Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: Historically, diplomatic relationships, peace treaties, and political alliances between nations have required political leaders within the nations to save face before their people and before the world community. What measures were taken to allow Ramses and Hattusilis to save face in concluding their peace treaty?
• 2.: The religion of both the Egyptians and the Hittites was polytheistic, meaning that the people worshipped more than one god. What part did religious beliefs play in the crafting of the treaty? Why was so much emphasis placed on the role of the gods in forging and maintaining the terms of the treaty?
• 3.: What were the motives that lay behind the war between the Egyptians and the Hittites? Why did the two nations find it necessary to end the war and sign a peace accord?
• 4.: Modern readers of the history of Egypt and the Hittites would likely be struck by the fact that over the past three millennia little has changed in the nature of superpower relationships. In what ways were these relationships similar to those of more modern powers? You might consider the antagonisms that led to World War I, the aggression that provoked World War II, the relationship between the West and the Soviet Union (and its “vassal” states) during the cold war, or the hostilities in the Middle East that are still raging in the early twenty-first century.
• 5.: In the ancient Near East, various powers, including the Egyptians and the Assyrians, devoted considerable resources to conquering nearby states and thus expanding their empires. What would have motivated this desire for empire three millennia ago?