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[[File: Hattusa.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|The Lion Gate of the Hittite City of Hattusa]]__NOTOC__

The Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500-1200 BC) was a great abundance and political stability in the ancient Near East. During the period, some of the greatest peoples of the ancient world, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Assyrians, built magnificent palaces and temples and developed the first true global system of trade and diplomacy. Among the major powers that built this global system was the lesser-known, but no less important, Hittite people who ruled over a vast kingdom that included most of the modern-day nation-state of Turkey and portions of Lebanon and Syria.

====Conclusion====

Today, the Hittites are not one of the ancient Near East's better-known peoples, but they were just as powerful and influential as most contemporaries. The Hittites were able to influence history during the Late Bronze Age through their martial abilities, first by reducing the once-powerful Mitanni Kingdom to vassalage status and then claiming lands in the northern Levant that were once held by Egypt. Along with their aggressive military policy, the Hittites pursued a diplomatic program that allowed them to consolidate their gains and stabilize their kingdom.

====Suggested Readings====