Many historical novels in English literature are written about well-known historical people, kingdoms or episodes in history. However, such topics limit the author's ability to fully express his/her talent as a fiction writer. So, I decided to read historical book depicting less well known episodes in history.
Hittite Empire existed between 18th-12th century B.C. and occupied territory of today's Turkey and Syria. It was one of the 4 great Kingdoms of ancient world. Online book repositories such as Archive.org and Openlibrary.org have several freely available books about Hittites history. I especially liked reading C.W. Ceram's The Secret of the Hittites: The Discovery of an Ancient Empire. Remarkably, for 3000 years, until late 19th century, no one knew or imagined that in 2nd millennium B.C. in Asia minor there were people speaking and writing in Indo-European language who were the military superpower of the ancient world.
This novel, "I, the Sun", is a fictional account of the time when Hittites became Empire under its greatest King Suppiluliumas I (14th century B.C.). His rule coincides with the Egyptian Pharaohs Akhenaten (Heretic Pharaoh) and Tutankhamun and especially religious reformation conducted by the Egypt's Heretic King is widely discussed in the novel. In general, the novel pretty accurately follows historically verified evidence about King Suppiluliumas I reign. It is a good read for someone who wants to learn more about ancient world.
posted by David Usharauli
No comments:
Post a Comment