157: Ay & Horemheb vs the Hittites

Keeping up with the Kadeshians. In the past, historians thought the Egyptian government was passive (or even "pacifist") in the days of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ay. However, newer research has proved this wrong. We now have a fragmentary, but fascinating picture of warfare and diplomacy, taking place through Canaan and Syria. The town of Kadesh, on the Orontes River, is prominent. Once a vassal to pharaoh, the city suffered an attack by Hittite forces. It then changed sides, paying tribute to Suppiluliuma, King of the Land of Hatti. In the later years of Tutankhamun, or the early reign of Ay, the Egyptians responded to Kadesh's treachery... Horemheb and Hatti. In the days of King Ay (and Tutankhamun before him) conflicts in Canaan and Syria remained a constant issue. In recent years, scholars have uncovered more information about these events and people. Horemheb, the Overseer of the Overseers of the Troops (aka the General of Generals) seems to have dealt, and fought, with Hittite forces. The records are fragmentary, but the clues are intriguing... Update: Episode updated 21st January, 2021. Added new epilogue, incorporating some academic debate regarding the identity of "Arma'a" and its ramifications for the history. UPDATE 2: Episode 157 was originally released in two parts (157/157b). In 2026, I combined the two versions with minor edits for flow/structure. Same content, just packed in a more narratively satisfying version. Episode details: Date: c.1334 BCE (debated). Kings: Tutankhamun and Ay (debated). Battle scene of Tutankhamun: learn more in a free lecture by W. Raymond Johnson (YouTube). Battle reliefs discussion begins at 51:29. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Episode logo: A statue, presumed to be Ay, in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin. Image upscaled, cropped, and edited. Music: "War Song," by Bettina Joy de Guzman www.bettinajoydeguzman.com. Used with permission. Music: "King Tut's Song," by Jeffrey Goodman www.jeffreygoodmanmusic.com. Used with permission. Sistrum sound effect by Hathor Systrum www.hathorsystrum.com. Used with permission. Additional music interludes by Luke Chaos https://twitter.com/Luke_Chaos. Select Bibliography: T. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites (New Edition, New York, 2005). T. Bryce, The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire (London, 2009). T. R. Bryce, ‘The Death of Niphururiya and Its Aftermath’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 76 (1990), 97–105. J. Fraser, ‘Kadesh-on-the-Orontes’, in C. M. Furey et al. (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, 14 (2017), 1203—1205. H. Güterbock, ‘The Deeds of Suppiluliuma as Told by His Son, Mursili II’, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 10 (1956), 41–68, 75–98, 107–30. G. T. Martin, Tutankhamun’s Regent: Scenes and Texts from the Memphite Tomb of Horemheb (EES Excavation Memoir 111; London, 2016). J. L. Miller, ‘Amarna Age Chronology and the Identity of Nibxururiya in the Light of a Newly Reconstructed Hittite Text’, Altorientalische Forschungen 34 (2007), 252–93. S. N. Morschauser, ‘The End of the Sḏf(ȝ)-Tr(yt) “Oath”’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 25 (1988), 93–103. W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (Chicago, 1985). W. J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt (Atlanta, 1995). W. J. Murnane, ‘Imperial Egypt and the Limits of Her Power’, in R. Cohen and R. Westbrook (eds.), Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations (Baltimore, 2000), 101–11. W. J. Murnane, ‘Kadesh’, in D. B. Redford (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (Oxford, 2001). D. B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King (Princeton, 1984). D. B. Redford, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times (Princeton, 1992). I. Singer, Hittite Prayers (Atlanta, Ga., 2002). J. A. Wilson, ‘Egyptian Historical Texts’, in J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement (1978), 227–64. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices