By the 12th century BC, much of the Hittie Empire was annexed by the Middle Assyrian Empire, with the remainder sacked by Phrygian newcomers to the region. Known in modern times as the Hittite Empire, it reached its height during the mid-14th century BC under Šuppiluliuma I, when it encompassed most of Anatolia and parts of the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia.īetween the 15th and 13th centuries BC, the Hittites were one of the dominant powers of the Near East, coming into conflict with the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Middle Assyrian Empire and the empire of Mitanni for control of the region. 1750–1650 BC), and an empire centered on Hattusa (around 1650 BC). The Hittites formed a series of polities in north-central Anatolia, including the kingdom of Kussara (before 1750 BC), the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom ( c. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in modern day Turkey in the early 2nd millennium BC. The Hittites ( / ˈ h ɪ t aɪ t s/) were an Anatolian Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of Bronze Age West Asia. The Great Temple in the inner city of Hattusa
