The hittites in ancient times were able to conquer other civilizations in the middle east because other cultures were peaceful and non-aggressive they learned advanced battle techniques from the greeks they were allied with the powerful egyptian civilization they were the first culture to equip soldiers with iron weapons

The Hittites were successful in their conquest of portions of the Near East because they were the first to develop and equip their soldiers with iron weapons. They also benefited from a weakened Egyptian presence in the Levant area as the Egyptians had begun to focus inward during the reign of Akhenaten. However, Ramses II would eventually fight back against the Hittites at the famous Battle of Qadesh, which ended in the signing of the first peace treaty known to date.

The nber defines an economic  recession  as: "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real gdp, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales."