A diachronic, yet nuanced study of Amorite identity from Mesopotamia to Egypt over a millennium of Bronze Age history.

The Hittites were an Anatolian people living in what is now Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. The empire started in the 18th century BCE, peaking in the 14th century BCE and finally trailing off around 1180 BCE with the collapse of the Bronze Age. Author Sayce traces the history of the Hittite people, attempting to demonstrate that this was an empire of significance that is not afforded the credit it deserves. The book begins with an analysis of the references to the Hittite people in The Bible, which is an oft-cited source of information throughout Sayce's work. Divided into chapters, the book goes on to explore topics such as Hittite monuments, the Hittite Empire, Hittite cities, Hittite religion and art, and the trade and industry of the Hittities, amongst other topics. Several illustrations are included, primarily of Hittite artifacts. The book concludes with a detailed index.

This study of the political history of Mesopotamia – today’s Iraq and Syria – in the Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1600 BCE) is the first comprehensive historical synthesis of this kind published in English after many decades. Based on numerous written sources in Sumerian and Akkadian – royal inscriptions, letters, law collections, economic records, etc. – and on up-to-date research, it presents the region’s political history in a meticulous geographic and chronological manner. This allows the interested academic and non-academic reader an in-depth view into the scene of ancient Mesopotamia ruled by competing dynasties of West Semitic (Amorite) origin, with a complex web of political and tribal connections between them.

First Published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.