An empire that fought Egypt to a standstill vanished so completely that by the 19th century nobody was sure it had existed. The Hittites survived only as a puzzling name in the Hebrew Bible until archaeologists found their capital in central Anatolia and pulled roughly thirty thousand clay tablets out of the ground. Those tablets did two remarkable things: they recovered an entire lost civilisation, and they turned out to mention a place called Wilusa, ruled by a king called Alaksandu.
Rediscovering a Superpower
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire, which at its height in the 14th and 13th centuries BC ran most of Anatolia and much of the Levant, and stood as one of the three great powers of the Late Bronze Age alongside Egypt and Assyria.
Excavation began in earnest under Hugo Winckler from 1906, and the decisive find was the royal archive: tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets, one of the largest documentary hoards to survive from antiquity. Then in 1915 the Czech scholar Bedřich Hrozný deciphered the language and produced a genuine shock. Hittite was Indo-European, related to Greek, Latin, Sanskrit and English. It is the earliest attested Indo-European language we have, and its recovery reordered historical linguistics.
The archive also preserved the Treaty of Kadesh of about 1259 BC between Hattusili III and Ramses II, following their battle in Syria. It is the earliest international peace treaty whose full text survives from both sides, and a copy hangs at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The Troy Connection
This is the reason Hattusa belongs in any serious reading of the Trojan War, and it is worth being precise about what the evidence supports.
Hittite diplomatic correspondence repeatedly mentions a kingdom in the northwest of Anatolia called Wilusa, and a related name, Taruisa. Linguistically, Wilusa maps convincingly onto the Greek (W)ilios, the older form of Ilios, which is Homer’s other name for Troy. Taruisa resembles Troia.
Better still, a treaty of roughly 1280 BC between the Hittite king Muwatalli II and the ruler of Wilusa names that ruler Alaksandu. Homer’s Paris carries the alternative name Alexandros. The texts also refer to Ahhiyawa, a troublesome power across the sea that most scholars identify with the Mycenaean Greeks, Homer’s Achaioi, and they record friction between Ahhiyawa and Wilusa.
What this establishes: that in the right period there was a real kingdom in the right place with a name matching Troy, ruled at one point by a man with a name matching a Trojan prince, in intermittent conflict with a Greek-speaking power from overseas. What it does not establish: the Trojan War as Homer tells it. These are administrative and diplomatic documents; none of them describes a ten-year siege, and the equations, while widely accepted, are probabilistic rather than proven. It is the strongest external corroboration the tradition has, and it stops well short of confirmation.
What to See at Hattusa
The site is enormous, spread over rugged upland, and the circuit is roughly 6 to 8 km around the ancient walls. Most people drive it and stop at each point.
- The Lion Gate and the King’s Gate, monumental entrances with carved relief figures guarding them. The originals of several reliefs are in museums; what stands on site includes casts.
- Yerkapı, the most impressive piece of engineering here: a rampart roughly 30 metres high with a 70-metre corbelled tunnel running right through it. You can walk the tunnel. The name means “gate in the ground.”
- The Great Temple of the Storm God, in the lower city, with its storerooms and enormous ritual basins.
- Yazılıkaya, about 3 km away and included on the same ticket, is the one not to skip. It is an open-air rock sanctuary where natural limestone outcrops are carved with a procession of the entire Hittite pantheon, dozens of gods and goddesses in relief, converging on a central scene. It is the best-preserved Hittite sacred space anywhere.
- The Boğazkale Museum in the village, holding tablets, figurines and ceramics from the site.
Hattusa and Yazılıkaya were inscribed together by UNESCO in 1986.
Getting There, and the Honest Logistics
- Where it is: Boğazkale, in Çorum province, roughly 200 km east of Ankara in central Anatolia. This is a long way from the coastal tourist circuit.
- Tickets are about 70 Turkish lira and cover both Hattusa and Yazılıkaya. Bring cash; cards are not reliably accepted at the gate.
- You really want a car. Public transport to Boğazkale is awkward, and once inside, the circuit is too long and too hilly to walk comfortably unless you are prepared for around 10 km on the day.
- Day tours run from Ankara and Cappadocia, which is how most international visitors do it.
- Allow three to four hours for the main circuit plus Yazılıkaya. Boğazkale village has a handful of small hotels and places to eat.
- Season matters: this is high, exposed Anatolian plateau. Winters are severe and summers hot with no shade on the circuit. Spring and autumn are far more comfortable.
Hattusa Day Tours
Given the distance and the on-site driving, a guided day trip from Ankara or Cappadocia is the practical option for most visitors.
PastPathways may earn a commission from bookings made through this link, at no extra cost to you.
Where to Stay
Boğazkale itself has simple guesthouses; most visitors base in Ankara or come through on a Cappadocia itinerary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hittite connection to Troy?
Hittite archives from Hattusa mention a northwest Anatolian kingdom called Wilusa, which maps linguistically onto the Greek (W)ilios, Homer’s other name for Troy. A treaty of about 1280 BC names its ruler as Alaksandu, close to Homer’s Alexandros, the alternative name for Paris. The texts also mention Ahhiyawa, usually identified with the Mycenaean Greeks.
Does that prove the Trojan War happened?
No. It shows there was a real kingdom in the right place at the right time, with names matching the tradition, in intermittent conflict with a Greek-speaking power. None of the documents describes a ten-year siege, and the name equations are widely accepted but probabilistic rather than proven.
How much does Hattusa cost to visit?
Around 70 Turkish lira, covering both Hattusa and the Yazilikaya rock sanctuary. Bring cash, as cards are not reliably accepted at the gate.
How do you get to Hattusa?
It is at Bogazkale in Corum province, about 200 km east of Ankara. Public transport is awkward and the site circuit is 6-8 km, so a car or an organised day tour from Ankara or Cappadocia is strongly advised.
Why were the Hittites forgotten?
The empire collapsed around 1200 BC during the wider Late Bronze Age collapse and its language died with it. The Hittites survived only as a name in the Hebrew Bible until Hattusa was excavated from 1906 and the archive deciphered in 1915.
Sources & Further Reading
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Hattusha: the Hittite Capital
- Britannica — the Hittites
- Britannica — the Battle and Treaty of Kadesh
