The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-07-06

me SUI Iooo Known ompitO Wnicn. IN umeo
preceding the COMMONLY acosptsd date Of the
Trojan waf. ID supposed 70 have been
formed By the Hittitss between the Euphratss
and the Esesn. cannot afford to overlook
the notes and essays which in this book
are joined to tho correlated parts OF Herodo-
tus. II H. indeed. not long ago that the exist
sncs OF Hlttlte empire was disputed. and so
few Of tho facts and infercnces barring on tho
subject have as yot passed from the journals Of
archaeological societies into popular literature
that we would diroct particular attention to
tho summary In an appendix on Lydia" OF
what Prof. Saycc believes established. or Mt all
events made probable. touchln. remarkable
people. OF whom until very recently nothing
was known beyond few vague illusions In tho
Old Testament The FIRST glimpse. he tells US.
which archaeology obtains Of Asia Minor. shows
US that peninsula tenanted by population
identical with that which In prehistoric days
inhabited Armenia. This race. which a. It
nenian highlands acquired the various names
OF Hlttitos. Comsgenians. and Cappadocians.
he would term Proto- Armenian. and no would
SEQ In tho GsorRians Its modern representa-.
tives 1t wns not Of Aryan stock. for there 10
no evidence that during tho times commonly
described as prehistoric tho Aryans over passed
westward OF tho Tigris or eastward OF the
Hays: the Assyrlan inscriptions mako It clear
that, a. late ns the seventh century i. O.. .
non-Aryan population still held tho country
between Media and tho last. named river. It
was only when tho stream OF emigration from
the Caspian had brought the Aryan Modes into
Medca and tho Aryan Pcrsians into Elan that
Aryans also forced their why into Armenia and
planted colony in the Caucasus ITSELF
or this Proto. Armenian race. the most I'M.
k,,., a, xotI thaI
who established themselves In the heart Of the
Semitic territory. and founded an empire.
which oontendod on equal terms with Egypt
and once extended It's sway as far as tho lEgoan.
Its two capitals wsro kndesh. on an island In
the Orontes. and Carchenish. now Jerablus the
classical Hicrapolis on the EuphrAtes. about
sixteen miles south OF Birejik. A Hittite tribe
even succeeded in settling In the south Of Pal
estine. In tho neighborhood OF Hebron. which.
like Jerusalem. must have been o Hittite foun-
dalton II Mariette Is right In making the lead
ers Of the Hyksos dynseties In Egypt Hittites.
The date Of the extension OF the Hitttte empire
westward to the !Egesn 10 fixed by Prof. Sayce
from the fifteenth 10 the thirteenth centuries
D. G. Though the Hittites are mentioned In
the work on Babylonian astronomy compiled
for sargon Of Agad6 this Sargon. not to DO
COMPOUNDED with tho much later Assyrisn
OF Chaldea ct least rs carly AZ 1000 B. O..
they are unknown to the Egyptian monuments
till the reign Of Thothmes II. tof the eighteenth
Egyptian dynasty 1t Is matter Of record that
about b. c. 1000 this Pharaoh shattered tho
combined CanaAnite forces under the Hittite
King Of Kadesh on the Orontes at Megiddo.
where the enemy left behind them. among
other spoil. charlots Of silver and gold that had
been made In Cyprus. In the time OF Ramses
II. tho sesostris Of the Greeks. 3. c. 1880. the
Hittites were able TO summon to their aid not
only the Colchians. but also the Mysians. and
tho Dardani OF the Troad. showing that at that
period their power In the extreme west was
unimpaired. The strength Of tho Egyptian
and Hittite empires WAS At this time nearly
equal. and after many years Of struggle Ramses
and Khita-Sira the great King OF the Hit.
tites." entered into o defensive and offensive
alliance which was ratified by the marriage Of
Ramses with the daughter OF the Hittite mon
arch. The hittte text OF this treaty was on
graved on q tablet OF silver. In the peculiar
characters OF Csrchemish. while the Egyptian
COPY was sculptured on the walls Of the temple
OF Ramses. The Hittite power. however. seems
to have decayed soon afterward. though. ac-
cording to Tiglath- Pileser !. tB. G. 1l8o). the
Hittites In his time still held possession Of
Semitic Syria. Rarrisoning It with Colchian
soldiers. But gradually the semites managed
to push the Hittltes to the north. Ksdesh the
southern capital. fell into Syrian hands. and
before the reign Of Solomon Klamath also had
ceased to belong to tho Hittites. As late. how
ever. as the eighth century b. O.. the allied
tribe OF Patinlans extended from the Gulf Of
Antioch to Aleppo. where the territory OF tho
Hittits princes Of Carchemish and Pethor
lat the junction OF the Sajur and Euphrates)
Rnt fhsA Doff
Quered BY Tigath- Pileser H.. BIO. 1874. and tho
fall Of Carchemish in b. G. III. when Sargon.
the Assyrian usurper. put its last king Pisiris.
to death. and made 1t the seat OF an Assyrian
satrap. marked the final victory Of the Semites.
The Hittite empire whilo 1t lasted had done
much for civilization. The Hittites invented q
system Of hieroglyphio writing which had
probably been suggested by the sight Of the
Egyptian characters. The Egyptian monu-
ments speak OF one Khilip-Sira. the writer OF
books Of the Vile Kheta." and rjath-Sepher
or book town" was one OF the Hittite settle
ments in southern Palestine. Tho Hitttes
| carried their writing with them into the fur
thest extremities OF Asia Minor. One OF the
| sculptured rock figures At karabel. which
Herodotus after his visit to Egypt imagined to
be those Of Sesostrls. has Hittite inscription
still legible upon it. Out Of their hieroglyphics
Sayce terms Asianic. This syllabary was in
| use throughout Asia Minor before tho intro.
| duction OF the simpler PhGnican alphabet
and local branch Of 1t was employed In Cyrus
As late as the fourth or third century d. G.
Hittlte art was n modification Of that OF early
Babylonia though tho sphinxes at Eyuk. the
Hittite form OF the winged solar disk. and the
scarabs found In the neghborhood OF Aleppc
show that in this direction also Egypt had
exercised some influence. 1t was characterized
| BY solidity. roundness. and work in relief
This Hittite art IL the source OF the peculiar
art OF Asin Minor. which forms a well-narked
element Ia that OF primitive Greece. The en-.
graved cylinders and seals Of chalcedony and
similar stones brought from Cyprus and
Lydia. which were long supposed to bs rude
| limitations Of PhDncan workmanship. now
turn out to be carved inter Hittte models
They were. indeed. ultimately derived from the
art OF Babyionia. but through the northern
(Hittits). and not through tho southern tPh9
nician) channel; silver was tho metal especial,
affected by tho Hittites. both as an artistic and
writing material. and they were tho first te
work the silver mines Of Asia Minor. It II