Hatti Civilization

The Hattians were an ancient Bronze Age people, that inhabited the land of Hatti, in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). They spoke a distinctive Hattian language, that was neither Semitic nor Indo-European. Hattians are attested by archeological records from the Early Bronze Age, and also by historical references in later Hittite and other sources. Their main center was the city of Hattush. Faced with Hittite expansion (since c. 2000 BCE), Hattians were gradually absorbed (by c. 1700 BCE) into the new political and social order, imposed by Hittites, who kept the country name (“land of Hatti”), that also became the main designation for the Hittite state.