extended their influence toward Syria

their migration pushed other populations southward

culture and Indo-European language

irst conquest was the town of Nesa (near modern Kayseri, Turkey), followed by the capture of Hattusas (near modern Bogazkoy).

He was the first major Hittite conqueror to spread his control throughout Asia Minor to the coast. Labarna's successors pushed their borders southward to Syria. Mursilis I raided deep into the old empire of Babylonia, captured Aleppo, and set the kingdom's southern boundary in Syria. The Hittites spent the next two centuries quelling internal disturbances and fighting the Mitanni of upper Mesopotamia.

He laid down strict succession guidelines and possibly established a code of law

he two powers remained rivals for the next century

During a time of Egyptian weakness under King Akhenaton, the Hittites made gains in Lebanon at Egyptian expense

They also spread their power to the Aegean Sea, Armenia, and upper Mesopotamia.

The key battle in the ongoing conflict with Egypt took place in 1275 BC at Kadesh on the Orontes River. Pharaoh Ramses II led his army of Numidian mercenaries north to force his will on the Hittites once and for all. When two captured Hittite deserters informed the pharaoh that their army was still many days' march away, Ramses rode ahead of his army to set up camp near Kadesh. The two prisoners turned out to have been planted by the Hittite king Muwatallis, and the Hittite Army attacked the pharaoh without most of his troops. Ramses fought bravely until his army arrived; their appearance forced a Hittite retreat into the city of Kadesh. Without siege equipment, Ramses could not force their surrender, so he withdrew

The secret of the Hittites' expansion and superiority lay in the fact that they were the first power to develop the process of smelting iron in large quantities, a method that was probably discovered in about 1400 BC. In a time when everyone used bronze for weapons, iron weaponry gave its possessors a great advantage. Despite that advantage, however, the bulk of the Hittite Army was made up of mounted troops and chariots, from which archers fought. Iron weaponry conferred less of an advantage on those troops, but the Hittite infantry carried iron swords and iron-tipped spears and fought in a phalanx formation.

The Hittite kingdom recognized a supreme ruler, but a strong aristocracy made absolute rule difficult

An early form of feudalism was the basic social and governmental structure, with the local lords being responsible for providing troops in time of emergency.

The king maintained a standing army, however, especially as the empire expanded and garrisons were necessary to maintain control over subject populations. Further, the king maintained a personal guard of about 1,200 (possibly as many as 12,000) soldiers from Elam, and other mercenaries were employed as well.