HITTITE EMPIRE

Copyright infringement not intended

In News:

• Researchers from Cornell University and Cyprus Institute studying juniper timbers have found that a series of droughts might be the reason behind the collapse of the Hittite

Details:

• The team of archaeologists studied tree rings of contemporary juniper trees in central Anatolia to assess the role of drought in the collapse of the Hittite Empire.
  • The measurement of moisture content from the tree rings helped the researchers to identify a severe continuous dry period that occurred between 1198 and 1196 BCE.
• The Hittite Empire in central Anatolia (in modern-day turkey) was one of the major powers of the Bronze Age before its largest city and capital ‘Hattusa’ was abandoned by its people sometime around 1200 BCE, this was the leading cause behind the empire’s fall.
  • Juniper timbers at archaeological sites have explained the mysterious collapse for over 3,200 years.
• In a study published in the journal ‘Nature’, researchers from Cornell University and Cyprus Institute found that a series of droughts around 1198 BCE and 1196 BCE may have brought down the empire.
  • The researchers said that extreme climate change might have pushed populations beyond their adaptation limits and centuries-old civilization ended.
• According to the research team, this severe drought period resulted in a long period of food shortages.
  • These shortages would have led to political, economic and social unrest, as well as disease outbreaks, and played a key role in the collapse of the empire.

Hittite Empire:

• The Hittite Empire was located in semi-arid central Anatolia in present-day Turkey.
• The empire was recognized as the major power of the Eastern Mediterranean, which flourished between 1650 and 1200 BCE.
  • The Hittites were famous for their skill in building and using chariots. They also pioneered the manufacture and use of iron.
• According to historians, the empire kept itself resilient against regular sociopolitical, economic and even environmental challenges such as the threat of drought.
  • However, around 1200 BCE, the empire fell.
• The empire falls roughly at the same time as the decline of several other major civilisations (known as the Bronze Age collapse).
• The other theory explaining the end of civilization;
  • It was thought that a military attack had led to the city’s downfall. However, archaeological investigations indicated that the city was abandoned by the royal administration and later burnt.
• The drought event might have contributed to the decline but was not the only cause behind the collapse of the empire.
  • Researchers claimed that Climate change, population movements, reorientations of trade and political fragmentation all played a part in the changes that occurred across the Old World around 1200 BCE.