The Geography of the Hittite Empire

Book excerpt: The imperial archives of the Hittite kings include numerous records of military adventure and achievement, of relations with a friend and foe, and of recurring periods of danger to the throne and empire. These fascinating records, however, remain for the most part unintelligible, or at least deprived of their essential value, for want of a reliable map whereby the setting and the scale of the episodes described may be appreciated. At the time of Professor Garstang’s death the first draft of this book was already complete. It has been since been thoroughly revised by Dr. O.R. Gurney, but the ideas which it embodies remain essentially those of Professor Garstang.