People coming
from Europe via the Caucasus, and settling in Cappadocia
around 2000 BC, formed an Empire in the region merging
with the native people of the area. Their language was
of Indo-European origin.
The capital of the Hittite kingdom was at Hattushash (Bogazköy),
and the other important cities were Alacahöyük and
Alisar. Hittite remains can be found in all the tumuli
in Cappadocia.
The Hittite Empire, which lasted for six centuries in
the region, collapsed around 1200 BC when the
confederacy of Hittite states was invaded by the
Phrygian people from the Balkans.
