Hittites

The Hittites were an Anatolian, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of Bronze Age West Asia. They may have originated from beyond the Black Sea. The Hittites settled in central Asia Minor (modern-day Türkiye) in the early second millennium BC. The empire peaked in the mid-14th century, encompassing most of Anatolia and parts of the northern Levent and Upper Mesopotamia. The Hittite Empire ended during the Late Bronze Age collapse when it splintered into several smaller states and merged with other populations.