Poster presented at the 5th Annual Birmingham Egyptology Symposium: “Conflict in Ancient Culture”, 11th May 2018, University of Birmingham

Marco De Pietri

Humanities Commons

Kadesh, beyond the conflict:the Hittites in Egyptian “minor” documentsThe study of the relations between Egypt and the Hittites has been mainly focused on the accounts of the battle of Kadesh, which highlighted the key role of the “triumphantpharaoh” submitting the “vile chief of Ḫatti”. Besides these sources, much more information comes from a wider range of “minor” documents, i.e. lists of goods, satirical letters, royalinstructions and hymns, dated both before and after the crucial conflict between Ramses II and Muwatalli II. The poster presents two of the “minor” occurrences of the toponymḪatti, thus showing how the Egyptian memory of the Hittites was far more complex than what the official records state, beyond the traditional royal propaganda.No. Title Find spot Description Dyn. Dating1 DONATION STELA OF AY GizaDonation document18th ca. 1321 BC2OCAIRO CGC 25218 + ODEM 1266, GRUP BDeir el-MedinehLove songbeginning 19thca. 1292 BC3 PAP. 32795-FRAGM. U Gurob List of textiles19th/4LISTS OF SUBJUGATEDCOUNTRIES AND PROCESSIONOF THE “BERGGÖTTER”LuxorTopographical list5 PAPANAST. II Saqqara“Praise of the Delta Residence”reign of Merneptah(1213-1203 BC) or Sety II (1202-1200 BC)6 PAPANAST. IV Saqqara ?Instructions for pharaoh’s arrivalreign of SetyII (1202-1200 BC)7 PAPANAST. I Saqqara“Satirical letter of Hori”reign of SetyII (1202-1198 BC), Siptah(1197-1193 BC) or Tausret(1192-1191 BC)8 PAPCLÈRE I Unknown 19th-20th1292-1077 BC9 PAPKOLLER I Memphis ? late 19th /10 PAPCHESTER BEATTY IV UnknownLetter with a list of supplying?19th-20th1292-1077 BC11 PAPTURIN CGT 54031 UnknownHymns of Ramses VI and VII20th1190-1077 BC12 PAPBM 10068 UnknownTomb Robberies20th dyn.reign of Ramses IX,ca. 1129-1111 BC13 PAPGOLÉNISCHEFF IV, 1-3 El-HibahOnomasticon of Amenemope21th-22ndca. 1076-746 BCMarco De PietriPhD student in History, University of Pavia (Italy), depietri.marco@libero.it1. DONATION STELA OF AY, GIZA(18th dyn., reign of Ay, 1323-1320 BC)This stela found in Giza, nearby the Khufu’s pyramid, reports a donation of some fieldslocated in an area called 3ḥ.t n(3) Ḫt3, “the Hittite field” by pharaoh Ay to the overseerof the “King’s Private Quarters” Isut and to his wife Mutnedjemet. The texts refers tothe “3rd year, 3rd month of shemu season, 1st day” of the reign of Ay (ca. 1323-1320BC).Urk. IV, 2109, 16:ḏd.wt 3ḥ.t n(3) Ḫt3MURNANE 1995, p. 225, text no. 103-C:Regnal year 3, third month of the Harvest season, day 1. Long live the Horus, MightyBull “Whose Manifestations are Dazzling”; Two Ladies “Mighty in Strength, Suppressorof the Asiatics”; Horus of Gold “Rightful Ruler who Brings the Two Lands back intoBeing”; King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, Kheperkheprure Doer-of-Maat; Son of Re, god’s Father Ay, the god who rules Thebes, given life. On this day,when One was in Memphis, His Person commanded that the fields given as a rewardto the Overseer of the King’s Private Quarters named Isut and to his wife Mutnodjmetbe specified, (said fields) having been made in the territory called “Field of theHittites” upon fields of the Domain of Aakheperkare (= Thutmose I) and the Domain ofMenkheprure (= Thutmose IV). The fields [consist of] 54 arouras – South from theDomain of Menkheprure; North from the Domains of Ptah and of Aakheperkare,between which its feeder canal (?) runs; West from the high desert; and East from theDomain of Menkheprure between which its feeder canal (?) runs. There came onaccount of it as witnesses the king’s scribe and overseer of the double granaryRamose, the scribe Meryre and [the scribe] Tchay; and it was referred to the chiefattendant Ra to assign it.It is noteworthy that in the nearby of Memphis existed an area called 3ḥ.t n(3) Ḫt3, “thefield of Ḫatti”. According to Helck (HELCK 1961, p. 402, note 3), it could have been aprison camp to keep the Hittites captured during the battles against Šuppiluliuma I,after Tutankhamun’s death. According to Helck’s opinion, the name suggests that thesuperintendent of the harem Iswt was a foreigner: “Sowohl Lesung des Titels wie desNamens sind unsicher, da sonst nicht wieder belegt; nach dem sicheren Determinativdes ʻSchlagholzes’ handelt es sich um einen Auslander”. This stela attests thepresence of Hittites in Egypt during a very important period in the development of theinternational relations between Egypt and the Ḫatti land. A letter sent by the Hittite kingŠuppiluliuma I to a pharaoh currently identified with Ay (KUB XIX 20 = CTH 154) alsoattests the contacts between Egypt and the Hittites at the end of the 18th dynasty.5. papANAST. II, 2,1ff.: “Praise for Pi-Ramesse”(19th dyn., reign of Merneptah, 1213-1203 BC)Papyrus Anastasis II, 2,1ff. (BM EA 10243,2), reports the so-called “Praise of the DeltaResidence”, probably a school exercise, quoting the “chief of the Hittite”.GARDINER 1937, pp. 12-13, ll. 15ff.:(2,1) h3b p3 wr c3 n(.y) Ḫt3 n (2,2) p3 wr n(.y) Qdy grg n=k ḥnw=n r Km.t ḏd=n b3w nṯrḫpr(.w) jry=n (2,3) swnwn n Wsr-M3c.t-Rc cnḫ-wḏ3-snb dj=f ṯ3w n mrr=f ḫ3s.t nb(.t)ḫpr(.w) m mr.wt tw=f Ḫt3 m b3w=f (2,4) wc bw šsp nṯr wdn.w=f bw ptrj=f mw n.w p.tjw=f m b3.w n Wsr-M3c.t-Rc cnḫ-wḏ3-snb (2,5) p3 m k3 mrj qntCAMINOS 1954, pp. 37ff.:The great chief of Khatti wrote to (2,2) the chief of Ḳedy: “Get thee ready that we mayhasten to Egypt and say, “The will of God is come to pass,” and that we may (2,3)speak flatteringly to Usima‘rē‘ (l.p.h.). He gives breath to whom he will, and everyforeign country exists according to his wish. Khatti is in his (2,4) sole power. Godaccepts not its offerings, it beholds not the water of heaven, for it is in the power ofUsima‘rē‘ (l.p.h.), (2,5) the bull who loves valour”.From this passage taken from a fictitious document, we get a clear view of how theEgyptians used to look at the Hittites. The sentence ascribed to the Hittite sovereign isquite striking: Ḫatti is in the power of the Egyptian king, and without his prayers theHittite land is not worthy of receiving any benefits from the gods, a statement thatsurely was not shared by the Hittites: the scribe reports a typical Egyptian perspectiveof the world. This text, dated to Merneptah’s reign, shows how after the Kadesh battle,the Hittite people and their king have become a “proverbial” and paradigmatic figures,as the submitted enemy by antonomasia, who admit their inferiority and ask thepharaoh to “receive life”.Main occurrences of the toponym Ḫatti within Egyptian “minor” textsBibliographic referencesCAMINOS, R.A. 1954, Late Egyptian Miscellanies, Oxford.GARDINER, A.H. 1937, Late-Egyptian Miscellanies, Bibliotheca Aegyptiaca 7, Bruxelles.HELCK, W. 1961, Urkunden der 18. Dynastie. Übersetzung zu den Heften 17-22, Berlin.MURNANE, W.J. 1995, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, (edited by E.S. Meltzer), SBL 5, Atlanta, Georgia.

Kadesh, beyond the conflict: the Hittites in Egyptian “minor” documents

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Kadesh, beyond the conflict: the Hittites in Egyptian “minor” documents

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