A Winter Journey
In Year 5 of his reign, Ramesses II fought a confederation headed by King Muwatallis II of the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh (aka Qadesh). Ramesses recorded this on many monuments, such as the Luxor Temple, as a famous victory (see above). The truth was that the outcome of the battle was more like a draw with both sides claiming to have won but with neither side really having the upper hand. What was clear was that, after the crushing experience of Kadesh, the two superpowers of the region, the Egyptians and the Hittites, could not afford another encounter of that kind.
After a few years, Muwatallis died and his kingdom was split by a civil war between his son Urhi-Teshub and his brother Hattusillis. While the Hittites were preoccupied with problems at home, Ramesses had a chance to consolidate his hold on the traditional Egyptian territories in the Levant without Hittite interference. When Urhi- Teshub was deposed by his uncle he sought refuge at the Egyptian court. Hattusillis III demanded that his nephew should be sent back to Hatti and Ramesses’ refusal threatened to revive the old hostilities. While their armies were being prepared for war an Assyrian attack on the buffer state of Mitanni changed everything. Ramesses and Hattusillis came to realise that the Assyrians were more dangerous to both their nations than they were to each other and continued antagonism between them had to stop. This led to the drawing up of what has been described as the very first formal peace treaty in history.
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Esta historia es de la edición Issue 106 de Ancient Egypt.
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INSIDE THE STEP PYRAMID OF DJOSER
Sean McLachlan explores the recently reopened interior of this iconic Third Dynasty Saqqara monument.
PER MESUT: for younger readers
She Who Loves Silence
Highlights of the Manchester Museum 29: An Offering by Queen Tiye for her Husband
Campbell Price describes an offering table with a touching significance.
Highlights Of The Manchester Museum 28: Busts Of Jesse And Marianne Haworth
Campbell Price describes the significance of two statue busts on display in the Museum.
TAKABUTI, the Belfast Mummy
Rosalie David and Eileen Murphy explain how scientific examination of the ‘Belfast Mummy’ is revealing much new information about her life and times.
Lost Golden City
An Egyptian Mission searching for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamun has discovered a settlement – “The Dazzling of Aten” – described as the largest city ever found in Egypt (see above). Finds bearing the cartouches of Amenhotep III (see opposite, top) date the settlement to his reign, c. 1390-1352 BC – making it about 3400 years old.
Jerusalem's Survival, Sennacharib's Departure and the Kushite Role in 701 BCE: An Examination of Henry Aubin's Rescue of Jerusalem
BOOK REVIEWS
Golden Mummies of Egypt: Interpreting Identities from the Graeco-Roman Period by Campbell Price
BOOK REVIEWS
Old And New Kingdom Discoveries At Saqqara
An Egyptian team working on a Sixth Dynasty pyramid complex near the Teti pyramid at Saqqara has made a series of important discoveries.
Map Of Egypt
What’s in a name? It is easy for us to forget that the names we associate with the pyramids – such as the Meidum Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid or the Black Pyramid – would have been meaningless to their builders.
