This volume describes the interactions between religions and political and social institutions in Anatolia on the basis of religious ideas and practices, starting with archaeological evidence from the end of the third millennium BCE. The first written information about religious matters appears in ancient Assyrian letters, before a rich written tradition started with the emergence of the ancient Hittite Empire in the 17th century BCE. Following the downfall of the Hittite Empire at the beginning of the 12th century, a few neo-Hittite states used the older religious traditions to support their claim to legitimacy, but combined them with innovations, which are presented in conclusion in the book=s final chapter.
