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The Secret of the Hittites: The Discovery of an Ancient Empire

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Rivaling Egypt and Babylon at the zenith of its' power, the Hittite Empire was so completely destroyed that only the tiniest pieces of a large mosaic remained, erasing their centuries-long sway over Asia Monor from the memory of man. Ceram's book looks at both the Hittite Empire and its' discovery in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Both tales are equally compelling. Among the first Indo-Europeans to appear in history, they established themselves as a warrior aristocracy in Anatolia ca. the 19th century, B.C. Ruling a polygot collection of ancient kingdoms, they 'went native' as regards religion and culture to a great extent. Their decentralized system resembled a confederacy, and their early government featured a limited monarchy, ruling jointly with a proto-Senate (the Pankus). Ceram is at his best in tracing the unravelling the silence that shrouded them from the time of the Fall of Troy until the 19th century. He shows how the accidental discovery of their capital, Hattusa, by explorers led to debates as to who built it. Next, the cuneiform libraries of their kings yielded another suprise: They spoke an Indo-European language. The work of Friederich Hornzy, an Austrian who deciphered the language as his likf's work, is a compelling vingette. The identification of this ancient empire with the Hittites mentioned in the Bible sparked intense controversy, but proved to be true. Proponents took one reference, from II Kings 7:6, in which the kings of the Hittites come before the kings of the Egyptians in precedence, to infer their existence as a great power. Ceram leaves us with other tantilizing questions, such as: was the Attasyrias who raided the western shores of Asia Minor the Atreus whose sons, Agmamenon and Melemeus, sacked Troy? A highly readable, yet rather scholarly account of one of archaelolgy's greatest triumphs, written almost in the style of a mystery novel. -Lloyd A. Conway

In terms of revealing information on the Hittites themselves, I was not impressed by the author's presentation of historical fact. However, this book does reveal an astounding image of what it took to begin to uncover the mystery shrouding this long sought after Biblical people.

If you enjoy the history being made as much as the history being uncovered, I would highly recommend this book.

C.W. Ceram's book is dated in places, but still an excellent account of the archeology which unearthed the ancient Hittites - one of the great empires of the near east - and allowed them to speak to us today. This is a story mainly about archeology and those who brought the Hittites alive once more. This book should be understood as such - a blend of history of both Hittites and the scholars who struggled to find them again. Those who wish to read solely about the Hittites can still glean much good information from this book, but as an addition to other works.