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Egypt's imperial presence in the late 2nd millennium

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this is the New Kingdom Period 1550-1077

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Thutmose III (1479 - 1425 BC)

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has been called the Napoleon of ancient Egypt

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greatest military leader in Egyptian history

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no record tells of him losing a battle

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erected many buildings

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several obelisks (e.g. those now in Rome and London)

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conducted tours as far north as Syria

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made Canaan into one of his imperial possessions, a province in his vast empire

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extended kingdom into modern Turkey, into the Hittites region

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contemporary superpowers of the day Babylon, the Hittites, Syria send diplomatic gifts to Egypt

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the region long known as Canaan was now securely in Egyptian hands

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so Thutmose III initiated the Pax Aegyptica

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a peace that resulted from Egyptian military conquest

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the burden that Egypt placed on Canaan was extremely heavy

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Thutmose taxed the land in two ways:

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1. produce

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inhabitants should provide him with a portion of their harvest

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this empoverished their cities

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2. lives

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demanded bodies for his armies and labor forces

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this led to a depopulation of Canaan especially where later Israel and Judah would emerge

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second phase of New Kingdom Period

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Amarna Period

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pharoahs during this time

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Amenhotep III (14th century BC)

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unprecedented prosperity and artistic splendor

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Egypt reached the peak of its artistic and international power

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Akhenaten

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introduced monotheistic reforms in Egypt

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Tutankkhamun

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King Tut

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this period is important in Egyptian history because of the discovery of the Armarna letters

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these were letters sent by Canaanite minor rulers to the pharaohs in Egypt

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many are quite poorly preserved, but what remained gives us much knowledge about this era

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when pharaohs were not looking these mayors would indulge in calling themselves "king"

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but from the Egyptian perspective they were simply mayors of cities and areas in Canaan

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many of the letters consist of complaining to the pharaoh

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begging for various kinds of support

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what bothers them most of all were the expansionist tendencies of neighboring states

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they "beg to see the pharaohs face"

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to establish justice in their area

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ask for military support

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one letter is from Shechem

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complained about Labayu attempting to expand into the Jezreel Valley to Meggido (town)

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later Saul in the Bible attempts to do the same thing

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this is an example of the same kind of actions being reported from the Armana letters and Biblical record

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in other letters, mayors complain about Abdi-Hepa

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Abdi-Hepa reigned in URU-salim or Jerusalem

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attempted to expand into other territories

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King Saul and King David were similar to Abdi-Hepa in their intentions of expansion

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why was it allowed for kings of city states to expand into territorial states, as this was insolence vis-a-vis the Egyptian court

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the reason is that Labayu and Abdi-Hepa inhabited the hill country, e.g. Judea and Samaria

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today where the Palestinian territories are

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the pharaohs really didn't care about the hill country which was, in their mind, occupied by "dangerous hillbillies"

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Egyptians felt that it was best to leave that element to its own devices

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focuses on the coastal territories

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richer and more fertile

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better for communication with other superpowers to the north

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better for transporting troops

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however, if disputes in the hill country when unheeded, a power from the north could take advantage of it, move south, and get very close to Egypt

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so Egypt was interested in the politics of the highlands, but not as a top priority

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therefore some troops were sent from time to time

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we see from the Armarna letters that rules continued to expand from highlands into the lowlands

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especially into the fertile Jezreel Valley, the bread basket of the southern Levant

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what happened when the Egyptian empire collapsed and no longer able to keep these hill kingdoms at bay?

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we then witness the development of territorial states:

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Israel

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Judah

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Aram Damascus

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Ammon

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Moab

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Edom

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this is the political situation as we move into the first millennium, the time of Biblical record