HITCHIN. Hour. Straw-plaiting ia carried on, and the cul- tivation of lavfiidcr lor its essential oil, exten- sively used in perfuiiKiy, dates from 1568. IJiteliin is recorded in the Domesday Book. It was given to Harold by Edward the Confessor, and came into the possession of William the Conqueror. Population, in 1891, 8800; in 1901, 10,072. HITOPADESA, he-tO'pa-da'sha (Skt., salu- tary instruclicjii) , or Book of Good Counsel. The name of a celebrated Sanskrit collection of fables, the contents of which have passed into almost all the civilized literatures of the world. The collection itself, in the form in which we possess it. is founded on older works of a kindred nature; and its preface expressly mentions 'the I'anchataiitra and another work,' For a con- venient list of editions and translations and a sketch of the subject, consult Lanman, Sanskrit Header (Boston, 1884). Two good editions with English notes are published in India by Peterson (Bombay, 1895) ; and by (Jodabole and Parab (ib., 1890). See P.4.XCATAXTBA; Sanskrit LiT- EKATl'EE. HITTEREN, h*t'ter-en. An island ofT the west coast of Norway, situated at the entrance to the Throndhjenisfiord (ilap: Xorwaj', C 5). It covers an area of nearly 200 square miles (in- cluding some adjacent islets), and has a popula- tion of about .3000. It is covered with low but rugged hills, reaching 1000 feet, among which are numerous lakes and streams. The inhabitants are njostly engaged in fishing. HIT'TITES. A name that properly designates a rather promiscuous group of nations whose set- tlements extended from the westerly portions of Asia Minor to Armenia, northward close to the Caspian Sea, and southward to the watershed between the Euphrates and the Orontes. Be- sides this we also find references in the Old Testament to Hittites in Southern Pale.stine around Hebron (Gen. xxiii.), and Hittites are likewise frequently mentioned among the pre- Israelitish inhabitiints of Palestine, and along- side the Canaanites, Amorites, Hivites, Perizzites, and Girgashitcs. It is quite impossible, however, to determine absolutely whether the same group (or subdivision of the same group) is intended in all cases. The indications are in favor of sep- arating the Hittites of Central Palestine from those in the south and from the Hittites of Northern Syria and .sia Minor. The geographi- cal nomenclature of the Old Testament is fre- quently vague, and Hittite is a term which is variously used by difTerent writers. So far as the Hittites. whom tradition places around He- bron, are concerned, we are limited in our knowl- edge to the account of Abraham's purchase of the field of Jlachpelah from the sons of Heth (Gen. xxiii.). and to incidental references, such as Gen. xxvi. 34, which point to scattered Hittite settle- ments as far south as Gerar and Beershelia. They are on friendly terms with Edomites and Hebrews, but there is nothing to indicate their ethnic relationship to those two groups. Equally imsatisfactory is our knowledge of the Hittites of Central Palestine. We encounter them merely as one in the confederated group of pre-Israelitish inhabitants of Canaan proper, and considering the uncertain character of Hebrew traditions when it comes to specific n.nmes of peoples, there is no special value to be attached to this group- Ill HITTITES. ing. When we reach the days of David we find ourselves on safer historical ground. The pres- ence of Uriah the Hittite (husband of Bath- sheba) in the army of David (11. Sam. xxiii. 39) is a valuable indication that at this period a group known as the Hittites was still recognized, and there is no valid objection against regarding these Hittites as descendants of those whom tra- dition places around Hebron, which, it will be recalled, is al.so the centre of David's political activity. In Solomon's days (1. Kings xi. 1) we learn of alliances with Hittites, and here at last we have the Hittites of the north whose historical importance far outranks those of the south. The "kings of the Hittites' to whom the writer in II. Kings vii. 6 refers are powerful rulers who as early as 1600 B.C. had established themselves on the Orontes, and whom the Egjp- tians, when under Thothmes I. they began their series of Asiatic campaigns, found to be most formidable enemies. While obliged to submit to Egy[)t for a while, the Hittites maintained a spirit of independence, and centuries afterwards the Babylonians and Assyrians were checked in their advance toward the west by the Hittites gathered at Carchemish, Kadesh, Marash, Ha- math, and elsewhere. It is not until the days of Sargon II. (B.C. 721-705) that these Hittites along the Orontes are finally subdued and dis- appear from the horizon of history. Hittites, however, are not limited to Northern ."svria. Slonunients have been found in Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Lycaonia, and Phrj^gia which by their general art, costumes of the personages sculptured on them, and above all by the char- acter of the inscriptions accompanying the monu- ments, are identical with numerous Hittite re- mains found at Carchemish, Marash, and Ha- niath. It is the existence of these monuments spread over so large a district that enables us to form an idea of the important part played in ancient history by the Hittites. The inscriptions themselves have not yet been fully deciphered, but a beginning has been made, and enough is now known to warrant the assumption that be- tween C.1200 and 800 B.C. Hittites formed the controlling element in Central and Western Asia Minor; and it also appears quite certain that the spread was gradual from the region of Cilicia to the north, northeast, northwest, and west. These Hittites appear to have l)cen of a mi.ed ethnic type, of Turanian and Semitic elements, with a general tendency toward the prevalence of the Semitic over the non-Semitic. According to .Jensen, indeed, the Hittite lan- guage is Aryan in character: but this view is open to serious objections, and it is more likely that tlie Hittite language will lie found to be alliliated with the Semitic stock. There is also a j)ossibility of a direct connection between Hittite characters and Egj-ptian hieroglyphics, though it is not possible to speak with certainty on this and numerous other ]xiints connected with the Hittites. Kirther researches and explorations in Hittite districts are needed, and above all the discovery of a key that will enable scholars satis- factorily to interpret the inscri])tions. The Hit- tite script, it may be added, is partly pictorial and partly syllabic. By virtue of its pictorial Character it is possible to determine the general meaning of a Hittite inscription much more read- ily than to determine how it is to be read. BiBLlOGRAPiiv. Perrot and Chipiez, History of
