March 30, 191 1] 



NATURE 



145 



THE LAND OF THE HITTITES.' 



PROF. GARSTANG has written an able and in- 

 forming book on recent archaeological explora- 

 tion and discoveries in Asia Minor. The book is 

 written a propos of Prof. Garstang's recent discovery 

 of a Hittite palace at Sakjegeuzi (Sakcegozii), in 

 North Syria, south of the Taurus, near the palace- 

 fortress of Sinjirli, excavated by the Germans some 

 years ago. Prof. Garstang has also visited Boghaz 



FiG. I.— Sakje-Geuzi : Royal Hunting S;ene. From "The Land of the Hittites.' 



I\oi, the site of Khatti, the ancient Hittite capital 

 (lately excavated by Dr. Winckler and Makridi Bey), 

 and other Hittite sites and monuments. The result 

 i> the present work, which sums up all that is known 



i the subjects of the Hittites up to date. 



Naturally, much that Prof. Garstang says about 

 the Hittite monuments is mere repetition of what has 

 already been said by others, except in cases where 

 lie is able to add the results of his own personal 

 investigations. And the initial "Chapter on 

 <i('ography" is perhaps rather tedious. The 

 \aluable part of the work consists of chapters 

 iv. and v., the descriptions of Boghaz Koi, Eyuk, 

 Sinjirli, and Sakjegeuzi. Chapter vi. should, we 

 111 ink, have been combined with chapter iii., 

 to form a continuous history of the Anatolian 

 * ivilisation. The g-reater part of chapter vi., 



the story of the Hittites," is based upon the 

 Habylonian cuneiform tablets discovered by 

 Winckler at Boghaz Koi, which have thrown 

 s(i unexpected a light on the history of the 

 Hittite kingdom from the time of Shubbilu- 

 liuina, the contemporary of the Egyptian Amen- 

 hctep HI., to that of Arnuanta, who was a 

 ' ontemporary of Meneptah, a period of two 

 ' ' nturies (1400-1200 B.C.). The story, as told by 

 i'rof. Garstang, is worth reading by those who 

 are not acquainted with Dr. Winckler's original 

 [lublication in the Mittcilungcn of the German 

 Orient .Society. The tale of Shubbiluliuma's 

 ^\ars and the intrigues which gained his pur- 

 poses even more effectually than his wars 

 ^i>unds like a bit of mediaeval Italian history. 

 lie was at the bottom of the revolt which 

 SI |)arated Palestine from Egypt when it was 

 M en that the pacifist fanatic Akhenaten would never 

 n^f force to keep his empire. Shubbiluliuma was a 

 most unphilosophical person; Akhenaten was, we 

 suppose, a philosopher; he had lovely ideas. The 

 philosopher's reign caused unheard-of misery to 



' " The Land of the Hittites : an Account of decent Explorations and 

 '' overiei in Asia Minor, with Descriptions of the Hittite Monumenis." 

 I'rof. John Garstang. Pp. xxiv+415. (London : Constable and'Co., 

 ..) Price 12S. 9rf. net. 



descend upon his unhappy country, as usual, while 

 the unphilosophical man of action got all he wanted, 

 and, being armed, kept his own goods in peace. 

 Verb. sap. 



However, they were not always strong men in 

 Khatti, and Arnuanta was probably the last of his 

 race. Overthrown by a great folk-wandering from 

 Europe, his kingdom was destroyed, and as a great 

 empire disappears from history. The small States 



into which it broke up pre- 

 served their Hittite char- 

 acteristics for some centu- 

 ries later. The palaces of 

 Sinjirli and Sakjegeuzi be- 

 long to this later period, 

 and Assyrian influence is 

 seen to be strong in their 

 art. The buildings of Bog- 

 haz Koi and Eyuk, on the 

 contrary, certainly belong 

 10 the great period of the 

 kingdom, though they may 

 not, as they stand, be as 

 old as the time of Shubbilu- 

 liuma. In their art there 

 is no trace whatever of 

 Assyrian influence. Prof. 

 Garstang's account of 

 them, and of the results of 

 the recent diggings, is very 

 interesting. 

 The photographs with which the book is illustrated 

 are very good, but are not always exactly appropriate. 

 This is a pity. Prof. Garstang still hankers after 

 exploded " Mongoloid " origins for the Hittites, and 

 even prints photographs of Egyptian representations 

 of them to prove his point (p.' 318), which do not 

 prove it at all; while to quote pigtails as a Mongolian 

 trait is unscientific : Frederick the Great and George 

 III. wore pigtails, but were not Mongols. Also, one 



Fig. 2. — Dimerli : a fallen Lion, liuiii " The Land of the Hittites." 



I cannot see anything " Proto-Greek " in the types shown 

 ' in the companion photograph opposite the same page. 

 What is "Proto-Greek"? 



Prof. Sayce's introduction is interesting in view of 

 ■ the fact that he and the late Dr. Wright were the 

 I pioneers of archaeological theory in this field, based 

 on Perrot's admirable description of the monuments. 

 Prof. .Sayce is now engaged on the congenial task of 

 deciphering the Hittite hieroglyphics. Prof. Gar- 

 stang tentatively accepts some of Prof. Sayce's inter- 



NO. 2 161, VOL. 86] 



