Ancient site · City
Hattusa
Also known as Boğazköy, Boğazkale
The capital of the Hittite kings, inside a bend of the Kızılırmak River in central Turkey. Its walls, gates guarded by stone lions and sphinxes, temples and palaces covered a hilly site of about 1.8 km².
Its archives of clay tablets, and a bronze tablet recording a treaty between King Tudhaliya IV and Kurunta of Tarhuntassa, reveal Hittite politics. The city was abandoned around 1190 BCE when the Hittite empire collapsed.
- Dates
- c. 2000–1190 BCE (Hittite capital from c. 1650 BCE)
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 40.02° N, 34.62° E
How we know
Tens of thousands of clay tablets found in the city record Hittite laws, treaties and letters.
Nearby sites
- Çatalhöyük c. 7100–5600 BCE
- Arslantepe c. 4000–700 BCE; palace c. 3400–3200 BCE
- Çayönü c. 8630–6800 BCE
- Göbekli Tepe c. 9500–8000 BCE
- Theodosian Walls of Constantinople c. 405–413 CE; defended the city until 1453
- Ugarit (Ras Shamra) c. 7000–1185 BCE; golden age c. 1500–1200 BCE