In 1258 BCE, Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramses II, and Hittite king, Hattusilli III, drew up a formal agreement known as: The Hittite-Egyptian Treaty. The Hittite-Egyptian Treaty was an accord that encompassed several provisions. These provisions include: a non-aggression pact, mutual defense alliance, and an extradition agreement for the return of fugitives. Based on our understandings of Ancient Mesopotamian history and the relationship between the two states, we will attempt to answer several questions. These questions are: Does the treaty indicate that the two kings who conducted it were equally powerful? Is the treaty truly a treaty between two countries and peoples, or a more personal treaty between two kings? And finally, what type of event may have prompted the two kings to conduct this treaty? To begin, The Hittite-Egyptian Treaty was structured to be a bilateral agreement between two ancient Mesopotamian superpowers. Under the agreement, both sides would be responsible to support and uphold the clauses in the treaty. The equivalence of these clauses as well as the symmetry in wording offers the strongest evidence of Ramses and Hattusili being equally powerful. For example, should an “external enemy” invade either Hatti or Egypt, both of its rulers will send their ally the same message of “Come to my aid against him” . At the same time, both rulers are expected to provide that aid in the form of “his army and chariotry” . The same structure can be found when dealing with groups of criminals who flee from either Egypt or Hatti and go to Hattusili or Ramses, respectively. While the two rulers are required to bring back these fleeing people to the other’s territory, the treaty demands that in both cases “The fugitives will not be punished for their offenses. Their tongues or eyes will not be torn out, and their ears or feet will not be chopped off, and their houses will not be destroyed together with their wives and together with their sons.” With this in mind, the document was structured to be almost symmetrical, treating both sides equally and requiring each side to undertake and uphold mutual obligations. In other words, any condition that applies to one king would also apply to the other; this
Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptian are two very comparable cultures. There are similar and differences in regards to their Government, Law, Writing, Cities, Religion, Jobs, and Technology. This is reflected in their literatures, Epic Gilgamesh, and the Story of Sinuhe. Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh and Sinuhe in the Story of Sinuhe are important characters that outline the perspective of an ancient society’s.
Ramesses II, also known as Rameses and Ramses was the third Pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty in ancient Egypt and arguably the most powerful ruler Egypt has seen. He led his civilization from 1279-1213 B.C.E. With a seemingly everlasting reign of around sixty six to sixty seven years, Ramesses aided Egypt in the ways of expansion and growth of power. Being born into royalty and prosperity, Ramesses was able to influence the politics and growth of his country at a very young age. Shortly after his death, Egypt’s new kingdom faced a decline in power and influence.
In addition Akhenaten is possibly unfairly not attributed with being a primarily effective Pharaoh. Accounts seem to direct that Akhenaten permitted Egyptian influence to weaken but this is not accurate. Moreover Akhenaten’s
The ancient civilization of Egypt was ruled by despotic Pharaohs who were the political and religious dignitaries of upper and lower Egypt.The kingdom of Ancient Egypt, whose people believed in a pantheon of various gods who governed the world around them,decided that the rule of the Pharaohs was justified through religious beliefs, but unlike the much later Kings and Queens of England, Pharaohs right to rule came not from approval from God, but from being considered gods themselves. Most contracts were oral agreements, sealed with a handshake or its ancient Egyptian equivalent in the presence of a few witnesses. But occasionally, permanent records were made which throw a light on the society and its sense of legality.The government of Ancient Egypt depended on two important factors; the Pharaoh and agriculture. The Pharaoh was an vital part of the Egyptian government and he appointed the other officials during most periods. The highest officials took their orders directly from the king. Agriculture was the foundation of Egypt 's economy and government. A significant treaty entitled the Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, provided an atmosphere of enmity between Hatti And Egypt after a long war between the Hittite Empire and the Egyptians, who had fought for over two centuries to gain mastery over the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Although there were differences in how members of the various social classes were treated and judged, neither riches, nor nobility raised a
When you look back in history to the development and the contributions of both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, you see that there was a lot accomplished, as well as a lot created. The earliest forms of writing developed in Mesopotamia, while Egypt was referred to the “Gift of the Nile” by traveler Herodotus (McKay,42). Development of cities was another major marker, especially in the “old world”, of how people eventually determined civilizations and what they represented. According to McKay, civilizations were determined by people who considered themselves more “civilized”, urban people mostly. Made up of cities, written rules of law, and social justice codes, Mesopotamia and Egypt would develop into two of the largest civilizations in history.
Known as one of the earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt both share set amounts of similarities along with a share of striking distinctions. Environmentally, these two civilizations were formed in similar surroundings, yet their weather patterns show distinctions. Politically, both governments derived from a monarch, yet their laws and punishments distinguished the two’s court systems. Economically, they both shared prosperous success in similar manners. Socially, although the two lands followed a hierarchy, the value of women contrasted. Culturally, they both believed in a higher order of creation; however, their views of them were polar opposites. Intellectually, these two societies developed skilled abilities and creations that
The artworks of Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both strikingly different and similar at the same time. Consistent is the theme of serving the different gods the two cultures believed in. In Mesopotamia the various city-states each had their own protective deity, and in Egypt they sometimes differed from one dynasty to the next. Whatever the case, with the beginning of kingdoms and rulership came the need to justify a position of power and establish a hierarchy. And as more time passed came also the human need to leave an impression on their world. Looking at the example of the statues of Gudea from the Neo-Sumerian period and the Temple of Ramses II from the New Kingdom of Egypt in the 19th dynasty, will show how both rulers of
At the end of the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos people invaded Egypt. The Hyksos most likely migrated from Western Asia in Syria-Palestine, but have no clear origin where they are from. The Egyptians called these people hikau-khausut which means "ruler of the foreign countries”. The Hyksos were technologically advanced and because of that they had a strong military. The Egyptians had been isolated from the growing and progressing world by the deserts which surround the country. Because of this isolation, the Egyptians were unprepared for any attack and had a weaker military force. Instead of protecting themself they relied on their natural borders to shelter them from invasion. When the Hyksos invaded Egypt, they left a lasting impact on Egypt’s lifestyle by introducing the Egyptians to different trade methods, diversifying their economy, and exposed exposing them to new military techniques.
I have spent the last two years studying world history with an emphasis on western civilization, and I will attempt to give a conspectus of what I have learned during that time. I have learned about a myriad of topics ranging from early Sumerian agricultural techniques to the U.S. intervention in Kosovo, therefore I will focus my efforts on an abbreviated overview of my studies. I will primarily focus on the governments of the major civilizations
Eventually Pharaoh Ramses would move on to make the world’s first peace treaty with the Hittites.
While realism is a relatively new theory in the history of human states and warfare, it is still possible to expand it back before its birth. In the 13th century BC there were two major powers in the Middle East, the Egyptians under Pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittites under the guidance of Kings Muwatali II and Hattusili III. They were fighting over a stretch of land in what are now Israel, Palestine, Southern Turkey and Syria, otherwise known as the Levant. Both rulers claimed the territory and fought each other in the Battle of Qadesh in 1274 BC. The resulting peace treaty, the first diplomatic agreement from the Near East, was negotiated in 1259 BC. This peace treaty has been a hotspot of debate to this day over whether the Egyptian or Hittite narrative is more accurate. A few of the questions that this paper will address are: Why did the Hittite and Egyptian empires fight? Who were the main influences on foreign policy in the Ancient Near East? How did the internal characteristics of the two states play a role in the conflict and peace treaty? How did the nascent international system play a role in the war, stalemate, and peace treaty? The lack of any international system at this early stage of human civilization caused the warfare, the fifteen year gap between the battle and the peace treaty, and made it necessary for the two powers to seek peace as an alternative to sustained war. This lack of international system, and its subsequent creation, was compounded by the
(doc 3) Next, the development of these civilizations wouldn’t have happened if each civilization didn’t have a pharaoh. A pharaoh is another word for king. The civilizations needed their pharaoh’s to keeping them in line. And by keep them in line I mean for the Pharaoh to tell his people what to do and how to build whatever he was having them build. (doc 4)
In conclusion this paper attempts to understand why with all the similarities between Egypt and Babylon, what is/are the reason(s) Egypt has survived and continues to do so, while the one time most powerful kingdom in the world, Babylon, lies in ruin.
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia present a valuable area of historical research. They are of great importance mostly because of their ethnic kinship (Watson, 2017). In such case, comparison and contrast essay is very promising as causal relationships can be formed based on a mutual starting point. This comparison-contrast essay focuses on differences and similarities in these societies’ economic, political and cultural life in order to make further implications regarding the circumstances the peoples of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia faced.
Ramses had a harsh and profound life, yet he was able to accomplish, build, and expand so many ideas across Egypt and even into today. Ramses II made most decisions based on his involvement whether that was war, politics, or ruling. Egypt had to rely on Ramses II to be Pharaoh when his father died. This step in which Ramses had to take at the age of 19 was hard to fulfill with only some training by his father. Ramses was able to accomplish many innovations that have survived to be around today. As ruler Ramses was also the leader of his army and led many battles including the famous war between the Egyptians and Hittites. Ramses created the first treaty to be written down after a war. Ramses has been known to be one of the most profound