The Hittites
Almost 4000 years ago the Hittites established a kingdom in Anatolia (the Asian part of modern Turkey). They became one of the great powers of the ancient world conquering Babylon and challenging Rameses II’s Egypt, Greece and Troy.
Unlike other major civilizations of the ancient world, knowledge of the Hittites was largely lost until the 19 th century except for references in the Old Testament and Egyptian and Assyrian records. Translation of the cuneiform script of the Hittites’ Indo-European language completed in the mid-20 th century confirmed the extent and importance of the Hittite empire.
Hittite sites have now been discovered through large parts of Anatolia and northern Syria but the capital was at Boğazköy (Hattusas) 240km east of Ankara. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara (sometimes known colloquially as the Hittite Museum) has an excellent collection of Hittite relics.
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Sun Disks
The "Sun disks" (an example, now used as the Timeless logo, is at top right) were found in a group of 13 tombs at Alacahöyük near Hattusas, known as the "Royal Tombs" and dating from the early Bronze Age. The majority are made of bronze, but two striking examples are in silver. They form an important group of objects.
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