Hatti (Hattusa) (Bronze Age)
Incorporating the city of Zalwar

Bronze Age Anatolian States Anatolian Indo-Europeans Canaanite States & Groups Mesopotamian States & Groups Syrian States & Groups

The Hatti were quite possibly an aboriginal people in the central Anatolian area of the ancientNear East. They were therefore related to the region'sNeolithic Farmers of thePottery Neolithic and its immediate ancestors. These people were part of the movement into 'Old Europe' to found the Sesklo and Balkans cultures of the seventh millennium BC.

The Hatti (Hattians or Hattis) occupied the region inside the arc of the River Kizil Irmak in modernTurkey. The first settlements in this region date from the Chalcolithic period of the sixth millennium BC, when small, widely scattered hamlets appeared most particularly on mountain slopes and rocky outcroppings.

Early in the third millennium BC, towards the end of the Early Bronze Age, a Hattian settlement developed, marking the beginning of continuous occupation at the site of Hattusa. These people spoke a non-Indo-European language called Hattic which was probably related to the Circassian language group.

Their eastern neighbours probably spoke a very similar tongue, those neighbours being the Khaldi (Chalybes or Chaldoi, whose easternmost groups were later part ofUrartu and some of whom may also have formed theHalizones).

The Hatti didn't have a written language of their own, but their scribes probably used cuneiform script for trade dealings, especially after theAssyrians set up trading posts in the region. Apparently possessing a series of city states and small kingdoms from the mid-third millennium BC, early on they probably participated in trade with the great city states ofSumer, which needed cedar and hardwoods from the Amanus mountains.

In the villages of the Amq plain, at the foot of the Amanus, findings of Ubaid period painted pottery and then the burnished wares ofUruk bear witness to the fact that the timber trade was active even in those early days.

From at least 2500 BC onwards, the Hatti occupied the mountain city state of Hattusa (modern Boğazkale in Turkey), surrounded by arable land and pasture for sheep, as well as some woodland. The Hatti were probably also responsible for the states at Hassum,Kanesh,Purushanda (possibly), andZalwar, among others (the known rulers of Zalwar are shown in green below in order to distinguish them from the rulers of Hattusa).

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information fromWarfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History, William J Hamblin (Routledge, 2006), fromThe Horse The Wheel and Language: How Bronze Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World, David W Anthony, fromThe Kingdom of the Hittites, Trevor Bryce (1998), fromThe Hittites, O R Gurney (1991), fromThe Hittites, J G Macqueen (1996), and fromExternal Links: A Brief History of Hattusha/Boğazköy (from Archive.today), and Proclamation of Anittas (Hittite Online, Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas at Austin), and Anatolian Conference abstracts,Emory University, andLinguistics Research Center (University of Texas at Austin), andThe historical geography of north-central Anatolia in the Hittite period: texts and archaeology in concert, Roger Matthews & Claudia Glatz (Anatolian Studies Vol 59, 2009, pp 51-72, available via JSTOR).)

c.2700 BC

Trade routes in the Anatolia region are already well established with the cities ofSumer. Such trade seems to flow via the city state ofAlakhtum at this time, with its king building a stylish and expensive palace out of the income collected thanks to this trade. In Sumer such energetic trade may be the result of rebuilding work after the flood has affected cities such asKish.

The Hittite 'Old City' (which was probably based on the ruins of the Hatti city) comprised an area of almost one square kilometre, being protected by a massive fortification wall while on the high ridge of Büyükkale was the residence of the 'Great King', and the city lay on the slope below to the north-west, reaching towards the valley below

c.2500 BC

The Hatti establish a city state centred on Hattousha (Hattusa), one of many such small states in the region which are supported by farming and which produce a distinctive, highly-burnished pottery. NearbyKanesh is probably also a Hatti state.

TheHattian Early Period begins here but, already, around them are settling newly-arriving waves of Indo-Europeans of theSouth Indo-European group - generally agreed to have been the first to migrate out of the original Indo-European homeland to the north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. These are the Luwians, and they will eventually form two major regional states along the southern Anatolian coast,Arzawa andKizzuwatna (see feature link).

c.2334 - 2279 BC

The laterHittite 'King of Battle' epic relates how Sargon ofAkkad campaigns in the region on the invitation of merchants fromPurushanda to attack their city (possiblySemites who wanted to initiate trade between the two states).

This map attempts to illustrate in basic terms the separate paths taken by the Luwians, Hittites, and Pala during their westwards migration and their progress from proto-Anatolians to kingdom-builders (click or tap on map to view full sized)

He marches against the city and attempts to break down its walls, winning a relatively brief success. While Purushanda later becomes a coreHittite city, at this date it seems to be a significant and independent power of its own, and may not be a Hattian domain.

late 23rd cent BC

Pamba

King of the Hatti state based at Hattusa. Fought Naram-Sin.

Again according to later tradition (from the fifteenth century BC), a king ofAkkad campaigns in Anatolia, this time Naram-Sin. He marches against a coalition of seventeen kings, including Pamba of Hattusa and Zipani ofKanesh.

While unproven, the tradition demonstrates that Anatolian states are able to act in union, although no one state has achieved dominion over any others at this stage. One of their trading partners in northernMesopotamia, the city of Kunara of theLullabi, does indeed fall to Naram-Sin around this time.

c.2200 BC

Local art in Hatti (as well as atTroy), while still primitive, has already achieved a level of stylisation in the region which is independent ofSumerian influences, and metalwork is elaborately decorated, as discovered in the royal tombs of Alaca Höyük.

The green cubic stone at Hattusa was probably a gift to the later Hittite rulers of the city from the Egyptian pharaoh with whom they signed a peace treaty in 1258 BC

However, this point seems to mark the end of a period of success, as shown by a layer of destruction and the burning of the Hatti citadel (part of a decline which is seen across the entire region, including atTuba inSyria,Eridu andUruk inSumer, Troy, and in Egypt).

The culture which is illustrated by the tomb's objects does not continue into the next historical phase, that of Kütepe.

c.2000 BC

The Assyrians establish trading colonies at Hattusa andKanesh (Nesha or Nesa, its local name), which may well be within Hattian territorial boundaries. The localKütepe Period civilisation (2000-1700 BC) which is based at Kanesh is at its height between 1950-1800 BC, possibly due to the prosperity this very trade brings in. This is the start of theHattian Middle Period.

early 18th cent BC

The arrival of theHittites sees them invade Hatti territory and conquer the city of Kussara (presently unlocated). This they make the capital of their new kingdom, and they would seem to present a very real danger to the security of the native cities. They later conquer the city ofKanesh, the centre of theAssyrian trading colonies in Anatolia.

At the start of the second millennium BC, a series of small city states in Anatolia which had existed for perhaps a millennium now began to emerge from obscurity (click or tap on map to view full sized)

c.1772 - 1769 BC

Anum-Herwa / Anum-Hirbi

King of Zalwar. A vassal ofMari.

Anum-Herwa is a contemporary of Zimri-Lim ofMari, and he begins his career as that king's vassal. In years four and five of the latter's reign, Anum-Herwa is mentioned as being king ofZalwar (currently unlocated but possibly Koyuncu Höyük, near the marshes north of the Lake of Antioch).

In years seven and eight he appears as king of Hassum of which he has taken control. He now ranks as an important Anatolian king, and may still be alive at the time at which Anitta leads theHittites.

c.1769 - ? BC

Anum-Herwa / Anum-Hirbi

King of Hassum after capturing the city.

mid-18th cent BC

Piyusti

King of Hattusa. Defeated by theHittites.

mid-18th cent BC

Piyusti is defeated twice by theHittite king, Anitta, and then the capital at Hattusa is stormed, conquered, and destroyed. The cities ofZalpa,Salatiwara, andPurushanda are also defeated, the latter without even fighting.

Purushanda may occupy a position of pre-eminence in the region, and its surrender indicates the end of local resistance to Hittite rule. Anitta's kingdom collapses after his death, however, andKanesh is destroyed shortly afterwards by a king of Salatiwara.

The Hittites remain centred on Kussara for a further century and it is possible that the Hatti recover to some extent, but their city at Hattusa is not rebuilt.

Zalpa was probably located on the southern Black Sea coast, presumably within easy reach of its neighbouring cities of Kanesh, Kussara, Hattusa, Purushanda, and Zalwar, plus others

c.1650 BC

Under Hattusili, heir to the throne of Kassura, theHittites rapidly defeat their enemies in central Anatolia, re-taking Hattusa which becomes their capital. This point marks the definite end of Hattian civilisation as it is totally submerged by that of the Hittites, and the populace is integrated into Hittite society (although their artwork skills survive, and most of their gods too).

Hattians still form the majority of the population, as is often the case in conquered ancient states. This can be seen in later images which show long-nosed soldiers and populace, but leaders who look noticeably different.