What are our sources for the history of the Hittite Empire?

Scholars first discovered the Hittite language in the tablets at Amarna, when they realized that two of the Amarna tablets were written in an unknown language. Since the tablets concerned the land of Arzawa, the language was termed Arzawan. During the German excavations at Ḫattuša in 1906, however, excavators uncovered a large Hittite archive that allowed the decipherment of Hittite, and the language was identified as Indo-European based on the ritual instructions “you shall eat bread” and “you shall drink water.” Excavations at Ḫattuša have turned up approximately 30,000 tablets, making it by far the largest Hittite archive.

The tablets from Ḫattuša are more properly organized into two primary sets of archives, one from the primary temple of the city (Temple 1) and one from the palace complex in Büyükkale. Smaller collections of tablets were found in other administrative buildings at Ḫattuša, such as the collection of land donation tablets from the Westbau. The tablets from Ḫattuša contain eight languages; Hittite and Akkadian are the most dominant, but Hurrian, Sumerian, Palaic, Luwian, Hattic, and an unidentified “Aryan” language are also represented. The texts in Hittite cover a wide range of genres, including historical annals, treaties, letters, omens, prayers, myths, oracular inquiries, rituals, administrative lists, festivals, votive texts, and other genres. Akkadian is primarily present in letters and treaties, as most of the Hittite vassal states in Syria preferred to communicate in Akkadian. Hurrian and Luwian are primarily evident in ritual texts; although most rituals were composed in Hittite, the ritual practitioner often said magical utterances in Hurrian or Luwian. Hattic was also used in rituals, but more importantly, some of the mythological fragments from Hattusa are composed in Hattic, indicating that those myths are of Hattic origin and predate the arrival of the Hittites in Anatolia. The so-called “Aryan” language is represented primarily through personal names in Hurrian texts, particularly the hippological texts. Palaic is known from only a handful of ritual tablets and was the language of the region of Pala, the area of Anatolia north of Ḫattuša that was overrun by the Kaška peoples very early in Hittite history, thereby driving Palaic to extinction. The tablets from Ḫattuša are primarily of two sorts, texts that dealt with current events and ephemera that were preserved in only one copy (e.g. oracular inquiries) and texts that were part of the Hittite literary corpus and were copied many times throughout Hittite history and are preserved as multiple copies (e.g. mythological fragments).

Although the archives from Ḫattuša are our most important and diverse sources of textual information about the Hittites, three other important archives have been excavated. Of these, the largest and most important is the archive from Örtaköy (ancient Šapinuwa), which has yielded over 3000 tablets written in Hittite and Hurrian, many of which appear to be letters and administrative documents from the Middle Hittite period. These tablets were uncovered from a large building that seems to be a palatial structure. Unfortunately, all but a small handful of these tablets remain unpublished.

More informative has been the archive from Maşat Höyük (ancient Tapikka), which was the site of a secondary Hittite palace in early Hittite history. Prior to the site’s destruction by the Kaška peoples during the reign of Tutḫaliya III, the site doubled as a military outpost. Roughly 100 letters from Maşat have been preserved and translated, thus giving a unique look into the life of people stationed away from the capital. Many of the letters were written directly to or from the king, indicating that the Hittite king was extremely interested in the happenings along the outer fringes of his empire. References to the letter writers’ families and houses suggest that many of the officials in Maşat were stationed there only temporarily, perhaps on rotating shifts. The Maşat letters contain numerous references to the Kaška peoples and the taking of prisoners. Intriguingly, several letters refer to the blinding of prisoners, suggesting that prisoners of war were blinded in order to impede their escape when sent to work in areas familiar to them.

The smallest Hittite archive was found at Kuşakli (ancient Šarišša), consisting of Hittite almost entirely ritual in nature. A small collection of about 60 sealings was also uncovered at Kuşakli. Archives have also been uncovered at sites in Syria under Hittite control, most notably Emar and Alalakh.

Not all documents from the Hittite Empire were written on tablets using cuneiform. Anatolian hieroglyphs first appeared in the Hittite Old Kingdom (and perhaps even by the Old Assyrian period), but they were not used to compose monumental inscriptions until the end of the Hittite Empire, most notably during the reigns of Tutḫaliya IV and Šuppiluliuma II. These imperial Luwian inscriptions, carved on rock faces or as built monuments, such as the Südberg structure at Ḫattuša, provide information about the historical events during the latter part of the Hittite Empire, such as references to the subjugation of rebellious lands in Tarḫuntassa and other regions of western Anatolia. With the exception of Luwian inscriptions from Ḫattuša, most of the monumental Luwian inscriptions from the Hittite Empire period were carved in western and southwestern Anatolia. This region of Hatti had become thoroughly Luwianized with a strong Hurrian influence, and the adoption of Luwian for inscriptions was perhaps a reflection of this. The reasons for the adoption of hieroglyphic Luwian for Hittite inscriptions are unknown, but it seems plausible that they served as a visible reminder of Hittite power during a time of increasingly decentralized authority and Hittite imperial weakness. Another reason may be the need for an autochthonous script, rejecting the use of the Babylonian-derived cuneiform script for Hittite monuments. References to “scribes of wood” have been interpreted as references to the use of wooden writing tablets containing wax, an interpretation that found support in the discovery of such a tablet in the Uluburun shipwreck. It is unclear whether Hittite or Luwian was used for the wooden tablets, however, and there is no particular reason to suppose that scribes were already using hieroglyphs rather than cuneiform for everyday administration.

As informative as the Hittite archives are, they pose considerable problems both archaeologically and philologically. Perhaps the most pressing issue is the extreme geographical bias. The overwhelming majority of Hittite tablets come from the capital, and thus very little is known about the activity outside Ḫattuša except insofar as those cities relate to the capital, such as supplying taxes in the form of money and livestock, much of which went toward the large number of Hittite festivals. The administration of some regions of the Hittite empire like western Anatolia remains little known due to the paucity of sources relating to these areas. Although the archives of Ḫattuša preserved references to Arzawa, no tablets have been uncovered in western Anatolia, so the political history of that region remains only fuzzily known. The kingdom of Kizzuwatna (Cilicia) is likewise relatively poorly known, and most of the textual studies of Kizzuwatnan materials have focused almost exclusively on the Hurrian elements of their rituals.

Although many genres of texts are preserved in Hittite archives, many useful texts are either missing or present only in fragmentary form. In sharp contrast to the Old Assyrian period or contemporary Egypt, for example, Hittite economic texts are relatively few in number, so everyday details of the selling and production of goods remain poorly known. Hittite administrative texts have revealed information about subjects like instructions for the lord of the watchtowers and the royal bodyguards, but how smaller, regional administrative centers functioned remains little studied, particularly the role of local government and assemblies.

As with any ancient culture, one must remember that the number of literate individuals was extremely small. Preserved texts shed light primarily on elite individuals and matters of state, and thus we know far more about the activities of the Hittite king and his officials than the commoners in the Hittite population, who are rarely mentioned except in vague references in the Hittite laws or letters. Archaeological data is therefore of paramount importance when examining the lives of much of the Hittite populace.

A month ago, there was a question from u/VeronicaNoir about medieval women working as blacksmiths, as we often see in video games. Now I can’t speak about blacksmiths, but I can speak about armourers. As I’ve said in other posts, armourers (and swordsmiths, and mailmakers, and brigandine-makers) aren’t blacksmiths, they are separate professions with their own guilds, regulations etc. With that said, the genericized ‘blacksmith’ we see in fiction and in video games in particular is often a combination of all of these crafts with a side of true blacksmithing (making simple tools) as well. In particular, in video games and pen and paper roleplaying games we are likely to encounter -someone- making armour and weapons, and yes, in fiction, this person is sometimes a woman. One memorable example is Kate from the glorious postmodern insanity that is A Knight’s Tale. In the movie, Kate is a widowed smith of ambiguous specialization who is nonetheless an expert armourer (in fact, she invents heat treating armour during the course of the movie, which is yet another reason she’s better than Jocelyn). In modern fiction, we can think of several reasons writers may make a weaponsmith or armourer a woman - it puts a female character in the plot and in the action but in a supporting role (thus not threatening the primacy of the male hero), for one, while giving her something to do outside more traditional ‘feminine-coded’ tasks. So with that preamble out of the way, were there women working in the armouring industry? Signs point to yes, but with some important qualifications. First of all, Medieval armourers (and medieval craftspeople in general) were not solitary artists laboring alone. They worked in workshops with others - often their family members. Those other people laboring in workshops - doing rough hammer work, stoking fires, holding things with tongs - are less well attested in our sources. Most of our records of armourers are for the masters of the workshop - they are the ones with the contracts, they are the ones named in town records, etc. We may have surviving contracts with subcontractors in Italy or indentures with apprentices and journeyman North of the alps, but these are formal business relationships. They do not cover the labor of family members who (because of their gender) were outside of the formal guild hierarchy or subcontracting system.

With that said, we can guess that women did indeed work alongside their male family members in workshops. We have at lease once illustration of them doing so. A German Hausbuch of the later 15th century illustrates a woman holding a piece of armour in the forge with tongs while a number of men work in the foreground. Matthias Pfaffenbichler actually uses this image for the cover of his book Armourers. Since we do not have the exact identity of the woman in the picture, we can’t know for sure, but she is likely a family member (a daughter, possibly, judging by her somewhat unrealistic lack of a veil) assisting the master at the forge.

There is one group of women in armouring that are quite well attested: Widows (like Kate in A Knight’s Tale). As in other areas of late medieval and early modern life, widowed women would often inherit their late husband’s property in the absence of other heirs, and retain control over it. In the later 16th and early 17th century we have several records of women filling orders for armour. To quote from Allan Williams, in the Knight and the Blast Furnace pp 460-461:

In 1597 Jakob Topf died, 2 years after his patron the Archduke Ferdinand. His widow, Anna, continued in charge of the workshop, with a subsidy, so that armour for the Provin- cial Armoury was paid for. There were a series of orders for infantry armours from 1598 to 1615.... Hans Jakob Topf was paid as Hofplattner in 1618 to the Archdukes Maximilian III, and later, Leopold V. One armour he made for the latter survives. After his death in 1628 his widow Ursula took over the workshop, and Leopold bought a tournament armour from her. Later on in the book, Williams mentions how “In 1578 Barbara the widow of the armourer Georg Konig received 3 florins for renovating 13 armours for Shrove Tues- day jousts.”

In these cases the role that the master’s widow (now mistress of the workshop) plays in the production process - does she simply manage the business or does she make armour herself? In the case of Anna Topf the use of a subsidiary suggests that she did not take too ‘hands on’ an approach, but that may not always be the case. Barbara Konig’s pay for renovating 13 armours is fairly small and suggests a modest workshop - one where the mistress herself might assist. We shouldn’t assume that just because some women took on a purely ‘business’ roll in assuming their husbands craft that all did so. In the end, we can’t say definitively what the role was of women in the late medieval and early modern armouring industry. But we can say that -they had one- and that we shouldn’t blithely discount the concrete evidence of their participation based on our own ideas of late medieval and early modern gender roles.

Week 21

 

Being a soldier on the Italian front had also a few privileges. For example, on March 16^th you would have had a chance to get your hands on a flier, reproducing the following piece, written by Benito Mussolini for his Popolo d'Italia (issue of the 15^th ) [I am keeping, where possible, the original formatting].

 

THE POPE GIVES HIS BLESSING TO FAIDUTTI!

 

Yesterday I had left open the question – just for the sake of argument – whether the Pope's neutrality was inspired by political considerations, but it would have been indeed much easy to show that in reality the Pope's neutrality has no other motives, no other explanations. Just yesterday I received the following note:

Dear Mussolini,

I send you with this one a very interesting copy of the “Eco del Litorale”. I thought you would love this delicacy. He blesses that filthy character, he blesses Don Faidutti's lackeys, he blesses and thanks those who are right now attempting to the very existence of our Motherland. Strike back, strike hard with fire, Mussolini, without mercy, for honor and Justice.

A faithful of yours and volunteer of war

Here is what's all about. On January 11^th 1918, the “Eco del Litorale”, an Austrian newspaper, in Italian language, published in Trieste, sent this address to the Pope:

Holy Father!

The “Eco del Litorale”, now entering its 47^th year of existence, had begun its publications in Gorizia, with that strictly papal program, that it never abandoned despite going through continuous vicissitudes and conflicts. Its founders were men of sound catholic faith assisted by model ecclesiastical, among them that illustrious prelate monseigneur Eugenio Carlo Valussi, later Bishop of the well known Diocese of Trent, of blessed memory. The Roman Pontiffs often dignified the “Eco del Litorale” with their praise and encouragement. Organism of the faithful catholic militants, support of all the social and economical institutions founded on a catholic platform, strenuous opponent of any sort of currents contrarian to faith, morality, christian charity, the “Eco” survived in Gorizia despite all sorts of hardships and adversities until it was forced by the events to relocate. After two years of refugee life, away from the strong catholic Friuli, after a period of transition during which the newspaper was printed in Vienna, we at last settled in the emporium of Trieste to embrace in one single sheaf the many people of Friuli-Istria-Trieste and to mirror their thoughts and actions inside the “Eco del Litorale” in its renewed daily edition. Faithful to our program and with our minds and souls always looking to the Pontiff's direction, we stand by the Chair of St. Peter, Chair of wisdom, truth and love, we renew our proclamations of loyalty, and bowing down in spirit to the feet of Your Holiness, we beg for our newspaper and the institutions that it represents the apostolic blessing for the cause of good, for prosperity of our initiatives, for consolation of the present misery.

Trieste, February 11^th

Within the last number of the “Eco”, out in Trieste on March 3^rd , there is the Pope's answer. The newspaper announces it on the headline, in full characters, like this: The blessing of the Pontiff to the readers of the “Eco” - His Most Reverend Eminence the Apostolic Nuncio in Vienna, has passed thanks to Monseigneur Faidutti to the Chief Editor of the “Eco del Litorale” the following letter of the State Secretary of His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XV:

State Secretariat

of His Holiness

From the Vatican, Febr. 9^th 1918

Most excellent Sir!

The Serene Pontiffs has received your address sent from the “Eco del Litorale” for its 47^th year of existence, with the purpose of offering its humble homage of loyalty and support and professing the intention to work with renewed fervor along the directions of the Apostolic Seat for the holy cause of religion and the consequent moral and civil well being of the peoples. The Holy Father, while expressing his gratitude through my offices, also wishes to grant You, the editors and readers all the Apostolic Blessing. With most distinguished regards I say myself a devout servant of Your Excellence,

Card. Gasparri

A few explanatory lines. What is the “Eco del Litorale”? It's the almost personal instrument of Monseigneur Faidutti. In fact the Apostolic Nuncio in Vienna has related the Pope's answer to Faidutti. And who is Faidutti then? This man is by now notorious in Italy too. He is a renegade Italian. Born within our old borders, ordained priest, he sided with Austria. The chronicles of Gorizia are full of the despicable actions of this priest. Monseigneur Faidutti has but one hate: Italy and Italians. His efforts have but one goal: damaging Italy and Italians. What Mons. Faidutti wants right now, in agreement with the austro-german goals, is to assist Austria in their attempt to de-nationalize Friuli. Can the Vatican and its officiant Card. Gasparri ignore the actions of Mons. Faidutti? It's impossible to believe. The Vatican knows fully well Faidutti's policy. It is well known that it's deeply, fiercely anti Italian. It is well known that the “Eco del Litorale” is on the Austrian payroll and that the “Eco”'s readers are only those who are anti-Italian.

But that's exactly why the Pope's blessing is cast on the non innocent head of Mons. Faidutti and his flock. We have no knowledge of the Pope sending his blessing to the readers of some catholic press in Belgium. That would have been inappropriate. But with the “Eco del Litorale” there's no such risk. So that Mons. Faidutti and his followers can say: the Pope is with us! The Pope is against Italy!

Mussolini

 

The piece, fiercely critical of the Catholic Church and (not unintentionally) ending with the sentence “The Pope is against Italy”, had been censored within the nation but allowed circulation among the troops, as was not infrequently the case under the new tenure of the Service P., that handled the propaganda services for the soldiers.

The men in charge of the Italian propaganda office – while themselves comparatively moderate – appeared to believe that a bit of rage went a long way in making a good soldier; a frequent observation, or complaint among the Army organizations was that the men did not express hate towards the Austrians. Thus the effort to paint a vivid picture of the vicious crimes committed by the Austrians and Germans towards the populations in the occupied regions (see the infamous example of Belgium, referenced in the piece) especially now that a portion of Italian soil was occupied itself, for example circulating actual cards with drawings of the atrocities (those are a few I could find: one, two, three ).