Hattusa (Civ6)/Civilopedia

Once the capital of the mighty Hittite Empire, Hattusa is now just some sunbaked ruins – although it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. Sometime before 2000 BC, the Hatti decided to build on the site of a prehistoric abandoned settlement on the ridge of Buyukkale, which didn’t have much to recommend it save its defensibility. In the 19th and 18th centuries BC merchants from Assyria established a trading post in the town, and introduced cuneiform writing. A century later, King Anitta destroyed the town and then cursed it for good measure, inscribing on a rock: “Whoever after me becomes king resettles Hattusas, let the Stormgod of the Sky smite him.”
Only a generation later, his curse was ignored, as a Hittite king chose the spot for his new palace and capital. This marked the beginning of a line of Hittite “great kings,” 27 of whom are still known by name. Hattusa became the seat of learning, religion and politics for the empire; at its peak the city covered 1.8 square kilometers, surrounded by massive walls built during the reign of Suppiluliuma, c. 1333 BC. In the southern sector lay four great stone-built temples surrounded by mud-brick homes and shops. Some 40 to 50 thousand people dwelt in Hattusa at the time.
Although it is not known for certain, Hattusa was likely the site of most of the many technological advances made by the Hittites. They were the first known to have worked with iron, forging better weapons and tools. The Hittites were the first to develop two-horse chariots, and made use of iron-rimmed wheels (rather better for those rocky roads). The farmers improved irrigation, rotated crops and invented a number of agricultural tools. But in the end, all this didn’t help much; evidence indicates the city was destroyed, together with the whole Hittite Empire, sometime around 1200 BC.