Gordon Doherty's Blog, page 8
July 17, 2019
Terror from the north - the Kaskans!
The Hittite Empire dominated ancient Anatolia for over five centuries. If a neighbouring kingdom attacked, the Hittites crushed the offending state and made them vassals. When the great contemporary empires of Egypt or Assyria encroached, the Hittites called upon their mighty army and the subjugated vassals and marched to war - usually sending Pharaoh or the Kings of Ashur home, humbled. But there was one danger that came not in the form of a rival empire or a plucky kingdom. This threat was constant and simply could not be crushed or envassalled.
The Kaskans - also known as the Kaska, Gagsa and Kaskia - were a Bronze Age people indigenous to northern Turkey. Hardy and ferocious, they lived in the Pontic Mountains (or 'The Soaring Mountains' in Empires of Bronze), a long and rocky sierra overlooking the Hittite heartlands. They had no king as such, but they were populous and grouped in twelve tribes (possibly more), each living in a ramshackle wooden settlement where they alternated between farming pigs and descending into the Hittite lands to rob, raze and loot. Whenever the Hittite Labarna tried to tackle them, they would melt away into their mountain retreats again. Then, when the Labarna and his imperial armies were absent on campaigns far from the heartlands, they would raid across Hittite lands all over again.
The lay of the land - The 'Soaring Mountains' (modern-day Pontic range), home of the Kaskans, with the 'Lost North' above and the Hittite fortification chain below.
One depiction of the Kaskan mountain warriors - bearded and brutal!
The mountains which served as their homes and their defences.
Around 1400 BC, the Kaskans descended from their mountain homes and overran the Hittite territories lying north of the range, all the way to the Upper Sea (modern Black Sea) coast, toppling the sacred Hittite cities of Nerik, Zalpa and Hakmis along the way. With that northern land lost, the Hittite Kings built a chain of forts and towers along the mountain range's southern edge to contain this Kaskan uprising. Yet it was only partially effective - Kaskan raiding parties broke through the defences multiple times, bringing fire and fury upon the Hittite heartlands.
Small-medium scale raids were doubtless costly and troubling, but on the rare occasions when the many Kaskan tribes set aside their rivalries and united against the Hittites - along with
support from nearby Hayasa-Azzi and Isuwa peoples - the threat became critical. Indeed, on more than one occasion, these northern hordes swept southwards, all the way to the Hittite capital of Hattusa, burning the city to the ground. More than once the Hittite throne had to be relocated further the south for fear of the Kaskan threat.
Over the years of constant struggle, the Hittites learned that the Kaskans would never be conquered. However, around 1300 BC, Hattusilis III (our Prince Hattu in Empires of Bronze) did manage to reclaim the 'lost north', and also pioneered the enlistment of Kaskan troops into the Hittite Army - something that must have helped relations between the two peoples.
Still, it must have been a truly tense co-existence, I'm sure you'll agree!
Thanks for reading! You can find out much more about the Kaskans and the Hitittes in Son of Ishtar
The Kaskans - also known as the Kaska, Gagsa and Kaskia - were a Bronze Age people indigenous to northern Turkey. Hardy and ferocious, they lived in the Pontic Mountains (or 'The Soaring Mountains' in Empires of Bronze), a long and rocky sierra overlooking the Hittite heartlands. They had no king as such, but they were populous and grouped in twelve tribes (possibly more), each living in a ramshackle wooden settlement where they alternated between farming pigs and descending into the Hittite lands to rob, raze and loot. Whenever the Hittite Labarna tried to tackle them, they would melt away into their mountain retreats again. Then, when the Labarna and his imperial armies were absent on campaigns far from the heartlands, they would raid across Hittite lands all over again.
The lay of the land - The 'Soaring Mountains' (modern-day Pontic range), home of the Kaskans, with the 'Lost North' above and the Hittite fortification chain below.
One depiction of the Kaskan mountain warriors - bearded and brutal!
The mountains which served as their homes and their defences.
Around 1400 BC, the Kaskans descended from their mountain homes and overran the Hittite territories lying north of the range, all the way to the Upper Sea (modern Black Sea) coast, toppling the sacred Hittite cities of Nerik, Zalpa and Hakmis along the way. With that northern land lost, the Hittite Kings built a chain of forts and towers along the mountain range's southern edge to contain this Kaskan uprising. Yet it was only partially effective - Kaskan raiding parties broke through the defences multiple times, bringing fire and fury upon the Hittite heartlands.
Small-medium scale raids were doubtless costly and troubling, but on the rare occasions when the many Kaskan tribes set aside their rivalries and united against the Hittites - along with
support from nearby Hayasa-Azzi and Isuwa peoples - the threat became critical. Indeed, on more than one occasion, these northern hordes swept southwards, all the way to the Hittite capital of Hattusa, burning the city to the ground. More than once the Hittite throne had to be relocated further the south for fear of the Kaskan threat.
Over the years of constant struggle, the Hittites learned that the Kaskans would never be conquered. However, around 1300 BC, Hattusilis III (our Prince Hattu in Empires of Bronze) did manage to reclaim the 'lost north', and also pioneered the enlistment of Kaskan troops into the Hittite Army - something that must have helped relations between the two peoples.
Still, it must have been a truly tense co-existence, I'm sure you'll agree!
Thanks for reading! You can find out much more about the Kaskans and the Hitittes in Son of Ishtar
June 25, 2019
A Lost Empire
An Ancient Monument...
In the 5th century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus - known as "The Father of history" - travelled to western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and ventured into an old rocky canyon known as the Karabel Pass. Here, he set eyes upon an ancient relief carved into the rock high up on pass-side. It depicted a male warrior with a bow, spear and curved sword, crowned with a peaked helm.
‘With my own shoulders, I won this land,’ reads the inscription below the relief. Herodotus was perplexed for a time: the strange warrior did not look familiar to his well-travelled eye. Eventually, he came to the unsatisfying conclusion that this was an Egyptian creation – carved by a conquering Pharaoh who had marched from the Nile, around the Levant, across Anatolia and all the way to the Aegean coast. Now there were probably plenty of Pharaohs who would have been rather chuffed to have won such far-flung lands... but here's the thing: now we know for sure that it was not Egyptian. It was crafted by a people lost to history for some seven hundred years by Herodotus' time; a people who would remain forgotten for another two millennia afterwards - the Hittites.
Until the early 20th century, we thought of the Hittites as nothing more than a peripheral and insignificant hill tribe living near the biblical Israelites of Canaan. Nobody realised that before this, during the late Bronze Age, they had in fact once been a colossal state, ruling all Anatolia and northern Syria as one of the ancient world's superpowers.
How could such knowledge be lost? Well, the Bronze Age Collapse, as it is known, is thought to have been catastrophic, and only fragmentary evidence remains from that long-ago era. This cataclysm tore down the Hittite Empire amongst several other great powers, and changed the world forever. It is under the dust and rubble of this collapse that memories of the Hittites were buried, evidently lost to Herodotus and men of his era. In more recent history, the Ottoman Sultans sadly chose to ignore the rich history of Anatolia which pre-dated their reign. Thus, the wonders that had gone before were left buried, and the land itself was largely closed to curious archaeologists.
Strange Ruins...
It was only in the later days of the Ottoman regime that Turkey was opened up to the world. The French archaeologist-adventurer Charles Texier was one of the earliest modern explorers to take advantage of this by venturing across Anatolia’s central plateau. He was searching for the Roman city of Tavium, and so he began to ask the rural folk if there were any ruins nearby that had not been investigated. But the locals instead insisted on telling him about some mysterious ruins in the high, rugged lands east of Ankara - ruins that were not Roman or Greek... but much, much older. Intrigued, he set off at once.
Upon his arrival, he stopped, confounded, enchanted, his eyes transfixed upon the foundations of a colossal stone city in that bleak, lonely wilderness. The ancient ruins were decorated with more carvings of strange gods and people in that same odd-looking garb from the Karabel Pass relief. But he realised that this was not Egyptian, nor Assyrian, certainly not Roman or Greek. Within the ruins, he found fragments of a hitherto unknown style of cuneiform writing. Little did he know it at the time, but he had just stumbled upon one of the greatest discoveries of his time, for this was Hattusa, capital of the lost Hittite Empire.
The hills of the lost capital now, and a reconstructed section of the lower town walls. During Hattusa's heyday, the rocky hillsides behind were studded with forts and the city acropolis sat on the highest point.
A reconstruction of the Hititte capital in its pomp.
The ruins of Hattusa's lion Gate during a typically unforgiving Anatolian winter.
The Yazilikaya Rock Shrine, just north of Hattusa. Hittite kings and people would make regular ceremonial processions from the city to this sacred site to give offerings to the Gods.
First: The hills of the lost capital now, and a reconstructed section of the lower town walls. During Hattusa's heyday, the rocky hillsides behind were studded with forts and the city acropolis sat on the highest point.
Second: A reconstruction of the Hititte capital in its pomp.
Third: The ruins of Hattusa's lion Gate during a typically unforgiving Anatolian winter.
Fourth: The Yazilikaya Rock Shrine, just north of Hattusa. Hittite kings and people would make regular ceremonial processions from the city to this sacred site to give offerings to the Gods.
Unearthing the Truth...
Texier's 'discovery' was ground-breaking, but there was still a long way to go before these ruins and the wonders buried underneath could be investigated, interpreted and understood. Here's how it all played out:
1834: Texier makes his discovery of Hattusa.
1880: Having examined the peculiar cuneiform Texier brought back, the missionary Wright and Archibald Henry Sayce announced at a Society for Biblical Archaeology meeting that the as-yet undeciphered writing was that of 'the Hittites' - the same people who later occupied parts of biblical Canaan. According to the Book of Genesis, Chapter 10, the Hittites were the descendants of Noah, through Ham, then Canaan, and then Heth. (Pat 87), thus ‘Hethites’ or 'Hittites'.
But, as my article Who were the Hittites will show, the people who had once lived in Hattusa were far older and far greater than those biblical descendants.
1905: Hugo Winckler found a huge cache of hidden tablets and fragments of writings at Hattusa. This was more valuable than any treasure of gold or silver.
1916: After a decade of trying, Archibald Sayce and Bedrich Hrozny at last deciphered the cuneiform texts so that we could finally see and understand the chronology and culture of the Hittite people.
Thanks to men like Texier, Sayce, Winckler, Hrozny and their modern counterparts Blasweiler, Bryce and many more, the Hittites are forgotten no more!
Want to know more about the Hittites? Read all about them in Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar
Visit Gordon's website here.
In the 5th century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus - known as "The Father of history" - travelled to western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and ventured into an old rocky canyon known as the Karabel Pass. Here, he set eyes upon an ancient relief carved into the rock high up on pass-side. It depicted a male warrior with a bow, spear and curved sword, crowned with a peaked helm.
‘With my own shoulders, I won this land,’ reads the inscription below the relief. Herodotus was perplexed for a time: the strange warrior did not look familiar to his well-travelled eye. Eventually, he came to the unsatisfying conclusion that this was an Egyptian creation – carved by a conquering Pharaoh who had marched from the Nile, around the Levant, across Anatolia and all the way to the Aegean coast. Now there were probably plenty of Pharaohs who would have been rather chuffed to have won such far-flung lands... but here's the thing: now we know for sure that it was not Egyptian. It was crafted by a people lost to history for some seven hundred years by Herodotus' time; a people who would remain forgotten for another two millennia afterwards - the Hittites.
Until the early 20th century, we thought of the Hittites as nothing more than a peripheral and insignificant hill tribe living near the biblical Israelites of Canaan. Nobody realised that before this, during the late Bronze Age, they had in fact once been a colossal state, ruling all Anatolia and northern Syria as one of the ancient world's superpowers.
How could such knowledge be lost? Well, the Bronze Age Collapse, as it is known, is thought to have been catastrophic, and only fragmentary evidence remains from that long-ago era. This cataclysm tore down the Hittite Empire amongst several other great powers, and changed the world forever. It is under the dust and rubble of this collapse that memories of the Hittites were buried, evidently lost to Herodotus and men of his era. In more recent history, the Ottoman Sultans sadly chose to ignore the rich history of Anatolia which pre-dated their reign. Thus, the wonders that had gone before were left buried, and the land itself was largely closed to curious archaeologists.
Strange Ruins...
It was only in the later days of the Ottoman regime that Turkey was opened up to the world. The French archaeologist-adventurer Charles Texier was one of the earliest modern explorers to take advantage of this by venturing across Anatolia’s central plateau. He was searching for the Roman city of Tavium, and so he began to ask the rural folk if there were any ruins nearby that had not been investigated. But the locals instead insisted on telling him about some mysterious ruins in the high, rugged lands east of Ankara - ruins that were not Roman or Greek... but much, much older. Intrigued, he set off at once.
Upon his arrival, he stopped, confounded, enchanted, his eyes transfixed upon the foundations of a colossal stone city in that bleak, lonely wilderness. The ancient ruins were decorated with more carvings of strange gods and people in that same odd-looking garb from the Karabel Pass relief. But he realised that this was not Egyptian, nor Assyrian, certainly not Roman or Greek. Within the ruins, he found fragments of a hitherto unknown style of cuneiform writing. Little did he know it at the time, but he had just stumbled upon one of the greatest discoveries of his time, for this was Hattusa, capital of the lost Hittite Empire.
The hills of the lost capital now, and a reconstructed section of the lower town walls. During Hattusa's heyday, the rocky hillsides behind were studded with forts and the city acropolis sat on the highest point.
A reconstruction of the Hititte capital in its pomp.
The ruins of Hattusa's lion Gate during a typically unforgiving Anatolian winter.
The Yazilikaya Rock Shrine, just north of Hattusa. Hittite kings and people would make regular ceremonial processions from the city to this sacred site to give offerings to the Gods.
First: The hills of the lost capital now, and a reconstructed section of the lower town walls. During Hattusa's heyday, the rocky hillsides behind were studded with forts and the city acropolis sat on the highest point.
Second: A reconstruction of the Hititte capital in its pomp.
Third: The ruins of Hattusa's lion Gate during a typically unforgiving Anatolian winter.
Fourth: The Yazilikaya Rock Shrine, just north of Hattusa. Hittite kings and people would make regular ceremonial processions from the city to this sacred site to give offerings to the Gods.
Unearthing the Truth...
Texier's 'discovery' was ground-breaking, but there was still a long way to go before these ruins and the wonders buried underneath could be investigated, interpreted and understood. Here's how it all played out:
1834: Texier makes his discovery of Hattusa.
1880: Having examined the peculiar cuneiform Texier brought back, the missionary Wright and Archibald Henry Sayce announced at a Society for Biblical Archaeology meeting that the as-yet undeciphered writing was that of 'the Hittites' - the same people who later occupied parts of biblical Canaan. According to the Book of Genesis, Chapter 10, the Hittites were the descendants of Noah, through Ham, then Canaan, and then Heth. (Pat 87), thus ‘Hethites’ or 'Hittites'.
But, as my article Who were the Hittites will show, the people who had once lived in Hattusa were far older and far greater than those biblical descendants.
1905: Hugo Winckler found a huge cache of hidden tablets and fragments of writings at Hattusa. This was more valuable than any treasure of gold or silver.
1916: After a decade of trying, Archibald Sayce and Bedrich Hrozny at last deciphered the cuneiform texts so that we could finally see and understand the chronology and culture of the Hittite people.
Thanks to men like Texier, Sayce, Winckler, Hrozny and their modern counterparts Blasweiler, Bryce and many more, the Hittites are forgotten no more!
Want to know more about the Hittites? Read all about them in Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar
Visit Gordon's website here.
June 20, 2019
A civilization almost lost to history...
The Hittites: a civilization almost lost to history. So who were they? Find out here:
http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeb...
Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar
June 14, 2019
'Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar' is here!
Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar
Four sons. One throne. A world on the precipice.
1315 BC: Tensions soar between the great powers of the Late Bronze Age. The Hittites stand toe-to-toe with Egypt, Assyria and Mycenaean Ahhiyawa, and war seems inevitable. More, the fierce Kaskan tribes – age-old enemies of the Hittites – amass at the northern borders.
When Prince Hattu is born, it should be a rare joyous moment for all the Hittite people. But when the Goddess Ishtar comes to King Mursili in a dream, she warns that the boy is no blessing, telling of a dark future where he will stain Mursili’s throne with blood and bring destruction upon the world.
Thus, Hattu endures a solitary boyhood in the shadow of his siblings, spurned by his father and shunned by the Hittite people. But when the Kaskans invade, Hattu is drawn into the fray. It is a savage journey in which he strives to show his worth and valour. Yet with his every step, the shadow of Ishtar’s prophecy darkens…
Praise for Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar:
"A meticulously researched and vivid reimagining of an almost forgotten civilisation" - Douglas Jackson, bestselling author of the celebrated Gaius Valerius Verrens series
"Vivid, immersive...wondrous!" - SJA Turney, bestselling author of Marius' Mules and The Damned Emperors.
"An action-packed epic" - Matthew Harffy, bestselling author of the acclaimed Bernicia Chronicles.
Read the prologue here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
Watch the trailer here: https://www.goodreads.com/videos/1508...
Grab a copy of the novel here: http://getbook.at/eob1
About the Hittites & the Bronze Age:
Over three thousand years ago, before iron had been tamed, before Rome had risen, before the ashes from which Classical Greece would emerge had even been scattered, the world was forged in bronze. It was an age when Great Kings ruled, when vast armies clashed for glory, riches and the favour of their strange gods.
Until the late 19th century, historians thought that they had identified the major powers who held sway in the last stretch of the Bronze Age: Egypt, Assyria… Ahhiyawa (Homer’s Achaean Greece) even. But there was another – a fourth great power, all but lost to the dust of history: the Hittites.
Hardy, fierce masters of Anatolia, utterly devout to their myriad gods, the scale and wonder of their world is only now shedding its dusty cloak thanks to the tireless work of archaeologists. The Hittites ruled from the high, rugged plateau at the heart of modern-day Turkey, commanding a ring of vassal states (most notably Troy) and boasting a dauntless army that struck fear into the hearts of their rivals. Their Great King, titled Labarna and revered as the Sun itself, was every bit the equal of Egypt’s Pharaoh, of the trade-rich King of Assyria, and of the brash lords of Ahhiyawa.
The Hittites were there when the Bronze Age collapsed. They bore the brunt of the cataclysmic events that destroyed the great powers, threw the Near East into a centuries-long dark age and changed the world forever.
This is their story…
May 31, 2019
New Bronze Age series coming in a fortnight
An epic saga set in the distant past, starring the Hittites, Trojans, Egyptians, Assyrians and Mycenaeans... what more could you want?
Check out the my three recent teaser vids (15s each) here:
#1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i2_4...
#2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkh_T...
#3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrR3-...
Coming 13.06.2019 - mark the date... and spread the word! :)
Check out the my three recent teaser vids (15s each) here:
#1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i2_4...
#2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkh_T...
#3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrR3-...
Coming 13.06.2019 - mark the date... and spread the word! :)
December 9, 2018
Festive prize draw
3 signed copies of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the novel (first edition) up for grabs. Enter here:
http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeb...
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: The official novel of the highly anticipated new game
http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeb...
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: The official novel of the highly anticipated new game
August 24, 2018
Literary Goodie Bag
Free stuff! Legionary 7 goodie bag up for grabs.
I'm running a prize draw for a signed copy of The Blood Road plus a bundle of collectables: signed artwork, music score and more! Enter here by 10th Sept:
www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/leg...
I'm running a prize draw for a signed copy of The Blood Road plus a bundle of collectables: signed artwork, music score and more! Enter here by 10th Sept:
www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/leg...
August 16, 2018
The Dogs of War!
'Cry "Havoc!", and let slip...'
http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeb...
A look at the use of Molossian hounds in the Roman army.
The Blood Road
http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeb...
A look at the use of Molossian hounds in the Roman army.
The Blood Road
August 10, 2018
Author Q&A
A Q&A re writing historical fiction set in Late Antiquity:
https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...
https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...
July 31, 2018
A Gap in History
A Gap in History - picking up the pieces after the chronicles of Ammianus Marcellinus
https://historytheinterestingbits.com...
The Blood Road
https://historytheinterestingbits.com...
The Blood Road
