Chapter 3 - From Kanesh to Hattusa

Summary

The later, typically Hittite form of the cuneiform script is a later development of the Old Babylonian cursive but finds its closest match in the cuneiform variant used in the Syrian kingdom of Yamhad. The mixture of sign shapes is the only one that adequately explains the particular Hittite variant. The heavy diplomatic and military involvement of the Old Kingdom kings Labarna, Hattusili I, and Mursili I provides the historical circumstances, in which the borrowing of the Syrian cuneiform could take place. This chapter ends with a brief introduction to the Hittite cuneiform script and system.