The History of Egypt Podcast

Ramesses and Hattusili (Part 2). After the marriage to a Hittite princess in Year 34, Ramesses II had much to offer his northern family. A visit from the King of Hatti's son, seeking food supplies, may relate to repeated hunger crises in Syria and Hatti. Pharaoh's support brought the two kingdoms closer together, although we must wonder if the Bronze Age Collapse has now begun... Finally a text known as the Bentresh Stela offers a fairytale memory of Ramesses' relations with Hatti.

Music: Keith Zizza.

Music: Luke Chaos.

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Select References - Hattusili and Ramesses

Brand, P. J. (2023). Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh.

Bryce, T. (2003). Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East: The Royal Correspondence of the Late Bronze Age.

Bryce, T. (2005). The Kingdom of the Hittites (2nd ed.).

Divon, S. A. (2008). A Survey of the Textual Evidence for “Food Shortage” from the Late Hittite Empire. In The City of Emar Among the Late Bronze Age Empires (pp. 101--109). Online.

Drews, R. (1993). The End of the Bronze Age.

Edel, E. (1994). Die ägyptisch-hethitische Korrespondenz aus Boghazköi in babylonischer und hethitischer Sprache I: Umschriften und Übersetzungen.

Hoffner Jr., H. A. (2009). Letters from the Hittite Kingdom.

Kaniewski, D., Cheddadi, R., Fischer, P., Otto, T., Luce, F., & Campo, E. (2020). Climate Change and Social Unrest: A 6,000‐Year Chronicle From the Eastern Mediterranean. Geophysical Research Letters, 47. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087496

Kitchen, K. A. (1993a). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments (Vol. 2).

Kitchen, K. A. (1993b). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations (Vol. 2).

Klengel, H. (1974). “Hungerjahre” in Hatti. Altorientalische Forschungen, 1, 165—174.

Kuslu, Y., & Sahin, U. (2009). Water Structures in Anatolia from Past to Present. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 5, 2109--2116.

Nougayrol, E., Laroche, E., Virolleaud, C., & Schaeffer, C. F. A. (1968). Ugaritica V.

Owen, D. I. (1981). An Akkadian Letter from Ugarit at Tel Aphek. Tel Aviv, 8, 1--17. Online.

Singer, I. (2011). The Calm Before the Storm: Selected Writings of Itamar Singer on the late Bronze Age in Anatolia and the Levant.

Select References - The Bentresh Stela

Erman, A. (1883). Die Bentreschstele. Zeitschrift Für Ägyptische Sprache Und Altertumskunde, 21,
54–60.

Kitchen, K. A. (1975). Ramesside Inscriptions Historical and Biographical
(Vol. 2).

Kitchen, K. A. (1993a). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated
and Annotated: Notes and Comments
(Vol. 2).

Kitchen, K. A. (1993b). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations (Vol. 2).

Posener, G. (1934). À propos de la stèle de Bentresh. Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 34, 75--81. https://www.ifao.egnet.net/bifao/34/

Spalinger, A. (1977). On the Bentresh stela and related problems. Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, 8, 11--18. Online.

Witthuhn, O., Sternberg-el Hotabi,
H., Klimek, M., Glöckner, M., & Demuth, G. (2015). Die Bentresch-Stele: Ein Quellen- und Lesebuch: Forschungsgeschichte und Perspektiven eines ptolemäerzeitlichen Denkmals aus Theben (Ägypten) (Vol. 2). Online.
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Ramesses is famous for fathering 100+ children. But what did all these princes and princesses do? Prof. Peter Brand joins us once more to explain the lives and roles of these children, how we know about them (or don't), what's up with those "Daughter Wives," and where all the 100+ children might be buried.

Also, I read the entire list of children (all 100+) in their known order, from the monuments.

Prof. Peter Brand's book Ramesses II: Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh is available now at all good retailers.

Music by Luke Chaos.
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It’s time, once again, to think about visiting Egypt. I just returned from a tour in March, taking a group through the Nile Valley, and we had a great time. Egypt is quite safe, and the sites are ready to receive you. If you’re in the mood for some antiquities, exploration, and time in the pharaonic past, consider joining me on my next tour.

Dates: 24 January - 01 February 2027.

Special out-of-hours access to the GREAT PYRAMID of Khufu, with all three chambers to ourselves! Additional special permits for ABU RAWASH and the BLACK PYRAMID at Dahshur.

Booking page with itinerary & costs: Ancient World Tours https://www.ancient.co.uk/holiday/history-of-egypt-podcast-2027/. The password is SECRETS (all in capitals). The last few tours have all sold out, so get in quick!
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Hybrid episode (narrative & interivew). The Hittite Queen, Maat-Hor-Neferura, may have been surprised to find she wasn't the only King's Great Wife. In fact, Ramesses had already turned to other women to be his Queens. Notably, his eldest daughter Bint-Anat ("Daughter of Anat") became King's Great Wife, along with several of her younger siblings. Why did Ramesses "marry" his own offspring, and what does that mean for the royal family?

Also, we meet Ramesses' oft-forgotten sister, Tia.

In Part 2, we are joined by Prof. Peter Brand to discuss life in the pharaonic palaces. How did they organise their royal households, what terms survive to illuminate this world? And how can Egyptologists understand life in Ramesses' great family?

Music by Luke Chaos & Keith Zizza, used with permission.

Logo image: Bint-Anat as King's Great Wife, from Ramesses' colossal statue now in the Grand Egyptian Museum.
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Married before first sight. In regnal year 34 (1259 BCE) Ramesses welcomed a princess of Hatti. Sent by her father Hattusili and mother Puduhepa, the (anonymous) princess came to Egypt and took up the rank of King's Great Wife. Today, she is known by her Egyptian name, MAAT-HOR-NEFERURA "She Who Sees Horus, the Perfection of Ra." This enigmatic woman sits at the centre of a fascinating letter archive and commemorative text. Ramesses celebrated his new bride in grand style...

Music by Luke Chaos

Extended version of this episode available at www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast

Sources
Beckman, G. (1999). Hittite Diplomatic Texts (2nd ed.).

Brand, P. J. (2023). Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh.

Bryce, T. (2003). Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East: The Royal Correspondence of the Late Bronze Age. Archive.org.

Edel, E. (1994). Die ägyptisch-hethitische Korrespondenz aus Boghazköi in babylonischer und hethitischer Sprache I:  Umschriften und Übersetzungen.

Fisher, M. M. (2013). A Diplomatic Marriage in the Ramesside Period: Maathorneferure, Daughter of the Great Ruler of Hatti. In B. J. Collins & P. Michalowski (Eds.), Beyond Hatti: A Tribute to Gary Beckman (pp. 75—119).

Jung, C. (2007). Rain in ancient Egypt: A linguistic approach. In H.-P. Wotzka, O. Bubenzer, M. Bollig, & R. Vogelsang (Eds.), Aridity, change and conflict in Africa (pp. 331–344). Available in Open Access pdf at Koeln.

Kitchen, K. A. (1975). Ramesside Inscriptions Historical and Biographical (Vol. 2).

Kitchen, K. A. (1996). Ramesside Inscriptions : Translations (Vol. 2).

Kitchen, K. A. (1999). Ramesside Inscriptions: Notes and Comments (Vol. 2).

Mieroop, M. van de. (2016). A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC.

Polo, S. S. (2016, January 11). Inside One of Egypt’s Biggest Royal Weddings. National Geographic History.

Wong, J. (2020). Have you ever seen the rain? Comments on an underrepresented phenomenon. Nile Magazine, 28, 24—35. Available at Academia.edu.
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