In the 14th century BC, the Hittites became the supreme political and military power in the Near East. This book presents the history of the Hittite kingdom, featuring translations from the original texts. It takes account of important developments in Hittite scholarship, including some major archaeological discoveries.

Introduction ; 1. The Origins of the Hittites ; 2. Anatolia in the Assyrian Colony Period ; 3. Territories and Early Rivals of Hatti ; 4. The Foundations of the Kingdom: The Reigns of Labarna and Hattusili I ; 5. The Struggles for the Royal Succession: From Mursili I to Muwattalli I ; 6. A New Era Begins: From Tudhaliya I/II to Tudhaliya III ; 7. The Supremacy of Hatti: The Reign of Suppiluliuma I ; 8. A Young King Proves his Worth: The Reign of Mursili II ; 9. The Showdown with Egypt: The Reign of Muwattalli II ; 10. The Ill-Fated Reign of the Second-Rank Son: The Reign of Urhi-Teshub ; 11. Hatti and the World of International Diplomacy: The Reign of Hattusili III ; 12. New Enterprises, New Threats: The Reign of Tudhaliya IV ; 13. The Fall of the Kingdom and its Aftermath ; 14. The Trojan War: Myth or Reality? ; A Final Comment

`Review from previous edition Bryce's book is eminently readable, well-researched, and impeccably assembled.' American Historical Review `enables every student to quickly familiarize him- or herself with the course of Hittite history and its problems without getting lost. ... Bryce offers an ongoing and often gripping narrative ... and [an] accessible overview.' Theo van den Hout, Bibliotheca Orientalis `the author has crafted a concise and readable narrative of the events which make up the kingdom's five-hundred-year history. He illustrates his points and buttresses his arguments with well-chosen excerpts from Hittite sources ... Beyond its full coverage of the course of events in second-millennium Anatolia, the real strength of The Kingdom of the Hittites is that Bryce looks at the world of the Hittites with the eye of a true historian ... This book will be of great value to the Hittite specialist and to his/her students, as well as to the scholar of other regions and periods of the ancient world who wishes to become acquainted with the story of the first masters of Anatolia.' Gary Beckham, Bryn Mawr Classical Review `Bryce's study is one of those rare books that successfully fills a gap in scholarship ... Bryce has provided the first comprehensive history of the Hittites to appear in English in half a century ... This will be the standard resource on Anatolia in the second millennium BCE for decades to come. An outstanding work that belongs in all university libraries.' S. M. Burnstein, CHOICE `Bryce's volume represents an authoritative, comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of the political and military history of the Hittite kingdom ... it is currently peerless and now imperative reading for any serious inquiry on the Hittites by scholars of the ancient Near East.' David F. Graf, Religious Studies Review