2161 AM · ≈ 1600 BCE · world history
The Hittite Kingdom
The Hittites rise in Anatolia as rivals to Egypt and Babylon.
From the Anatolian highlands the Hittites step onto the world stage: they sack Babylon, contest Syria with Egypt, and build the walled capital Hattusa. Their clay archives preserve the oldest known international treaties and early references to iron smelting. Their language turned out to be Indo-European.