When Ramses’ envoys complained about the delay in the new bride’s arrival, as well as the pithy size of the dowry promised by the Hittites, Puduhepa wrote to blame it on shortages and a fire that had ravaged the royal storehouses. Discovered by archaeologists in 1906-08, the tablets have provided a wealth of detail on the day-to-day diplomacy between these two ancient empires and the intricate details involved in planning a royal union. The two courts embarked on lengthy negotiations, whose twists and turns historians have interpreted from the clay tablets preserved in the archives of the Hittite capital, Hattusha, in the central region of modern Turkey. And not just any princess: Envoys sent from the Egyptian capital, Pi-Ramses, made it clear the pharaoh had his eye on no one other than King Hattusilis’s firstborn daughter. Nine years later, around the time of his 30-year jubilee, Ramses and the Hittites decided to work for a closer, political alliance by proposing a marriage between the pharaoh and a Hittite princess. In 1258 B.C., partly as a result of that battle, the Hittite king, Hattusilis III, agreed to sign a treaty to bring the long hostilities between the two empires to an end, ushering in one of ancient Egypt’s most creative and prosperous periods. He is succeeded by his 13th son, Merneptah. Ramses II dies after more than 60 years on the throne. The princess takes the Egyptian name Maathorneferure.ġ213 B.C. Ramses marries Hattusilis III’s daughter. After ruling for 30 years, Ramses II celebrates his first royal jubilee at Pi-Ramses, his magnificent capital on the Nile River Delta.ġ245 B.C. Ramses and the Hittite king Hattusilis III sign a peace treaty that brings their rivalry to control modern-day Syria and Israel to an end.ġ249 B.C. Construction begins on the great funerary temples of Abu Simbel in Lower Nubia to commemorate the Battle of Kadesh.ġ258 B.C. Ramses almost loses both the battle and his life, but presents it as a victory.Ĭirca 1264 B.C. Egyptian and Hittite forces clash at the Battle of Kadesh. Son of Seti I, a great builder and warrior, Prince Ramses succeeds his father and becomes Pharaoh, taking the name Ramses II.ġ275 B.C. Historians now know, by comparing Hittite and Egyptian accounts of the battle, that the outcome of Kadesh was probably less one-sided than Ramses’ depiction.ġ279 B.C. Scenes of the battle adorn the halls of these astonishing funerary temples, exemplifying Ramses’ dual role as builder and public relations expert. He had 60-foot-tall statues of himself carved out of the sandstone in Lower Nubia near the Nile at Abu Simbel. Ramses presented his win as a crushing victory over the Hittites. Nothing, for the moment, imperiled the prosperity and security of Egypt, especially the Hittites to the north, whose empire spread over modern-day Turkey and northern Syria. Ramses chose his magnificent new capital city, Pi-Ramses, to stage a suitably lavish celebration for this milestone. To commemorate such a notable occasion, pharaohs held jubilee celebrations known as Heb Sed. He spent more than 65 years on the throne during a period of military and cultural splendor which would win him the title Ramses the Great. Ramses II enjoyed one of the longest reigns in Egyptian history.
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