Hattusa is the capital of the Hittites in the late bronze period. It is located in the district of Boğazkale with its current name 82 km southwest of the city of Çorum.
Hattuşaş Ancient City
The city was located in the history scene as the capital of the Hittite Empire between the 17th and 13th centuries BC. Hattuşaş was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. Hattuşaş is 4 km east of Boğazkale district in the southeast of Sungurlu district of Çorum.
City Layers Unearthed in Hattuşaş
Hattuşaş, the capital of the Hittite State, has made progress in the field of art and architecture. The word Hattusa comes from the word Hattus, that is, the original name given by Hatti people. Hattusa is spread over a very large area. During the excavations, 5 cultural levels have emerged. On these floors, ruins from Hatti, Assyrian, Hittite, Phrygian, Galatian, Roman and Byzantine periods were found. The ruins consist of Lower City, Upper City, Great Castle (Kral Castle) and Yazılıkaya.
Lower City
The north part of Hattuşaş is called “Lower city”, and the south part is called “Upper City”. French archaeologist Charles Texier first discovered the ruins in Hattusa. Excavations were initiated in 1893-1894, and after these excavations, in 1906 they found a large Hittite archive written by German Hugo Winckler and Thedor Makridi cuneiform from Istanbul Archeology Museum. In Hattusa BC III. Settlement is seen from a thousand. Settlements in this period were generally formed around Büyükkale. Assyrian Trade Colonies Age settlements are observed in the Lower City in the 19th and 18th centuries BC, and the name of the city was first found in written documents of this age. It turns out that Hattuşaş, one of the inscriptions that emerged, was destroyed by the king of Kuşşara in the 18th century BC. After this date, Hattuşaş was resettled in 1700 BC and became the capital of the Hittite State in 1600 BC. Like its founder Anitta, it is Hattuşili I, originating from Kuşşara.
Upper City
The area called "Upper City" of Hattusa is spread over an area of 1 km2 and has a sloping land form. The Upper City usually consists of temples and sanctuaries. The Upper City is equipped with a wall surrounded from the south. There are 5 doors on this wall. At the highest point of the city, there is a “Sphinx Gate” with bastion. On the east and west ends of the southern wall, there is the "King Gate" and "Lion Gate".
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