tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31671374.post7732004532815575027..comments2023-10-30T07:10:34.610-07:00Comments on Underbelly: Upside-Down Pyramid Moment::The HittitesBucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16452321114185736762noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31671374.post-89524037122581846362010-09-10T16:31:27.911-07:002010-09-10T16:31:27.911-07:00Both the Aztecs and the Incas. As the commenter ab...Both the Aztecs and the Incas. As the commenter above points out, most empires are based around controlling trade routes. A lot of, especially early, trade routes follow rivers, but that's not necessarily true. Delong also points out that war chariots mattered.Ben Natkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18244003873923259808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31671374.post-53970794448995845002010-09-10T13:17:44.138-07:002010-09-10T13:17:44.138-07:00There was a thriving trade between Anatolia and Me...There was a thriving trade between Anatolia and Mesopotamia from a fairly early date, as the Assyrian colony at Kanesh (Kultepe) attests. At its height the Hittites were in close contact with Egypt and the Aegean, and the Hittite presence in North Syria gave them access to trading entrepots such as Ugarit. <br /><br />Anatolia wasn't some backwater. You don't really need a navy to conquer an empire -- look at the Assyrians, the Persians, and the empire of Alexander.Scott de B.noreply@blogger.com