The Kingdom of the Hittites

As may be suspected from the title, this is a king-centric take on Hittite history. Essentially chronological, it follows the fortunes of the Hittite kings from the founding of the kingdom to its fall ca 1200.

That fall, of course, is a main component of the "Bronze Age Collapse"; Bryce discusses possible causes without coming down definitely for any particular explanation. Considering the previous history of the kingdom, whose fortunes had waxed and wanted violently over the centuries of its existence, one might be tempted to think it had just run out of luck. But that of course doesn't explain why other polities across the Near East and Greece should fall or decline approximately simultaneously.

It's a good book.

I skimmed this book, did not read it completely. Not because it is a bad book. Only because it isn't written for someone like me with only a superficial curiosity. I like pictures of artifacts and stories of the discoveries and the people. There are no pictures in this, and it is very detailed about the political history, loaded with references and disclaimers throughout informing the reader that not all scholars agree. There are a few chapters I read, like the one on Troy. The author writes well, and the research is well documented. More than that I can not tell you because I do not have the expertise.

A fantastic book. Professor Bryce was one of my undergraduate lecturers and he is THE world No. 1 expert on the Hittites. Not a dry text at all, but really brings the story of the Hittite kings to life. Should ideally be read in conjunction with watching the excellent docudrama film The Hittites, directed by Tolga Ornek (2003), for which Professor Bryce was an adviser.

Everything you wanted to know about the history of the Hittites, but were afraid to ask. This book is professional, critical, honest, and insightful, but may challenge some readers.

"The aim of this book is to present a view of Hittite history which is consistent with the evidence so far available to us, but also to indicate to the reader where there is divergence of scholarly opinion, and where different or contrary views have been presented." --Bryce, Introduction, p.3

A definitive history of the Hittite Empire, one of the ancient world's great powers, drawing on recent archaeological and textual discoveries.