Akhe- foreign affairs

Question 1

what role is it believed that he had on the foreign policy?

Answer 1

• Akhenaten’s lack of interest in military affairs believed to have led to
loss of Egypt’s Asiatic Empire. But, Gardiner maintains that he was
not solely responsible for loss of Egyptian prestige abroad. Father,
Amenhotep III equally to blame. Some scholars even believe that
he threw away the empire built in Western Asia by Thutmose III

Question 2

what evidence exist for actions taken by him?

Answer 2

• amarna letter
• buhan stela
• amarna art

Question 3

what countries had always been difficult to maintain?

Answer 3

• Egyptian control in Palestine and Syria always been difficult to
maintain. Attempts to revolt and seek independence and dissensions
between states meant pharaoh had to make frequent shows of strength e.g. Thutmose III conducted numerous campaigns in area.

Question 4

what force became involved in the internal dissensions of Egypt’s ally Mitanni and power politics of northern Syria?

Answer 4

New force appeared in Asia Minor during reign of Amenhotep III: The Hittites under ambitious king, Suppiluliumas (great strategist in ancient world

Question 5

what do the amarna letters indicate?

Answer 5

• indicate lack of response to many requests by Syrian princes for Egyptian troops, it also shows:
o Akhenaten issued orders to local princes to be alert for possible threats (shows he cares)
o The king’s commands were being implemented
Some limited military aid provided upon request

Question 6

evidence of buhan stela?

Answer 6

evidence of Akhenaten ordering at least one military campaign in Nubia. When minor rebellion broke out among southern tribes, he ordered viceroy of Kush to move against them

Question 7

evidence from amarna art?

Answer 7

that he regarded his army highly, evident in soldiers depicted in reliefs of imp. Events of his reign. The king also frequently represented wearing khepresh (war crown of warrior king),

Question 8

what did the foreign powers still do and what event brought them together?

Answer 8

still sent gifts and appeared in Akhetaten in year 12 for a huge reception of foreign ambassadors.

Question 9

what was his rel/ship with Tushratta of Mitanni like?

Answer 9

• the rel/ship between Akhenaten and Tushratta became strained after initially have a stable re/ship. According to correspondence from Tushratta, Akhenaten treated him with a certain amount of indifference. He refused to honour his father’s promises to send gifts to the king, failed to answer Tushratta’s letter and even kept a Mitannian messenger waiting at Egyptian court for 4 years before giving him a reply to one piece of correspondence
• had no interest in Tushratta’s internal problems

Question 10

what happened to tushratta due to lack of concern?

Answer 10

• . The Mitannian king was faced with 2 palace revolutions and government in exile was set up to oppose him. The Egyptian gov’s lack of concern for Tushratta allowed Hittite king, Suppiluliumas to exploit the situation.
Suppiluliumas gained influence in Syrian regions

Question 11

what happened during reign of Akhenaten and Amenhotep III?

Answer 11

the Amurru ppl, led by Abdi-Ashirta and then Aziru, began to create their own independent state by conquering neighbouring provinces

Question 12

what were the main areas taken by Aziru?

Answer 12

Phoenicia coast: Simyra, Sion, Tyre and Byblos.

he states to Akhenaten that the leaders of these cities were enemies of egypt

Question 13

what was akhe and amenhotep III warned about?

Answer 13

the action of the Amurru leaders

Question 14

what was akhe’s response to these threats?

Answer 14

despite many letter being sent to him by the cities threatened by Aziru, no support was shown from Egyptian king.

Question 15

who was the most famous plea?

Answer 15

from Rib-Addi of Byblos, who wrote to him for 15 years.

Question 16

what did Aziru do against Rib-Addi? what happened?

Answer 16

convinced an Egyptian army commander that Rib-Addi was a traitor, Byblos was attacked and he was put to death.

Question 17

how did Akhe respond to death of Rib-Addi?

Answer 17

When A informed of Rib-Addi’s death, send strongly worded letter to Aziru, ordering investigation. Listed other complaints towards Aziru and demanded that he rebuild the city of Simyra. Aziru delayed coming to Egypt and sent timber and hostages, convincing A to give a year grace. He used A’s lack of resolve to his advantage and continued being friendly with Hitties. Aziru later taken to Egypt to be kept for long time where he continued to have influence in Central Syria. He even “committed crimes even after the king had interviewed him, a crime against us” (successor of Rib-Addi letter to A). His methods was ineffective in preventing Aziru to commit further crimes and stopping his influence in Egypt/ineffective in prosecuting him -> too lenient on him.

Question 18

was his grasp of foreign relations in Palestine any stronger than that of Syria?

Answer 18

• A’s grasp of foreign relations in Palestine was not any stronger than that of Syria. Princes made frequent attempts to gain independence.
• A’s hesitancy to take military actions encouraged some to rebel and seize towns for themselves and plunder country side.
• Due to his lack of action, scholars suggest the poor/failure of communication in the complex workings of bureaucracy made A oblivious to the situation in Syria.

Question 19

what was the outcome of his lack of action?

Answer 19

• Regardless of reasons, he failed to take actions.
• Complaisance during reign of Amenhotep III and inertia (inactivity), and internal distractions during reign of A contributed to loss of Egypt’s control over Syria and Palestine.