 Despite the fact that the Hittite played a significant role in the ancient Orient, their presence in history only became widely known about a hundred years ago in the beginning of the 20th century.
Approximately four thousand years ago, at the beginning of 2000 B.C., there was a period of disintegration of principalities among the city-states within Anatolia ( Asia Minor ). It was during this period that the Assyrian merchants from northern Mesopotamia were vigorously trading in the region. The activity of the Assyrian merchants spanned two centuries, from 20th century B.C. to 18th century B.C., and in the latter half the evolution from disintegrating principalities to a unified state ruling over a vast territory was developing in Anatolia.
 One century later, just as the presence of Assyrian merchants was coming to an end, a powerful state appeared in the city of Hattusa, located in northern central Anatolia. This was the Hittite Kingdom. The Hittites were a tribe that migrated to Anatolia from a foreign region, and their language belonged the Indo-European language group. Among the numerous artifacts excavated from Hattusa are large clay slates, many of which were written in the Hittite language.
The Hittite's power grew during the mid-14th century B.C. under the rule of Suppiluliuma I, and became a superpower in the ancient Oriental world, rivaling the Egyptian Kingdom in supremacy. The Hittite and Egypt fought furiously over the possession of Syria, which was finally settled with the signing of peace treaty. Gradually the Hittite lost its power from the later half of 13th century B.C. and in 1200 B.C. their capital Hattusa was destroyed and their reign ended.
Although influenced by neighboring regions, the Hittites created a unique cultural world that was based on traditional Anatolian heritage. Their uniqueness can be seen in the culture of their written language, which was a blend of the cuneiform script from Mesopotamia and hieroglyphs used traditionally in Anatolia. After the fall of the Hittite Kingdom, certain aspects of the Hittite culture were inherited by the Late Hittite states in southeast Anatolia and Syria.
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