Though people had been living in Anatolia for several millennia, little is known of its history until Assyrian traders settled on the central plateau about 1900 BC. Aryan influence can be seen in the name of the ruling city Purushhattum, which is very close to the Sanskrit word meaning "highest person." In an ancient document Anittas described how a king of Kussara took the city of Nesa at night by force but did not harm anyone. He followed his father in putting down revolts and reclaimed a statue of the god Siu that had been taken from Nesa to Zalpuwa. Anittas took Hattusas by force, fortified Nesa, and campaigned against Salatiwara. Purushanda sent him gifts, and he made one of their men his advisor.

About 1700 BC King Hattusilis I moved the capital from Kussara to Hattusas and fought several wars to expand his kingdom and gain much silver. He first took control of the north to the Black Sea and then raided Alalakh in north Syria and Arzawa in the west; but then Hurrians attacked from the east, and only his capital at Hattusas remained loyal. Praying to a sun goddess, Hattusilis went out to battle again in north Syria, destroying Ulma, Zaruna, and Hassuwa, which was aided by troops from Aleppo. After three battles he took Hahhum and claimed that he freed their slaves and gave them to his sun goddess Arinna along with silver in carts pulled back to Hattusas by the captured kings of Hassuwa and Hahhum. Discovering a plot by the heir apparent, his nephew and the latter's mother (his sister) whom he called a snake, Hattusilis did not kill them but designated his grandson Mursilis as successor, counseling him to consult the assembly (panku).

Mursilis continued the war policies, destroying Aleppo, capturing Babylon about 1650 BC, and fighting the Hurrians; but Mursilis left Babylon and was assassinated by his brother-in-law Hantilis. Zidantas, who had plotted with Hantilis, later murdered Hantilis' sons and grandsons; but when Zidantas became king, his own son Ammuna murdered him. Amidst this violence the land became hostile, and the soldiers were often defeated. When Ammuna "became a god" (died), Zuru, the commander of the body-guard, murdered the Tittiya family and had Hantilis and his remaining sons murdered.

Huzziyas then became king, and Telepinus, the author of this murderous history, married his sister, staved off murder attempts without killing in return, and became king. Although the assembly sentenced Huzziyas and his brothers to death, Telepinus asked, "Why should they die?" Instead he took their weapons and put them to the yoke as peasants. Telepinus told the assembly no one should do evil to a royal son, and they established rules for succession and trials for murder. A royal son could be executed if guilty of murder, but no harm was to be done to his family; henceforth evils were to be dealt with by the assembly. Telepinus began his reign by destroying Hassuwa and then battled hostile lands, reconquering lost territory, establishing secure frontiers, and making a treaty with the Hurrians in Kizzuwadna (Cilicia).

During the fifteenth century BC the Hittite law code was developed while the Mitannian kingdom spread into north Syria. About the time Egypt's Thutmose III invaded Mitanni, the Hittites regained control of Kizzuwadna and began sending tribute to Egypt, including people from Kurushtama. When Mitanni and Egypt became allied by the marriage of a Mitannian princess to Thutmose IV, the Hittites were attacked from Gaska in the northeast, Arzawa in the west, and they lost control of Kizzuwadna in the south. While his father Tudhaliya III was still king, Suppiluliumas regained some of the eastern lands and eventually the lost capital at Hattusas, which he fortified about the time he became king in 1380 BC.

In a letter to Amenhotep III the Mitannian king Tushratta claimed he crushed an invading Hittite army. However, Suppiluliumas used diplomacy in getting the king of Kizzuwadna back under Hittite influence, made an agreement with Tushratta's Hurrian rival Artatama, and congratulated Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) on his accession to the throne of Egypt. Then Suppiluliumas invaded Mitannian areas of north Syria, establishing his son in Kumanni and making Aleppo a vassal. This stimulated Amorite revolts against Egyptian hegemony by Abdi-ashirta and after his death by his son Aziru, who was called to Egypt; but after returning, Aziru made a treaty with Ugarit and joined the Hittite camp.

Provoked by Mitannian attacks, Suppiluliumas also made a treaty with Ugarit and invaded the Mitannian capital at Wassukkanni; Tushratta fled and was murdered by a plot involving his son Kurtiwaza. Suppiluliumas then ravaged north Syria as far as Apina (Damascus), which was under Egyptian influence then. Suppiluliumas established feudal states, taking some reigning families to his Hittite land, returning them to Syria later. After a siege the city of Carchemish was taken, and his son was installed there as King Shar-Kushuk; Telepinus, another son, was made king of Aleppo. When Tutankhamen died in Egypt, his widow wrote to Suppiluliumas asking to marry one of his sons; but after some questioning and delay, the son that was sent was murdered.

Shar-Kushuk marched with the Mitannian prince Kurtiwaza, and overcoming Mitannian and Assyrian resistance, they established the latter as a vassal king in Wassukkanni. Much of the reign of Suppiluliumas was spent in fighting in the north and west as well. Hittite soldiers returning from an attack on Egypt brought a plague, which killed Suppiluliumas and probably his son Arnuwandas II, who ruled for only one year. Mursilis II became occupied in responding to revolts in Arzawa described in the "Ten Year Annals of Mursilis II." In the north Mursilis II recorded campaigns in ten of his 26 years as king, and the capital was moved south to Tarhuntassa. When Shar-Kushuk died of illness, Carchemish was captured; but eventually his son was made king there.

Muwatallis became king of the Hittites about 1320 BC and made his son Hattusilis commander of the armies and governor of the Upper Land. About 1300 BC a major military confrontation occurred at Kadesh between the empire of Egypt led by Ramses II and the Hittites. Both sides claimed victory, but the result was a stand-off, which was ratified in a treaty sixteen years later between Ramses II and Hattusilis III, who had replaced Urhi-Teshub after seven years of internal strife. Hattusilis III mocked Assyrian king Adad-Nirari I for calling himself Great King and his brother.

Tudhaliyas IV came to the Hittite throne about 1265 BC and claimed that he was king of the world, but he occupied himself mostly with reforming religious festivals. Probably fearful of Assyria, in a treaty with Amurru he prohibited them from trading with Assur. In this treaty Egypt, Assur, Kar-Duniash, and Ahhiyawa are named, though the last name has been erased. This latter power from the west may be related to Troy, Cyprus, or Achaeans. Struggles with the Ahhiyawa continued in the reign of Arnuwandas, while Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria deported Hittites across the Euphrates to Assyria. Hittite power declined, and about 1200 BC the mysterious Sea Peoples invaded and destroyed the Hittite empire.

Primarily an agricultural and pastoral people in spite of all their military adventures, the Hittites developed detailed laws that described hypothetical cases probably based on precedents from the courts of the king's officers. Involved cases were referred to the king, who headed the administration of justice as well as the military and religion. Violation of an officer's decision could mean death; if it was a royal decree, punishment could affect the whole household. Rape, adultery by the wife, and sodomy with animals were also capital crimes. Only slaves were mutilated. For other offenses including assault, witchcraft, and even homicide, traditional retribution was replaced by fines and reparation to the victims, though a slave could be executed for sorcery. In regard to murder the Edict of Telepinus stated that the "lord of blood" might command death; but he could also demand restitution; the king had nothing to do with it. Restitution in such cases usually involved giving people as slaves.

In marriage and family the usual patriarchy was the rule, but the woman could have some independent power as indicated by the Hittite custom that the queen retained her position after her husband's death while her son usually became king, and in some diplomatic letters she is addressed independently of the king. Laws were strict against incest with a mother or daughter and even among in-laws except after a death, but a brother could marry a sister. Land tenure was based on the feudal system.

In religion as the Babylonians had accepted most of the Sumerian deities, the Hittites garnered both of these mostly by way of the Hurrians, who gave them the weather-god Teshub to add to their own sun goddess Arinna, who could also be a supreme God. Mursilis II thanked the sun goddess for helping him to destroy his enemies, and Hattusilis III justified his taking of the throne from Urhi-Teshub to the omniscient Ishtar, explaining that he was provoked and how Ishtar told his wife in a dream that he would be king. Long festivals were celebrated every spring and autumn, and it was important for the king to be present. As usual in ancient cultures divination and magic were common.

A favorite Hittite story told how the god Telepinu got angry because of the evil in the world and stalked off with his sandals on the wrong feet, causing the earth to dry up, plant life to wither, animals to become barren, and humans to die of hunger. Seeing the desolation, the sun god called together the gods to search for Telepinu but in vain. The queen of heaven suggested they send a bee to find Telepinu. The other gods laughed, but the bee, nearly exhausted, finally found Telepinu asleep. When the bee stung him and woke him up, Telepinu was even more angry and began to destroy everything he saw. The bee returned and asked for an eagle to carry Telepinu back while the queen arranged for a magic spell to drive out Telepinu's evil spirit. Kamrusepa, the goddess of magic, soothed Telepinu's mind with cream, sweetened his disposition with honey, cleansed his body with oil, and eased his soul with ointment to put him in harmony with people, gods, and the world. Telepinu's anger left him, and the earth came to life again. People cleaned their homes and prepared for the new year, as they hung the fleece of a lamb on a pole in the court of the temple. This archetypal story of the annual renewal of spring also shows how loving care can heal the spell of anger.

Another story has Anu overthrowing the king of heaven Alalu after serving him for nine years. After Anu was king for nine years Kumarbi fought with him and bit his genitals, swallowing some seed. Kumarbi boasted that he had destroyed the manhood of Anu, but the latter predicted that Kumarbi would give birth to three monsters. The god Ea helped deliver one from his side and a second from his loins, who as god of the wind helped Anu to defeat Kumarbi in battle. Kumarbi turned to the Lord of the Sea for help, and a child of black stone was born and placed on Kumarbi's knee. Then the goddesses took the child and placed it on the right shoulder of the giant Upelluri in the depth of the sea; but the child, Ullikummi, grew quickly to the water's surface and then to the floor of heaven.

Ishtar tried to seduce him, but he was deaf and blind. The storm god ordered the seventy gods to battle him, but they failed also. Then Tasmisu went to consult with Ea, who took them to Enlil, who had previously held him on his lap and could not oppose him. So Ea went to Upelluri, who did not know anything about the problem nor about the earth being separated from heaven by a magic knife. With this clue Ea returned to the old gods, who had been present at the creation of the world to recite the ancient mystic verses. This time with the magic knife Ea was able to cut off the giant's feet and cut up his body. Thus Kumarbi never did rule over the gods. This story affirmed the ancient gods and allowed the king to rule for more than nine years.

Another story of cosmic combat has a dragon named Illuyankas defeating the storm god. In revenge he invites the dragon to a banquet prepared by Inaras, who goes to the city to get help from Hupasiyas. He tells her that if she has sexual intercourse with him, he will have the strength needed. She agrees, and after the banquet Hupasiyas ties up the dragon with a rope when he is too large to get into the opening of his cave; then the storm god is able to kill him. Inaras realizes that if Hupasiyas goes home to his wife, she and her children will gain the supernatural power, which could not be allowed. So she builds a house on a lonely cliff and takes Hupasiyas there, forbidding him to look out the window lest he see his wife and children. However, after twenty days he looks out and sees them. He begs to be allowed to go home, and her only solution is to kill him by burning the house down. This story describes the power sexual union was believed to have as well as a reluctance to share divine power with lowly humans.

In a later version the dragon plucks the heart and eyes out of the storm god, and he goes to earth to marry a humble woman, who bears him a son. When the son falls in love with the daughter of the dragon, he tells his son to ask her father for the heart and eyes of the storm god as the marriage gift. Thus the storm gets his heart and eyes back and is fighting more successfully with the dragon when his son sees what has happened. Realizing that he has betrayed his father-in-law and host, he calls to the storm god that he is with the dragon. So the storm god kills both Illuyankas and his own son. This story reflects the custom of respecting one's host even to the point of self-sacrifice.

THE END

Thx indeed senhor.

ALLAH PE AMAN

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Farangi teyra chehra do rangi,,,A'ankhein roshan dil zangi.