Historical Dictionary of the Hittites (Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras)

415 Pages·2004·10.36 MB·English

by  Charles Burney

Historical Dictionary
of the Hittites
Charles Burney
The Scarecrow Press

Dedicated to Brigit, for three Hittite years

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills”
Psalm 121

Contents

Editor’s Foreword: Jon Woronoff ix

Preface xi

Maps and Plans xiii

Chronological Table xviii

Introduction xxi

THE DICTIONARY 1

Appendix: Hittite Collections 327

Bibliography 329

About the Author 365

Editor’s Foreword

Less well known than civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the
Hittites nonetheless created one of the great civilizations of the ancient
world. It was no mean feat to rule a vast empire, establish important
cities, preside over a conglomerate of peoples, encourage a flowering of
culture and religion and, yes, engage in incessant warfare. Some of this
was against attacking enemies, some against relative innocents who
happened to be in the way, and part within the royal families. This
impressive history spanned nearly five centuries during the second
millennium BC, although predecessors and successors stretch over a
much longer period. Yet despite the mark they made on ancient history,
the Hittites were largely forgotten until curious travelers and then
professional archaeologists had excavated important sites, verified
some of the crucial events, and deciphered the languages. This
Historical Dictionary of the Hittites therefore consists of two stories,
that of the Hittites themselves and that of the rediscovery of the Hittites.
This volume, like others in the series, provides most of the basic
information in a dictionary section with hundreds of entries on
important persons (kings, queens and archaeologists), places (temples,
palaces and excavations), essential institutions (kingship and cults) and
significant aspects of the society, economy, material culture and,
inevitably, warfare. These numerous detailed studies are integrated in a
broader overview in the introduction, while the time sequences are
sorted in chronological charts. The bibliography offers the basis for
further reading on related topics. The contribution of photographs is not
only to show what has been described but to remind us what the Hittites
could accomplish in art and architecture.
This volume was written by Charles Burney, whose interests cover
much of the Near East and Caucasus, but focus especially on Eastern
Turkey. There he has worked on and directed excavations at Kayalıdere
(Urartu) and carried out extensive archaeological surveys. He has
written several books on the ancient Near East including From Village
to Empire: An Introduction to Near Eastern Archaeology and many
articles for journals such as Anatolian Studies and Iran. He also
collaborated with the late David Lang, and is the author of the greater
part of Peoples of the Hills: Ancient Ararat and Caucasus.