233: Friendship in Dark Times (The Bronze Age Collapse Begins?)

The History of Egypt Podcast

Dominic Perry

History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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. == 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. Hoffner Jr., H. A. (2009). Letters from the Hittite Kingdom. Kaniewski, D., et al. (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 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., et al. (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., et al. (2015). Die Bentresch-Stele: Ein Quellen- und Lesebuch. Online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Some follow the noise.
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0:34.6	Salam alaikum and welcome back to the History of Egypt podcast.
0:37.1	Episode 233.
0:40.0	Friendship in Dark Times.
0:48.8	In 1253 BCE, regnal year 40, the king of southern and northern Egypt, Ramesses II,
0:51.0	had reached his early 60s.
0:56.6	He was still healthy, still vigorous, still an active ruler. Pharaoh could now look back on four decades of rule, with many landmarks to celebrate. Most recently, the king had welcomed
1:03.4	a new queen. In year 34, Ramesses had achieved, what he considered to be, a great diplomatic victory.
1:12.2	The king and queen of Khati had sent their daughter to marry Remices.
1:17.5	She arrived in Egypt and took on the name Ma'at-Horneferu-Rah.
1:23.5	And a year or two after the marriage, she and Remices produced their first child, a daughter,
1:29.8	descendant of two royal houses. Remices had his prize from Hatti, a young woman to be his queen,
1:37.7	but soon enough it was time to reciprocate. Around year 40, Pharaoh received a most important guest. The prince of Hatti, son of the
1:48.3	great king, came to the Nile Valley with an urgent request. For some time now, the Hittite heartland
1:56.0	had been experiencing food shortages. A combination of factors, including drought and political instability,
	...

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