The Noble Ones

Wherefore art thou origins obscure? Part 3

In Part 2 our search for Venetian origins lead us to the Trojans and the general region of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor. The Anatolians are ancient, and among the first people to separate from the Proto-Indo-European community that gave birth to the individual Indo-European peoples.¹

The oldest known name for any region within Anatolia is the “Land of Hatti” – this designation later became the most common name for the entire territory under the rule of the ancient Hittites.² The powerful Hittites formed one of the first major civilisations of the Bronze Age, and at its height it encompassed most of Anatolia and parts of the northern Levant (including Syria-Phoenicia) and Upper Mesopotamia.

Khatti, Catti or Hittites from a rock relief at Yazilikaya, dated to before c. 2000 BC. Engraving made by French archaeologist Charles Texier, 1882. Image courtesy of www.worldhistory.org