Product Description

In the 14th century BC the Hittites became the supreme political and military power in the Near East. How did they achieve their supremacy? How successful were they in maintaining it? What brought about their collapse and disappearance? This comprehensive history of the Hittite kingdom seeks to answer these questions. It takes account of important recent advances in Hittite scholarship, including some major archaeological discoveries made in the last few years. It also features numerous translations from the original texts, so that on many issues the ancient Hittites are given the opportunity to speak to the modern reader for themselves. The revised edition contains a substantial amount of new material, as well as numerous other revisions to the first edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #196175 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 584 pages

Review
...the standard treatment in English of the history of the Hittites...clear enough to be read with interest and profit by anyone interested in Ancient History but also written with the care and respect for varying opinions that any specialist might demand...I would urge all to read it...as a fine example of work from a specialist who can write in a clear and interesting way. (Noel Weeks Ancient History: Resources for Teachers )

substantial and compehensive ... This is a serious work of scholarship and fundamental to study of the Hittites; its updating can only be welcomed. (Christopher Burnand and Katherine Clarke, Greece and Rome )

Throughout the bookin its revised form the whole narrative of these tumultuous centuries...is very well and fluently laid out and carefully documented, with the pros and cons discussed on a range of disputed issues...[I] commend this handsome volume most emphatically. (K.A. Kitchen, Egyptian Archaeology )

About the Author
Trevor Bryce is Honorary Research Consultant, University of Queensland, and Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Customer Reviews

A great read about a forgotten people worth getting to know!
A stunning presentation of the Hittites and their civilization, which looks at their history through their own words and in the light of their contemporaries. Trevor Bryce has previously published books about the records of the early Hittite Kingdom (mid 17th to 15th century BC) and also of the Lycians and their Late Bronze Age antecedents the Lukka people. Here he has broadened the canvas to present a largely unknown civilization that had a unique culture and became one of the great powers of the Late Bronze Age in the ancient Middle East. Speakers of the earliest Indo-European language (before Sanskrit and Latin), the Hittites also were the mediators between Mesopotamian culture and that of the Mycenaean Greeks. In this book we see the beginnings of the kingdom c. 1650 BC centred on the ancient capital Hattusa, to its apogee and disintegration from numerous pressures internal and external at the turn of the 2nd millennium BC. Plus we see its continuation in the Neo-Hittite states that lasted up until their destruction under the expansion of Assyria by 705 BC. Written with great style, with plenty of translations, it is excellent!

History written the way it should be
Trevor Bryce achieves the near impossible here - he weaves a coherent, detailed and dramatic history of the Hittite empire out of the fragmentary available base of information. It is rare to find a book that is so readable without sacrificing standards of scholarship. I particularly admired the manner in which Bryce was prepared to take a view on the numerous controversies whilst providing the reader with a good understanding (through endnotes) of the nature of the where scholarly dispute exists. Detailed references then allow the interested reader to delve into the academic details.

I would heartily recommend this book for those with an interest in the Ancient Near East and Bronze Age civilisation. It also provides fascinating background and context for those with an interest in the historical reality underpinning Homer's tale of the Trojan War.

great work
Truly excellent read.Perhaps more maps would help,but then I like maps!
A very good middle road .Not too dry,but not a light read either.More please