In the Near East, Suppiluliuma of the Hittites was expanding after destroying the Mitanni capital. Capturing Carchemish, Mitanni’s last major stronghold, was his prime military objective; it was placed under siege by Hittite forces under the king’s personal command. It was during the preparations for the siege that he received that letter from the young widow of Tutankhamen. He stared in amazement at the messenger, “Such a thing has never happened in my life.” Suppiluliuma sent his vizier to Egypt to check the truth of the matter. The reason for his suspicion is that the Egyptian deceased King Tutankhamen had recently ordered an attack on Qadesh, formerly an Egyptian subject but now under Hittite sovereignty. The Hittites had repelled the attack and carried out a retaliatory one on Egyptian subject territory further south. While his vizier was on his way to Egypt, Suppiluliuma completed his conquest of Carchemish; in the wake of his capture of Carchemish, he appointed his son Sharri-Kushuh as viceroy there; around the same time, he appointed his other son Telipinu as viceroy of Aleppo. The following spring the Hittite vizier returned from Egypt, along with Egypt’s envoy Hani, both assuring that the queen’s request is sincere. So, he sent his son Zannanza to Egypt, but on his way, he was killed. Suppiluliuma held the Egyptians responsible for his son’s death. A punitive expedition was sent to raid and plunder Egyptian vassal territory by way of revenge. Ironically, thousands of war prisoners brought in this expedition to the homeland brought with them plague, which allegedly ravaged the homeland for 20 years, and even Suppiluliuma and his first successor were victims of the plague. The whole episode put an end to all possibility of a peace between Egypt and the Hittites; in fact, tensions continued to mount from this time onwards, finally culminating in the famous Battle of Qadesh in 1274 B.C. Indeed, letting the fall of Mitanni was a fatal mistake of the Egyptians, as it caused an imbalance of power in the world and allowed the Hittites to grow and threaten the interests and national security of Egypt. The Hittites benefited from the reluctance of the Egyptians to engage in world affairs under Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III and benefited more from the domestic tensions in Egypt under Akhenaten, who was busy with advocating for a new religion and clashing with the priests of Amun, resulting in a period of turmoil after his death, allowing the Hittites to further expand, benefiting from the absence of Egypt and Mitanni from the world map, while other emerging powers like the Assyrians and Mycenaeans and the coalition of Arzawa were presenting themselves to the new world. There was a real need for the reemergence of Egypt and Assyria to reset the tone of the balance of power in the world, although later they shall clash. It looks like a clash is inevitable in international order.

International War and Balance of Power

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发表日期：

2025年

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Amr Mohieeldin

摘要

In the Near East, Suppiluliuma of the Hittites was expanding after destroying the Mitanni capital. Capturing Carchemish, Mitanni’s last major stronghold, was his prime military objective; it was placed under siege by Hittite forces under the king’s personal command. It was during the preparations for the siege that he received that letter from the young widow of Tutankhamen. He stared in amazement at the messenger, “Such a thing has never happened in my life.” Suppiluliuma sent his vizier to Egypt to check the truth of the matter. The reason for his suspicion is that the Egyptian deceased King Tutankhamen had recently ordered an attack on Qadesh, formerly an Egyptian subject but now under Hittite sovereignty. The Hittites had repelled the attack and carried out a retaliatory one on Egyptian subject territory further south. While his vizier was on his way to Egypt, Suppiluliuma completed his conquest of Carchemish; in the wake of his capture of Carchemish, he appointed his son Sharri-Kushuh as viceroy there; around the same time, he appointed his other son Telipinu as viceroy of Aleppo. The following spring the Hittite vizier returned from Egypt, along with Egypt’s envoy Hani, both assuring that the queen’s request is sincere. So, he sent his son Zannanza to Egypt, but on his way, he was killed. Suppiluliuma held the Egyptians responsible for his son’s death. A punitive expedition was sent to raid and plunder Egyptian vassal territory by way of revenge. Ironically, thousands of war prisoners brought in this expedition to the homeland brought with them plague, which allegedly ravaged the homeland for 20 years, and even Suppiluliuma and his first successor were victims of the plague. The whole episode put an end to all possibility of a peace between Egypt and the Hittites; in fact, tensions continued to mount from this time onwards, finally culminating in the famous Battle of Qadesh in 1274 B.C. Indeed, letting the fall of Mitanni was a fatal mistake of the Egyptians, as it caused an imbalance of power in the world and allowed the Hittites to grow and threaten the interests and national security of Egypt. The Hittites benefited from the reluctance of the Egyptians to engage in world affairs under Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III and benefited more from the domestic tensions in Egypt under Akhenaten, who was busy with advocating for a new religion and clashing with the priests of Amun, resulting in a period of turmoil after his death, allowing the Hittites to further expand, benefiting from the absence of Egypt and Mitanni from the world map, while other emerging powers like the Assyrians and Mycenaeans and the coalition of Arzawa were presenting themselves to the new world. There was a real need for the reemergence of Egypt and Assyria to reset the tone of the balance of power in the world, although later they shall clash. It looks like a clash is inevitable in international order.