Table Of ContentHI1?jfITE ....
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FORTIFICATIONS
c.1650-700 BC
ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS
KONSTANTIN SNOSSOVisaresearcherinandadviseron ancientand
medievalarms,armourand warfare,aswell astheauthorofnumerousbooks
andarticles.Hisparticularareasofinterestincludethe historyofweapons,
fortification and siegewarfare.Hehaslivedall hislifeinMoscowand has
travelledextensivelyin Europe,NorthAfrica,SouthAsia,Asia Minorand
the FarEast.
BRIAN DELFbegan hiscareerworking inaLondon artstudioproducing
artworkforadvertising and commercial publications.Since 1972,hehas
worked asafreelance illustratoron avarietyofsubjectsincluding natural
history,architectureandtechnical cutaways. Hisillustrationshavebeen
published inoverthirtycountries.Brian livesand worksinOxfordshire.
FORTRESS • 73
HITTITE
FORTIFICATIONS
c.1650-700 BC
KONSTANTIN SNOSSOV ILLUSTRATED BY BRIAN DELF
SerieseditorsMarcusCowperand Nikolai Bogdanovic
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin2008byOspreyPublishing, AUTHOR'S NOTE
MidlandHouse,WestWay,Botley,OxfordOX2OPH,UnitedKingdom
Thespellingofpropernounsandgeographicalnamesinthebookis
443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY10016,USA
asclosetotheoriginalaspossible.Oneexceptionhasonlybeenmade
Email:[email protected]
forthecityofHattusha,whichiscommonlyknownbythisnamebut
©2008OspreyPublishingLtd. isalsoencounteredasHattusaorHattu~a~,aswellasinitsHattianform
Hattus/Hattush.Unfortunately,theoriginalHittitenamesofmanyofthe
Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposeofprivate sitesareunknowntoustoday.Andthesesitesarenamedaftertheclosest
study,research,criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright, modernTurkishsettlement.Thefollowingrulesshouldbeborninmindin
DesignsandPatentsAct,1988,nopartofthispublicationmaybe readingTurkishnames:
reproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyform
orbyanymeans,electronic,electrical,chemical,mechanical,optical, Turkishcisreadj(forinstance,inAlacahoyuk)
photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorwritten Turkish<;isreadch(forinstance,inIc;el)
permissionofthecopyrightowner.Enquiriesshouldbeaddressed Turkish9isreadgh(forinstance,inBogazk6y)
tothePublishers. Turkish~isreadsh(forinstance,inAIi~ar)
Theletter5thatoccursofteninthenamesofHittitekingsiswritten
ACIPcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. eitherasshorass.
ISBN9781846032073 Allthephotographsinthisbookarefromtheauthor'scollection.
Allrequestsshouldbeaddressedto:[email protected]
Editorialby!IiosPublishing,Oxford,UK(www.iliospublishing.com)
[email protected].
PagelayoutbyKenVailGraphicDesign,Cambridge,UK(kvgd.com)
TypesetinSabonandMyriadPro
IndexbyAlisonWorthington
MapsbyTheMapStudioLtd,Romsey,Hants. ARTIST'S NOTE
OriginatedbyPPSGrasmere,Leeds,UK
Readersmaycaretonotethattheoriginalpaintingsfromwhichthe
PrintedandboundinChinathroughBookbuilders
colourplatesinthisbookwerepreparedareavailableforprivatesale.
08 09 10 11 12 10 98 76 54 3 2 1 AllreproductioncopyrightwhatsoeverisretainedbythePublishers.
Allenquiriesshouldbeaddressedto:
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ANDAVIATIONPLEASECONTACT: BrianDelf
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NORTHAMERICA Burcot
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OspreyDirectUK,POBox140,Wellingborough, ThePublishersregretthattheycanenterintonocorrespondenceupon
Northants,NN82FA,UK thismatter.
Email:[email protected]
www.ospreypublishing.com THE FORTRESS STUDY GROUP (FSG)
TheobjectoftheFSGistoadvancetheeducationofthepublicinthe
studyofallaspectsoffortificationsandtheirarmaments,especially
worksconstructedtomountorresistartillery.TheFSGholdsanannual
conferenceinSeptemberoveralongweekendwithvisitsandevening
lectures,anannualtourabroadlastingabouteightdays,andanannual
Members'Day.
TheFSGjournalFORTispublishedannually,anditsnewsletterCasemate
ispublishedthreetimesayear.Membershipisinternational.Forfurther
details,pleasecontact:
TheSecretary,c/o6LanarkPlace,LondonW91BS,UK
website:www.fsgfort.com
DEDICATION GLOSSARY
ToAndrewSarjevsky,mytruefriendandloyalcompanioninfarfromeasy asandula/i- Garrison
expeditionsinAsiaMinor. gurta- Fortress
gurtawanni- Acastellan,aninhabitantordefenderofafortress;theterm
hasonlyrecentlybeencomeacrossanditsmeaningisunclear
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
hoyiik(hiiyiik) Turkishwordforamoundofatypicalarchaeologicalsite
TheauthorwishestoexpresssincerethankstoVladimirGolubevwho formedbydebrisofanancientsettlement(usuallypriorto
theClassicalPeriod).Suchmoundsareparticularlyhigh
createdtheblackandwhiteimagesforthisbook.
wheretherewasanumberofmainlymud-bricksettlements
builtsuccessfullyononeandthesameplace.Mud-brick
SpecialthanksareduetoMustafaMetin,archaeologistintheMuseum
cannotbeusedtwice,sowhenoldbuildingsbecame
ofAncientCivilizationsinAnkarawhokindlyadvisedtheauthoronthe redundant,thesitewasleveledoutandnewbuildingsbuilt
datingofartefactspreservedinthemuseum. ontop.Thus,layerbylayeranartificialmoundgrew.Turkish
hoyiikissimilartoArabictell,HebrewtelandPersiantepe.
TheauthoralsothanksMuratBektas,theguidewhotookusabouttheruins
karum 'Port'inAkkadian,althoughitsmeaningwasextendedto
ofHattusha,AlacahoyukandYazilikayaandrevealednotonlyanexcellent refertoanyAssyrianmerchantcolonywhetheritbordered
knowledgeofthesitesbutalsogreatpatiencewhileweexaminedtheruins. waterornot.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
CHRONOLOGY 7
METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION 10
ANATOMY OF HITTITE FORTRESSES 16
Walls. Towers • Gates. Posterns • Ramparts
TOUR OF THE SITES: HATTUSHA, ALACAHOYUK AND KARATEPE 22
Hattusha • Alacah6yuk • Karatepe
SANCTUARIES AND THE LIVING SITES 44
The living sites
AFTERMATH 53
THE SITES TODAY 57
Alacah6yuk • Ali~ar • Carchemish • Gavurkalesi or Gavurkale ('the castle ofinfidels')
Hattusha (Hattusa, Hattu~a~or Hatush) • I<;el (Mersin) • Kanes/Nesa (modern Kultepe)
Karatepe • Sam'al (Zincirli)
BIBLIOGRAPHYAND FURTHER READING 62
INDEX 64
HITTITE FORTIFICATIONS
Be
c.1650-700
INTRODUCTION
In the second halfofthe 3rd millennium Be the Indo-European tribes known
tousastheHittitesstartedtomigratetoandsettleinCentralAnatolia. Atthat
time it was a land ofsmall city-states some ofwhose names have survived to
this day, such as Kanes (Nesa), Kussara, Hattusha, Zalpa and Puruskhanda;
however,theexactlocationofthesesitesisnotalwaysknown. Thenewcomers
graduallysettledall over CentralAnatolia andtookcontrolofthe region. The
Sam/al(Zincirli):general mergingoftheHittiteswiththeindigenousHattianpopulationappearstohave
planoffortificationsandthe
beenafairlypeacefulprocess,thoughsomearmedconflictisindicatedbytraces
reconstructedsouthcitygate.
of destruction in strata from the period discovered at Alacahoyiik, Ali~ar,
Theurbanfortificationsformed
acircleandconsistedofa Hattusha and others.
doublewallwith100towers AdistinctHittitecultureemergedastheresultofseveralcenturiesofmerging
andthreegates.Thesouthern
ofHattian and Indo-European traditions. So, while the Hattian language was
gatewasmostformidableone:
ousted by that of the newcomers, it was not forgotten and was later used by
inadditiontothegatesinthe
outerandinnerwallsithad Hittite priests in performing some ofthe rites. Moreover, the Hittite state was
alowfortification(barbican) knownthroughoutMesopotamia as the 'Land ofHatti'.
infront.Eachofthethree
The first recorded Hittitekings are PithanaandAnitta who ruledfrom the
gateswasstrengthened
asyetundiscoveredcityofKussara. Later,AnittaremovedthecapitaltoNesa,
withtwoflankingtowers
projectingforward. and the Hittites began to call their language Neshian after that city. Anitta
4
Thespacebetweentheinner
andouterwallsontheYerkapi
RampartinHattusha.Theouter
wallwaserectedtowardsthe
endofthe13thcenturyBe,
probablyinthefaceofa
growingthreattothecity.
Thewallblockedtheflights
ofstepsonbothsidesofthe
rampartandtheSphinxGate
inthemiddle.Thetowersofthe
outerwallwereputinbetween
thetowersofthemainwall.
was a great conqueror who subjugated the city-states of Nesa, Zalpa and
Puruskhanda,aswellasdestroyingHattushaandanathematizingitforalltime,
threateninganyonewhosettledtherewiththewrathoftheWeatherGod. One
ofhis successors, however, did not heed the curse and in mid-17th century BC
removedthecapitalfrom Kussara (whereithadmoved backto from Nesa) to
Hattusha. Hetookthename ofHattusilior 'onefrom Hattusha'. HattusiliIis
consideredto bethefounder ofthe OldHittiteKingdomandhe,alongwithhis
successor Mursili I, subjugated large territories not only in Central Anatolia
but also in Syria and Mesopotamia. Mursili Ieven captured Babylon in 1595
BC, thus causing the downfall of the First Babylonian Dynasty. The largest
external threat to the Hittite Kingdom during this period was the Hurrian
KingdomoftheMitanni (locatedinwhatistodaythesouth-eastofTurkeyand
thenorthernpartsofSyriaandIraq). Hurrianraidsledtothesecessionofsome
of the southern and eastern Anatolian provinces from the Hittites, and may
well have been the spur that led to the rapid development of the art of
fortification in the region. The OldKingdom periodwitnesses the appearance
of cyclopean fortification walls, hitherto unknown in Anatolia. Hantili I
(c.1590-60 BC) in particular rebuilt and strengthened the fortifications ofthe
city ofHattusha.
Aperiod ofinternal unrestonlyendedwith the accession to the throne of
Telipinu (c.1525 BC) and, bythe reign ofSuppiluliuma I (c.1380-40 BC), the
HittiteKingdomreached its prime. SuppiluliumaI, alongwithhis successors
Mursili II and Muwatalli II, made the Hittite Empire one of the leading
powersofthe ancientNearEast. Asaresultofmilitaryoperationsorcarefully
thought-outtreaties, theHittitessubjectedthewesternregions ofAsiaMinor,
the kingdom ofthe Mitanni and Syria as far north as the river Euphrates to
theirrule. ThisexpansionledtoconflictwithEgypt,culminatinginthe battle
of Qadesh (c.1274 BC), after which the two superpowers of the Bronze Age
signed a peace treaty.
The 14th and 13th centuries BC was a golden age for Hittite imperial
power and culture, which is most strongly revealed in the design of their
capital. A great number of buildings that can be seen here today, as well as
the formidable 3.3km long defensive wall of the Upper City, were erected
during this period. Although Muwattalli II (c.1306-1272 BC) made an
attemptto move thecapitalintoTarhuntasha (acitystillawaitingdiscovery)
his son and successor MursiliIIIreturned itto Hattusha, where it remained.
5
TheKing'sGateintheUpper The defensive strategy on the borders of the Hittite Empire directly
CityofHattushaviewedfrom depended on who were their neighbours. To the north and south-west were
theramp.Ontherightthere turbulent tribes who never completely submitted to Hittite rule. Therefore,
wasanouterwallwithatower
chains offortress-cities, such as Alacahoyiik, were built to protect the roads
justoppositethegate.Just
imaginehowvulnerablethe leading to the capital. In case ofmore civilized neighbours, such as Egypt to
enemymusthavefeltfinding the south-east and Arzawa to the west, Hittite rulers installed vassal
themselvesunderthefire principalities to act as buffer states.
broughttobearuponthem
Thisgoldenage didnotlast. Towards the endofthe 13thcenturyBCyears
fromthemassivetowersby
ofpoorharvests, uprisings andinvasions bythe 'Peoplesofthe Sea'ledtothe
thegateandtheouterwall.
decline of the Hittite Empire. Additional fortifications were erected in
Hattusha andthe grainsupplieswere barricadedwithinaseparatecitadel on
Biiyiikkaya. However, this did not save the capital and, in c.1180 BCthe last
Hittiteking, SuppiluliumaII, leftHattushawithmostofthepopulationofthe
city for an unknown destination.
Many of the buildings in the former capital (the royal palace, temples,
stretchesofthefortificationwall) revealsigns ofdestruction byfire. Theroyal
citadelBiiyiikkalesufferedmostofallandwascompletelydestroyed,withthe
streets being coated with a thick layer of charred wood and mud-brick
tempered by fire. Those responsible for this destruction are unknown. Some
believethatMushki (Phrygians) incursionsfrom thewestwereto blamewhile
others placethe blame upon the shoulders ofthe Kashkans to the north. The
fall ofthe Hittite Empire should not be seen as an isolated event as the late
13th and early 12th centuries BC saw the fall of Troy and a number of
Mycenaean cities as well as Hattusha.
After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, Central Anatolia experienced a
period of decay, which is generally called the Dark Ages. At the same time
several so-called Late Hittite kingdoms became established in south-east
Anatolia and the northernmost part ofSyria. These kingdoms saw themselves
astheheirsoftheHittiteEmpireandAssyrianrecordscontinuetorefertothem
asthe 'LandofHatti'. Eachkingdomwas basedonawell-fortifiedcapitalafter
which it is usually known today (Carchemish, Sam'al and others). Apartfrom
the capital, border fortresses and fortified residences of the rulers also prove
6
Anatolia during the Hittite period
."e~tP'.•.~
q.f;:}.>.
-BoundaryoftheHittiteEmpireinlate14thcenturyBc
----- ConfinesofmaximumHittiteinfluence t
" SitewhereHittitefortificationshavebeenpreserved
100miles
I
200km
common. Karatepeproves afine example ofsucha borderfortress, whichalso
served as asummerresidencefor the ruler. TheLateHittitekingdoms lastedto
theendofthe 8thcenturyBCwhen, one byone,theywereswallowedup bythe
nascentAssyrian Empire, principally between 738 and 709 BC.
CHRONOLOGY
DatingHittiteeventsis afar from easymatter. The mainproblemis a lack of
established startingpoints. Therefore, to date an event in Hittite history one
hastoresortto comparisonwithforeign sources, oftenEgyptianorAssyrian.
However, their chronology is not completely reliable either. To complicate
matters, different Hittite kings often had the same name and are often
mentionedinthe documentswithoutanyindicationoftheirsuccession (first,
second, andsoon). Forinstance,whenweseethenameoftheKingTudhaliya
inaninscription,wecanonlyguesswhichofthefour kings ofthesamename,
covering four different centuries, is meant. Therefore, nearly all the dates
cited below are approximate and may sometimes vary wildly. It should be
mentioned that many different sets of dates exist with regard to Hittite
chronology as well as that of other Near East countries. If the date is given
with'/', itmeans thatthe date remains a subjectofdebate (thedates are cited
inchronologicalorder). Forthekings, theyears oftheirruleareindicated, not
oftheir life. All the dates below refer to BC.
7
MinoanandMycenaean
Hittites AncientEgypt Mesopotamia Troy
civilizations
3100/3000-2600-Early
2900/2750-2334/2315- 2900-2450-
DynasticPeriod(1st-3rd
EarlyDynasticPeriod TroyI
Dynasties)
2600-2181/2137-Old
2334-2193- Kingsof 2450-2200-
Kingdom(3rd-6th
Dynasties) Agade(Akkad) TroyII 3100-1900-Minoan
Pre-Palatialperiod
2181/2137-2040- First onCrete
2200-2100-
IntermediatePeriod
TroyIII
(7th-11thDynasties)
2112-2004-TheThird
2100-2000-
DynastyofUr(2112-2095-
TroyIV
Ur-Nammu)
2000-1600-Dynastiesof
thekingsofIsin,Larsa,Uruk,
Babylon,Eshnunna,Ashur
2040-1780-Middle
andMarL
Kingdom(11th-12th 1900-1700-Minoan
Dynasties) 1813-1781-Shamshi-Adad 2000-1700- Proto-Palatialperiod
Before1750-PithanaandAnitta TroyV
IofAssyriaorthenthe onCrete
(kingsofKussaraandNesa)
town-stateofAshur
1792-50-Hammurabi,
1740-10-TudhaliyaI
OldBabylonianking
1710-1680-Pu-Sarruma 1780-1550-Second
IntermediatePeriod(13th-
1680-50-LabarnaI 17thDynasties) 1700-1450-Minoan
OldKingdom Neo-Palatialperiod
(1650-1400/1350) onCrete
1650-20- HattusiliI
1600-Minoaninfluence
1620-1590-MursiliI
onCyclades
1650-1550- Hyksosrulers 1595/1415-1155- Kassite
1595-HittitesruinBabylon
(15th-16thDynasties) DynastyinBabylon
1590-60- HantiliI.Herebuildsand
strengthensthefortificationsofHattusha
1560-50-ZidantaI
1550-30-Ammuna 1550-1085/1070-New
Kindgom(18th-20th
1530-25- HuzziyaI
Dynasties)
1525-00-Telipinu
1500-1490-Alluwamna 1504/1479-1450/25-
ThutmosisIII
1700-1250-
1490-80- HantiliII TroyVI
1480-70-ZidantaII
1470-60-Huzziya"
1460-50-MuwattalliI
1450-40-TudhaliyaII 1450-25-AmenhotepII
(AmenophisII) 1450/1400-Mycenaeans
atKnossosonCrete
1440-20-ArnuwandaI
1420-00-Hattusili"
1400-1380-TudhaliyaIII
1408/1391-1372/1349- 1400-1300-developed
1400- Hattushaisburneddownbythe
AmenhotepIII fortificationsappearat
Kashkans
(AmenophisIII) MycenaeandTiryns
HittiteEmpire
(1400/1350-1200/1180)
1380-40-SuppiluliumaI 1348-38-Tutankhamun 1363-28-Ashur-uballitI 1380-Destruction
ofAssyria ofKnossos
1340-39-ArnuwandaII
1339-06-MursiliII
8
