Lost Cities of the Ancients: The Dark Lords of Hattusha

For someone who professes an interest in history, what I'm about to admit, I can only do with no small amount of embarrassment. That there existed some 3,000 years ago, a fourth great empire that rivalled Egypt, Babylon and Assyria, and that until an hour ago, I had never even heard of, the Hittite empire of the north eastern Mediterranean.

Equally as fascinating as discovering this lost civilisation, is the story of how successive generations of historians have unravelled the mysterious of this hitherto unknown empire.

More than 3,000 years ago a mysterious and ruthless civilization rose from nothing, created a brutal and unstoppable army and built an empire that rivalled Egypt and Babylon. Yet, just as it was at the height of its powers, the great empire suddenly vanished from history.
This is the story of the formidable Hittites, a civilisation bent on world domination. Their long-lost capital, Hattusha, which disappeared 1,000s of years ago, was recently rediscovered, and archaeologists have unearthed one of the most astonishing and ingenious cities of the ancient world, featuring rings of impenetrable walls, secret tunnels, temples, palaces and a vast pyramid-like structure facing Egypt.
Buried in this lost city is one of the greatest libraries of the ancient world. All the secrets of the mysterious Hittite empire were written in two codes - one a unique form of hieroglyphs. Using these deciphered texts, this film recreates the ancient world of the Hittites, telling the story of what happened to them, and what caused an empire built to last forever to vanish so completely from history. BBC