Revealing the fall of the Hittite empire and the fear of people today

The Hittite Empire was very developed and prosperous, but in the last 3 years before its collapse, this civilization faced a problem that people in the world today are facing.

Around the 13th to 12th centuries BC, civilizations in the Mediterranean region were on the brink of collapse.

The exact cause and timing are still debated by historians.

But several important empires in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean region did indeed disappear, an event that has been scientifically termed the "Bronze Age Collapse". 

As a result, major cities were destroyed, trade relations were disrupted, writing systems were forgotten, and an unprecedented death toll was inflicted.

In October 2022, researchers proposed in a study that certain infectious diseases could have been responsible for the collapse of civilizations of that time.

Another study, published in the journal Nature in 2023, offered a look at the Hittite empire.

The Hittite civilization existed across most of the Anatolian peninsula and the northern Middle East from 1650 to 1200 BC.

Find the cause thanks to ancient trees

The vast Hittite kingdom existed in the semi-arid region of central Anatolia (Asia Minor), spanning present-day Turkey, parts of Syria and Iraq.

Archaeological remains and some ancient texts have revealed that, for five centuries, from 1650 to 1200 BC, the Hittite Empire was one of the great powers of the Bronze Age.

At its height, the kingdom even rivaled the ancient Egyptian civilization.

This struggle led to the great battle of the time between King Muwatalli II and the Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramses II around 1274 BC, which took place in Qadesh, present-day southern Syria.

But at the same time, the Hittite empire's central administrative system appears to have collapsed from a movement that also devastated kingdoms in Greece, Crete, and the Middle East and weakened the Egyptians.

Several theories have been proposed by historians to explain this such as it may have stemmed from an attack by "Sea People" or raiders emerging from the local areas.

However, throughout their history, the Hittites fought many crises, internal rivalries, invaders, or from disease threats such as the plague.

Researchers examined juniper trees that grew during the time of the Hittite civilization.

It was used to build a wooden structure around 748 BC, a funerary chamber used for a relative of the Phrygian King Midas discovered southwest of Ankara (Türkiye).

Analysis of wood from this ancient tree has provided historians with information about the climate at the time the Hittite kingdom began to show signs of collapse.

Specifically, the results show that from the 13th to the 12th century BC, in addition to problems with epidemics and internal conflicts, the Hittite empire also faced severe drought and water shortages, leading to the collapse of this civilization.

A warning for humanity today

Nowadays, the world is increasingly affected by climate change causing severe natural disasters such as forest fires, heat waves, super storms, floods and especially droughts.

A report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on the climate in 2023 warns: "Drought is getting worse in the Horn of Africa and southern South America, affecting millions of people.

It is causing widespread food insecurity, forcing an estimated 1.3 million people in Somalia to leave their traditional farming areas and seek food elsewhere.

Along with that, many countries in the African region are also facing a shortage of clean water for use, which has significantly affected people's lives, especially children.

"Studying the collapse of the Hittite civilization really shows many lessons we can learn from history,"  said a professor of evolutionary biology at Cornell University in the US.

The climate changes that are likely to be upon us in the coming century will be far more severe than what the Hittites experienced. And this raises the question: 'What is our resilience? How can we support it and adapt to it?'

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