Description
Book Synopsis The Hittites, one of the most powerful peoples of the ancient Near East, successfully challenged all other nations, including almighty Egypt, from their Anatolian stronghold. Then, their empire collapsed, was consigned to oblivion, and lay forgotten. Three thousand years later, a motley group of scholars, archaeologists, and adventurers rediscovered the Hittites in an enterprise spanning a century and weaving through the worlds of German kaisers, Turkish sultans, and even the Nazis.
This is the history of the rediscovery of the Hittites, a story packed with intrigue and played out against a compelling historical backdrop. It involves colorful characters like an explorer fluent in 29 languages and an archaeologist who slept in royal tombs, along with Victorian historians, cuneiform experts, code-crackers, and grave robbers. These unlikely sleuths uncovered the very roots of the Hittite Empire.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1. The Beginning
- 2. Hittites and Where to Find Them
- 3. Anatolia
- 4. Writing Letters
- 5. Hattusa
- 6. Eat Bread, Drink Wine
- 7. The Hittites Start to Tell Their Story
- 8. Troy
- 9. Between the Two Wars
- 10. From Plague to Family Dramas
- 11. Luwian
- 12. The Late Bronze Age Collapse
- Epilogue
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
