for their entire country, that grew to be much larger than the land of ancient Hattians.

It is therefore assumed that Hattian designations had some special significance already during the pre-Hittite period, and it is also accepted, as a convention among scholars, that Hattian labels can be used as designations for the pre-Hittite population of central Anatolia, although it is not known whether ethnically related inhabitants of neighboring regions and city-states (surrounding the city-state