The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-04-07
THE LONG-LOST CAPITAL OF
THE -HITTIT,ES.

their remains indicated that they had
been numerous, powerful, and advanced
people Now it is the Hittites who are
unearthed by archaeology. and we are
brought face to face with another of those
ancient nations with regard to whom pro-
fame history is silent These discoveries
are only new proofs of the reliability and
accuracy of the Biblical narrative, which
the learned critics like Mr. Robertson
Smith and DR.. Davidson are always pull
ing to pieces At the annual meeting of
the American Geographical Society, held
in New York on the 23d instant, Chief
Justice DAILY delivered an address, giving
a resume of geographical discovery for
the past two years. From this address
we make the following extract:
Geographical.inquiries are not limited to the
discovery of unknown countries or places but
embrace the discovery of the remains of lost civ
iization or cities, one of which has been discov-
cred during the last two years. The readers of
the Bible will remember the frequent mention
that is made of the Hittites, "a people occupying
Canaan, who are described in the Biblical mar
rative as being commercial and military and in
whose country Abraham bought piece of land
for his burial place. The scattered accounts in
the Bible simply indicate an ordinary tribe of
people, with whom the Israelites had intercourse,
but information derived from the researches
made IN Egypt and Assyria show that the Hit
titles, whom the Egyptians called the Kheta and
the Assyrians the Khatti, where powerful con-
tederacy occupying the country which was the
highway between Babylonia or Assyria and
Egypt-a people actively engaged in commerce,
their principal city being place to which mer-
chants from all parts congregated, and who
were at the same time a warlike people, who
for long period kept the Assyrians in check
and who proved the most formidable antagonists
the Egyptians ever encountered They were
not only commercial and warlike, but had evil
IDENTIFY at a remote period made great advances
IN civilization and in the fine arts and early
Greek art, as found in the discoveries of DR..
Schhemann at Mycen@, and the early art found
In cyprus by our associate Mr.. De Cesnola. is
supposed to havebeen largely derived from them.
Ihey occupied the whole country of Southern
Syria, from the Mediterranean to the desert
dwelling chiefly in the fertile valleys of the
Orontes, river rising to the east of Baalbec and
flowing into the Mediterranean and had two
principal cities-Kad or the holv CITY and a
great commercial emporium, which was their
capital and the centre of their power called
Carchemish. They were finally overthrown by
the Assyrlans b. O., us, and had so completely
disappeared that they are scarcely even referred
10 by Greek writers. Great interest was felt to
discover the site of their commercial capital
Carchemlsh, and many coniectures have been
made, none of which, however could be verified.
few years ago Mr. Skene the British Consul
at Aleppo, discovered a huge mound of earth
covering a large on the western shore of
the lower Euphrates near ford of that river
on the route still traversed by caravans This
great mound was surrounded by ruined walls
ana broken towers, while the mound itself was
put mass OF earth, fragments of masonry and
debris. 1t had frequently been seen nv nra
vlous travellers but they identified it. with Other
lost places. Mr.. Skene called the attention of
the late George Smith, the eminent archaoloqist
who brought so much to light from the ruins of
Uneven, to this mound, and Mr. Smith found
mere the Iong,lost capital of the Hittites The
present BRITISH Consul, Mr.. Henderson has been
during the last two years engaged in the exnlo
ration OF the mound, and has already sent i'm
Portant remains with inscriptions to the British
Museum. few years ago stone which had
formed part OF the wall of a house at Hametb
had an inscription upon it which excited great
curiosity, because it was neither Assvrian nor
Egyptian, but something between both Ian
guages. 1T may be remembered that I called
ATTENTION IN one of my former addresses to the
discovery OF this stone and one or two others
containing like characters which were tban
called the Hameth inscriptions with tbe suoges
tion that this might probably be the LANGUAGE
OF the Hlttites, which is now proved to be the
TACT; The inscriptions found by Mr. Henderson
IN the exploration of Carchemsh are not only of
"to CHARACTER, out the same language.
which Mr. Layard found impressed upon seals
discovered by him in the ruins of the record
chamber OF Sennscherib's palace and which GREAT
~ excited his curiosity as the writing was nm
like any ever noticed before Anotber ;nscr;n-
ton was afterward discovered at AIepno bv Wr
Davis, missionary; and it also turns out that
the famous figures sculptured above the roads
from EPhesus to Phocea, and from SMYRNA To
Sardls, which are mentioned by Herodotus and
We're supposed by him to represent the Fevntian
King Rameses H., the Sesostris of the Greeks
had inscriptions in the same character as tbsf re'
Gently found IN Carchemish showing that these
hgures also are Hittte monuments. II is SIM.
posed that this language was the source of w6at
is known as the Cypriote syllabarv. found in ~.
Prus and which was probably the lanouaoe n
use among commercial people throuebSut Asia
Minor until 1t was superseded by the sirnnIer and
more practical Phenician alphabet Tbs d,.s
ccovery is exceedingly interesting, as the Hit.
tites belong to the same race of people who per.
fected by the invention of the alphabet that
greatest OF human inventions, written Ian.
guage. We have now in this discovery of NJ
smith, the memorials Of lost people IN NEIGH.
boring proximity to the Phmniciabs of ,,b6Sn,
also, we know so little-a people who had AN
important part IN the early progress of ancient
flvlhzatlon, with respect to which an eminent
Egyptian scholar expresses his conviction tbat
future discoveries in the course of this exnlora'
ton will afford convincing proofs that this civil
n u. L III.