Hittite Empire · About 1650-1180 BC

The Hittites of Hattusa

From a fortress capital in central Anatolia, the Hittite kings raided Babylon, fought Egypt and wrote the oldest texts in the language family that includes English. Students explore Hattusa, meet Queen Puduhepa and test an old myth about Hittite iron.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 1500 BC to 1595 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

From a fortress capital in central Anatolia, the Hittite kings raided Babylon, fought Egypt and wrote the oldest texts in the language family that includes English. Students explore Hattusa, meet Queen Puduhepa and test an old myth about Hittite iron.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Hattusa and the Hittite heartland and describe its geography.
  • Explain how the Hittites were rediscovered and their language deciphered.
  • Describe the Hittites' relations with Babylon and Egypt.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

1500 BC

The Anatolian plateau

Open the map in 1500 BC and find the area labeled Hittites in central Anatolia. Look at the mountains around the high plateau. How would they help defend a kingdom?

Open this view on the map
b

1300 BC

Hattusa

Zoom in on Hattusa, the Hittite capital, near the modern village of Boğazkale. Its walls ran for kilometers over rocky ridges. What would an attacker see as he approached?

Open this view on the map
c

1595 BC

The raid on Babylon

Jump to 1595 BC and zoom out. King Mursili I marched from Hattusa down the Euphrates and sacked Babylon. Trace his route: roughly how far did his army march?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. For centuries the Hittites were known only from a few mentions in the Bible. How did archaeology bring them back?
  2. Hittite is the oldest written language of the family that includes English, Hindi and Persian. How can languages so far apart be related?
  3. Queen Puduhepa wrote her own letters to Ramesses II. What does that tell us about her power?
  4. People once said the Hittites won their wars with iron weapons, but most of their weapons were bronze. Why do myths like this last?
  5. Why might a powerful empire like the Hittites fall apart within a few decades around 1200 BC?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Ramesses II in Rule History and stop at his decision about peace with the Hittites. Discuss it from the other side: what did King Hattusili III and Queen Puduhepa gain from peace with Egypt?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.