The quest to pinpoint the exact location of Troy has captivated historians and archaeologists for centuries. Was the legendary city of the Trojan War a real place, or merely a figment of Homer’s epic poems? While definitive proof remains elusive, compelling clues suggest that the tales of Troy may be rooted in historical events, with the strongest evidence emerging not from Troy itself, but from the archives of the Hittite civilization.
During the Bronze Age, the Hittite Empire held sway over a vast territory encompassing much of modern-day Turkey. Archaeological excavations at Hattusa, the Hittite capital, have unearthed a treasure trove of clay tablets inscribed with official records dating back to between 1400 and 1200 B.C. Among these texts, references to a region called Wilusa in western Anatolia have sparked significant scholarly interest. The striking similarity between “Wilusa” and the Greek name for Troy, “Ilios” or “Ilion” (from which the Iliad derives its name), is hard to ignore. Notably, the initial “w” sound present in Wilusa had faded from Greek by Homer’s era, further strengthening the connection.
Adding weight to this theory is the mention of a king of Wilusa named Alaksandu in Hittite documents. This name bears a remarkable resemblance to Alexandros, the name Homer sometimes used for the Trojan prince Paris. Such parallels between names and locations across Hittite and Greek accounts suggest more than mere coincidence.
Furthermore, Hittite records frequently mention a group known as the Ahhiyawans, originating from across the Aegean Sea, who were often in conflict with Anatolian coastal cities. Linguistically, “Ahhiyawans” is strongly believed to correspond to the Greek term “Achaeans,” Homer’s designation for the Greeks. The convergence of these details – a city named Wilusa in western Anatolia ruled by an Alaksandu, coupled with the presence of Ahhiyawans – presents a compelling, albeit not conclusive, case for the historical existence of Troy in the region described in Hittite texts. This evidence implies that during the period traditionally associated with the Trojan War, a Greek military presence did exist in western Anatolia, where a city named Troy, possibly ruled by someone akin to Alexandros, stood.
