Foreign Policy During the New Kingdom

Foreign Policy During the New Kingdom

Foreign policy during the 18th Dynasty was aggressive, offensive, and imperialistic. In response to the occupation of the Hyksos -also a reaction to the change in the greater political sphere on the Middle East. The objective was to establish buffer zones and vassal states in Palestine - insulate Egypt from the other powers in the Near East.

To the south lay the first of the great Sudanese kingdom in history: Kush

LIBYANS

HITTITES MITTANI ASSYRIA

Egyptian Conquest

Repeated campaigns in Western Asia suggest an overall lack of success in Egyptian foreign policy. The Egyptians loathed occupying conquered areas. Instead, they preferred to leave a few key administrators and to receive the promise of fealty by the local governors. Thutmose III - practice of transporting the eldest son of a foreign vassal to Egypt to be indoctrinated with Egyptian policy and world-view. Hopes of producing a far more loyal vassal.

Amarna Letters

Archive of diplomatic correspondence between the Egypt and its representatives in Canaan Written in Akkadian cuneiform - language of Mesopotamia 382 tablets uncovered at Amarna. The reign of Amunhotep II to Tutankhamun

Shed light on Egyptian relations with Babylonia, Assyria, the Mitanni, the Hittites, Syria, Canaan, and Alashiya (Cyprus). Mutual defense pacts and economic matters - the exchange of Egyptian gold, ebony, and ivory for horses, textiles, and lapis lazuli. Represent a new sense of diplomacy that had replaced the incessant military campaigns of the early New Kingdom.

Kush

The Egyptians wish to eliminate any possible threat from the kings of Kush They also wished to ensure the steady flow of natural resources (gold, ebony, ivory, animal skins, and feathers) that fueled that opulent lifestyle of the 18 th Dynasty elite.

Under Amunhotep I, Kush was officially annexed into the Egyptian empire. This new province was overseen by an official, who was initially drawn from the Kushite royal family, entitled the king s son of Kush reported directly to Pharaoh.

Punt

PUNT In the 6/7th year of Hatshepsut s reign, a trade mission was mounted to the land of Punt - a location probably in modern Eritrea on the coast of Africa. Hatshepsut s mortuary temple at Deir el Bahari, soldiers returned home with precious incense (intended for the cult of the gods), incense trees, and exotic animals.

The Egyptians also called Punt Ta netjer - "God's Land". This did not mean that Punt was considered a "Holy Land" by the Egyptians The term was used to refer to regions of the Sun God - regions located in the direction of the sunrise The term was used not only in reference to Punt, but also in reference to regions of Asia east and northeast of Egypt, such as Lebanon, which was the source of wood for temples

End of the 18 th Dynasty

Amunhotep III - 38 years on the throne was an apogee for Egyptian power and influence. Reliefs dating to the time of Amunhotep III - new aspects of the king s cult had been introduced. Iconography showing a youthful king - his rejuvenation through his association with the sun disk and its incarnation of Horus and Re.

The Amarna Period

Amunhotep IV shared power with his father for 2 or 9 years it is clear that the Amunhotem III s emphasis on the solar disk had an important impact on his son.

Changes During the Amarna Period

Increased focus on the religious role of the royal wife Nefertari beyond that of previous queens

In the 5 th year of his reign, Akhnaten moved the administrative capital to Akhtaten Akhtaten/Amarna There, an entirely new city was constructed, surrounded by the homes of the administrators and courtiers who were obligated to follow the king.

Monotheism?

Between years 8 and 12 of Akhnaten s reign, the worship of all other gods were officially forbidden Fueled debate as to whether Akhnaten introduced monotheism The continued veneration of the gods Ma at, Shu, and Tefnut serve to contradict the idea of a monotheistic state. The Amarna period was a period of henotheism

It also appears that many of the changes were political in nature Designed to break the power of the temple of Amun which, ever since the Old Kingdom, had become increasingly powerful. Many of the holdings of the temple of Amun were transferred to the new cult of the Aten A direct taxes were placed upon temples and cities throughout the country for the upkeep of the new cult.

End of the Amarna Period

It is not known exactly when or how Akhnaten died The administrative capital of the land was moved back to Thebes and the economic power of the old cults of Amun were restored. Akhnaten s successor changed his name from Tutankhaten (which means Living Image of Aten ) to Tutankhamun (which means Living Image of Amun. )

Ay - Ruled for a very short period (4 yrs) after the death of Tutankhamun Was not part of the royal bloodline was most likely an advisor to both Akhnaten and Tutankhamun

Horemheb - the final Pharaoh in the 18 th Dynasty Former military commander under Tutankhamun Under Horemheb, the powers, both economic and political, of the temple of Amun were fully reestablished.

Ramesside Period

Ramesside Foreign Policy

The foreign policy of the Ramesside kings was more proactive than it was reactive. The Hittites were now the major power of the Near East. The city states of the Levant shifted their allegiances back and forth between Egypt and the Hittites

HITTITES

Battle of Kadesh

The Battle of Kadesh early in the reign of Ramses II (1274 BC) - one of the best documented battles in the history of the ancient Near East In the fourth year of his reign, Ramses II marched north into Syria, capturing the Hittite vassal state of Amurru. The recovery of Amurru was Muwatalli's stated motivation for marching south to confront the Egyptians.

The Battle of Kadesh a military victory for the Hittite - Ramses and his army were forced to withdraw Eventually resulted in peace treaty between the Egyptians and Hittites (1258 BC) Attempted to partition the Near East into Hittite and Egyptian spheres of influence The diplomatic marriage of Ramses II to a Hittite princess

Sea Peoples

The greatest threat to Egypt during the Ramesside period was the so called Sea Peoples A confederation of peoples from the Aegean and Western Anatolia (Turkey), who attacked northeastern Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. Known more specifically as the Sherdan, Shekelesh, and Peleset. Much of Ramses III reign was devoted to thwarting their attacks - records of great sea battles are carved on the north side of the king s temple at Medinet Habu.

Rammeside Domestic Policy

The domestic policy of the Ramesside period was closely related to the foreign policy. The transferal of the capital to the new city of Pi-Ramses reflected a desire to be closer to the eastern frontier

The Ramesside kings lavished tremendous efforts upon embellishing and expanding the temple of Amun at Thebes. Wilbour Papyrus (Ramses V) - a third of the land was held by the temples and that one fifth of the population worked for the temples - three quarters of which operated under the domain of Amun. the functions of the state were being strangled by the economic requirements of the temples

Economic Problems in the Ramesside Period

Workers strike of Deir el Medina (the first ever recorded). Occurred when the state was unable to pay the wages of those involved in one of the most important state projects - the construction of the royal tombs. Tremendous inflation of grain prices and the increase in tomb robberies in the Valley of the Kings.

Political Instability and the end of the New Kingdom

Harris Papyrus - refers to a harem conspiracy in which members of the royal household of Ramses III were accused of plotting to assassinate Pharaoh. Irregular succession at the end of the 20 th Dynasty It appears that an individual named Bay, who is later referred to as a king maker, engineered the royal succession.

The end of the 20 th Dynasty - rival factions (the strongest of which was led by two successive high priests of Amun) vied for power with the king. Non royal faction was supported by a Nubia military commander The high priest of Amun at Karnak became the commander of the military and claimed limited use of the titles of king of Upper and Lower Egypt. This active political role of the high priest set the stage for the fragmentation of Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period.

3 rd Intermediate Period Dynasties 21-25, ca. 1069-656 BC

The Third Intermediate Period is one of the least studied periods in Egyptian history Like the First Intermediate Period, the Third Intermediate period was a time of state decentralization The administrative center of the country was moved to Tanis

The kings of the 21 st and 22 nd Dynasties ruled from Tanis The high priests of Amun at Thebes were nominally confirmed by the Tanite kings Southern priests of Amun controlled the southern part of the country - paid varying amounts of fealty to the northern kings. The intermarriage of high priests with royal daughters indicate that the land was not cleanly divided along geographic or state/clerical lines.

By the 22 nd Dynasty, whose kings were of Libyan descent, the fragmentation of the land was far more pronounced. Rival contemporary dynasties were centered at Leontopolis (23 rd Dynasty) and Sais (24 th Dynasty). The Later period also say the development of a hereditary priesthood of Amun.

Battles between the rival dynasties were ultimately resolved by the intervention of the Nubian king Piye Invaded the lower Nile Valley on the pretense of protecting the god of Amun at Thebes. The invasion re-unified the country under the 25 th Dynasty Nubia kings.

Assyrian Invasion

Growing power of the Assyrians - they had absorbed all Palestinian states by the end of the 22 nd Dynasty The Egyptian kings attempted to stop the Assyrian advance into Egypt by the presentation of a tribute of gold and horses.

By 674 BC, the Assyrians attacked Memphis. Necho I installed in Sais by Assyrian king - killed by a Kushite force in 664 BC Incited a complete Assyrian invasion under Ashurbanipal which resulted in an almost complete sack of Thebes.

The Late Period Dynasties 26-31, ca. 664-332 BC

Once the Assyrians had left Egypt, their Egyptian vassal Psammethicus of Sais threw off their rule and founded the 26 th Dynasty. Referred to as the Sais (Saite) Period due to the fact that the capital was in Sais

A period of tremendous artistic achievement. Temples were restored and embellished. Art and architecture reflected a conscious feeling of veneration for the past - evident in the fact that many of the art and literature produced during that period emulated earlier forms.

Twice (535-404 BC and 343-332 BC) Egypt was occupied by the Persians who had little affinity or respect for Egyptian culture. Alexander the Great s expulsion of the Persians in 332 BC was welcomed as a method of substituting the Greeks, who respected Egyptian culture, for the Persians. Libyans, Persians, Greeks, and other Near Eastern peoples all composed what was truly a multi-ethnic society.

The End