Hattusa - capital of the Hittite Empire

The archaeological site of Hattusa has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986, and yet in Europe it is relatively unknown. Situated in modern day Turkey, Hattusa was once the capital of the Hittite Empire.

The Hittites

The Hittites were an ancient people, and are mentioned in the Old Testament.

From the 18th century BC onwards they engineered an Empire centred on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia. An aggressive race, the Hittites conquered much of the surrounding area, peaking in the 14th century BC. At that time the Empire controlled upper Mesopotamia, north-western Syria and Anatolia.

Traditionally there are three distinct periods to the Hittite Empire; the Old Hittite Kingdom (1750-1500BC); the Middle Hittite Kingdom (1500-1430BC); and the New Hittite Kingdom (1430-1180BC).

The Old Hittite Kingdom peaked during the 16th century BC, due mainly to their enhanced iron weaponry, and the Empire even sacked the city of Babylon. Initially the rulers Pithana, and his son Anitta, had their dynastic capitals at Kussara and Nesa respectively, but a century after the start of the Old Hittite Kingdom, Labarna II move the capital of the Empire to Hattusa.

The Lion Gate - Bernard Gagnon - CC-BY-SA-3.0

Hattusa

Situated near the modern-day village of Boazkale, Hattusa is 150km east of Ankara. The site is roughly 2km by 1km in area, and situated on a high rocky plateau.

The surrounding countryside provided the inhabitants of Hattusa with copious amounts of rich agricultural land, and pasture from the hills. As a result the people were provided with wheat, barley and lentils, as well as clothing made from sheep’s wool. Domesticated animals also provided meat, and although there was hunting of deer, this was mainly a pastime for the nobility of the city. Nearby woodland also provided the primary building material.

Archaeological evidence shows that there was a settlement at the site of Hattusa, from the 6000 BC. This settlement is supposedly some of the earliest representation of the indigenous Hatti people.
The real development of the site commenced in about 1900 BC, when merchants from Assyria created a trading colony. Evidence from excavations appears to indicate that the new city was burnt to the ground in about 1700BC. King Anitta from Kushar has been blamed for this act, and an inscribed curse has been found to support this assertion.

Within fifty years the burnt ruins had been reborn. Labarna II chose the site for his capital and private residence. At the same time a change of language occurred, as Hattic was replaced by Hittite. In conjunction with this Labarna changed his name to Hattusili I, meaning ‘the one from Hattusa’. Labarna and subsequent rulers built up Hattusa until it was worthy of the title of capital of the Hittite Empire.

Over time the city grew to 180 hectares, and there were distinct inner and outer sections. There have been estimates of a city population of 50,000 at Hattusa’s peak.

The inner section covered some 80 hectares, and contained the citadel with temples and administrative buildings.

South Gate of the Yerkapi - Bernard Gagnon - CC-BY-SA-3.0

The outer section of 100 hectares lay predominantly to the south of the inner city. In this section there were a further four temples, each set in there own courtyard. The majority of the area though was set aside for residential buildings.

Both sections of the city were surrounded by massive walls, the courses of which are still visible today. At some points the walls have been estimated to be twenty-six feet thick. There were also elaborate gateways set into the walls, and they were often decorated with images of soldiers, lions and sphinxes. Beyond the walls there are the remnants of a number of cemeteries, enclosing numerous cremation burials.

A series of Hittite kings used Hattusa as their capital, although on a number of occasions the capital moved because of invasion threat. The city though was eventually destroyed in about 1200 BC, and coincided with the collapse of the Hittite Empire. Civil war and an external threat from Grecian tribes weakened the Hittites and it eventually collapsed. All that remained were city states, some of which survived into the late 8th century BC. The site of Hattusa was eventually abandoned in about 800BC.

Rediscovering Hattusa

The site was rediscovered in 1874, though it wasn’t until 1893-94 that Ernest Chantre commenced the first excavations. Much of Hattusa was timber built therefore the most obvious remnants are the stone built temples and palaces. The majority of the excavations have been undertaken by German archaeologists in conjunction with their Turkish colleagues.

There have been some notable discoveries at the site. In the digs of 1906-1912 a large number of clay tablets were uncovered. Once they writing on the tablets were deciphered, it was discovered that they held details of the royal archives. The tablets provided details of official correspondence, legal codes, religious text and literature of the Hittite Empire. There has now been some 30,000 tablets or part tablets now uncovered, although one of the most important shows a peace treaty with Egypt, under the leadership of Rameses II, from about 1283 BC.

There have been almost continuous excavations on the site since the end of World War II. Some of the most recent work has been on reconstruction of the city walls, rather than restoration or further excavations.

Alongside Persepolis, this is another of the archaeological sites in the Middle East that is a must for all those interested in ancient history. Though there is perhaps less evidence readily visible than in many sites in Egypt, the images and decoration on the “Lions’ Gate” and “Royal Gate” are worth a look at.

Copyright - First Published 2nd March 2008

Biography of Madame Tussaud

The name of Madame Tussaud is a famous one known the world over. Most people have heard of the waxwork exhibitions that have her name attached to them, but there was a real woman after whom subsequent exhibitions were named.

Madame Marie Tussaud was born Marie Grosholtz on December 1, 1761, in Strasbourg, France. Marie’s father, Joseph Grosholtz, had been a soldier during the Seven Year War, but had died two months prior to Marie’s birth. After Marie’s birth, her mother, Anne Made, moved both of them to Berne, Switzerland, Marie’s mother obtaining a job as a housekeeper with Dr. Philippe Curtius. In some sources Curtius is named as Marie’s uncle, though this is probably due to friendship rather than blood ties. Curtius was a skilled physician, who used wax models he made to demonstrate anatomy. Curtius passed on his knowledge of wax modelling to Marie.

Madame Tussaud Aged 42 - John Theodore Tussaud (1921) - PD-life-70

In 1765, Curtius moved to Paris in order to set up a waxwork show, one of his first casts was of Louis XV’s mistress, Marie-Jeanne du Barry. Two years later Marie and her mother joined Curtius in Paris. It took until 1770 for Curtius to be in a position to host his first exhibition, but it immediately became a success attracting large audiences. By 1776, Curtius’ exhibition was such a success that it moved to the Palais Royal. During this period Curtius continued his tuition of Marie, and soon she was modelling her own waxworks. She met a number of famous individuals; her first wax figure was of Francois Voltaire in 1777, and was quickly followed by Benjamin Franklin and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

In addition to famous individuals, Curtius’ exhibition was also visited by the French Royal family. Curtius expanded his waxworks into a second location, the Caverne des Grands Voleurs, on Boulevard du Temple. Marie though had been picked as tutor for the artistic education of Elizabeth, King Louis XVI’s sister. Living at the Royal court at Versailles caused problems when the Revolution came. Arrested for allegedly having royalist sympathies, Marie was imprisoned in La Force prison alongside aristocrats and other sympathisers.

It is not clear why Marie was saved from the guillotine, her talent at making death masks may have been one, although her acquaintance with Robespierre and Napoleon may have helped. What ever the reason, Marie never faced the guillotine, although she was forced to make death masks from the victims of it, these included friends like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. In prison she shared a cell with Josephine de Beauharais, the future Empress Josephine, and together the two friends were eventually released.

Madame Tussaud Aged 85 - John Theodore Tussaud (1921) - PD-life-70

Upon the death of Curtius in 1794, the whole waxwork collection was left to Marie. In the following year, Marie married an engineer, Francois Tussaud, and before 1800, Marie had given birth to two sons, Joseph and Francois. The thriving business of pre-revolution days though struggled in the relative deprivation of the New France. To improve their prospects, Marie made the decision to take her waxworks on tour.

In 1802, Marie along with Joseph traveled to London, with her collection of death masks and wax figures. Resumption in Revolutionary/Napoleonic War between Britain and France meant that Marie was stranded, separated from her husband and second son. Extending her tour, Marie took her waxworks on a tour of Britain and Ireland, a tour which would last 33 years. Francois joined Marie in Britain in 1821, following the deaths of Marie’s husband and mother.

The tour came to end in 1835, when Marie found a permanent base for Madame Tussaud’s on Baker Street. The permanent site was soon attracting a large audience, drawn to the Chamber of Horrors, where victims of the French Revolution and notable murderers and criminals were exhibited. Marie wrote her memoirs in 1838, as her collection continued to grow; the figures of Nelson and Sir Walter Scott were added.

Marie died in her sleep in London on 15th April, 1850. Madame Tussaud’s, though, continued to thrive; first through her sons and then grandsons. It was her grandsons who moved the exhibition to Marylebone Road in 1884, and since then other branches have been established in Amsterdam, Las Vegas, New York, Washington DC, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The modern Tussaud’s continues in the traditions of its founder, creating wax figures of the most notable individuals of every generation.

Copyright - First Published 27th February 2008

The History of Persepolis

The Middle East is home to some of the most amazing archaeological sites, and the site of Persepolis at Takht-e Jamshid in modern day Iran is no exception. One of the capitals of the ancient Persian empire, it was the seat of power for Darius I and the centre of one of history’s most powerful civilisations.

Persepolis is the Greek name for the ancient Persian city of Prsa, and in both languages has a meaning of The City of Persians. Darius I (522-486BC) is given the credit for founding the city in the late 6th Century, when he made it into the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. There are suggestions, without corroborating archaeological evidence, that it had already been made in a seat of government under Cyrus the Great (559-530BC) and his son Cambyses (530-522 BC). In establishing a new capital, Darius I moved the centre of power of the Persian Empire some 43 kilometres downstream from the Pasargadae, the original capital of the Empire as established by Cyrus the Great.

The Tachara Palace, Persepolis - A.Davey - CC-BY-2.0

In choosing a new site Darius wanted to create a site worthy of the might of the Persian Empire and a place to show off the vast wealth it had accumulated from its subjugated nations. Development of the new capital began in about 518BC, and meant that Darius’ men had to first create an artificial stone terrace measuring 450m by 300m. There followed four phases of building, undertaken by sequential Persian leaders, until about 450BC when the majority of work had been completed. The majority of the work was ordered by Darius’ son, Xerxes, but all of the Persian leaders followed the same style of architecture. Wood was the primary building material, and it was only when the Lebanon cedars or Indian teak trees could not meet the required sizes, that the builders resorted to the use of grey limestone.

The buildings on the site are numerous and can be broadly divided into three types; military quarters, the treasury and the Kings’ buildings. The principle buildings include: the Apadana Palace; the Palace of Artaxerxes III; the Gate of Nations; the Great Stairway; the Hall of a Hundred Columns; the Hadish Palace of Xerxes; the Royal Stables and Chariot House; the Imperial Treasury; the Tripylon Hall and Tachara Palace.

Persepolis - DAVID HOLT - CC-BY-SA-2.0

Darius commenced the construction of Persepolis, and did so with greatest of all of the palaces, the Apadana Palace. Designed for official audiences, Persepolis was used in the main as a residence and ceremonial centre, the Palace was finished by Xerxes I, 30 years after work started. Built in the shape of a square, with each side 60m long, seventy-two columns held up a ceiling 20 metres high, it has been estimated that many thousands of people could have been accommodated. The palace is described as being the most beautiful of all of Persepolis’ buildings, and although there are only 13 columns left standing, there is much evidence to support this assumption. The columns were topped with animal sculptures, with the walls tiled and decorated with images of lions and flowers. The outside of the palace was equally as well decorated, with embossed pictures of the kings’ elite guards, the Immortals (as depicted in the film 300).

Other impressive buildings were also started by Darius, the Tripylon, a three-gated debating hall, and the Imperial Treasury. In many ways the Treasury is equally as impressive as the Apadana Palace, housing all of the plunder from conquered regions, as well as the annual tributes demanded of the subjugated people. The Treasury is known to have employed 1348 people, many of whom were just employed to shine the gold and silver.

Columns at Persepolis - Adam Jones - CC-BY-SA-2.0

Xerxes is the prime builder of Persepolis, finishing off Darius’ work, and commencing many of his own projects. Of his buildings the most noted is the Gate of All Nations’, a grand hall of 25 square metres, consisting of four columns, and was designed as a meeting place for the nations within the Persian Empire. The power of the Empire was on display to all observers with a pair of Lamassus, bulls with the heads of men, looking over the main entrance.

By about 450BC, the majority of Persepolis was completed, and there was no more complicated building activity, for about a century. Kings following on from Xerxes, built there own palaces, with columned halls, but there was nothing to challenge the beauty or glory of Darius and Xerxes. The city in all its glory though lasted for barely two hundred years.

The start of the end for Persepolis came with the arrival of Alexander the Great, in 330BC, which also signified the end to the Persian Empire. On arrival in Persia, Alexander sent the bulk of his force to the city, and quickly captured the treasury with all its wealth before it could be looted or rescued. During the occupation of the city by Alexander’s forces, two things happened. Firstly the treasures were removed and returned to Greece and Macedonia, according to Plutarch, this required the use of 20,000 mules and 5,000 camels. Secondly the city was set alight, there is debate whether this was a deliberate act to ensure that the Persian’s could not make use of it or whether it was an act of vandalism by the Greek solders, as an act of revenge for the sacking of Athens some one hundred and fifty years previously. A gradual decline followed the burning of the city, whilst in 316BC Persepolis was still the capital of Persia, though a province of the Macedonian empire. One hundred years later though Persepolis was no longer a seat of government, as Istakhr, five kilometres north of Persepolis took over.

Situated in the mountainous region of south-west Iran, the dry climate has ensured that much of the archaeology has been preserved. Of course after the city was abandoned locals still knew of its existence and created their own stories about it, but it wasn’t until the early 17th century that the first westerners set eyes upon it again. The first of these was a Portuguese missionary, Antonio de Gouveia, in 1602, and for the next hundred there was a steady stream of diplomats who visited the site on their way to the Persian court. There was little archaeological activity though aside from some drawings undertaken by a Dutchman, Cornelis de Bruijn, in 1704. The first dig was undertaken by the Persian governor of the region in 1878, but the first archaeological research and excavation wasn’t undertaken until 1931. In this year Ernst Herzfeld and F Schmidt were commissioned by the Oriental Institute of Chicago University, to carry out the first scientific excavation. Herzfeld and Schmidt worked solidly for eight years on the site, before the Second World War brought the work to a halt. Ever since the end of the war the Iranian Archaeological Service has continued the excavations and has invited many archaeologists from overseas to assist.

Following the 20th Century archaeological work, UNESCO declared the citadel at Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. Situated as it is in Iran, Persepolis has avoided much of the damage caused by the tourist trade, but the 2007 start of the construction of the Sivand Dam, has put different pressures on the site. The greatness of an Empire though, can be seen in the ruins of Persepolis.

Copyright - First Published 20th February 2008