Hittite art and architecture: Background

Background

The Hittite invaders of central Anatolia (the area that is present-day W Turkey) came from the east c.2000 b.c. and by 1400 b.c. were masters of all of Asia Minor. Their most important period of artistic activity lasted from 1450 to 1200 b.c. The art of the Hittite Empire merged stylistically with Syrian art gradually, beginning in the 11th cent. b.c. The modern interest in Hittite culture was aroused in the mid-19th cent. by the Rev. Archibald Henry Sayre of Oxford, England.

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