Photo: “Lion Gate, Hattusa 08”, Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized for the web.
TÜRKIYE · 1600 BC
Hattusa
Ḫattuša
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire, and its ruins still show how the city was organised: temples, royal residences and fortifications survive. Carved decoration enriches the Lions’ Gate and the King’s Gate, and the rock sanctuary of Yazılıkaya is part of the site.
- Original name
- Ḫattuša
- Country
- Türkiye
- Period
- 1600 BC
- Civilisation
- Hittite
- UNESCO
- On the World Heritage List
- Location
- 40.0139° N, 34.6206° E Open in OpenStreetMap Open in Apple Maps
If Antigone is installed, this button opens the city straight in the app.
Areas of the site
-
Lower City and Great Temple
The lower city in the north holds the Great Temple, the largest temple of the Hittite capital, ringed by storerooms.
-
Büyükkale (Royal Citadel)
The palace of the Hittite kings stood on Büyükkale, a steep rocky ridge on the east side of the city above deep gorges.
-
Lions’ Gate
Lions are carved into the stone blocks on either side of this gate in the south-western walls of the upper city.
-
King’s Gate
Named after a relief of a warrior god once taken for a king, this gate is in the upper city’s eastern walls; the original is in Ankara.
-
Yazılıkaya
North-east of the city, the rock walls of this open-air sanctuary are carved with processions of Hittite gods and goddesses.
-
Osmankayası Rock Necropolis
Rock shelters near the road from the city to Yazılıkaya held a cemetery of the Hittite period.
A QUESTION FROM THE ROAD
What was Hattusa to the Hittite Empire?
The answer, and all of the city’s lessons, are in the app.