About 60 years ago, while in Uncle Sam’s Army in Japan, I checked out a library book, THE SECRET OF THE HITTITES, of all things. The author, of whose name I have no clue, made a number of claims as to the forgotten power and influence the Hittites exerted upon surrounding cultures, including, if memory serves, ancient Egypt. One of which was that they were one of (the first?) to attach stirrups to their saddles. FWIW.
That was one of C. W. Ceram's (real name Marek if memory serves, he was from Poland; his best known survey work was "Gods Graves and Scholars", and he revised that from time to time up until his demise).