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This is why the great Hittite empire collapsed. Scientists have finally discovered the reason

Article bay
4 min readMar 10, 2023

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The Hittite Empire was a powerful state that based its strength on an extremely strong and well-armed army. It collapsed around 1200 BC, and until now it was thought to have happened under the onslaught of the Sea Peoples. New research has shown that the cause may have been quite different.

Hittite sphinx — [Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

The Hittites were an ancient Indo-European people who inhabited the territory of Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, since 2000 BC. The Hittite tribes probably arrived there from their indigenous areas, that is, from regions north of the Caucasus. Archaeological excavations have shown that the nomads who reached the historic land of Hatti displaced the people living there. Acculturation then occurred, and the Hittites, who called themselves Nesites, assimilated the beliefs and language of the Hatti peoples.

The Hittites created one of the largest empires in ancient times

The Hittites in Anatolia began to create small autonomous city-states. One of them was Kussara. This small town was governed by Prince Anitta, who had a large army of more than 1,200 warriors and 40 chariots. Ancient historical records show that the ruler was the first to attempt to subjugate all Hittite cities. He succeeded in gaining influence…

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