Lost Worlds: Lost City of the Bible Discovered - Full Episode (S2, E11) | History

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Narrator: THE NAME "HITTITES" HAS COME DOWN TO US FROM THE OLDEST STORIES IN THE BIBLE, WHERE THEY APPEAR AS A FEROCIOUS TRIBE FROM THE FRINGES OF THE HOLY LAND. ALMOST NOTHING MORE WAS KNOWN ABOUT THEM UNTIL THE 19TH CENTURY WHEN EXPLORERS TRAVELING THE EMPTY EXPANSE OF CENTRAL TURKEY FOUND A LOST CITY. WHAT THEY DISCOVERED ASTONISHED THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORLD. LOOK AT IT. IT'S MAJESTIC. IT'S GLEAMING. AND IT'S OVER 3,000 YEARS OLD. HERE WAS HATTUSHA, THE CAPITAL OF A FORGOTTEN EMPIRE-- A CITY WHOSE CONSTRUCTION WAS FAR AHEAD OF ITS TIME. I'VE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED. SOME OF THE BUILDING TECHNIQUES HERE ON SIGHT ARE QUITE SIMILAR TO ONES YOU SEE IN MODERN DAY. IT WAS PERCHED ON HIGH CLIFFS AND SURROUNDED BY ONCE IMPREGNABLE WALLS. THEY FOUND EVIDENCE OF A GIGANTIC PYRAMID RIVALING THE WORKS OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, A NETWORK OF SECRET SUBTERRANEAN TUNNELS, AND A SPRAWLING TEMPLE COMPLEX AT THE HEART OF THE CITY DEDICATED TO LONG-FORGOTTEN GODS. AND OVERLOOKING IT ALL WAS A SPECTACULAR ROYAL CITADEL ONCE HOME TO A DYNASTY OF WARRIOR KINGS. BUT WHY DID SUCH AN ADVANCED AND MIGHTY EMPIRE SUDDENLY VANISH FROM HISTORY? NOW, OUR INVESTIGATORS GO IN SEARCH OF THE ANSWER. THEY WANT TO BRING THE INCREDIBLE CITY OF HATTUSHA BACK TO LIFE AND UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE HITTITES. THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE BIBLE'S LOST SUPERPOWER. THIS IS THE LOST WORLD OF THE HITTITES. IN THE DESOLATE AND MOUNTAINOUS HEARTLAND OF TURKEY LIES ANATOLIA. IT'S HOME TO THE RUINS OF WHAT WAS ONCE THE CAPITAL OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE-- THE CITY OF HATTUSHA. OUR INVESTIGATORS ARE HERE TO RECREATE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE WHEN IT WAS RULED BY HATTUSILI, THE LAST OF THE HITTITE EMPERORS, AND TO DISCOVER IF THE CITY CONTAINS ANY CLUES ABOUT WHY THIS ANCIENT SUPERPOWER DISAPPEARED FROM HISTORY. TESSA DUNLOP IS A HISTORIAN WHO STUDIED AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY. SHE'LL BE EXAMINING THE RECORDS OF HITTITE CIVILIZATION, EXPLORING THE HERITAGE OF A PEOPLE HISTORY FORGOT. FOR 3,000-PLUS YEARS, ALL WE HAD ON THE HITTITES WAS A COUPLE OF REFERENCES IN THE BIBLE. THAT WAS IT. JESSE KARP IS A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER. HE SPENT SEVERAL YEARS STUDYING IN TURKEY, CAN SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, AND IS EAGER TO INVESTIGATE THE CITY'S MONUMENTAL BUILDINGS. IN THIS PARTICULAR SECTION, THE BUILDERS USED 64,000 BRICKS WEIGHING IN AROUND 2500 TONS. IN ITS DAY, THIS WAS A STATE-OF-THE-ART FORTIFICATION. 4,000 YEARS AGO, THE HITTITES EMERGED AS A POWERFUL TRIBE THAT CONTROLLED THE REMOTE HIGHLANDS OF ANATOLIA. OVER THE NEXT 5 CENTURIES, THEIR MIGHTY WARRIOR KINGS PUSHED THEIR BORDERS AS FAR AS THE ANCIENT LANDS OF THE BIBLE, TOPPLING EMPIRES IN THE PROCESS. BY THE 14TH CENTURY B.C. AND THE TIME OF HATTUSILI, THE HITTITES HAD ONLY ONE COMPARABLE RIVAL-- ANCIENT EGYPT-- RULED BY THE PHARAOH RAMSES. THE CLASH OF THESE 2 EMPIRES DETERMINED THE COURSE OF HISTORY. BUT WHILE EGYPT BECAME THE MOST FAMOUS CIVILIZATION OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, THE HITTITES COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED FROM THE RECORDS. WHY? THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS AT WHAT WAS HATTUSHA'S MAIN ENTRANCE, THE LION'S GATE. TESSA IS WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST JULIAN BENNETT. SHE WANTS TO FIND OUT WHEN EUROPEAN EXPLORERS FIRST DISCOVERED THIS REMOTE SITE KNOWN FOR CENTURIES ONLY FROM TRAVELERS' TALES AND LOCAL MYTHS. MUST HAVE BEEN VERY EXCITING WHEN THEY REALIZED THEY HAD A LOST CITY-- A LOST HITTITE CITY-- ON THEIR HANDS. YES, AND SO SUPERBLY WELL PRESERVED AND SO LARGE. BUT THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY START EXCAVATING HERE UNTIL THE 1890S. THAT'S WHEN THE FIRST SERIOUS WORK BEGAN HERE. BUT WHY BUILD THE HITTITE CAPITAL IN SUCH AN INHOSPITABLE REGION WITH EXTREMES OF CLIMATE AND MORE THAN 6,000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL? SO, TESSA, THIS IS THE LION'S GATE. THIS IS ONE OF THE MAIN ENTRANCES TO THE HOLY CITY OF HATTUSHA. THEY REALLY ARE MAGNIFICENT BEASTS, AREN'T THEY? THEY ARE. LOOK AT THE MARVELOUSLY OPEN MOUTH AND THE LITTLE TONGUE DOWN THERE. YOU MENTION THIS PLACE WAS A CITY. BUT WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS, YES, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY TO DEFEND, BUT VERY ARID, BLEAK, AWFUL WEATHER IN WINTER. SO, WHY DID THEY LIVE HERE? WELL, THE CLIMATE WAS VERY DIFFERENT IN THOSE DAYS. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH GREENER, MUCH WETTER. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN TREES ALL AROUND HERE. THIS WAS RICH AGRICULTURAL LAND. 35 CENTURIES AGO, THE LAND SURROUNDING HATTUSHA LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT. AND SO DID THE APPROACH TO THE CITY. ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT THE LION'S GATE WAS THEN FLANKED BY 2 RECTANGULAR TOWERS, EACH 50 FEET BY 30 FEET. THE LIONS THAT STOOD AT THE GATEWAY WERE A TRADITIONAL HITTITE SYMBOL OF PROTECTION. ON THE ANCIENT PERIMETER OF THE CITY, ENGINEER JESSE KARP IS WITH BRONZE AGE MILITARY SPECIALIST THOMAS ZIMMERMAN. THEY'RE EXAMINING HATTUSHA'S ANCIENT AND VIRTUALLY IMPREGNABLE FORTIFICATIONS. THOMAS, WHAT ARE WE WALKING ON HERE? THIS LOOKS TO BE SOME SORT OF ANCIENT WALL. YES, YOU'RE PERFECTLY RIGHT. WE'RE BASICALLY WALKING ON THE REMNANTS OF ONE OF THE OLDEST FORTIFICATIONS OF THE HITTITE CAPITAL, DATED TO THE LATE 17TH, 16TH CENTURY B.C. SO IF THIS WAS A FORTIFICATION, WHAT ARE ARE WE DOING WITH THESE EMPTY CAVITIES ALONG THIS WALL? LOOKS PECULIAR, DOESN'T IT? WELL, THE REASON IS THAT THIS IS A SO-CALLED CASEMATE WALL. IT MEANS IT CONSISTS OF 2 PARALLEL WALLS OCCASIONALLY INTERRUPTED BY INTERMEDIATE WALLS EVERY 2, 2 1/2 METERS AND THE CAVITIES ARE FILLED UP DENSELY WITH RUBBLE AND EARTH. SO IN HERE, THIS OPEN CAVITY-- DIRT, OTHER DEBRIS WOULD COME AND BE COMPACTED HERE? YES, THAT'S EXACTLY THE CASE. THIS WAS A PRETTY EFFICIENT WAY TO FORTIFY A CITY AND EFFICIENT ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND ATTACKS WITH A BATTERING RAM. USING THIS CASEMATE TECHNIQUE, HITTITE ENGINEERS WERE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT EXTREMELY THICK AND DURABLE WALLS IN FAR LESS TIME THAN IT WOULD TAKE TO CONSTRUCT CONVENTIONAL, SOLID BRICK WALLS. AT 20 FEET THICK, THE CITY DEFENSES HAD CROSS SECTIONS EVERY 10 FEET, CREATING A SERIES OF BOX-LIKE CAVITIES. RUBBLE WAS PACKED INTO THESE CAVITIES AND COMPACTED TO FORM THE WALL'S BASE. A MODERN RECONSTRUCTION ON SITE ALLOWS JESSE TO GET A SENSE OF THEIR ORIGINAL SCALE. ON TOP OF THE CASEMATE BASE, THIS 200-FOOT-LONG SECTION IS BUILT FROM 64,000 MUD BRICKS AND WEIGHS IN AT 2500 TONS. WALLS LIKE THIS EXTENDED MORE THAN 3 1/2 MILES AROUND THE CITY, REQUIRING A STAGGERING 2 1/2 MILLION TONS OF MUD, BRICK AND RUBBLE AND MAKING IT ONE OF THE LARGEST STRUCTURES OF ITS TYPE EVER BUILT. FORTIFICATIONS WERE JUST ONE PART OF AN IMMENSE BUILDING PROGRAM BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN MASTER-MINDED BY PRINCE HATTUSILI, ONE OF THE GREATEST HITTITE LEADERS. HIS LARGEST MONUMENT GUARDS THE SOUTH OF THE CITY AND FACES IN THE DIRECTION OF EGYPT. THE STUNNING YERKAPI RAMPART IS A MYSTERY. MORE THAN 800 FEET LONG BY 250 FEET WIDE, IT WAS ONCE TOPPED WITH TOWERS. ITS SUMMIT IS REACHED BY 102 STEEP STEPS. JESSE AND THOMAS HAVE CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF THE RAMPART TO TRY TO UNCOVER WHAT PURPOSE THIS PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE SERVED. THOMAS, THIS LOOKS LIKE IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN ENTRANCE TO A COLOSSAL STRUCTURE. YES, INDEED. THIS IS PART OF THIS MONUMENTAL STRUCTURE HERE BUILT IN THE 13TH CENTURY B.C. TOWARDS THE END OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE. WE ARE STANDING HERE IN FRONT OF THE SO-CALLED SPHINX GATE, ORIGINALLY FLANKED BY 2 MONUMENTAL SPHINXES, AND TRACES OF THE ORIGINAL SCULPTURE ARE STILL VISIBLE. I'M THINKING A DEFENSIVE STRUCTURE. IS THAT THE CASE? WELL, THAT'S WHAT IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER STORY BEHIND IT. LET ME SHOW YOU SOMETHING. LEADING DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH THE RAMPART, THIS STRAIGHT, NARROW TUNNEL IS NEARLY 300 FEET LONG. IT'S ONE OF SEVERAL LEADING OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS. IT'S AMAZING. IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. IT'S A CORBELLED ARCH. I CAN SEE THE KEYSTONES PERFECTLY IN LINE ABOVE. YES, IT'S SUPPORTING HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF TONS OF EARTH, RUBBLE, AND STONE. IT LOOKS TO BE A VERY STRONG STRUCTURE. THEY MUST HAVE BUILT IT ON AN EARTH FORM-WORK AND THEN REMOVED THE EARTH AFTERWARDS. THAT'S EXACTLY THE CASE. AND THERE'S ANOTHER INTERESTING DETAIL ABOUT THIS. WE KNOW THAT THE FLOOR WAS ORIGINALLY PAVED WITH A WHITE COAT OF PLASTER TO REFLECT SOME OF THE FAINT LIGHT SHINING IN THROUGH THE ENTRANCE. SO TO ILLUMINATE THE PATH? YES, EXACTLY. IT WAS ONCE BELIEVED THESE TUNNELS WERE USED FOR DEFENSE TO LAUNCH SURPRISE ATTACKS ON ANY ENEMY BESIEGING THE CITY. BUT FROM THE BOTTOM, THOMAS AND JESSE CAN NOW SEE HOW IT MIGHT HAVE SERVED A VERY DIFFERENT PURPOSE. THIS IS CERTAINLY AN IMPRESSIVE STRUCTURE, BUT NOW THAT I'M AT THE BOTTOM OF IT, IT DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE MUCH OF A FORTIFICATION. IN FACT, PERHAPS, RATHER AN INVITATION. I MEAN, IT'S-- IT'S SO EASY TO CLIMB UP HERE, IT DOESN'T SEEM VERY DEFENSIVE. THAT'S INDEED THE CASE. THIS IS NOT A DEFENSIVE STRUCTURE BUT A HUGE, RITUAL MONUMENT TO DISPLAY THE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HITTITE CAPITAL. SO IMAGINE THIS AS A GIGANTIC STAGE WITH PRIESTS APPROACHING THROUGH THE SPHINX GATE HOLDING A STATUE OF A DEITY, AND THE AUDIENCE HERE-- THE COMMON PEOPLE-- WATCHING THE CEREMONY, BRIGHTLY DRESSED, THE AIR FILLED WITH MUSIC AND INCENSE. SO THIS MASSIVE STRUCTURE HERE WAS MORE ORNAMENTATION, MORE DISPLAY. YES. YES. PRESENTATION OF HATTUSHA POWER. BUT AS WELL AS BEING USED FOR CELEBRATIONS, THE PYRAMID ALSO SYMBOLIZED SOMETHING ELSE-- A CLUE TO WHAT WAS FOUND AT THE GATE HOUSE-- A SPHINX, A MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE THAT CAME FROM EGYPT. TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE RAMPART WAS DECORATED WITH EGYPTIAN SPHINXES, TESSA DECIDES SHE NEEDS TO SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE. HIGH ABOVE THE CITY, SHE CAN CLEARLY DISTINGUISH THE RAISED PLATEAU THAT HATTUSHA IS BUILT ON. MORE IMPORTANTLY, SHE CAN SEE THE YERKAPI RAMPART'S POSITION WITHIN THE VAST ANATOLIAN HIGHLANDS. AND NOW IT SEEMS CLEAR WHY IT FACED EGYPT. FROM UP HERE, YOU REALLY GET A SENSE OF THE SCALE AND THE SIZE OF THE YERKAPI RAMPART. I MEAN, JUST LOOK AT IT. IT'S GLEAMING. IT'S MAGNIFICENT. IT'S ENORMOUS. AND THIS IS WELL OVER 3,000 YEARS OLD. SO JUST IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR AN EGYPTIAN ENVOY ARRIVING FROM THE SOUTH, AND THE FIRST THING HE SEES IS THAT INTIMIDATING PYRAMID. THIS IS WHAT AN EGYPTIAN TRAVELING TO HATTUSHA WOULD HAVE SEEN IN THE 13TH CENTURY B.C.-- A GLORIOUS SYMBOL OF THE MIGHT OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE AND A WARNING TO ANY ENVOY THAT HE WAS DEALING NOT WITH AN INFERIOR BUT AN EQUAL. BUT IN 1274 B.C., THE BALANCE OF POWER CHANGED. THE PHARAOH RAMSES WANTED TO PROVE HIMSELF AS THE NEW KING OF EGYPT. EAGER FOR GLORY ON THE BATTLEFIELD, HIS FIRST TARGET WAS THE HITTITE EMPIRE. INVESTIGATORS TESSA DUNLOP NEXT, OUR INVESTIGATORS EXAMINE THE STRUCTURES AN AND JESSE KARP ARE IN HATTUSHA, CAPITAL OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS AGO. THEY'VE ALREADY RECREATED THE CITY'S INCREDIBLE YERKAPI PYRAMID USED FOR RITUAL CELEBRATIONS AND EXAMINED THE MASSIVE WALLS THAT SURROUNDED THE CITY WITH MORE THAN 3 1/2 MILES OF CASEMATE FORTIFICATIONS. NOW THEY'RE LOOKING AT A CRITICAL MOMENT THAT SHAPED THE HITTITE WORLD-- THEIR GREATEST BATTLE AGAINST THEIR GREATEST ENEMY. HATTUSHA'S MIGHTY FORTIFICATIONS ENSURED THE CITY COULD WITHSTAND ALMOST ANY ATTACK. BUT TO SURVIVE A SIEGE, HITTITE ENGINEERS HAD TO TAP OTHER RESOURCES. ENGINEER JESSE KARP IS IN THE MOUNTAINS 2 MILES FROM HATTUSHA. HE'S LOOKING FOR THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE CITY-- WATER. HATTUSHA'S WATER CAME FROM SPRINGS LIKE THIS ONE HIGH ABOVE THE CITY. TODAY, WATER FROM LOCAL SPRINGS RUNS INTO A MAN-MADE RESERVOIR. SIMILAR RESERVOIRS WERE ONCE CREATED BY THE HITTITES THEMSELVES. JESSE FOLLOWS THE WATER DOWN INTO A VALLEY THAT NOW RUNS PARALLEL TO THE SITE. BUT THE REAL CLUES AS TO HOW THE HITTITES ENGINEERED THEIR WATER SUPPLY ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE UPPER CITY CLOSE BY THE KING'S GATE. HERE, A SYSTEM OF CLAY PIPES DIVERTED WATER FROM THE SPRINGS INTO THE CITY. THIS WAS THE MOST ADVANCED WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM OF ITS TIME. BUT THESE CLAY PIPES COULD STILL BE FOUND BY AN ENEMY AND EITHER BLOCKED OR POISONED. SO TO SAFEGUARD THEIR WATER SUPPLY, THE HITTITES BUILT RESERVOIRS INSIDE THE CITY. SURVEYS SHOW THAT THIS RESERVOIR IN THE UPPER CITY WAS ONLY ONE OF 7 SCATTERED ACROSS HATTUSHA. THESE RESERVOIRS WERE AN ENGINEERING WONDER. THIS ONE WAS 200 FEET LONG BY 300 WIDE AND ABOUT 5 DEEP. WITH A BASE OF IMPERMEABLE ROCK AND SIDES OF CLAY-LINED LIMESTONE, THERE WAS MINIMAL SEEPAGE, ENABLING THE RESERVOIR TO HOLD NEARLY 2 MILLION GALLONS-- ROUGHLY ENOUGH DRINKING WATER FOR A POPULATION OF 10,000 TO SURVIVE A SIEGE FOR ABOUT 200 DAYS. WITH HATTUSHA'S DEFENSES IN A STATE OF READINESS, PRINCE HATTUSILI LEFT THE CITY IN 1274 B.C. APPOINTED COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE HITTITE ARMY, HE SET OFF TO FACE RAMSES-- PHARAOH OF EGYPT AND THE MOST POWERFUL RULER IN THE ANCIENT WORLD. THE DISPUTE WAS OVER BORDERS. THE HITTITE EMPIRE HAD EXPANDED AT A RAPID RATE AND NOW OCCUPIED RICH LANDS ONCE CLAIMED BY EGYPT. AT THE BORDER TOWN OF KADESH, THE 2 ARMIES PREPARED TO CLASH. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALL WORLD HISTORY, WE HAVE A MAJOR BATTLE THAT WAS FOUGHT BETWEEN NATIONS, NOT ONLY RIVALING CHIEFDOMS OR RIVALING CITIES BUT THE HITTITES ON ONE SIDE AND THE EGYPTIANS ON THE OTHER. FOR MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS, THE ONLY KNOWN ACCOUNTS OF THE BATTLE WERE INSCRIBED ON EGYPTIAN TEMPLES. THEY CLAIMED RAMSES WON A MAGNIFICENT VICTORY FOR EGYPT. WHEN HATTUSHA WAS DISCOVERED, ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND THOUSANDS OF WRITING TABLETS. DID THE HISTORIES AGREE? FIRST, EXPERTS HAD TO DECODE THEM. HISTORIAN TESSA DUNLOP IS INVESTIGATING THE HITTITE RECORDS IN THE LOCAL MUSEUM. NOW, THIS IS A CUNEIFORM TABLET. AND IF YOU LOOK VERY CLOSELY, YOU CAN SEE A SERIES OF INTRICATE IMPRESSIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN CUT WITH THE END OF A REED. AND EACH ONE OF THOSE IMPRESSIONS REPRESENTS A SYLLABLE OR A SOUND. AND WHAT THEY DID WAS, LAST CENTURY THEY CALLED IN A GROUP OF EXPERTS TO TRY AND CRACK THE CODES THAT THESE IMPRESSIONS FORMED. AFTER PAINSTAKING WORK, SCHOLARS EVENTUALLY DECIPHERED THE TABLETS AND DISCOVERED A WEALTH OF INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE HITTITE ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF KADESH. IN THE BATTLE OF KADESH, WHICH FAMOUSLY THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOH RAMSES REFERRED TO AS HIS COUNTRY'S MOST IMPRESSIVE VICTORY-- WHEN YOU REFER TO THE HITTITE RECORDS, YOU GET A VERY DIFFERENT STORY ABOUT THAT SAME BATTLE. THE HITTITE ACCOUNT TOLD OF HOW RAMSES WAS TRICKED BY HATTUSILI INTO DIVIDING HIS MASSIVE ARMY IN 2. SO, AS HE APPROACHED KADESH, THE HITTITES, WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DAYS AWAY, STRUCK WITH THEIR POWERFUL CHARIOT FORCE. AT FIRST, HITTITE CHARIOTS OVERWHELMED THE EGYPTIAN FORCES, AND RAMSES WAS ALMOST KILLED. BUT THE TIMELY ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS SAVED THE PHARAOH'S LIFE. WHEN RAMSES RETURNED HOME, HE ORDERED EGYPTIAN TEMPLES TO RECORD THIS DRAMATIC TURNAROUND AND HOW HE HAD PERSONALLY CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE BATTLE TO DELIVER A HEROIC EGYPTIAN VICTORY. BUT WAS THE PHARAOH TELLING THE TRUTH? TESSA IS WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST JULIAN BENNETT FINDING OUT ABOUT THE HITTITE'S VERSION OF EVENTS. THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR MASTERY OF PROPAGANDA. AND RAMSES REALLY WENT TO TOWN OVER THE BATTLE OF KADESH. BECAUSE, INTERESTINGLY, THE HITTITES CONTRADICT HIM, DON'T THEY? THEY DO, IN A SENSE. I MEAN, RAMSES' RECORD IS A PUBLIC RECORD. IT'S FOR THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE TO KNOW. I MEAN, REALLY WE DID WIN THIS BATTLE. WE DIDN'T REALLY LOSE IT. BUT IN HITTITE RECORDS, THOSE ARE THE OFFICIAL RECORDS. THEY'RE NOT FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. THEY'RE MORE OBJECTIVE IN THAT SENSE. SO, DESPITE WHAT RAMSES SAID, THE EGYPTIANS GOT A BLOODY NOSE FROM THE HITTITES UNDER THE GENERAL HATTUSILI? OH, VERY MUCH SO. THIS VICTORY OVER A FOREIGN POWER HAD MAJOR CONSEQUENCES AT HOME. BY SAVING KADESH FROM THE EGYPTIAN ONSLAUGHT, HATTUSILI BECAME A NATIONAL HERO. BUT ACCORDING TO THE HITTITE RECORDS, THE KING-- HATTUSILI'S OWN NEPHEW-- RESENTED HIS UNCLE'S SUCCESS AND BEGAN PLOTTING HIS DOWNFALL. HATTUSILI DECIDED TO ACT-- TO BREAK THE HITTITES MOST SACRED TABOO AND SEIZE THE THRONE FOR HIMSELF. AND AS OUR INVESTIGATORS DISCOVER, HIS ACTIONS WOULD RESULT IN THE MOST AMBITIOUS BUILDING PROJECT EVER UNDERTAKEN IN HATTUSHA. OUR INVESTIGATORS ARE IN HATTUSHA, CITY OF THE HITTITES-- A PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE BUT OTHERWISE FORGOTTEN FOR OVER 3,000 YEARS. LOCATED IN TURKEY IN THE REMOTE HIGHLANDS OF ANATOLIA, THEY'VE ALREADY DISCOVERED THE SECRETS OF THE HITTITES' GREATEST MILITARY SUCCESS. NOW THEY WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE MAN RESPONSIBLE-- ONE OF THE HITTITE'S LAST AND GREATEST LEADERS, HATTUSILI. INSCRIPTIONS TELL US THE HITTITES HAD STRICT RULES ABOUT WHO COULD INHERIT THE THRONE. IT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THE EMPIRE HELD TOGETHER. BUT IN 1265 B.C., PRINCE HATTUSILI SEIZED THE THRONE FROM HIS UNPOPULAR NEPHEW, KING MUTUWALLI. HATTUSILI THE THIRD IS A PERSON WHO WAS, UM, VERY CONSCIENTIOUS, WHO WAS VERY TROUBLED. HE FELT HE HAD TO TAKE POWER BECAUSE HE FELT THAT THIS WAS WHAT WAS NEEDED TO SAVE THE EMPIRE. DESPITE WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR HIS ACTIONS, BY DEPOSING THE RIGHTFUL HEIR AND DECLARING HIMSELF KING, HATTUSILI HAD BROKEN ONE OF THE HITTITES' HOLIEST LAWS. AND PENANCE FOR THIS CRIME MAY HAVE BEEN THE REASON THAT HE DECIDED TO COMPLETELY REBUILD HATTUSHA'S GREATEST TEMPLE. WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST JULIAN BENNETT, HISTORIAN TESSA DUNLOP NOW INVESTIGATES THE TEMPLE SITE FOR CLUES TO THE RITUALS THAT ONCE TOOK PLACE HERE. THIS REALLY DOES LOOK ENORMOUS. I MEAN, CAN YOU HELP ME GET MY BEARINGS? WELL, THIS IS A REALLY MASSIVE TEMPLE STRUCTURE. WE'VE JUST COME THROUGH THE MAIN GATEWAY THERE, THE CEREMONIAL GATEWAY. EVERYWHERE I LOOK, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT CATCHES YOUR EYE BECAUSE, I MEAN, FIRST OFF, IT'S GOT TO BE THIS. TESSA HAS SPOTTED THE SITE'S MOST BAFFLING OBJECT-- THE GREEN STONE, ONCE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN A METEORITE. THIS IS THE FAMOUS GREEN STONE. AND IT JUST BEGS YOU TO TOUCH IT. IT'S GOT THAT LUMINOUS AND VERY SMOOTH SURFACE. IT'S BEEN POLISHED BY SO MANY PEOPLE COMING HERE. BUT IT BEGS THE QUESTION "WHAT ON EARTH IS IT DOING HERE?" GOOD QUESTION. IT'S A LOCAL STONE. THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT. IT DOES NOT COME FROM THE HEAVENS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. BUT IT IS TRUE THAT SOME OF THE TABLETS FROM HERE TALK ABOUT RITUAL STONES OR HOLY STONES, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THIS COULD VERY WELL HAVE BEEN ONE OF THEM. FURTHER INTO THE TEMPLE COMPLEX IS THE INNER SANCTUM SURROUNDED BY SOME OF THE BIGGEST STONE BLOCKS IN THE WHOLE CITY. WELL, THIS IS THE OUTER WALL OF THE TEMPLE, AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY'VE ACTUALLY CARVED PILLARS, IN A SENSE, IN THE LIMESTONE BLOCKS HERE. THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS, AREN'T THEY? THEY ARE. SOME OF THESE BLOCKS ARE 20 TONS. EASILY. I MEAN, MASSIVE BLOCKS OF LIMESTONE. IF THEY ARE THAT BIG, HOW ON EARTH DID THEY GET THEM UP HERE? A LOT OF HUMAN LABOR INVOLVED IN THIS. PROBABLY SOME SLAVE, BUT QUITE POSSIBLY SOME FREE LABOR AS WELL. INSIDE THE INNER SANCTUM IS A COURTYARD THAT WAS PROBABLY ONCE AN OPEN-AIR SANCTUARY. AND BEYOND THIS, THE HOLY OF HOLIES, HOME OF THE STORM FATHER TESHUB AND HIS WIFE, THE SUN MOTHER. THIS IS ONE OF THE 2 CULT ROOMS, AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S THE SAME TYPE OF GREEN STONE AGAIN. IT'S ALMOST THE PERFECT SQUARE. IT'S A VERY INTIMATE LITTLE SPACE, ISN'T IT? IT IS. AND WE CAN SEE AT THE FAR END THE STATUE BASE HERE. THIS WAS THE TEMPLE TO TESHUB AND HIS CONSORT. UH, HITTITE TABLETS TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE STATUES THEMSELVES. THERE IS ONE TABLET THAT TALKS ABOUT, UH, THE STATUE OF TESHUB BEING A STATUE OF GOLD. RECREATING THE FLOOR PLANS OF THE GREAT TEMPLE COMPLEX, WE CAN SEE THAT IT WAS THE LARGEST BUILDING STRUCTURE IN THE CITY-- 200 FEET LONG BY 140 FEET WIDE. AND WITHIN ITS INNER SANCTUM, WE CAN LOCATE PRECISELY WHERE TESHUB THE STORM GOD AND HIS CONSORT THE SUN MOTHER WERE HOUSED-- IN SANCTUARIES ONLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE KING, QUEEN, AND HIGHEST OFFICIALS. A FEW HUNDRED YARDS AWAY, ENGINEER JESSE KARP IS IN SEARCH OF THE SOURCE OF THE ROCK USED IN THE MAIN TEMPLE'S MASSIVE FOUNDATIONS. HE'S BY A MASSIVE OUTCROP OF ROCK WHERE THE HITTITES GOT THE 20-TON BLOCKS THEY NEEDED FOR THE FOUNDATIONS OF THEIR TEMPLE. I'M HERE AT KESHA KAYA, WHICH IS TURKISH FOR STONECUTTING. AND ESSENTIALLY THIS IS AN ANCIENT HITTITE QUARRY. AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A CRACK. ANCIENT HITTITES LIKELY PUT WOOD WEDGES IN HERE AND EXPOSED THEM TO WATER, EXPANDING THE WOOD AND BREAKING OFF LARGE SEGMENTS OF LIMESTONE. AT THE LOCAL CORUM MUSEUM, ARCHAEOLOGIST THOMAS ZIMMERMAN SHOWS INVESTIGATOR JESSE KARP A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE GREAT TEMPLE'S WALLS. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A CROSS SECTION OF AN OLD HITTITE BUILDING. CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT MORE ABOUT THE BUILDING METHODS THEY MAY HAVE USED? SURE. SO IT BASICALLY CONSISTS OF A LIMESTONE FOUNDATION AND A WOODEN TIMBER FRAME WITH MUD BRICKS AS THE SUPERSTRUCTURE, COVERED BY A FLAT ROOF LAID OUT WITH TIMBERS AND SEALED OFF WITH MUD. IN MODERN CONSTRUCTION, WE TAKE OUR HOMES AND WE BOLT THEM TO THE FOUNDATIONS. IS THAT WHAT THEY'RE DOING HERE? YES, EXACTLY. WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A DOUBLE HOLE JUST PREPARED TO FIX THE WOODEN FRAME ON THE LIMESTONE FOUNDATION. NOW, THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, HOW WOULD THEY HAVE MADE THAT HOLE? WITH A BRONZE DRILL. TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THE ANCIENT HITTITE DRILL WORKED, JESSE NOW JOINS LOCAL HATTUSHA GUIDE ANAN OZEL. WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A REPLICA OF AN ANCIENT HITTITE DRILL. THE HITTITES COULD DRILL UP TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR USING THIS DEVICE. WE'LL DEMONSTRATE HOW IT WAS USED. THE DRILL USES A BRONZE BIT THAT SPINS INTO THE HARD ROCK, SLOWLY MAKING A TUBULAR HOLE THAT COULD THEN BE USED AS A FIXING POINT FOR THE TEMPLE'S WOODEN FRAMEWORK AND MUD BRICK. FROM DETAILED RESEARCH, WE CAN RECONSTRUCT HOW THE HITTITES BUILT THEIR GREAT TEMPLE 3500 YEARS AGO. THEY BEGAN WITH HUGE LIMESTONE BLOCKS CREATING A RUBBLE-FILLED CASEMATE FOUNDATION. TO THIS THEY ATTACHED A WOODEN FRAMEWORK WHICH THEY FILLED WITH LAYER UPON LAYER OF MUD BRICKS AND PLASTER, CREATING 6-FOOT-THICK WALLS MORE THAN 40 FEET HIGH. THE GIGANTIC MAZE-LIKE STRUCTURE OF THE GREAT TEMPLE WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPOSING OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. TO THE HITTITES, THESE STATUES OF THE SUN MOTHER AND STORM FATHER WERE MORE THAN IDOLS-- THEY WERE LIVING REPRESENTATIONS OF THE GODS ON EARTH. THE TABLETS ALSO TELL US ABOUT THE RITUAL INVOLVED WITH THE STATUES OF THE GODS. EVERY DAY THEY HAD TO BE WASHED, THEY HAD TO BE CLOTHED. ONE OF THEM HAD A CLOTH OF GOLD. WE KNOW THAT FROM THE TABLETS. THEY HAD TO BE GIVEN FOOD. THEY HAD TO BE ENTERTAINED AND SO FORTH. SO THIS WAS A VERY CONTROLLED AND A VERY STRUCTURED RELIGIOUS SYSTEM. BUT THE STORM FATHER AND SUN MOTHER WEREN'T THE ONLY 2 GODS THE HITTITES PAID HOMAGE TO. IN THE UPPERMOST PART OF HATTUSHA ARE THE REMAINS OF MORE THAN 30 BUILDINGS. 3 1/2 THOUSAND YEARS AGO, THESE WERE ONCE TEMPLES, EACH DEDICATED TO THE GODS OF A CONQUERED PEOPLE. HATTUSILI'S YOUNG WIFE, PUDDAHEPPA, WAS A PRIESTESS FROM A KINGDOM CONQUERED BY THE HITTITES. AND ONCE HER PEOPLE BECAME PART OF THE EMPIRE, SO THEIR DEITIES BECAME PART OF THE HITTITE RELIGION. THE HITTITE EMPIRE HAD A WIDE RANGE OF PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. THEY WEREN'T ALL HITTITES. WE CALL THEM HITTITES. BUT THEY WERE ALL DIFFERENT PEOPLE, DIFFERENT GROUPS, DIFFERENT GODS. SO IT'S A SORT OF CONGLOMERATION OF LOTS OF DIFFERENT GODS TO PLEASE THE VASSALS AS WELL AS THE ORIGINAL GODS. PRECISELY. BECAUSE OF THIS, THE HITTITES WERE CALLED THE PEOPLE OF A THOUSAND GODS. BUT IT WASN'T JUST RELIGION THAT HELPED UNITE THE DIFFERENT PEOPLES OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE. THE HITTITE RECORDS REVEAL THAT MORE IMPORTANT STILL WERE THEIR LAWS. IN TERMS OF LAW, WELL, YOU KNOW THE COMMON PHRASE THAT THE HITTITES ARE KNOWN AS THE PEOPLE OF THE THOUSAND GODS. ONE COULD ALSO SAY THE HITTITES ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE THOUSAND LAWS, SINCE LAW PERMEATED EVERY ASPECT OF HITTITE LIFE. HITTITE LAW WAS RICH AND DETAILED, COVERING EVERYTHING FROM DIVORCE TO THE LEGAL LIMITS OF THE KING'S AUTHORITY. AND UNLIKE ANY OTHER PEOPLE OF THEIR TIME, THE HITTITES HAD AN EVOLVING LEGAL SYSTEM THAT WAS MORE CONCERNED WITH PRACTICALITIES THAN PUNISHMENTS. ONE OF THE, UH, TABLETS TELLS US OR GIVES US A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE HITTITE VIEW OF LAW, WHICH WAS TO COMPENSATE. AND IT TELLS US BASICALLY THAT IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY BURN DOWN YOUR NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE, YOU BUILD HIM A NEW HOUSE. SO IT'S THIS IDEA OF COMPENSATION, NOT RETRIBUTION. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, VERY PROGRESSIVE. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF HITTITE LAW WAS TREATY MAKING. SHREWD DIPLOMACY WAS THEIR GREATEST SECRET WEAPON. IN FORGING THEIR EMPIRE, THEY GAVE THEIR RIVALS A CHOICE-- JOIN US PEACEFULLY OR WE WILL CRUSH YOU ABSOLUTELY. MANY OF THEIR CONQUESTS TOOK PLACE WITHOUT A SWORD BEING DRAWN. THEIR GREATEST TREATY, CONSIDERED TO BE THE WORLD'S FIRST INTERNATIONAL PEACE TREATY, IS NOW HOUSED IN ISTANBUL, A TURKISH CITY THAT STRADDLES EUROPE AND ASIA. HERE, HISTORIAN TESSA DUNLOP DISCOVERS THE SECRET MOTIVES THAT LAY BEHIND THE TREATY AND CLUES THAT WILL HELP EXPLAIN WHY THE HITTITE EMPIRE VANISHED FROM HISTORY. I'M HERE IN THE HEART OF ISTANBUL WHICH IS FREQUENTLY KNOWN AS THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION. BUT, IN FACT, THE FIRST POLITICALLY-UNITED EMPIRE IN ANATOLIA, WHICH IS REALLY THE LARGEST PART OF MODERN-DAY TURKEY, WAS THE HITTITE EMPIRE. NOW, OBVIOUSLY, THEY NEVER CAME TO ISTANBUL-- IT DIDN'T EXIST AT THE TIME-- BUT NOW SOME OF THEIR GREATEST TREASURES RESIDE HERE. ISTANBUL IS A CITY OF CONTRASTS THAT STRADDLES ASIA IN THE EAST AND EUROPE ON THE WEST. AMID THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE, TESSA IS HEADING TO THE ISTANBUL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, A SANCTUARY OF CALM THAT HOUSES WHAT MANY CONSIDER TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS EVER WRITTEN. IT'S THE TREATY OF KADESH, WRITTEN 16 YEARS AFTER THE GREAT BATTLE BETWEEN THE HITTITE AND EGYPTIAN EMPIRES. TESSA IS WITH PROFESSOR ALI DINCOL-- ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING HITTITE SCHOLARS-- TO FIND OUT MORE. PROFESSOR DINCOL, THIS IS THE KADESH TREATY. BUT I WONDER, WHY WAS IT SIGNED SO MUCH LATER THAN THE BATTLE ITSELF? ONLY AFTER HATTUSILI, EH, STABILIZED THE POLITICAL EVENTS IN ANATOLIA, HE COULD MAKE A TREATY WITH EGYPT. I SEE, SO IN OTHER WORDS, HATTUSILI HAD TO MAKE SURE HE WAS STRONG AT HOME BEFORE HE COULD LOOK OUTWARDS. YES. DID THE TREATY ACTUALLY WORK? WELL, YES. BECAUSE NO AGGRESSION HAS HAPPENED AFTER THE-- AFTER THE TREATY UNTIL THE FALL OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE. THE TREATY OF KADESH BROUGHT PEACE BETWEEN THE 2 SUPERPOWERS OF THE DAY. WITH THE EGYPTIANS AS ALLIES, THE HITTITE EMPIRE NOW HAD LITTLE TO FEAR FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD. BUT INSIDE THE EMPIRE ITSELF, A NEW DANGER WAS GROWING. HAVING DEPOSED THE RIGHTFUL HEIR TO THE THRONE TO BECOME KING, HATTUSILI HAD MADE POWERFUL ENEMIES WHO WANTED THE THRONE FOR THEMSELVES. TO PROTECT HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY FROM DANGER, HE NOW BEGAN HIS MOST AMBITIOUS BUILDING PROJECT-- A SPECTACULAR ROYAL CITADEL. HERE, ENGINEER JESSE KARP IS WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST ELIF DENEL INVESTIGATING WHAT IS CALLED LOCALLY THE BUYUKKALE. BUILT ON A HIGH PLATEAU SURROUNDED BY STEEP CLIFFS, THE CITADEL HAD SUPERB NATURAL DEFENSES THAT WERE FURTHER ENHANCED BY WALLS AS HEAVILY FORTIFIED AS THOSE THAT GUARDED THE CITY. AT ITS ENTRANCE WAY WAS YET ANOTHER LINE OF DEFENSE-- THE BARRACKS OF THE ELITE ROYAL BODYGUARDS CALLED THE BEARS OF THE GOLDEN LANCE, WHOSE SWORN DUTY WAS TO PROTECT HATTUSILI AND HIS HEIRS. THE KING'S SECURITY WOULD HAVE LIVED HERE. DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA IF THEY WERE THERE 24 HOURS A DAY-- THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, CONSTANT KIND OF PRESENCE IN THIS COURTYARD? UM, WELL, NOT JUST A COURTYARD, PROBABLY EVERYWHERE THERE WAS PROTECTION. OK. UM, PROTECTION OF THE KING WAS VERY IMPORTANT. I MEAN, THIS IS COMPLETELY NATURALLY PROTECTED. ALONG THESE SIDES, THERE ARE NATURAL, UM, ROCK DROPPINGS ALL AROUND. UH, OF COURSE THERE WERE WALLS AS WELL. SO THIS IS A VERY WELL-SECURED AREA. THAT'S WHY THE KING PROBABLY CHOSE TO LIVE HERE. ALSO HE HAS A REALLY GOOD COMMAND OF THE AREA ALL AROUND THE CITADEL. THERE'S QUITE AN EXTRAORDINARY VIEW, ACTUALLY. YOU CAN SEE PRETTY MUCH PANORAMIC ACROSS THE VALLEY. EVERYTHING THE KING NEEDED WAS TO BE FOUND WITHIN THIS HIGH-SECURITY COMPOUND, INCLUDING WHAT ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK WAS HIS FAMILY'S PRIVATE TEMPLE, NICKNAMED THE KING'S SWIMMING POOL. SO, IN THE DAY OF THE HITTITES, WE WOULDN'T SEE TREES HERE-- THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A CEREMONIAL POOL? YEAH. THE STRUCTURE WE'RE STANDING IN WAS ACTUALLY WALLED ALL AROUND AND ROOFED. AND THERE WAS AN OPENING RIGHT ON TOP OF THIS POOL. OK. AND TODAY WE'RE JUST WALKING ON THE FOUNDATION. EXACTLY. ALTHOUGH THOUSANDS OF HITTITE RELIGIOUS TEXTS HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED, THE TRUE FUNCTION OF THIS POOL CHAMBER STILL ELUDES ARCHAEOLOGISTS. THE SACRED CLEANSING RITUALS-- THOUGHT TO HAVE ONCE BEEN PERFORMED HERE BY THE ROYAL FAMILY-- HAVE BEEN LOST. BUT THE PURPOSE OF ANOTHER BUILDING IS FAR CLEARER. THIS FOUNDATION STRUCTURE LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT THAN SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF AROUND IT. UH, YES, THIS BUILDING WAS BUILT ON A HUGE PLATFORM WALL AROUND HERE, UM, AND IT FUNCTIONED AS A RECEPTION HALL OF THE KING. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN 5 WALLS HERE SUPPORTING THE FLOOR ABOVE US, UH, THAT HAD 5 ROWS OF 5 COLUMNS, UM, IN THE AREA WHERE THE KING WOULD BE EXPECTING, UM, HIS, UH, VISITORS. SO THIS WAS ESSENTIALLY A MEETING PLACE FOR FOREIGN DIGNITARIES, OTHER IMPORTANT VISITORS TO MEET THE KING? EXACTLY. THE GRAND RECEPTION HALL WAS MORE THAN 100 FEET WIDE AND LONG WITH 25 COLUMNS HOLDING UP ITS HIGH ROOF. HERE, HATTUSILI WOULD GREET THE RULERS OF HIS VASSAL STATES AS WELL AS ENVOYS FROM THE GREAT FOREIGN POWERS OF THE DAY, SUCH AS EGYPT. BEYOND IT ARE THE REMAINS OF THE KING'S OWN RESIDENCE-- THE PRIVATE APARTMENTS HE LIVED IN WITH HIS FAMILY AND MOST TRUSTED SERVANTS. WE MAY BE LOOKING AT THE KING'S ACTUAL RESIDENCE RIGHT NOW. DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW HE MIGHT HAVE LIVED HERE? WAS HE LIVING WITH SERVANTS, HIS FAMILY? WELL, HE OBVIOUSLY HAD SERVANTS, UH, AND HE HAD A WIFE, AND HE HAD CONCUBINES. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THEY ALL LIVED TOGETHER HERE. IT'S CERTAINLY AN AMAZING LOCATION TO HAVE YOUR PALACE. HITTITE ROYALTY LIVED IN SECLUDED ISOLATION, AND WE KNOW LITTLE ABOUT HATTUSILI'S CONCUBINES AND THEIR CHILDREN. THE EXCEPTION IS PUDDAHEPPA, HATTUSILI'S FORMIDABLE QUEEN, WHO PLAYED A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN PUBLIC LIFE THAN ANY QUEEN BEFORE OR AFTER HER. SHE DEFINITELY WAS A VERY STRONG WOMAN. UH, SHE WAS CLEARLY REALLY WELL-EDUCATED. SHE KNEW, UM, HOW TO DEAL WITH INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, AND SHE KNEW HOW TO RUN THE COUNTRY IN A WAY, BECAUSE SHE WAS ABLE TO INFLUENCE, UH, A SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF IT. PUDDAHEPPA'S INFLUENCE HELPED MAKE THIS PALACE COMPLEX THE CENTER OF THE EMPIRE. ITS ENTRANCE FLANKED BY ELITE BODYGUARDS AND OFFICIALS, IT WAS A CITY WITHIN A CITY, HOUSING A SACRED ROYAL TEMPLE AND A RECEPTION HALL THAT WOULD HAVE BUSTLED WITH ENVOYS FROM AROUND THE ANCIENT WORLD. PERCHED ON A FLAT PLATEAU MORE THAN 800 FEET LONG AND 500 FEET WIDE AND SURROUNDED BY STEEP SLOPES, IT WAS A SIGHT THAT DOMINATED THE CITY-- THE GREATEST MASTERWORK OF HATTUSILI'S LONG REIGN. BUT THE PALACE WOULD NOT LAST. LIKE THE REST OF THE CITY, IT WOULD SOON FALL. OUR INVESTIGATORS ARE IN HATTUSHA, NEXT, OUR INVESTIGATORS GO IN SEARCH O LOST CITY OF THE HITTITES. THEY'RE EXPLORING ITS MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THIS ONCE GLORIOUS CITY DISAPPEARED FROM HISTORY FOR MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS. ENGINEER JESSE KARP IS ABOUT A MILE NORTHEAST OF HATTUSHA WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST ELIF DENEL. THEY'RE EXPLORING THE BEAUTIFUL ROCK SANCTUARY OF YAZILIKAYA, A PLACE THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN CONCEIVED OF BY HATTUSILI-- ONE OF THE HITTITE'S LAST AND GREATEST KINGS-- AND HIS WIFE PUDDAHEPPA. NOW WE'RE ENTERING THE OPEN-AIR SANCTUARY OF YAZILIKAYA. THIS IS AMAZING. THERE'S RELIEFS AND INSCRIPTIONS ALL OVER THESE ROCKS. YES, THESE ARE RELIEFS OF GODS AND GODDESSES-- GODS ON THIS SIDE AND GODDESSES ON THE RIGHT. WELL, DO WE KNOW WHAT THEY REPRESENTED OR WHY THEY WERE BUILT? UM, THIS WHOLE SANCTUARY IS DEDICATED TO THE STORM GOD. IT'S THE PROCESSION OF ALL THE GODS AND GODDESSES TOWARDS THE CENTRAL FIGURE HERE, TO THE STORM GOD. THIS IS A NEW PANTHEON THAT PUDDAHEPPA, HATTUSILI THE THIRD'S WIFE, BROUGHT FROM SALESIA, SOUTH OF THE EMPIRE WHEN SHE CAME TO MARRY THE KING. PUDDAHEPPA ATTEMPTED TO UNIFY THE EMPIRE'S THOUSAND GODS INTO MORE SIMPLE GROUPS OF SIMILAR GODS. IT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN AN ATTEMPT TO HELP UNIFY THE EMPIRE, BUT OTHER FACTORS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN PULLING IT APART. PUDDAHEEPA'S HUSBAND, THE GREAT KING HATTUSILI THE THIRD, VICTOR OF KADESH AND PEACEMAKER WITH EGYPT, DIED IN 1237 B.C. HIS LAST RESTING PLACE HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND. BUT WITHIN THE ANCIENT ROCK SANCTUARY OF YAZILIKAYA IS A FUNERARY CHAMBER CARVED ON THE ORDERS OF HIS GRANDSON. THIS CONCEALED CHAMBER LIES THROUGH A NARROW PASSAGEWAY HEWN THROUGH THE ROCK. AND IT PROVIDES THE MOST IMPORTANT CLUE AS TO WHEN THE HITTITE EMPIRE DISAPPEARED, BECAUSE IT'S THE LAST KNOWN MONUMENT TO BE CONSTRUCTED BY THE PEOPLE OF HATTUSHA. SO WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE? WE'RE IN THE ROCK SANCTUARY BUILT BY HATTUSILI THE THIRD'S GRANDSON, THE LAST HITTITE KING. DOES THIS MEAN THE EMPIRE WAS IN A STATE OF DECLINE? WELL, WE KNOW THAT THE EMPIRE FELL DURING THE REIGN OF HATTUSILI'S GRANDSON. FROM THE INSCRIPTIONS WITHIN THIS CHAMBER, ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THE HITTITE EMPIRE CAME TO AN ABRUPT END 3 DECADES AFTER HATTUSILI'S REIGN. TO UNCOVER MORE CLUES ABOUT WHY HATTUSILI'S GRANDSON WAS THE LAST HITTITE KING, JULIAN BENNETT TAKES TESSA DUNLOP TO AN ALMOST INVISIBLE INSCRIPTION CALLED NISHANTAS. WHAT EXACTLY IS NISHANTAS? NISHANTAS IS A TURKISH WORD. IT MEANS THE MARKED STONE. AND THIS IS THE MARKED STONE HERE. SO FOR THOSE WHO CAN ACTUALLY DECIPHER IT, WHAT DOES IT SAY? WELL, THE INSCRIPTION ACTUALLY READS RIGHT TO LEFT. AND IT TELLS US ABOUT THE VICTORIES OR VARIOUS CONQUESTS OF THE GRANDSON OF HATTUSILI. BUT MANY OF THE BATTLES LISTED AT NISHANTAS ARE NOT CONQUESTS ENLARGING THE EMPIRE BUT WHAT APPEAR TO BE CIVIL WARS WITHIN IT. HATTUSILI'S HEIRS WERE STRUGGLING TO HOLD THE EMPIRE TOGETHER. FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR HOW THE END CAME TO HATTUSHA IS BEING PURSUED BY JESSE KARP. HE'S WITH ELIF DENEL STANDING AMID THE RUINS OF THE ROYAL ARCHIVES. IT ONCE HOUSED THOUSANDS OF CLAY TABLETS. THE WAY THEY WERE ACCIDENTALLY PRESERVED PROVIDES US WITH THE KEY EVIDENCE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CITY. THEY FOUND THOUSANDS OF CLAY TABLETS HERE BURNT IN A HUGE FIRE, UH, THAT, UH, CAUSED THE ROOF TO COLLAPSE AND BAKE THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE. WE HAVE EVIDENCE FOR THAT. UH, THIS IS A PIECE OF BURNT MUD BRICK FROM THE WALLS OF THIS BUILDING. SO, ESSENTIALLY, IF THE ROOF COLLAPSED, YOU'D BUILD UP LOTS OF HEAT. IT'S LIKE A KILN. EXACTLY. DOES THE FACT THAT THE TABLETS WERE PRESERVED AND LEFT BEHIND GIVE US ANY INDICATION OF HOW THE CITY MIGHT HAVE COME TO AN END OR WHY PEOPLE WERE LEAVING? WE KNOW THAT, UM, THIS FIRE HAPPENED RIGHT AROUND THE TIME OF ABANDONMENT. WHETHER IT HAPPENED RIGHT BEFORE OR RIGHT AFTER IS NOT QUITE CLEAR YET. NOT JUST THE ARCHIVES BUT THE WHOLE OF HATTUSILI'S GLORIOUS PALACE AND MANY OTHER BUILDINGS WERE CONSUMED IN A GREAT FIRE THAT SWEPT THROUGH THE CITY. BUT HOW DID IT START? ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND NO EVIDENCE THAT THE CITY'S ALMOST IMPREGNABLE WALLS WERE BREACHED BY A FOREIGN ENEMY. THIS SUPPORTS THE IDEA THAT THE FIRE WAS STARTED WHEN THE HITTITES TURNED ON EACH OTHER. MY PERSONAL OPINION IS THAT IT WAS PROBABLY SOMETHING FROM WITHIN-- SOME SORT OF INTERNAL STRIFE, PERHAPS A CIVIL WAR. I THINK THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT TO TAKE THE THRONE, PERHAPS BY MULTIPLE PEOPLE, AND, IN ESSENCE, THE EMPIRE FELL APART. BY SEIZING THE THRONE, HATTUSILI HAD SET A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT THAT SEEMS TO HAVE TRIGGERED CIVIL WAR 30 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH AS RIVAL FACTIONS TORE THE EMPIRE APART, EACH TRYING TO CLAIM THE THRONE. WITH THEIR CAPITAL ABANDONED AND NO KING STRONG ENOUGH TO REUNIFY THE EMPIRE, THE REGION WAS PLUNGED INTO CHAOS. THESE WERE VERY DARK TIMES-- TERRIBLE SHORTAGE OF FOOD. OTHER VIOLENT POPULATIONS ON THE MOVE LOOKING FOR A HOME. BUT ALTHOUGH HATTUSHA VANISHED ALMOST OVERNIGHT, REMNANTS OF HITTITE CIVILIZATION LIVED ON. IN THE 12TH CENTURY B.C., THE LION'S GATE HAD BEEN HATTUSHA'S MAIN ENTRANCE, AND LIONS WERE ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SYMBOLS OF HITTITE ART. 4 CENTURIES LATER, THE DESCENDANTS OF THE HITTITES WERE STILL CARVING ALMOST IDENTICAL LION STATUES IN CANAAN, THE HOMELAND OF THE HITTITES OF THE BIBLE. THIS LION DATES FROM THE 8TH CENTURY B.C. A GOOD 400 OR SO YEARS AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE IN HATTUSHA. AND YET, LOOK AT IT. IT'S STRONGLY REMINISCENT OF THOSE LIONS THAT FLANKED THE LION'S GATE IN HATTUSHA ITSELF. AND THIS IS BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH THE ORIGINAL KINGDOM HAD COLLAPSED, SO-CALLED NEO-HITTITES CONTINUED TO EXIST IN PARTS OF SYRIA, AND THIS FIND VERY MUCH TALLIES WITH THE BIBLICAL REFERENCES TO THE HITTITES WHEN THEY'RE REFERRED TO AS CANAANITE TRIBES WHO EXISTED ALONGSIDE THE ISRAELITES AT THE TIME OF KING DAVID. WHATEVER THE TRUTH OF THEIR BIBLICAL CONNECTIONS, WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT THE PEOPLE WE NOW CALL HITTITES BUILT ONE OF THE MOST STARTLING CITIES EVER DISCOVERED IN THE NEAR EAST-- A CITY THAT REACHED ITS HEIGHT UNDER HATTUSILI AND BOASTED SUCH SIGHTS AS THE YERKAPI RAMPART, THE GREAT TEMPLE OF THE STORM GOD, AND THE ROYAL CITADEL. YET FOR ALL ITS SECURITY, EVEN THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH TO PROTECT HATTUSILI'S DYNASTY FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS SEIZING THE THRONE. AND IN THE SPACE OF A SINGLE GENERATION, HATTUSHA BECAME A LOST WORLD, A CITY AND A CIVILIZATION WE HAVE ONLY NOW BEEN ABLE TO RECREATE, 3,000 YEARS AFTER IT VANISHED. CAPTIONED BY FEATURE SUBTITLING & TRANSLATION www.featuresubtitling.com

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Channel: HISTORY

Views: 1,185,050

Rating: 4.7725873 out of 5

Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, lost worlds, history lost worlds, lost worlds show, lost worlds full episodes, full episodes, Lost Worlds season 2 episode 11, Lost Worlds s2 e11, Lost Worlds 2X11, Lost Worlds se2 ep11, greatest monuments, Lost World, Lost Superpower of the Bible, Hittites, superpower, military powerhouse, Lost Superpower, Bible, powerhouse, enemies, Lost Worlds s02 e11, lost city, Lost Worlds 02x11, Lost Worlds s02 clips

Id: 5xwVpqZGBNk

Channel Id: undefined

Length: 43min 20sec (2600 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 22 2020