Hittites: Their History and Culture

4118 Oakton Street,Skokie IL 60076

26 March, 2023

Description

The Hittite empire was one of the most powerful civilizations of the Late Bronze Age (1700 B.C-1200 B.C) that extended across Anatolia, Northern Syria and Western fringes of Mesopotamia. In this lecture, Dr. Tieszen will examine the origins and history of the Hittites, as well as their culture and political connections with Egypt, Babylon, the Israelites and Myceneans. Join us in glimpsing into the different strata of Hittite society, its religious beliefs and rituals that were of paramount significance at every level of Hittite life, both political and personal. We will explore at what level and to what degree they interacted with the tribes of Israel, as well as examine various theories of the disappearance of the Hittites from the political arena. Could Sea Peoples have been responsible for the fall of the Hittites and other civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea (c.a. 1174 BCE) or are there other more plausible explanations?