La civiltà degli Ittiti XVII-XII secolo a.C.

In the 2nd millennium BCE, the Hittite kingdom of Hatti dominated the lands that now correspond to Turkey and parts of Syria. This polity interacted closely with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and the Mycenaean potentates. Over a century’s worth of excavations and archaeological activity has led to the discovery of numerous tablets covered by cuneiform characters in the Hittite (Indo-European) language, as well as in the internationally used Akkadian, and in Hurric and Sumerian. These tablets have provided much information on the political history of Hatti, its international relations (such as the war and the subsequent peace with Egypt), its religion, and its mythology. The archaeological evidence also highlights the urban layout and the monuments of the capital and other urban sites, as well as the civilisation’s material culture and art production.