Hittites and Hittite Religion
Hittites/Hittite Religion
The Hittites were an ancient people who had an extreme influential role on the Ancient Near East. The Hittites were said to have an Indo-European origin and came into Asia Minor before or around 2000 B.C.E. During this period, they went on to become one of the greatest powers of the Ancient Near East. The Hittites first occupied central Anatolia and made their capital at Hattusa. The name Hittite is itself derived from the indigenous hatti, which is used as the geographical term for the land they originally inhabited, Anatolia. The geography of this area included many major cities like Kizzuwatna in the southeast, Pala in the northwest, and Luwiya in the west. Although the origins of the Hittites are not known, it is clear that they spoke in the Indo-European language. Before Hittite texts were found, researchers relied on Egyptian and Biblical sources to gain knowledge of Hittite information, however, these sources suffered from being written by enemies of the Hittites. Researchers gained a great deal of information when Hittite texts were discovered at Bokaskoy (the modern location of Hattusa) in 1906.
The Hittite government was dominated by the king who was also the supreme priest, military commander and chief judge, yet it has also been suggested that an Indo-European trait can be discerned in his kingship, which originally was less absolutist then other kingdoms in the Ancient Near East. Nevertheless the kings were said to have "become gods" when they died. There was also a relationship visible between the Hittite queen and the sun goddess of Arinna. To a certain degree, the Hittite king and queen were assimilated with the gods, whom they appear to have represented on earth and with whom they were identified after death. During this time, the Hittites "formed what was essentially a federatively organized state which during the New Kingdom or Empire was second only to Egypt in the Ancient Near East."1
There are two
The Hittites were an ancient people who had an extreme influential role on the Ancient Near East. The Hittites were said to have an Indo-European origin and came into Asia Minor before or around 2000 B.C.E. During this period, they went on to become one of the greatest powers of the Ancient Near East. The Hittites first occupied central Anatolia and made their capital at Hattusa. The name Hittite is itself derived from the indigenous hatti, which is used as the geographical term for the land they originally inhabited, Anatolia. The geography of this area included many major cities like Kizzuwatna in the southeast, Pala in the northwest, and Luwiya in the west. Although the origins of the Hittites are not known, it is clear that they spoke in the Indo-European language. Before Hittite texts were found, researchers relied on Egyptian and Biblical sources to gain knowledge of Hittite information, however, these sources suffered from being written by enemies of the Hittites. Researchers gained a great deal of information when Hittite texts were discovered at Bokaskoy (the modern location of Hattusa) in 1906.
The Hittite government was dominated by the king who was also the supreme priest, military commander and chief judge, yet it has also been suggested that an Indo-European trait can be discerned in his kingship, which originally was less absolutist then other kingdoms in the Ancient Near East. Nevertheless the kings were said to have "become gods" when they died. There was also a relationship visible between the Hittite queen and the sun goddess of Arinna. To a certain degree, the Hittite king and queen were assimilated with the gods, whom they appear to have represented on earth and with whom they were identified after death. During this time, the Hittites "formed what was essentially a federatively organized state which during the New Kingdom or Empire was second only to Egypt in the Ancient Near East."1
There are two
Bibliography: Freedman, David N. "Hittite History." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 3. New York: Doubleday, 1992. 219-224. Freedman, David N. "Hittite Religion." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 3. New York: Doubleday, 1992. 225-227. "Hittites." Encyclopaedia of the Orient. 2007. LexicOrient. "The Hittites." History World. 2006. World History Project. "Hittites." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 6 November 2007. Wikimedia Foundatio, Inc.