hittites
   palestine and syria appear to have been originally inhabited by
   three different tribes. 1. the semites, living on the east of
   the isthmus of suez. they were nomadic and pastoral tribes. 2.
   the phoenicians, who were merchants and traders; and 3. the
   hittites, who were the warlike element of this confederation of
   tribes. they inhabited the whole region between the euphrates
   and damascus, their chief cities being carchemish on the
   euphrates, and kadesh, now tell neby mendeh, in the orontes
   valley, about six miles south of the lake of homs. these
   hittites seem to have risen to great power as a nation, as for a
   long time they were formidable rivals of the egyptian and
   assyrian empires. in the book of joshua they always appear as
   the dominant race to the north of galilee.
   
     somewhere about the twenty-third century b.c. the syrian
   confederation, led probably by the hittites, arched against
   lower egypt, which they took possession of, making zoan their
   capital. their rulers were the hyksos, or shepherd kings. they
   were at length finally driven out of egypt. rameses ii. sought
   vengeance against the "vile kheta," as he called them, and
   encountered and defeated them in the great battle of kadesh,
   four centuries after abraham. see joshua.
   
     they are first referred to in scripture in the history of
   abraham, who bought from ephron the hittite the field and the
   cave of machpelah gen. 15:20: 23:3-18. they were then settled
   at kirjath-arba. from this tribe esau took his first two wives
   26:34; 36:2.
   
     they are afterwards mentioned in the usual way among the
   inhabitants of the promised land ex. 23:28. they were closely
   allied to the amorites, and are frequently mentioned along with
   them as inhabiting the mountains of palestine. when the spies
   entered the land they seem to have occupied with the amorites
   the mountain region of judah num. 13:29. they took part with
   the other canaanites against the israelites josh. 9:1; 11:3.
   
     after this there are few references to them in scripture.
   mention is made of "ahimelech the hittite" 1 sam. 26:6, and of
   "uriah the hittite," one of david's chief officers 2 sam.
   23:39; 1 chr. 11:41. in the days of solomon they were a
   powerful confederation in the north of syria, and were ruled by
   "kings." they are met with after the exile still a distinct
   people ezra 9:1; comp. neh. 13:23-28.
   
     the hebrew merchants exported horses from egypt not only for
   the kings of israel, but also for the hittites 1 kings 10:28,
   29. from the egyptian monuments we learn that "the hittites
   were a people with yellow skins and 'mongoloid' features, whose
   receding foreheads, oblique eyes, and protruding upper jaws are
   represented as faithfully on their own monuments as they are on
   those of egypt, so that we cannot accuse the egyptian artists of
   caricaturing their enemies. the amorites, on the contrary, were
   a tall and handsome people. they are depicted with white skins,
   blue eyes, and reddish hair, all the characteristics, in fact,
   of the white race" sayce's the hittites. the original seat of
   the hittite tribes was the mountain ranges of taurus. they
   belonged to asia minor, and not to syria.
   
see also:
joshua