The concept of gender in Hittite society

Gender and gender roles have been one of the most studied topics in social sciences in recent years. When we look at the history of humanity, social life, as it stil is today, has been shaped mainly on the activities of the male and female genders. When we look at the cuneiform documents of the Hittite society, we can have information about the perspective of different genders of the period and the lives of men and women in social life. The Hittite society was undoubtedly in a cultural bond with the Mesopotamian societies. Accordingly, there are expressions reflecting similar perspectives towards the subject in the written documents of the societies in question. In our study, gender-defining expressions in Hittite cuneiform texts are discussed, the phenomenon of woman and some gender roles in her specificity are mentioned. Considering the Hittite laws, the place of the Hittite women in the society was examined. By examining the literary texts, the society's point of view on women and the ritual texts are mainly tried to understand the roles and positions of women in ritual practices. By examining relevant written documents in Mesopotamian societies, it has been tried to reveal a perspectie about the socio-cultural structure of the period separated by gender. The sources examined in our study are mainly literary texts, ritual texts and legal texts. The concept of gender in the Hittite society was gathered under general headings within the relevant text groups.