Hello and welcome back to the History of Egypt podcast.

Episode 73, The Three Princesses, a tale of Egypt, Syria, and the world of the Egyptian Empire.

This episode is brought to you by Brenda Wasse, a regular supporter, Florian Schnaithman, and Simon Oliphant.

I have to say, Schnaithman and Olifant are some excellent last names, colour me envious.

Welcome back. Today we return to the historical narrative of Tutmos III's mighty reign.

We've had a couple of episodes of side stories, and that has been fantastic, but we can't stay away too long.

The world of politics and military affairs is simply too important to this period to ignore.

For those of you who prefer the side stories, those domestic and internal affairs,

don't worry, I have a lot of that coming up.

Let me recap where we left off back in episode 70.

At the end of Regnal Year 33, approximately 1462 BCE, Tuttmose

III had pulled off one of his most impressive achievements to date. He had launched a massive

surprise attack against his most dangerous foe. Crossing the River Euphrates in Syria, Tatmos had struck at the

heartland of the kingdom of Matani. He had laid waste their farmlands and communities, fought

at least one battle against a local army, and then driven the Matani off in defeat. He had erected

a stealer to his victory, taken a hunting trip in Syria,

and then returned back to Egypt in triumph. Now, at the beginning of Regnale Year 34, the king was

riding high. Tribute and revenue were beginning to flow into Egypt from its vassals, more on that in a moment, and the army was rich in plunder from its campaigns.

The temples of the land were being embellished and expanded, the king's monuments were well underway, and life in the palaces was comfortable and prosperous.

The king's court was in a good mood as Regnal Year

34 began. As of 1461 BCE, Tudmos was looking ahead once more. In a month or two, he would

return to Syria for a short campaign, his ninth, and then he would return home.

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