III.

Hittite City-States

The downfall of the empire was followed by confusion and conflict. Subsequently a number of Hittite city-states, the most famous of which was Carchemish, emerged in southeastern Anatolia and northern Syria. These states were peopled by an intermingled ethnic group, called Syro-Hittites, consisting primarily of the Hittites, of peoples from the former Hittite Empire, and the previous inhabitants of the two areas. The Syro-Hittite rulers used the Luwian language, in which hieroglyphics were employed for writing. Some of these city-states were conquered in the 10th century bc by the Aramaeans. Even after it was conquered, all of Syria was still called Hatti by the Assyrians. Both the city-states that were conquered by the Aramaeans and those that remained independent finally were made provinces of the Assyrian Empire under Sargon II about 715 bc.