Anatolia II- The World of Hittites

The course aims to paint an impressionistic understanding of the Hittite world in Anatolia between ca 1950 BCE and 700 BCE. It will on one side examine the deeds of important historical figures and their relations with their neighboring -and often adversary- states of Mycenae, Egypt, Mitanni and Babylon. In the process, it will discuss events like the Battle of Qadesh, the Trojan War, the Sea People and the so-called "collapse " of the Hittite Empire. On the other side, it will combine archaeological, historical and philological research to attempt reconstructing daily life in the Hittite kingdom, from craft to farming, from medicine to religious festivals.