babylonian culture traits.

Bruy, J.B., Cook, S.A., Adcock, F.E., eds. The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. III, The Assyrian Empire. Cambridge: University Press, 1960.

Fighting over Syria and Phoenicia with Egypt, with the main battle being fought in 1288 B.C. by Muttallish the Hittite and Rameses II at Kadesh, weakened the Hittites. About 1200 B.C. the Hittite empire collapsed under the impact of barbarian tribal migrations which triggered a massive movement of Anatolian peoples southward. During this time, other peoples were also attacked. The island of Cyprus was sacked, and many towns in Syria and Palestine were also destroyed. Even Egypt, under Rameses III, was under siege.

Brodeur, Arthur G. The Pageant of Civilization. Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., 1931.

Other writings, such as letters and reports, were also found at Hattusas, as well as a code of laws that resembled those from Mesopotamian principles. Punishments differed according to the criminal's class, though pure retribution and bodily mutilation were not as common as in