The Hittites

First published in 1952, this survey presents the Hittite civilisation of Anatolia as recovered by archaeology and by the reading of cuneiform archives from Hattusa. Gurney outlines the rise and fall of the Old and New Kingdoms, relations with Egypt, Mitanni, and Assyria, and then law, kingship, religion, and the Indo-European language of the court. Art, fortification, and everyday material from the sites support the written record. The book is a concise historical and cultural handbook, not a narrative of a single reign and not a decipherment memoir.

Decorations by Simon Noyes. Maps by Reginald Piggott. Gilt image decorated light brown cloth binding. Decorative map endpapers. Illustrated with colour and black & white photographs and maps. Plain dark red slipcase. From 1999 Empires of the Ancient Near East set.