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Who are the Hittites
The word ‘Hittite’ is used to describe two peoples in the OT. The first is the empire, then kingdom of the Hittites based in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), and the other are the Hittites who lived in the land of Canaan.
The Hittite Empire
This was founded around 1800 BC by Indo-Europeans people from the north-east who settled in Asia Minor from around 2000 BC. They amalgamated with the earlier inhabitants of the land called the ‘Hatti’, and took their name. The name became used to identify both the people and their land.
Much of Hittite history is not known, but the names and details of the reigns of some of the kings have been discovered in the Hittite archives. The first Hittite ruler to take the title of ‘Great King’ was Anittas. He was succeeded by his son Tudhaliyas I around 1720 BC. It has been suggested that he was the same as Tidal king of Goiim, one of the allies of Chedorlaomer (Gen 14:1).
About one hundred years later, a king called Labarnas expanded his control over some previously independent city-states. His name was used by later kings as a title meaning ‘emperor’. Around 1600 BC his son named Hattusilis I extended the empire to include areas of northern Syria.
Mursilis I
Hattusilis was succeeded by Mursilis I who reigned from around 1620 to 1590 BC. He established his capital city at Hattusa, which is near the modern town of Bogazkale, east of Ankara. Hattusa continued to be the Hittite capital city for the next 400 years. This is a significant archaeological site, where Hittite archives were discovered in 1906. These are an important source of Hittite history and literature. Murslils captured Aleppo around 1560 BC. His raid on Babylon led to the fall of the first Babylonian dynasty.
Telepinus
Telepinus reigned around 1480 BC. He remembered as a great Hittite legislator who wroe the Hittite constitution. The Hittite king was not an absolute monarch. His authority was limited by a council or assembly called the ‘pankus’. The king was the military, civil and religious leader. Succession normally passed to his son or son-in-law. The queen, known as the ‘tawanannas’ had a religious role. Her title was acquired following the death of the queen-mother, and lasted until her death. Women had a better social status among the Hittites than many neighbouring empires.
Hittite laws were more humane and those of Assyria or Babylonia. The law code has some similarities in detail and general arrangement with the law of Moses. The format of Hittite treaties was seen to be similar to that in the Book of Deuteronomy. Both have the concept of Levirate marriage. Neither include degrading mutilations as penalties, and conquered enemies are treated with clemency. Whenever possible, diplomacy through royal marriages was preferred to the use of military force. Treaties were given the greatest respect.
Tudhaliyas II
During his reign, Egypt, under Thutmose III, expanded to reach Carchemish and the land of the Hittites following their victory at Megiddo around 1468 BC.Tudhaliyas responded by sending Thutmose gifts.
Suppiluliumas I
Suppiluliumas reigned from around 1380 to 1350 BC. During his reign, the Hittite empire reached the peak of its power. During his reign the Hittites successfully smelted iron for the first time, introducing the iron age. He extended the empire over the northern parts of Mesopotamia to include the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni, and as far south as modern Lebanon, thus clashing with the northern expansion of the Egyptian empire. This fighting for continued for seventeen years until the indecisive battle of Kadesh on the Orontes around 1297 BC.
A non-aggression treaty was agreed in 1259 BC between Hattusilis III, the grandson of Suppiluliumas I, and Pharoah Rameses II recognised the River Orontes as the frontier between them. This is the earliest surviving peace treaty in history. The Hittite version of the treaty is kept in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, Turkey. A copy of the treaty is prominently displayed on a wall at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.
The Hittite empire collapsed around 1200 BC as a result of attacks from enemies in the west, particularly the ‘sea people’.
Hittite Kingdoms
After the Hittite empire fell, the land north of the Taurus mountains was inherited by 24 city-states. This is a mountain range in southern Turkey stretching for 1500 km (1000 miles), separating the Mediterranean coast from the central plateau of Anatolia. This inland area became the heartland of the Hittite kingdoms.
There were also seven Hittite city-states in the area of Syria, which had previously been part of the Hittite Empire. Their rulers were called ‘the kings of the Hittites’. These kingdoms continued for around 500 years. The most important of these seven city-states were Hamath on the River Orontes, and Carchemish on the River Euphrates. The others included Sam’al (modern Zenjirli), Aleppo and Arpad.
King Toi of Hamath made a treaty with David after he defeated Hadadezer of Syria (2 Sam 8:9-12), so David’s kingdom stretched as far north as Kadesh in the land of the Hittites (2 Sam 24:6).
Solomon exported Egyptian chariots and horses to the kings of the Hittites and Syrians, north of Israel (1 Kg 10:26-29). He appears to be acting a middle-man between Egypt and the Hittite kings, which would have been very profitable, 600 shekels for a chariot, and 150 shekels for a horse.
During the reign of king Jehoram of Israel, and the ministry of Elisha, around 850 BC, the Aramean army were afraid that Jehoram had hired the kings of the Hittites and of Egypt to fight against them (2 Kg 7:6). This would indicate that the Hittite kingdoms were still a significant force at this time.
As the Assyrian Empire expanded they took each of the seven Hittite city-states one by one. Hamath fell to the Assyrians in 720 BC, and Carchemish in 717 BC. Hamath and other cities which had been taken by the Assyrians were listed by the Rabshakeh outside Jerusalem (2 Kg 18:34, 19:13). Records from Assyria and Babylon regularly refer to the whole of Syria, including Canaan as ‘Hatti-land’.
The world-changing Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC led to Babylon becoming the dominant power in the Ancient Near East, with the final defeat of Assyria, and the extinction of the last remnants of the Hittites kingdom of Carchemish. Archaeologists found a funeral urn containing the charred remains of a royal ceremonial robe and the cremated remains of the last Hittite king of Carchemish. The ornaments on the robe were figures of the ancient Hittite gods. These are now displayed in the British Museum. The robe had certainly been the royal robe of previous Hittite kings and was probably already several hundred years old. It was stuffed into the funeral urn while the remains of the king were still hot causing the ornaments to become distorted or melted. The king had almost certainly been killed in battle and then hastily cremated, and his bones placed in the urn. Then to stop the robe from falling into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, it was also stuffed into the funeral urn.
Hittite treaties
The Hittites controlled the small but important city-states in Syria with a combination of military force and good diplomacy. They created a network of vassal states bound by the Hittite suzerain treaties, a kind of benevolent feudalism. Each vassal king was given a free hand in matters of internal rule and the guaranteed protection of his dynasty against usurpers. He in turn gave up the right to have an independent foreign policy and pledged an annual amount of tribute to the Hittite capital.
The stipulations section of the treaty included:
a) No foreign alliances outside of Hittite orbit
b) No hostility against another vassal of the Hittites
c) Obligation to answer any call to arms issued by the Hittite Suzerain
d) Obligation to suppress any vicious rumours about the Hittite crown or secret plots to rebel
e) Prohibition against granting asylum to refugees from Hittite lands
f) Obligation to extradite all fugitives to the Hittites
g) Obligation to appear personally at least once a year at Hittite court with tribute.
Hittite language
The language of the Hittite Kingdoms in northern Syria used hieroglyphics, which have been successfully deciphered from bilingual inscriptions in Hittite and Phoenician from Karatepe in Cilicia. The language is different from the language of the earlier Hittite Empire, which was written in cuneiform script on clay tablets.
Hittite religion
The Hittite empire is often referred to as ‘The kingdom of a thousand gods’. Their religion was polytheistic and was highly syncretic, incorporating gods from conquered lands, and neighbouring cultures to create an enormous pantheon.
Hittites in Canaan
There is a debate among historians over the relationship between the Hittites living in Canaan and the Hittite Empire. Some historians suggest that these were migrants from the Hittite Empire, as their Empire never extended so far south. Others say that these Hittites had no connection at all with the Empire. The names of the two groups are similar, but not identical. It has been suggested that the Canaanite Hittites were actually a different peoples known as the Hurrians, who were present in Canaan during the patriarchal period.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Hittites are often called ‘the children of Heth’ (eg. Gen 23:3), the second son of Canaan (Gen 15:15), who was the ancestor of the Hittites and other Canaanites. The Hittites are one of the seven or so peoples who occupied the land before Joshua and the Israelites entered the Promised Land (Gen15:20, Deut 7:1).
The Patriarchs
In the time of the patriarchs, Hittites were living in the central area of Judah around Hebron. The twelve spies reported that Hittites and other peoples lived in the hill country (Num 13:29). Jerusalem had a mixed ancestry, of both Amorites and Hittites (Ezek 16:3).
When Abraham entered the land of Canaan, he lived among the Hittites as a stranger and sojourner (Gen 23:4). He bought the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite as a place to bury his wife Sarah (Gen 23:1-20). This became the burial site of the all the patriarchs, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and his wives (Gen 49:29-33). Esau caused grief to Isaac and Rebekah, when he married two wives, Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite (Gen 26:34-35, 36:2).
God promised to give the Hittites into the hands of Israel but because of Israel forsaking the Lord they and others were left in the land (Judges 3:5).
David
Hittites had significant influence during time of the united monarchy. The angel of the LORD appeared to David, after he conducted a census, at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam 24:16-25). The name ‘Araunah’ has been thought to be a Hittite name. David had Ahimelech the Hittite in his band of outlaws (1 Sam 26:6).
Probably the most well-known Hittite was Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:3), who David arranged to be killed in battle, after he had committed adultery with his wife, Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:17). He was one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam 23:39), and a loyal supporter of David.
Solomon
Solomon used the Hittites together with other groups for forced labour, serving as soldiers, officials, and commanders of chariots and cavalry (1 Kg 9:20-22, 2 Chr 8:7). Solomon married many foreign women, including Hittite wives, which led him astray from being faithful to God (1 Kg 11:1). These are the final references to the Hittites in Canaan. It seems that they merged into the general population from this point in history.
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