Occupying a strategic position on the northern edge of central Anatolia, before 2000 BCE, the apparently indigenous Hattian people established a settlement on sites that had been occupied even earlier and referred to the site as Hattush. The Hattians built their initial settlement on the high ridge of Büyükkale.

The earliest traces of settlement on the site are from the sixth millennium BCE. In the 19th and 18th centuries BCE, merchants from Assur in Assyria established a trading post there, setting up in their own separate quarter of the city. The center of their trade network was located in Kanesh (Neša) (modern Kültepe). Business dealings required record-keeping: the trade network from Assur introduced writing to Hattusa, in the form of cuneiform.

Hattusa evolved from a modest settlement into a fortified imperial capital under King Hattusili I in the 17th century BCE. The city reached its zenith in the 13th century BCE under rulers such as Suppiluliuma I and Hattusili III, when it was a hub of international diplomacy, exemplified by the surviving peace treaty with Egypt after the Battle of Kadesh. Archaeological excavations have revealed a complex urban layout with massive stone walls, decorated gateways, royal residences, administrative buildings, and archives containing tens of thousands of tablets. Following the empire’s collapse around 1200 BCE, Hattusa was abandoned, leaving behind well-preserved remains that today provide a detailed record of Hittite civilization.

circa 6000 BCE- Modern Period

Pre-Hattian Settlement
The earliest evidence of settlement at Hattusa dates to the sixth millennium BCE during the Chalcolithic period (6th millennium BCE- 2000 BCE), when small agrarian communities occupied the site. These early inhabitants constructed rudimentary dwellings and utilized local stone and mudbrick for domestic and defensive purposes. Archaeological layers indicate continuous occupation through the late 3rd millennium BCE, establishing the foundation for later urban development.

Hattian Period
Toward the end of the 3rd millennium BCE (circa 2000-1650 BCE), the Hattian people established a settlement on these previously occupied locations, referring to the site as Hattush. By the 19th and 18th centuries BCE, Assyrian merchants from Kanesh (modern Kültepe) had established a trading post within Hattusa, occupying a distinct quarter in the lower city. Around 1700 BCE, excavations reveal a carbonized layer indicating the burning of Hattusa, attributed to King Anitta of Kussara, who recorded (inspect) the act and inscribed a curse on the site. Despite this destruction, the city was rebuilt, possibly by a descendant of Anitta, demonstrating the resilience of Hattian urban structures and administrative continuity.

Early Hittite Period
During the early Hittite period (circa 1650–1400 BCE), in the first half of the second millennium BCE, around 1650 BCE, Hittite king Labarna relocated the capital from Neša to Hattusa, adopting the name Hattusili, “man of Hattusa”. During this period, the city began to serve as the political and administrative heart of the Hittite kingdom. The northern Kaskians later attacked the kingdom twice, prompting King Tudhaliya I to temporarily move the capital north to Sapinuwa. Subsequently, under Muwatalli II, the royal seat shifted south to Tarhuntassa, with Hattusili III appointed as governor over Hattusa. The city’s architecture from this period includes early palace complexes and fortifications, while administrative artifacts such as cuneiform tablets record diplomatic correspondence and local governance.

Middle Hittite Period
By the Middle Hittite Period (circa 1400-1300 BCE), Hattusa’s urban layout became formalized, with distinct sectors for administrative buildings, temples, and residential areas. Monumental construction projects included the reinforcement of the city’s walls and ceremonial gates, reflecting the consolidation of royal authority. Hittite kings engaged in regional diplomacy, documented through treaties and correspondence preserved on cuneiform tablets, which illustrate Hattusa’s integration into broader Near Eastern political networks.

Late Hittite Period
During the Late Hittite Period (circa 1300-1200 BCE), Hattusa reached its peak in scale and complexity, covering approximately 1.8 square kilometers and consisting of an inner and outer city. The inner city, about 0.8 square kilometers, contained the citadel with large administrative buildings, temples, and the royal acropolis on Büyükkale (Great Fortress). Massive fortifications, over 6 kilometers in length with dual stone-and-mudbrick walls up to 8 meters thick, were erected during the reign of Suppiluliuma I (circa 1344–1322 BCE, short chronology). The outer city included four temples arranged around porticoed courtyards, secular buildings, residential structures, and elaborately decorated gateways featuring reliefs of warriors, lions, and sphinxes. Population estimates place around 10,000 inhabitants at its peak, with the inner city housing roughly one-third of this number. The period saw intensive diplomatic and military activity, with kings such as Mursili III and Tudhaliya IV engaging in regional wars and negotiating treaties, many recorded on cuneiform tablets such as the Bronze Tablet of Tudhaliya IV.

Post Hittite Period
Hattusa and the Hittite state were destroyed around 1200 BCE during the Late Bronze Age collapse. Archaeological evidence indicates that the city was gradually abandoned over several decades, with signs of final destruction by fire occurring after the Hittite royal family, elites, and administrative apparatus had left. Environmental factors, including a possible regional drought, may have contributed to the decline.

Following the collapse until the Hellenistic period, Hattusa was intermittently reoccupied by agricultural communities with material culture distinct from the Hittites. Settlers adapted remnants of monumental architecture for local use, while pottery, tools, and domestic structures indicate continuity of habitation, albeit on a smaller scale and without the previous political or ceremonial centrality.

Hellenistic and Roman Periods
During the Hellenistic and Roman periods (4th century BCE- 3rd century CE), Hattusa was sporadically occupied. Structures from earlier periods were reused, and the settlement functioned primarily within local agricultural and trade networks. There is no evidence of restored urban or political prominence.

Modern Archaeological Period
Systematic excavations began in the 19th century and intensified in the 20th century under German-led teams. Investigations revealed the city’s fortifications, palaces, temples, and extensive archives of cuneiform tablets, providing unparalleled insight into the political, administrative, and cultural history of the Hittite Empire. Hattusa was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, underscoring its historical and archaeological significance.

circa 3100–2100 BCE

Royal Precinct
Today known as Büyükkale, the eastern fortress or the royal palace was the residence of the Hittite kings. The acropolis or the plateau forms the highest point of the old city of Hattusa with a splendid view over the city and the valley to the north. The earliest traces of settlement go back to the early Bronze Age. Most of the buildings visible today belong to the monumental rebuilding phase, which included a renewal of the castle fortifications during the thirteenth century BCE. A sophisticated system of colonnaded courtyards, archives, residential quarters, cultic structures and an audience hall cover the entire acropolis. Access to the plateau was through a viaduct starting at the Nisantepe.

circa 1500 BCE

Fortification Walls
At its peak, the city covered 1.8 square kilometers and comprised an inner and outer portion, both surrounded by a massive and still visible course of walls erected during the reign of Suppiluliuma I (circa 1344–1322 BCE). The city featured over 6 kilometers of walls, with inner and outer skins around 3 meters of thick and 2 meters of space between them, adding 8 meters of the total thickness. Outside the walls are cemeteries, most of which contain cremation burials. The walls were erected using the natural shape of the terrain or completely changing it, depending on the architectural and strategic needs.

circa 1500 BCE

Gates
The gates of Hattusa formed the primary entry points through the city’s fortified walls, combining defensive engineering with symbolic display. These structures controlled access, protected the population, and projected the authority of the Hittite state, with the Lion Gate, King’s Gate, and Sphinx Gate representing the most prominent examples of monumental architecture.

circa 1300 BCE

Great Temple
The Great Temple of Hattusa, also known as Temple 1, is one of the prominent structures within the archaeological site of Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire. The Great Temple is situated in the southwestern part of the lower city of Hattusa, near the city center and the Hittite Palace. The temple dates back to the Late Bronze Age, around the 13th century BCE, during the Hittite Empire's peak. The temple exhibits typical Hittite architectural features. It consists of a central sanctuary surrounded by various annexes and auxiliary structures. The exact religious or ceremonial purpose of the Great Temple is not fully understood. However, it is believed to have served as a major religious center for the Hittites, possibly dedicated to one or more deities.

The temple complex and the associated structures were situated in the center of the complex, completely isolated from the outside. The temple complex has a well-defined layout, with a central main hall or sanctuary and several rooms and chambers around it. The structure is aligned with a courtyard. The Hittites were known for their polytheistic religious beliefs, and the Great Temple likely played a crucial role in their religious practices. The Storm God, a central deity in Hittite religion, might have been worshipped in the temple.

circa 700 BCE

Southern Fortress
The southern fortress Güney Kale, was a small fort erected by the Phrygians near the end of the seventh century BCE. It was constructed several centuries after the collapse of the Hittite empire, during a period when a large scale settlement is believed to have been established over the ruins of previous constructions. Around the same time, Phrygians also refortified the former Hittite citadel on the Büyükkale hill which was located east of the valley. Apparently, local landlords were concerned with the protection of their subject's lives and possessions, since both fortresses were concerned with the protection of their subject's lives and possessions, since both fortresses were capable of sheltering the people living nearby for ,at least, a short span of time. The path leading up in to the fort passes by the foundation walls of Phrygian buildings and ends in front of a Hittite cult chamber which was preserved under the Phrygian fortress wall.

circa

Lower City
The area stretching from the slope below the royal citadel or the royal precint, today called Büyükkale, down to the valley is known as the lower city of Hattusa. In this part of the settlement the predecessors of the Hittites, the Hattians (an indigenous people of the region) had settled as early as the end of the third millennium BCE. At the beginning of the second millennium BCE there has been a colony of Assyrian merchants here as well. Hittite residential quarters have so far been excavated in the north and north-west of the lower city area. These surround the monumental temple complex, which was entered through the gate. The entry led through a wide paved street flanked by storeromms and past a water basin, which like the lion basin along the approach outside, had a role in cult rituals. The lion basin was originally carved from a single block of limestone. Both narrow sides are decorated with two lion heads.

circa

Cuneiform Royal Archives
Excavations at Hattusa have uncovered approximately forty mercantile documents from the early 2nd millennium BCE, written in the Old Assyrian dialect of Akkadian and associated with the karum (merchant quarter) active during Assyrian trading colony times. By the mid-2nd millennium BCE, a well-established scribal tradition had developed in the city, incorporating influences from Syrian, Mesopotamian, and Hurrian traditions, and producing texts in Akkadian, Sumerian, and eventually Hittite.

The most significant find is the corpus known as the Boğazköy Archive—over 30,000 clay tablets from the New Kingdom period of the Hittite Empire. These documents include royal correspondence, international treaties, administrative records, legal codes, cultic instructions, oracular pronouncements, and literary compositions from across the ancient Near East. Among them is the celebrated peace treaty concluded between the Hittites and Egypt under Ramesses II, following the Battle of Kadesh (circa 1259–1258 BCE). One copy is preserved in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, while a replica is displayed at the United Nations Headquarters as an early example of formalized international diplomacy.

circa

Hattusa Green Nephrite Stone
Within the remains of Hattusa’s Great Temple—a sacred precinct likely devoted to the storm-god Tarḫunna and the sun-goddess Arinna—stands a unique, roughly cubic block of dark green nephrite (jade) measuring approximately 69 cm on each side and weighing around 1,000 kg. This polished monolith is an unparalleled find within Hattusa, distinguished by both its material and form, and its original function remains unresolved. Some scholars propose it may have served as a ceremonial altar or statue base, while others suggest a more symbolic or ritual purpose. Geochemical analyses indicate that the nephrite, though locally abundant, was deliberately dressed and relocated to this temple chamber. The stone’s enigmatic absence of inscriptions or iconography, combined with its anomalous placement below the current floor level of a small chamber off the main temple street, deepens its mystery. Locally, it endures as the “wish stone”, drawing visitors enchanted by its unresolved heritage. Its presence highlights both the depth of Hittite ritual complexity and the limits of our understanding of their sacred material culture.

circa

Hittite Pottery
Hittite pottery, spanning from the Old Hittite Kingdom (circa 1650–1500 BCE) through the Empire period (circa 1400–1180 BCE) and into the Neo-Hittite successor states (circa 1180–700 BCE), reflects both continuity in traditional Anatolian ceramic practices and the incorporation of influences from neighboring cultures such as the Hurrians, Mycenaeans, and Assyrians. In the Old Kingdom, pottery was largely utilitarian, made from coarse, reddish-brown or buff clay, with forms including jars, storage pithoi, bowls, and beak-spouted jugs. Decoration was minimal, often limited to simple burnishing or incised geometric motifs. By the Empire period, finer wares emerged alongside these functional vessels, including thin-walled drinking cups, elegant stemmed goblets, and carinated bowls. The introduction of painted decoration—particularly red and black geometric designs over a light slip—marks a stylistic development likely influenced by the wider trade and cultural exchanges of the Late Bronze Age.

One distinctive feature of Hittite ceramics is the prevalence of drinking vessels with animal forms or appliqué animal heads, especially in ceremonial or feasting contexts, a tradition that persisted into the Iron Age among the Neo-Hittite states. Large storage jars often had seal impressions or short cuneiform labels to indicate contents or ownership, hinting at an organized system of goods distribution. Excavations at Hattusa, Alaca Höyük, and other central Anatolian sites have revealed both everyday household pottery and high-quality ceremonial wares, suggesting a stratified use of ceramics in domestic, administrative, and religious settings. The resilience of certain vessel forms over centuries, combined with the gradual refinement of decorative techniques, illustrates how Hittite pottery maintained a strong cultural identity while adapting to the shifting political and economic currents of Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean.