4. History: Egypt from Dynasty 1820 15501080 BCE

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4. History Egypt from Dynasty 18-20 (1550-1080
BCE) the Hittites

• BOT612 Old Testament Backgrounds

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The New Kingdom

• "With the accession of Ahmose about 1558 BC, the
  expulsion of the Hyksos during his reign, and the
  reunification of the country by the south, Egypt
  involved herself in the destinies of her
  neighbors and initiated a radically new ear in
  her history. The northward thrusts of the Theban
  dynasts continued until the Egyptians crossed the
  Euphrates River fifty years later. Egyptian
  armies fought at Megiddo in Palestine and Kadesh
  on the Syrian Orontes. The same dynasty erected
  Egyptian temples on a grand scale 1,280 miles
  south of Memphis, at Gebel Barkal in the

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The New Kingdom

• Sudan. The vast riches that the state accrued
  through these foreign expeditions changed the
  very fabric of Egyptian society. No longer could
  Egypt function as a Nilotic kingdom in relative
  isolation. This was an age of intense political
  and diplomatic activity in which the main
  protagonists were Egypt, the Mittani state on the
  Middle Euphrates, the Hittite Kingdom in
  Anatolia, Assyria in northern Mesopotamia,
  Babylonia in southern Mesopotamia, and a host of
  principalities in Syria and Palestine. Ethnic
  movements involving the Amorites, the Canaanites,
  the

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The New Kingdom

• Sea Peoples, and the masses across the Causcasus
  both changed the political and cultural
  configuration of the Near East and came to play a
  part in the early history of Greece and the
  Aegean world. . . . The Thutmosid Dynasty of
  Theban princes, founded by Ahmose, ruled for
  about 250 years as Dyn. 18 and was succeeded by
  the Ramesside dynasties, installed by Horemheb,
  which endured for some 220 years as Dyns. 19 and
  20." Hallo Simpson, 255-6

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Dynasty 18

• Ahmose 1558-1533
• Amunhotpe 1533-1512
• Thutmose I 1512-1500
• Thutmose II 1500-1490
• Queen Hatshepsut 1490-1469
• Thutmose III 1490-1436
• Amunhotpe II 1438-1412
• Thutmose IV 1412-1402
• Amunhotpe III 1402-1363
• Akhenaten 1363-1347
• Smenkhkara 1349-1347
• Tutankhamun 1347-1338
• Ay 1337-1333
• Horemheb 1333-1303

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Dynasty 18

• 1. "Dyn. 18 can be divided into several major
  subdivisions. The early Ahmosid stage consists of
  Ahmoses (1558-1533), Amunhotpe I (1533-1512),
  Thutmose I (1512-1500), Thutmose II (1500-1490),
  and Hatshepsut (1490-1569). Although there were
  some military campaigns after the expulsion of
  the Hyksos, the period was basically
  unmilitaristic in its outlook. Yet Thutmose I
  could have boasted that his empire reached from
  the third cataract in the south to the Euphrates
  in the North."

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Dynasty 18

• 1.1 "By the reign of Thutmose I (ca. 15241518),
  the Egyptians had more than tripled their domains
  in Nubia."
  
• 1.2 The peril to Egypts northern frontier was
  not exorcised, however, by the Hyksos defeat. .
  . . It is clear, . . . that the pharaohs were
  occasionally compelled to lead their armies far
  beyond their borders during the half-century that
  followed Ahmose Is reunification of Egypt.
  Military exercises such as the campaign of
  Thutmose I up to the banks of the Euphrates
  River, together with the wars that secured
  Egypts hold on Nubia, helped to forge the
  military facets of the kings institutional
  identity. There is little evidence, however, that
  these activities

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Dynasty 18

• in western Asia were as yet motivated by the
  imperialist spirit so apparent in Egypts policy
  toward the south. An empire was no doubt easier
  to impose in Nubia than in the culturally more
  diverse and politically complex environment of
  Syria-Palestine, where the Egyptians already
  faced a potential rival in the kingdom of
  Mitanni. It appears, however, that while the
  Pharaohs were resolute in the face of
  provocation, they were not prepared at this point
  to commit themselves to much more than a
  defensive posture toward western Asia."

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Dynasty 18

• 1.3 At home, Ahmose I and his son Amenhotep I
  (ca. 15511524) took in hand the reorganization
  of Egypt after nearly two centuries of disunity.
  Internal affairs were managed by one or two
  viziers (one for Upper and Lower Egypt
  respectively, a division of office attested by
  the reign of Thutmose III and intermittently
  thereafter)."

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Dynasty 18

• 1.4 "The first major crisis was dynastic,
  involving tensions within the royal family, which
  festered over the next three generations. For
  lack of a male heir, Amenhotep I went outside the
  immediate royal family and appointed Thutmose I
  as his successor." . . . Thutmose I marries
  Amenhotep's daughter and the concept of
  Matriarchy is strengthened and will reach a new
  level with Hatshepsut.

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Dynasty 18

• 1.6 "Out of the royal burial and mortuary-cult
  program developed some major new features,
  foremost of which was the separation of the
  burial and the cult temples."

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Dynasty 18

• 2. "As a second main division we can include the
  independent reign of Thutmose III (1469-1436),
  the reign of Amunhotpe II (1438-1412), and
  perhaps that of Thutmose IV (1412-1402). The
  first two of these reigns, in contrast to those
  of the preceding period, were extremely
  militaristic, with almost annual campaigns in
  Syria and Palestine."

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Dynasty 18

• 2.1 "The resolution of the dynastic crisis in
  Egypt coincided with the rise of a fresh
  challenge from western Asia. During the last
  years of Hatshepsuts reign, the king of Kadesh
  had succeeded in forging an alliance with over
  three hundred Syro-Palestinian principalities.
  This was a development that the Egyptians, from
  their experience of the Hyksos invasion, could
  only regard with apprehension. In his first and
  most celebrated campaign (1483), Thutmose III
  surprised the confederate princes at Megiddo and,
  after a seven-month siege, was able to dictate
  terms. The fate of the vanquished princes,
  however, was unexpectedly mild tribute and an
  oath of loyalty to the pharaoh were all that was
  required

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Dynasty 18

• in most cases. These provisions marked a
  departure in Egypts relations with her Asiatic
  neighbors reciprocal obligations between vassal
  and overlord were now extended more widely and
  systematically than ever before, and the
  Egyptians were committed to a consistent pattern
  of involvement in Syria and Palestine."

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Dynasty 18

• 2.2 The stability that Thutmose III sought
  through this farsighted policy was not, however,
  to be won quickly. Continued resistance from
  major states such as Kadesh and Tunip encouraged
  other cities to rebel and eventually triggered
  the direct involvement of Mitanni, the rival
  superpower in the north. The ensuing struggle,
  prolonged over the next three generations,
  demonstrated the futility of the major powers
  efforts to prevail over one another. Having
  secured the Syro-Palestinian coastline, as well
  as the interior of Palestine, Thutmose III next
  carried the war deep into enemy territory. In
  1473 he equaled Thutmose Is earlier feat of
  campaigning on the River Euphrates, thus
  demonstrating Mitannis

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Dynasty 18

• vulnerability on her own borders (Faulkner
  1946). This lesson was driven home repeatedly in
  Thutmose IIIs later years, which witnessed
  numerous incursions into the Mitannian vassals
  territories. The Mitannians countered by inciting
  rebellions within Egypts sphere of influence,
  precipitating fresh campaigns by Amenhotep II
  (ca. 14531419) and Thutmose IV (ca. 14191386).
  By the close of the 15th cent., competition
  between the superpowers had become a vicious
  circle that benefited neither one. The time had
  now come for Egypt and Mitanni to stabilize their
  respective spheres of influence in the Middle
  East.

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Dynasty 18

• 3. "The third subdivision represents the last
  part of the reign of Thutmose IV and the entire
  reign of Amunhotpe III (1402-1363). It was a age
  of extreme luxury in the royal court,
  unparalleled building schemes for the palaces and
  temples, and intense diplomatic maneuvering
  abroad."

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Dynasty 18

• 3.1 "Peace between Egypt and Mitanni was
  celebrated by the first of several diplomatic
  marriages when Thutmose IV married a daughter of
  the Mitannian king Artatama. This marriage tie
  between the royal families, maintained over the
  next two generations in Egypt (Schulman 1979),
  symbolized the peace that, with the two empires
  rapprochement, now extended from the Nile to the
  Euphrates. Cordial relations between Egypt and
  Mitanni removed barriers to trade between their
  territories and helped to expand commercial and
  diplomatic contacts with other regions, notably
  Cyprus, Hatti, Assyria, and Babylon. Peace
  between the superpowers also helped suppress,
  even if it did not eliminate, rivalries and
  occasional lawlessness among their vassals."

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Dynasty 18

• 3.2 Amunhotpe III Queen Teye "The queen,
  whose parents were not of royal lineage, was
  extraordinary personality. She is represented in
  statuary and is included in many royal
  inscriptions. The prominence accorded to her and
  to the later queens in the dynasty, especially
  Nefertiti, is unparalleled in prior Egyptian
  history."

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Dynasty 18

• 4. "The fourth stage of the dynasty encompasses
  the extraordinary reign of Amunhotpe IV
  (Akhenaten) (1363-1347) and those of Smenkhkare
  (1349-1347), Tutankhamun (1347-1338), and Ayheb
  (1337-1333)."

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Dynasty 18

• 4.1 "Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) is one of the best
  known, yet among the most mysterious, of the
  pharaohs. A younger son of Amenhotep III, he
  became crown prince on the premature death of an
  elder brother.
• 4.2 "An obliquely expressed disdain for
  traditional cults (Redford 1981) was accompanied
  by unequivocal signs of favor to a form of the
  sun god who was manifest in the solar disk, the
  Aten. Although the disk itself was an accepted
  religious symbol, the king gave it new attributes
  and a cult that the established priesthoods were
  forced to accept."

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Dynasty 18

• 4.3 "By the fifth year of Amenhotep IVs reign,
  even the pretense of dispassion toward the old
  gods (Redford 1963) had been replaced by a
  widening alienation from their clergy. The king
  now changed his name to Akhenaten (meaning,
  perhaps, One who is effective on behalf of the
  Aten). At the same time, he established a new
  cult center for his god in Middle Egypt, at a
  site hitherto devoid of cultic associations,
  which he called Akhet-Aten (the Horizon of the
  Sun Disk), today known as El-Amarna."

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Dynasty 18

• 4.4 "The identification of his god with the royal
  interest has even led to a charge of atheism but
  the prevailing tendency has been to debate the
  extent to which Akhenaten was or was not a
  monotheist. A strict monotheism can be excluded,
  for the divinity of the Aten in the sky was
  shared on earth by the king and, very probably,
  by his chief queen, Nefertiti. On the other hand,
  one of the salient characteristics of Akhenatens
  heresy is that it sharply restricted the
  traditional embodiments of divinity, even in the
  cult of the sun god."

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Dynasty 18

• 4.5 "In the end, Akhenatens reforms could not
  outlive their creator. The religion of the Aten
  found no effective champions at his death, which
  left Egypt wracked by troubles abroad and
  instability within the royal family. The
  accession of Akhenatens son-in-law Tutankhamun
  (ca. 13341325) brought with it the restoration
  of the orthodox cults, and a measure of calm was
  thus restored. Akhenaten and his immediate
  successors were tarred with the same brush,
  however, and all were eventually consigned to the
  official oblivion that Akhenaten initially
  planned for Egypts ancient gods."

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Dynasty 18

• 4.6 "The art, our major surviving source for the
  period, reflects many innovations. The king and
  his queen, Nefertiti, are constantly depicted
  together in the temple and tomb reliefs with as
  many of their six daughters as were born at the
  time the relief was carved. This emphasis on the
  royal family as a domestic unit, with daughters
  frequently shown in their parent's laps or
  playing with each other, contrasts strongly with
  the austere privacy maintained by the families of
  previous kings. Another innovation is the almost
  grotesque way in which the king is presented."

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Dynasty 18

• 5. "The fifth and last part of the dynasty, the
  reign of Horemheb (1333-1303), represents a
  reaction against the preceding stages." Hallo
  Simpson, 256
• 5.1 "The renewed military activity and the lack
  of a smooth dynastic succession resulted in the
  rise to power of Horemheb, a military officer who
  assumed the kingship after the death of the
  already old Ay."

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Dynasty 19

• "Horemhebs failure to produce an heir, however,
  compelled him to appoint as his successor a
  trusted associate who, as Ramesses I (ca.
  12931291), founded the 19th Dyn."
• Ramesses II
• The unresolved quarrel between Egypt and Hatti
  was reopened by Ramesses son Sety I (ca.
  12911279), who won back for Egypt the border
  territories of Kadesh and Amurru. The Hittites
  failure under Sety, however, would be redeemed
  with interest in the early reign of his son,
  Ramesses II (12791212). When Kadesh once more
  defected to the Hittites, Ramesses marched north
  in 1274 and, believing reports that the

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Dynasty 19

• Hittite King Muwatalli was still far away,
  pitched camp on the western side of Kadesh.
  Muwatallis army was hiding behind the city,
  however, and in a fierce attack it cut the
  Egyptian column in two, nearly destroying the
  king and his forces. Ramesses IIs gallantry on
  the field and the timely arrival of relief troops
  averted this disaster and after another day of
  inconclusive fighting, Muwatalli allowed the
  Egyptians to leave the field of battle. This
  orderly retreat masked a calamitous defeat for
  Egypt, however, as the Hittites reconquered
  Amurru and swept down into southern Syria, which
  Egypt had held since the middle of the 18th Dyn.
  Although this territory was recovered, the
  ensuing struggle between the two empires soon
  degenerated into an unproductive stalemate.

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Dynasty 19

• "During the balance of his long reign, Ramesses
  II would resume the practice of diplomatic
  marriage and wed no fewer than two Hittite
  princesses. The equilibrium of the great powers
  in the Middle East was restored."
• Merneptah
• "The thirteen (?) year reign of Merneptah
  followed that of his father Ramses II. (Ramses
  had outlived his first twelve sons among some one
  hundred offspring.) Merneptah's fifth regnal
  year, like his father's, proved to be of
  considerable importance. A Libyan prince led a
  coalition of Libyan tribes (the Libu, Meshwesh,
  and Kehek) and Mediterraneans against the towns
  of the Delta.

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Dynasty 19

• They were roundly defeated, and six thousand
  captives were taken. Among the allies of the
  Libyans were the Sherdan, Shekelesh, Lukka,
  Tursha, and Akawasha. These "peoples of the sea"
  represent wandering groups of pirates and
  soldiers who had previously turned up in Egyptian
  or hostile forces."
• "The dynasty ended in a period not noted for its
  monuments at home or prowess abroad. Merneptah
  was succeeded by Amunmose, Seti II, Siptah, and
  Queen Tawosre, the last perhaps, like Hatshepsut,
  assuming the kingship itself."

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Dynasty 20

• "Around the year 1200 BC, Sethnakhte founded Dyn.
  20, the second of the two Ramesside dynasties.
  Like the founder of Dyn. 19 his reign lasted only
  two years, and he was succeeded by an unbroken
  line of kings all assuming the name Ramses
  (Ramses III through Ramses XI), who ruled from
  1198 to 1085 BC."

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Dynasty 20

• "Ramses III reigned for thirty-two years, the
  longest reign of the dynasty, and combined
  careers as a builder and as a warrior. . . . In
  Year 5 the Libyan menace again became a reality,
  but Ramses III, like Merneptah before him,
  managed to defeat these hordes intent upon
  settling in the rich farmland of the Delta. A
  Libyan incursion which occurred in Year 11 was
  likewise repelled."

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Dynasty 20

• "In Year 8, between these Libyan attacks, one of
  the worst crisis befell the Egyptian state. For
  many decades the roving Mediterranean tribes had
  been seeking a foothold on the coast. Certainly
  their activity, difficult to document in view of
  their mobility, played a part in pushing the
  Libyans toward Egypt. Many of them became
  mercenaries in the great armies of the time, the
  Egyptian and the Hittites. Some settled in Egypt
  and many more in Palestine and Syria. At the same
  time conditions in western Asia produced major
  movements of peoples seeking land. As the texts
  related, a virtual storm broke in Year 8 of
  Ramses III, and the Sherdan, Shekelesh, Denen,
  Peleset, Tjekker, and Weshesh,

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Dynasty 20

• with ox-carts and all their baggage, overran the
  Levant. The great Hittite empire collapsed, but
  Ramses checked the enemy army before it reached
  Egypt. . . . Egypt was consequently spared the
  full brunt of the attack by the Sea Peoples. Many
  Sherdan and Kehek settled in Egypt, however, as
  mercenaries and then as farmers. The Peleset, who
  settled in part on the southern strip of the
  Levant, gave the land the name Palestine."

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Hittites

• "The Hittites were a people of Indo-European
  origin who penetrated into Asia Minor probably
  before or around 2000 b.c. and in the subsequent
  period became one of the greatest powers of the
  ANE."

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The Old Kingdom (1800-1450 BCE)

• "The unification of the several Hittite clans
  under one ruler seems to have been accomplished
  by Anittas. Little else is known about him and
  his immediate successors. A tablet which records
  the law of succession to the throne introduced by
  king Telipinus begins with a historical preamble
  typical of Hittite treaties, which mentions as
  the three outstanding kings of the Old Kingdom,
  Labarnas, Hattusilis I and Mursilis I."

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The Old Kingdom (1800-1450 BCE)

• Labarnas
• "Labarnas is the real founder of the Hittite
  kingdom. His name became for all successors on
  the Hittite throne a title equivalent to king. He
  strengthened the royal authority in opposition to
  the nobility. The right to choose a successor
  which used to be exercised by the council of
  nobles, the panku, passed gradually to the hands
  of the king himself."

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The Old Kingdom (1800-1450 BCE)

• Hattusilis I
• "His son Hattusilis I is the first Hittite, as
  far as we know, who embarks on a program of
  territorial expansion. He tries to annex the
  principate Aleppo south of the Taurus Mountains,
  but without success. Because of intrigues in the
  court he sets aside his oldest son in behalf of
  his younger, Mursilis I, who was the first to
  elevate the land of Hatti to the supremacy in the
  Near East. Mursilis' raid on remote Babylon in
  1531 BC was unrealistic though, and could not
  have permanent results. On the other hand he was
  able to conquer Aleppo, thus avenging his
  father's defeat. His assassination in a palace
  conspiracy marked the beginning of a chaotic
  period in Hittite history. . . ."

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The Old Kingdom (1800-1450 BCE)

• Telipinus
• "The one to rescue the kingdom from anarchy was
  king Telipinus, a usurper himself, who introduced
  a constitutional reform clearly defining the
  right of succession. From his time must also be
  dated the oldest codification of Hittite law.
  Telipinus' territorial ambitions were limited to
  the establishment of a defensible frontier. In
  this period of Hittite weakness must be reckoned
  the eighth campaign of Thutmosis III who repelled
  the Hurrians beyond the Euphrates, and
  established Egyptian sovereignty in Syria for
  about thirty years. There is evidence that the
  Egyptians and Hittites were on friendly terms

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The Old Kingdom (1800-1450 BCE)

• during the reign of Thutmosis III probably
  because of the threat posed to both nations by
  the Hurrians."
  

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The New Empire (1400-1200 BCE)

• Suppiluliumas
• "The most powerful king of the New Empire is
  Suppiluliumas who takes advantage of Egyptian
  debility under Akhenaten to annex all the Syrian
  territory as far south as the river Kelb which
  flows into the Mediterranean slightly north of
  modern Beirut. He subdues all lands of Asia
  Minor, and conquers the kingdom of Mitanni which
  had been established in the Upper-Euphrates by
  the Hurrians. But with prudent self-control he
  marries his daughter to Mattiwaza, son of
  Tushratta, the defeated king of Mitanni, and
  makes of the territory a vassal-state."

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The New Empire (1400-1200 BCE)

• Mursilis II
• "The grandson of Suppiluliumas, Mursilis II, is
  able to preserve for another generation the
  greatness of the empire, though not without
  having to fight with enemies on the four points
  of the compass."
• Muwatallis
• "Mursilis' II son, Muwatallis, is the one who met
  Ramesses II of Egypt in the famous battle of
  Kadesh on the Orontes River, in the year 1296 BC.
  . . . The Hittites retained their positions in
  northern Syria, while Egypt is restricted to the
  south of the river Kelb."

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The New Empire (1400-1200 BCE)

• Hattusilis III
• "After the death of Muwatallis, his brother
  Hattusilis III broke the right of succession, and
  usurped the throne from his nephew Urhi-Teshup .
  . . . Hattusilis III brought constant warfare
  with Egypt to an end by entering into a
  peace-treaty with Ramesses II. . . . Hattusilis
  III was the last great king of the Hittites. His
  successors must fight against an increasing
  pressure from the West, until the kingdom was
  overrun by the invasion of the Sea-Peoples at the
  end of the

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The New Empire (1400-1200 BCE)

• thirteenth century BC. The Hittites who had a
  monopoly on the use of iron were defeated by
  adversaries from the West who also wielded iron
  weapons."