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Ancient Peoples and Places Series
The Hittites: and their Contemporaries in Asia Minor (Ancient Peoples and Places) by J. G. Macqueen (15-Apr-1996) Paperback
The Hittites were an Indo-European speaking people who established a kingdom in Anatolia (modern Turkey) almost 4,000 years ago. They rose to become one of the greatest powers of the Ancient Middle Eastern world by conquering Babylon and challenging the power of the Eygptian Pharaoh Rameses II at the battle of Quadesh. They themselves were destroyed in the wake of movements of the enigmatic Sea peoples around 1180 BC. This study investigates the origins of the Hittites, the sources of the metals that were so vital to their success and their relationship with contemporaries in the Aegean world, the Trojans and the Mycenaean Greeks. It includes descriptions of excavations, particularly at the temples and great defensive ramparts of the Hittite capital at Hattusas.
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First published January 1, 1975
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September 12, 2018
This review is for the original edition of The Hittites, published in 1975. It has been revised and enlarged in The Hittites: And Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor.
While it may seem obvious to suggest to anyone who is interested in the culture of the Hittites or of ancient Anatolia that they should look for the most up-to-date edition, I think it really depends on the reader's previous knowledge of the Hittite empire, and what it is they are looking to get out of their research. In other words, I have a hard time believing that, as a casual reader, I missed out on anything critical by reading this earlier version. If I had had a choice between picking up this older version and the newer, I would have gone for the newer, but I found this for sale at a library discard sale for pocket change. With those parameters in place, I was reasonably satisfied; and a cursory search on the internet did not reveal anything that contradicted the substance of what was contained in this earlier edition.
Records from the Hittite civiliation are scarce--much of what is known about them is reconstructed from the archeological evidence; and as the author states in his preface, any book about them is going to be a work in progress, as new evidence is continually being uncovered. Be that as it may, the Hittites flourished in what is now Central and Western Turkey and Northern Syria from around 1600 to 1180 B.C.E., and the book covers the background of the area and environment in which the culture arose; speculates on where the Hittites originally came from; and details their history, daily life, religious customs, method of warfare, and art and literature. There are a wide variety of illustrations throughout the text, and 34 pages of black-and-white photographs at the back. Marginal notes refer to which photographic plate is indicated by the text, so the reader can easily flip to the back and see amplification of the author's meaning, which is helpful, as several plates illustrate more than one point.
While presented as an introduction to the Hittite Empire, the author's manner suggested it was written for an audience that, while not so well-informed about the Hittites per se, has a better than average grasp on the terms and descriptions of Bronze Age cultures in general. For instance, though I could gather from context that the terms referred to specific dates and were probably associated with uncovered strata from archeological digs, I had no previous knowledge of terms like EB I, EB II, Troy IV, etc. They do in fact represent dates (EB for Early Bronze age), but I don't think the author clarifies many similar concepts and phrases well enough for lay readers. Conversely, I thought the author went into too much detail when describing the layout of cities and housing and the temples of the Hittites. My impression, which dovetails with the description of the author's experience, is that this book was written primarily from an archeological perspective, and those readers who find that viewpoint intriguing are likely to gain a great deal of information. Readers who are more interested in a narrative approach, like me, may feel as though the book is hit-and-miss.
Although I did have some quibbles with it, it was still an interesting introduction to a culture I knew little about. As I said before, I would suggest picking up the revised and enlarged edition if you had a choice between the two, though I felt well-served by this older copy. Based on this installment, I will probably now look for other volumes in this series (Ancient Peoples and Places), of which THE HITTITES was number eighty-three.
While it may seem obvious to suggest to anyone who is interested in the culture of the Hittites or of ancient Anatolia that they should look for the most up-to-date edition, I think it really depends on the reader's previous knowledge of the Hittite empire, and what it is they are looking to get out of their research. In other words, I have a hard time believing that, as a casual reader, I missed out on anything critical by reading this earlier version. If I had had a choice between picking up this older version and the newer, I would have gone for the newer, but I found this for sale at a library discard sale for pocket change. With those parameters in place, I was reasonably satisfied; and a cursory search on the internet did not reveal anything that contradicted the substance of what was contained in this earlier edition.
Records from the Hittite civiliation are scarce--much of what is known about them is reconstructed from the archeological evidence; and as the author states in his preface, any book about them is going to be a work in progress, as new evidence is continually being uncovered. Be that as it may, the Hittites flourished in what is now Central and Western Turkey and Northern Syria from around 1600 to 1180 B.C.E., and the book covers the background of the area and environment in which the culture arose; speculates on where the Hittites originally came from; and details their history, daily life, religious customs, method of warfare, and art and literature. There are a wide variety of illustrations throughout the text, and 34 pages of black-and-white photographs at the back. Marginal notes refer to which photographic plate is indicated by the text, so the reader can easily flip to the back and see amplification of the author's meaning, which is helpful, as several plates illustrate more than one point.
While presented as an introduction to the Hittite Empire, the author's manner suggested it was written for an audience that, while not so well-informed about the Hittites per se, has a better than average grasp on the terms and descriptions of Bronze Age cultures in general. For instance, though I could gather from context that the terms referred to specific dates and were probably associated with uncovered strata from archeological digs, I had no previous knowledge of terms like EB I, EB II, Troy IV, etc. They do in fact represent dates (EB for Early Bronze age), but I don't think the author clarifies many similar concepts and phrases well enough for lay readers. Conversely, I thought the author went into too much detail when describing the layout of cities and housing and the temples of the Hittites. My impression, which dovetails with the description of the author's experience, is that this book was written primarily from an archeological perspective, and those readers who find that viewpoint intriguing are likely to gain a great deal of information. Readers who are more interested in a narrative approach, like me, may feel as though the book is hit-and-miss.
Although I did have some quibbles with it, it was still an interesting introduction to a culture I knew little about. As I said before, I would suggest picking up the revised and enlarged edition if you had a choice between the two, though I felt well-served by this older copy. Based on this installment, I will probably now look for other volumes in this series (Ancient Peoples and Places), of which THE HITTITES was number eighty-three.
February 24, 2011
Given the brevity of this work, and how long ago it was written, the reader ought to take this as an introduction to the history of the Hittites rather than a comprehensive guide. Macqueen begins by providing the background of the environment in which the Hittites existed and the history of the region in the several thousand years before the appearance of the Hittites. This allows the reader to place the Hittites in context. The book then moves on to discuss the various attempts at identifying the origins of the Hittites, a tangled issue whose best hypothesis suggests an origin around the mouth of the Danube, though whether these people arrived in Anatolia via the Bosporus or the steppes of the Caucasus remains a matter of debate. The work then provides a history of the Hittites via its kings and the major events that spanned the rise and fall of the empire, before exploring different aspects in greater depth. A chapter each is devoted to warfare, society and administration, daily life, religion, and art and literature. The concluding chapter discusses the peoples who occupied Anatolia following the Hittites and whether any of them can be said to be the descendants or successors of the Hittites.
Whilst the book does cover the basics, and thus should be treated as an introduction to the Hittites, the work is very much an academic piece, including discussions of key archaeological debates surrounding the Hittites and plenty of diagrams and factual descriptions of the art, architecture and artefacts uncovered by excavation. The casual reader may therefore find the book a little dry. Certainly I would not recommend this book for light reading unless you're an academic, in which case it's brevity and introductory style which touches on the basics of the Hittite empire and daily life may provide an easier read than the extreme focus of more in depth articles and studies. The book does not wash over the reader however, and requires focus. The language is not difficult, but the presentation and dryness is what precludes "The Hittites" from being light reading.
Ultimately the book leaves the reader with more questions than answers, which understandably is a result of the fact that we still know so little about the Hittites. Questions regarding their origins and the fall of the Hittite empire remain the most pressing unresolved mysteries, and admittedly they're pretty big questions. On the other hand, the book offers snippets of insight into the culture and day to day living of the Hittite people, by examining what the available material evidence can tell us about their clothes, adornments, art, aesthetics and rituals. Altogether a well-written work, albeit not ground-breaking or in depth. I would give this book 3.5 stars if half stars could be awarded.
Whilst the book does cover the basics, and thus should be treated as an introduction to the Hittites, the work is very much an academic piece, including discussions of key archaeological debates surrounding the Hittites and plenty of diagrams and factual descriptions of the art, architecture and artefacts uncovered by excavation. The casual reader may therefore find the book a little dry. Certainly I would not recommend this book for light reading unless you're an academic, in which case it's brevity and introductory style which touches on the basics of the Hittite empire and daily life may provide an easier read than the extreme focus of more in depth articles and studies. The book does not wash over the reader however, and requires focus. The language is not difficult, but the presentation and dryness is what precludes "The Hittites" from being light reading.
Ultimately the book leaves the reader with more questions than answers, which understandably is a result of the fact that we still know so little about the Hittites. Questions regarding their origins and the fall of the Hittite empire remain the most pressing unresolved mysteries, and admittedly they're pretty big questions. On the other hand, the book offers snippets of insight into the culture and day to day living of the Hittite people, by examining what the available material evidence can tell us about their clothes, adornments, art, aesthetics and rituals. Altogether a well-written work, albeit not ground-breaking or in depth. I would give this book 3.5 stars if half stars could be awarded.
June 30, 2016
This brief and lively book (the 1996 expanded edition) only warrants three rather than four stars because it is crafted in the classic archaeological scholar style, which means that sections on art, military, and spiritual relics may hold less interest to the general historical reader. Nevertheless, this is an intriguing work to introduce readers to the first Indo-European speakers on the Turkish subcontinent, often overlooked in the study of Persians, Assyrians, and Egyptians.
MacQueen never over-promises, as any good scholar should avoid, instead providing an assessment of who the Hittites were, where they probably came from, and why certain interpretations of their history may cause us to revisit various Greek myths. (His suggestion that Mita of the Anatolian kingdom of Muski may well have been King Midas, for example, is intriguing and quite plausible.) The author holds to the increasingly accepted views that the the Hittites' origins came from a Kurgan culture located in the Pontic steppes northeast of the Black Sea. This group can be distinguished from the later Scythians, an Iranian-based people, because of the Kurgan use of a proto-Indo-European language.
Short biographies are offered of the primary Hittite leaders before and during the Hittite Empire, stretching from 1450 to 1180 BC. The author also attempts to fill in limited information on the "neo-Hittite" kingdoms that arose in Anatolia following the great civilizational collapse of the mid-1100s. He also shows how control of the tin-mining trade routes meant everything in the Late Bronze Age, and led to battles for land control as surely as oil does today.
The abundant pictures in this edition indicate that, though the author may realize the Hittites could never approach art and literature milestones of Egyptian or Mycenaean cultures, they nevertheless had a fairly sophisticated culture for a short time. Given the ancestral roles they played as initiators of Indo-European languages in Europe, the Hittites are worth our attention.
MacQueen never over-promises, as any good scholar should avoid, instead providing an assessment of who the Hittites were, where they probably came from, and why certain interpretations of their history may cause us to revisit various Greek myths. (His suggestion that Mita of the Anatolian kingdom of Muski may well have been King Midas, for example, is intriguing and quite plausible.) The author holds to the increasingly accepted views that the the Hittites' origins came from a Kurgan culture located in the Pontic steppes northeast of the Black Sea. This group can be distinguished from the later Scythians, an Iranian-based people, because of the Kurgan use of a proto-Indo-European language.
Short biographies are offered of the primary Hittite leaders before and during the Hittite Empire, stretching from 1450 to 1180 BC. The author also attempts to fill in limited information on the "neo-Hittite" kingdoms that arose in Anatolia following the great civilizational collapse of the mid-1100s. He also shows how control of the tin-mining trade routes meant everything in the Late Bronze Age, and led to battles for land control as surely as oil does today.
The abundant pictures in this edition indicate that, though the author may realize the Hittites could never approach art and literature milestones of Egyptian or Mycenaean cultures, they nevertheless had a fairly sophisticated culture for a short time. Given the ancestral roles they played as initiators of Indo-European languages in Europe, the Hittites are worth our attention.
July 4, 2022
The Hittites And Their Contemporaries In Asia Minor
Reading about a civilisation that was once-upon-a-time relegated to the appendix section of stories concerning with human-history as mythological, breathes a certain air of fascination with the ancient world as we know it. Such revelations made beg the question: who or what else is unknown, or thought of as mythological, that could - in twenty, thirty years' time - turn out to be true?
The Hittites were a people group of ancient Anatolia, or roughly placed in modern Turkey. In the 19th Century the people were believed to be mythological, until archaeological dig-sites and excavations at the turn of the 20th Century revealed inscriptions of an Indo-European language hitherto unknown, used in cuneiform and in hieroglyphic script. The author's book is brief, but that may in itself be symptomatic of the problems faced at the time, considering how little had been preserved in writing, art, and tools. The terrain of Anatolia does not help its case, either. But, before becoming a myth, the Hittite Kingdom was a powerful institute during the 1500sBC, when it controlled the trade and commerce, extraction and exportation, of raw materials such as tin, iron, and copper ores - of which Anatolia was plentiful, unlike its neighbours. Anatolia's own beneficial geological setting also allowed for substantial architectural fortifications and defences, built by the local quarried stonework, though the typical mud-brick construction of the Middle East did also feature.
Reading about a civilisation that was once-upon-a-time relegated to the appendix section of stories concerning with human-history as mythological, breathes a certain air of fascination with the ancient world as we know it. Such revelations made beg the question: who or what else is unknown, or thought of as mythological, that could - in twenty, thirty years' time - turn out to be true?
The Hittites were a people group of ancient Anatolia, or roughly placed in modern Turkey. In the 19th Century the people were believed to be mythological, until archaeological dig-sites and excavations at the turn of the 20th Century revealed inscriptions of an Indo-European language hitherto unknown, used in cuneiform and in hieroglyphic script. The author's book is brief, but that may in itself be symptomatic of the problems faced at the time, considering how little had been preserved in writing, art, and tools. The terrain of Anatolia does not help its case, either. But, before becoming a myth, the Hittite Kingdom was a powerful institute during the 1500sBC, when it controlled the trade and commerce, extraction and exportation, of raw materials such as tin, iron, and copper ores - of which Anatolia was plentiful, unlike its neighbours. Anatolia's own beneficial geological setting also allowed for substantial architectural fortifications and defences, built by the local quarried stonework, though the typical mud-brick construction of the Middle East did also feature.
September 18, 2022
When I wander Istanbul I often end up in places I've been before, which is not unimaginable as I lived here 17 years and have returned for a visit. One of these places is the Sahaflar Çarşı in Kadıkoy, just off Bahariye. This is where I found this book, and as I'm as dedicated to the history of Asia Minor as I am to a tourist's schedule, and because I haven't needed more than my telephone from the States so far, I went ahead and purchased this book for about two and a half bucks.
Did I pay too much? No, it's worth that, if for no other reason than I enjoyed the flowing older style of English writing, and when I say English I mean an academic style peculiar to the sometimes U.K. And then there was the revival of memories. I visited Hattusa twenty five years ago with my sister and mom, so it gave me time to reflect on her relatively recent passing.
The book is informative if out of date because it was published in 1976; I'll have to seek someting a bit more contemporary if I want to know what's going on at the present. I would, for example, be curious to know how recent advances in DNA archeology have affected the views of the earlier peoples of Anatolia.
But that's for another time. If you don't mind reading a book that has good information but is behind the times, this is a good place to start.
Did I pay too much? No, it's worth that, if for no other reason than I enjoyed the flowing older style of English writing, and when I say English I mean an academic style peculiar to the sometimes U.K. And then there was the revival of memories. I visited Hattusa twenty five years ago with my sister and mom, so it gave me time to reflect on her relatively recent passing.
The book is informative if out of date because it was published in 1976; I'll have to seek someting a bit more contemporary if I want to know what's going on at the present. I would, for example, be curious to know how recent advances in DNA archeology have affected the views of the earlier peoples of Anatolia.
But that's for another time. If you don't mind reading a book that has good information but is behind the times, this is a good place to start.
September 9, 2020
Macqueen's book is well researched and very readable. Numerous photographs and charts. An excellent resource and a must read for anyone interested in the ancient Hittites.
November 6, 2015
Πολύ ενδιαφέρον, λίγο δύσκολο να διαβαστεί γιατί μπαίνει σε πολλές λεπτομέρειες ιστορικής και εθνικής φύσης, αλλά σου ανοίγει τα μάτια για τον αχταρμά που γινόταν εκείνες τις εποχές σ' εκείνο το μέρος του κόσμου.
December 3, 2023
A bit old, a bit dull, could have better maps. Photographs and illustrations could also be better.
Some interesting discussions, but when you realize this are discussions from decades ago, and they probably have found additional information in the meantime.
Still, an adequate scholarly introduction to the Hettitites and their way of life.
Some interesting discussions, but when you realize this are discussions from decades ago, and they probably have found additional information in the meantime.
Still, an adequate scholarly introduction to the Hettitites and their way of life.
June 3, 2020
More of an archaeological study than a book. Incredibly hard to read and follow along due to a lot of terms not really being defined. You'd need to pull a map out just to understand exactly where and what was happening in the texts. I found some good information but it was a tough read.
October 18, 2024
I had only heard of the Hittites because of the ancient Egyptians, I am happy to have been able to find out a bit more about them. I did find trying to keep up with the different Troys to be a bit challenging.
September 6, 2019
Boring and probably out of date. I read this book because it had been staring at me for years, and I can’t say that it was worth it. Not for me
February 13, 2024
Well researched and edited. Good quality paper.
July 15, 2025
Yazım tarihi biraz eski olsa da Hitit ve çevresini anlamak için çok güzel bir kitap.
July 25, 2025
Buono. Documentato. Accurato.
May 2, 2010
This is a delightful book which I really enjoyed, although there was one section covering POTTERY which was less interesting to me but thoroughly thorough. Written in '86 revised in '96, with a preface to the later edition noting that much had been discovered that could only be covered in 'brief description'. I wonder what else has come to light in the last 14 years. Much no doubt. I found the first 5 chapters, a mere 78 pages, fascinating and that archeologists have a sense of humor. Who knew?
January 6, 2013
I enjoyed this. If not for an upcoming trip to Turkey, I probably would not have bothered. Glad I did as this was a very interesting subject. The book started somewhat dry, but was fascinating that so much info can be gleamed from archeology and from written records. This book covers the history of the Hittites, rise and abrupt fall. Also it covers a wide variety of subjects about the society-religion, military, agriculture. Not a bad book for covering King Midas, King Croesus, Cyrus the Great, King Tut and more.
April 26, 2015
Actually originally written in 1975 and then revised a couple of times - but you can feel it is quite old and it would probably have benefited from a complete rewrite rather than a revision (this is a field where much have been discovered in more recent times). It is also worth noting that this is primarily a archaeological study, even though we have quite a lot of written texts from the Hittites too.
But I'll give it 3 stars because there are a lot of nice pictures included.
But I'll give it 3 stars because there are a lot of nice pictures included.
May 3, 2011
Some fascinating historico-archaeological investigation of who the Hittites were, followed by dry-as-dirt accounts of "warfare" "society and administration" and the dreaded "daily life in Late Bronze Age Anatolia."
September 22, 2012
Written in a fairly dry style and with a lot of assumed knowledge, but interesting none the less
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews