Let's see if we can make Hittite science even more popular…
The Hittite society arose in Anatolia from the submission of a native people by high-class immigrants from the south of (nowadays) Russia. This happened around the year 2000 b.C. Sources tell us that one or two decades later, the Assyrian trade colony in Cappadocia was dealing with various local Hittite kings. A certain unity was achieved by labarna (upper king) Hattusilis, celebrated by founding a new capital called Hattusas, indeed currently located at Boghazköy, around 1650.
The Hittites under Mursilis I plundered Babylon, but the apparent power of the Hittite society was not backed by reality. It was a short spell of force by an unstable kingdom. The most important component of the Hittite society was the family. Of course, the large royal family was the highest in rank. Like the Kassites, the Hittites were chariot warriors. These warriors were all members of the high society families. These families met in an assembly called panku. Owning land had many obligations towards the serfs that were bound to it, mainly farmers, herdsmen and craftsmen. The king was the god's replacement on earth, but he was never worshipped. He was also upper priest, warlord and judge. What catches the eye is that the queen had an enormously influencial position beside him. After a king's death, the succession was usually arranged in long and bloody conflicts.
The kingdom reached its longest boundaries in the 14th century b.C., when kings Suppiluliumas and Mouwatallis conquered large areas of what we now know as Syria and Palestina. The success can partly be attributed to the Hittite's disposal of a very rare product called iron and some knowledge to manufacture it. The Hittite kings did not apply for 'world' leadership and accepted other powers easily. The king's enemy was anyone without a treaty with him. The year 1200 is usually marked as the finish line for the Hittite state. Unrest, famine, epidemics caused to weaken the capital of Hattusas, which made it an easy prey for destructive mountain people.
In religion as the Babylonians had accepted most of the Sumerian deities, the Hittites garnered both of these mostly by way of the Hurrians. Long festivals were celebrated every spring and autumn, and it was important for the king to be present. As usual in ancient cultures divination and magic were common.
A popular Hittite story told how the evil in the world angried the god Telepinu. He stalked off with his sandals on the wrong feet, causing the earth to dry up, animals to become barren and humans to die of hunger. Seeing the desolation the sun god called together all his divine colleagues to search for Telepinu. But in vain. The silly suggestion to send a bee to find Telepinu was laughed upon loudly, but the little animal, close to exhaustion, finally found Telepinu asleep. As the bee stung him to wake him up, Telepinu got even more angry and began to destroy everything he saw. The bee asked the gods for an eagle to carry Telepinu back while a magic spell was to drive out Telepinu's evil spirit. The goddess of magic soothed Telepinu's mind with cream, sweetened his disposition with honey, cleansed his body with oil and eased his soul with ointment to put him in harmony with people, gods, and the world. Telepinu's anger left him, and the earth came to life again. This ultra-sweet archetypal story of the annual renewal of spring also shows how loving care can heal the spell of anger.