HATTI
(KANESH / NESA)
The
Hatti were quite possibly an aboriginal people in central Anatolia,
and were therefore related to the Neolithic farmers who had branched
out into Old Europe to found the Sesklo culture of the seventh millennium
BC. The Hatti (Hattians or Hattis) occupied the region inside the
arc of the River Kizil Irmak in modern Turkey. The first settlements
in this region date from the Chalcolithic period of the sixth millennium
BC, when small, widely scattered hamlets appeared most particularly
on mountain slopes and rocky outcroppings. Early in the third millennium
BC, towards the end of the Early Bronze Age, a Hattian settlement
developed, marking the beginning of continuous occupation at the
site of Hattusa. These people spoke a non- Indo-European language
called Hattic which was probably related to the Circassian language
group. Their eastern neighbours probably spoke a very similar tongue,
those neighbours being the Khaldi (Chalybes or Chaldoi, whose easternmost
groups were later part of Urartu and some of whom may also have
formed the Halizones).
The
Hatti didn't have a written language of their own, but their scribes
probably used cuneiform script for trade dealings, especially after
the Assyrians set up trading posts in the region. Apparently possessing
a series of city states and small kingdoms from the mid-third millennium
BC, early on they probably participated in trade with the great
city states of Sumer, which needed cedar and hardwoods from the
Amanus mountains. In the villages of the Amq plain, at the foot
of the Amanus, findings of Ubaid Period painted pottery and then
the burnished wares of Uruk bear witness to the fact that the timber
trade was active even in those early days.
From
at least 2500 BC onwards, the Hatti occupied the mountain city state
of Hattusa (modern Bogazkale in Turkey), surrounded by arable land
and pasture for sheep, as well as some woodland. The Hatti were
probably also responsible for the states at Hassum, Kanesh, Purushanda
(possibly), and Zalwar, among others. While at their height, they
witnessed Luwians settling to their south after around 2300 BC,
to emerge in the states of Arzawa and Kizzuwatna. In the eighteenth
century BC, their homeland was invaded by the Hittites, and within
a century or so they had been conquered and replaced. However, their
region of Anatolia was still known as the 'Land of the Hatti' until
630 BC, as described by the Assyrians. It is likely that the victorious
Hittites replaced the Hatti as a new ruling elite and its associated
servicers, while the native Hatti found themselves pushed down towards
the lower rungs of society. Their descendants are still there, part
of the blending that makes up modern Turks.
Kanesh
(or more correctly, Kaneš) was located at the modern site of
Kültepe, about twenty kilometres north-east of the town of
Kayseri. It was generally known by the name of Nesha or Nesa in
local records, but the Assyrians called it Kanesh and this is how
it is generally known. In Kanesh's heyday, an area was set aside
in the city specifically for the use of Assyrian merchants who were
exempt from being taxed. Situated at the foot of Mount Erciyes (the
ancient Argeus) and on a fertile plain, Kültepe occupies a
position at the convergence of historic and natural routes, leading
from Sivas to the north-east and Malatya to the south-east. When
the city was burned, the Assyrians had to abandon their property
just as everyone else did, leaving it to be found by archaeologists.
With
a vast repertoire of tens of thousands of archaeological and textual
finds unearthed in ongoing excavations since 1948, Kültepe
has turned out to be a site of utmost importance both for Anatolian
and world archaeology. The private archives of the Karum residents
yielded 23,500 clay tablets and envelopes by 2018. These are the
earliest written documents to illustrate ancient Anatolian history.
Life, society, and economy at this site, and even the family affairs
and personal relationships of its inhabitants, were recorded on
clay tablets in the Old Assyrian dialect of the Akkadian language
using cuneiform script, the knowledge of which was brought into
Anatolia by the Assyrian merchants.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the
Dawn of History, William J Hamblin (Routledge, 2006), from The Horse
The Wheel and Language: How Bronze Age Riders from the Eurasian
Steppes Shaped the Modern World, David W Anthony, from The Kingdom
of the Hittites, Trevor Bryce (1998), from The Hittites, O R Gurney
(1991), from The Hittites, J G Macqueen (1996), and from External
Links: A Brief History of Hattusha/Bogazköy (from Archive.today),
and Proclamation of Anittas (Hittite Online, Linguistics Research
Center, University of Texas at Austin), and Anatolian Conference
abstracts, Emory University, and Linguistics Research Center (University
of Texas at Austin), and The historical geography of north-central
Anatolia in the Hittite period: texts and archaeology in concert,
Roger Matthews & Claudia Glatz (Anatolian Studies Vol 59, 2009,
pp 51-72, available via JSTOR), and Archaeological Site of Kültepe-Kanesh
(Unesco), and A Scenario: Fugitives from Kanesh and the origins
of the Old Hittite Kingdom (Academia.edu).)
c.2700
BC :
Trade
routes in the Anatolia region are already well established with
the cities of Sumer. Such trade seems to flow via the city state
of Alakhtum at this time, with its king building a stylish and expensive
palace out of the income collected thanks to this trade. In Sumer
such energetic trade may be the result of rebuilding work after
the flood has affected cities such as Kish.
![](Prehistory_Kultepe01_full.jpg)
The
archaeological site of Kültepe ('Ash Hill' in Turkish) was
first occupied in the Chalcolithic period (the Copper Age) but perhaps
reached the height of its development between the twenty-first to
eighteenth centuries BC
c.2500
BC :
The
Hatti establish a city state centred on Hattousha (Hattusa), one
of many such small states in the region which are supported by farming
and which produce a distinctive, highly-burnished pottery. Nearby
Kanesh is probably also a Hatti state. The Hattian Early Period
begins here with levels IV and then III of the city, although the
lack of textual evidence suggests the inhabitants are illiterate.
Already, around them are settling newly-arriving waves of Indo-Europeans
of the South Indo-European group - generally agreed to have been
the first to migrate out of the original Indo-European homeland
to the north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. These are the Luwians,
and they will eventually form two major regional states along the
southern Anatolian coast, Arzawa and Kizzuwatna.
late
23rd cent BC :
Zipani
: Contemporary
with Pamba of Hattusa. Fought Naram-Sin.
Again
according to later tradition (from the fifteenth century BC), a
king of Akkad campaigns in Anatolia, this time Naram-Sin (after
Sargon had done the same a centry before). He marches against a
coalition of seventeen kings, including Pamba of Hattusa and Zipani
of Kanesh. While unproven, the tradition demonstrates that Anatolian
states are able to act in union, although no one state has achieved
dominion over any others at this stage.
c.2000 BC :
The
Assyrians establish a trading colony at Kanesh, which may well be
within Hattian territorial boundaries, as well as another in Hattusa
itself, the Hatti capital. Findings of royal seals with the name
of Ibbi-Sin of Ur also suggests that there may be a Sumerian presence
here from at least 2025 BC. The local Kütepe period civilisation
(2000-1700 BC) which is based at Kanesh is at its height between
1950-1800 BC. This is the start of the Hattian Middle Period.
![](Hittite_Tablet02_full.jpg)
The
Kültepe tablets were written by Assyrian traders who were based
at Kanesh between 1920-1740 BC, recording business transactions
in the Old Assyrian dialect of Akkadian
fl
c.1845? BC :
Hurmelifl
c.1840?
BC :
Harpatiwa
: Perhaps
partial joint ruler and successor to Hurmeli.
c.1835
BC :
Kanesh
is attacked (Level II), as there are clear archaeological signs
that the city is burned to the ground at this time. The attack is
attributed by some to Uhna of Zalpa, this then being the point at
which he carries off the idol of the city's god, Sius. The city
is abandoned for around thirty years until about 1800 BC and then
a new city is built over the ruins (Level Ib). The new city prospers
and trades with Shamshi-Adad's kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia.
early
18th cent BC :
The
arrival of the Hittites sees them invade Hatti territory and conquer
the city of Kussara (presently unlocated, but possibly to the south-east
of Kanesh). This they make the capital of their new kingdom.
Inar
: King
of Kanesh.
fl
c.1770 BC :
Warsama
: Son.
King of Kanesh. Defeated by the Hittites?
early
18th cent BC :
The
Hittites conquer Kanesh, the centre of the Assyrian trading colonies
in Anatolia, under leadership of Pithana. The city is destroyed
by fire and Assyrian trading is ended, but it seems the majority
of the population is unharmed by the invaders. The city is re-inhabited
and rebuilt to a modest degree, but by Hittites, not Hattians (Level
Ia). The early Hittites refer to themselves as Neshites after this
city ('Hittite' is an error made by the other ancient empires when
they fail to differentiate between the early Hatti and their conquerors).
![](Prehistory_Kultepe02_full.jpg)
Only
a small proportion of the ruins of the ancient city of Kanesh had
been uncovered by 2018, with potentially much more to be discovered
late
18th cent BC :
Kanesh is probably destroyed by a king of Salatiwara, perhaps at
the end of the reign of the last of the pre-Old Hittite empire kings.
This point represents the definitive end of the Assyrian trading
colonies. Kanesh fades completely as the Hittites withdraw to Kussara
for the next century or so.
1000
BC :
While
it has been rebuilt under Hittite control, Kanesh has failed to
achieve any level of greatness after the loss of the Assyrian trading
post. Following the fall of the Hittites, Kanesh becomes one of
the foremost cities of the kingdom of Tabal. The decorated palaces
which are built here are later destroyed during the Hellenistic
and Roman periods when Kanesh is within the kingdom of Cappadocia.
Trade
routes in the Anatolia region are already well established with
the cities of Sumer. Such trade seems to flow via the city state
of Alakhtum at this time, with its king building a stylish and expensive
palace out of the income collected thanks to this trade. In Sumer
such energetic trade may be the result of rebuilding work after
the flood has affected cities such as Kish.
![](Prehistory_Kultepe01_full.jpg)
The
archaeological site of Kültepe ('Ash Hill' in Turkish) was
first occupied in the Chalcolithic period (the Copper Age) but perhaps
reached the height of its development between the twenty-first to
eighteenth centuries BC
c.2500
BC :
The
Hatti establish a city state centred on Hattousha (Hattusa), one
of many such small states in the region which are supported by farming
and which produce a distinctive, highly-burnished pottery. Nearby
Kanesh is probably also a Hatti state. The Hattian Early Period
begins here with levels IV and then III of the city, although the
lack of textual evidence suggests the inhabitants are illiterate.
Already, around them are settling newly-arriving waves of Indo-Europeans
of the South Indo-European group - generally agreed to have been
the first to migrate out of the original Indo-European homeland
to the north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. These are the Luwians,
and they will eventually form two major regional states along the
southern Anatolian coast, Arzawa and Kizzuwatna.
Zipani
: Contemporary
with Pamba of Hattusa. Fought Naram-Sin.late 23rd cent BC
Again
according to later tradition (from the fifteenth century BC), a
king of Akkad campaigns in Anatolia, this time Naram-Sin (after
Sargon had done the same a centry before). He marches against a
coalition of seventeen kings, including Pamba of Hattusa and Zipani
of Kanesh. While unproven, the tradition demonstrates that Anatolian
states are able to act in union, although no one state has achieved
dominion over any others at this stage.
c.2000 BC :
The
Assyrians establish a trading colony at Kanesh, which may well be
within Hattian territorial boundaries, as well as another in Hattusa
itself, the Hatti capital. Findings of royal seals with the name
of Ibbi-Sin of Ur also suggests that there may be a Sumerian presence
here from at least 2025 BC. The local Kütepe period civilisation
(2000-1700 BC) which is based at Kanesh is at its height between
1950-1800 BC. This is the start of the Hattian Middle Period.
![](Hittite_Tablet02_full.jpg)
The
Kültepe tablets were written by Assyrian traders who were based
at Kanesh between 1920-1740 BC, recording business transactions
in the Old Assyrian dialect of Akkadian
fl
c.1845? BC :
Hurmelifl
c.1840?
BC :
Harpatiwa
: Perhaps
partial joint ruler and successor to Hurmeli.
c.1835
BC :
Kanesh
is attacked (Level II), as there are clear archaeological signs
that the city is burned to the ground at this time. The attack is
attributed by some to Uhna of Zalpa, this then being the point at
which he carries off the idol of the city's god, Sius. The city
is abandoned for around thirty years until about 1800 BC and then
a new city is built over the ruins (Level Ib). The new city prospers
and trades with Shamshi-Adad's kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia.
early
18th cent BC :
The
arrival of the Hittites sees them invade Hatti territory and conquer
the city of Kussara (presently unlocated, but possibly to the south-east
of Kanesh). This they make the capital of their new kingdom.
Inar
: King
of Kanesh.
fl
c.1770 BC :
Warsama
: Son.
King of Kanesh. Defeated by the Hittites?
early
18th cent BC :
The
Hittites conquer Kanesh, the centre of the Assyrian trading colonies
in Anatolia, under leadership of Pithana. The city is destroyed
by fire and Assyrian trading is ended, but it seems the majority
of the population is unharmed by the invaders. The city is re-inhabited
and rebuilt to a modest degree, but by Hittites, not Hattians (Level
Ia). The early Hittites refer to themselves as Neshites after this
city ('Hittite' is an error made by the other ancient empires when
they fail to differentiate between the early Hatti and their conquerors).
![](Prehistory_Kultepe02_full.jpg)
Only
a small proportion of the ruins of the ancient city of Kanesh had
been uncovered by 2018, with potentially much more to be discovered
late
18th cent BC :
Kanesh is probably destroyed by a king of Salatiwara, perhaps at
the end of the reign of the last of the pre-Old Hittite empire kings.
This point represents the definitive end of the Assyrian trading
colonies. Kanesh fades completely as the Hittites withdraw to Kussara
for the next century or so.
1000
BC :
While
it has been rebuilt under Hittite control, Kanesh has failed to
achieve any level of greatness after the loss of the Assyrian trading
post. Following the fall of the Hittites, Kanesh becomes one of
the foremost cities of the kingdom of Tabal. The decorated palaces
which are built here are later destroyed during the Hellenistic
and Roman periods when Kanesh is within the kingdom of Cappadocia.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/
AnatoliaHattiKanesh.htm