Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's Diplomatic Marriage to a Hittite Princess
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Ramses's wars and his monuments, but there's a quieter side to his reign that's just as fascinating — his diplomacy. In his 34th year as pharaoh, he did something no Egyptian king had done before: he married a Hittite princess. Luna: Wait, a Hittite princess? After all those battles with the Hittites at Kadesh? Lucas: Exactly. It was a diplomatic masterstroke. See, after the Battle of Kadesh and years of skirmishes, Ramses and the Hittite king Hattusili III signed a peace treaty around 1259 BCE — that's the earliest surviving peace treaty in history, by the way. And this marriage was the ultimate seal on that agreement. Lucas: The princess's name in Hittite is lost to us, but in Egyptian she was called Maathorneferure, which means 'One who sees Horus, the invisible splendor of Re.' Quite a mouthful, but it's a beautiful name. She was the daughter of Hattusili III and his powerful queen, Puduhepa. Luna: Puduhepa — we mentioned her in the episode about the Sea Peoples. She was a formidable queen in her own right. Lucas: Absolutely. Puduhepa was deeply involved in diplomacy. We have letters from her to Ramses discussing the marriage negotiations. They're written in Akkadian, the diplomatic lingua franca of the day, and they show her pushing for terms — she wanted the princess to be a chief wife, not just a secondary consort. Lucas: And Ramses agreed. He sent a lavish escort to bring the princess from Hattusa, the Hittite capital in Anatolia, all the way down to his new capital at Per-Ramesses in the Nile Delta. The journey would have taken weeks, passing through the Orontes Valley and into Canaan. Luna: I can only imagine what that procession looked like — hundreds of soldiers, wagons with gifts, and a teenage princess leaving her home forever. Lucas: Exactly. And when she arrived, Ramses was smitten — at least according to his inscription at Abu Simbel. He says, 'She was beautiful in the heart of His Majesty, and he loved her more than anything.' Of course, that's royal propaganda, but it's telling that he chose to record it. Lucas: Now, a quick honest thing — a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making episodes like this. No ads, just listener support. If you've been enjoying diving into the Bronze Age with us, that's where you can help keep it going. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And we're grateful to everyone who does. Lucas: So back to the marriage. Maathorneferure was given a new Egyptian household, with her own estates and staff. She took on the title 'Great Royal Wife,' which put her on par with Nefertari, at least officially. And she lived in Per-Ramesses, in a palace complex that Ramses had built for her. Luna: How did Nefertari feel about that? Do we know anything about their relationship? Lucas: We don't have direct evidence, but Nefertari was still alive at the time — she died around year 24 or 25 of Ramses's reign, so she would have passed away before this marriage. So Maathorneferure may have been the senior queen after Nefertari. But it's worth noting that Ramses had several wives; the harem was a political tool. Lucas: The Hittite princess brought a huge dowry, including gold, silver, and skilled craftsmen. But more importantly, she brought peace. The marriage cemented the alliance between Egypt and Hatti, which lasted for the rest of Ramses's reign. No more wars with the Hittites. Luna: So she was essentially a living peace treaty. Lucas: Exactly. And Ramses wasn't shy about advertising it. He had a stele carved at Abu Simbel celebrating the marriage, and he also recorded it on the walls of the Ramesseum. In one inscription, he even claims that the Hittite king begged him to take his daughter — which is probably diplomatic exaggeration, but it shows how Ramses used the marriage for propaganda. Lucas: But here's the thing — the Hittite sources tell a slightly different story. From letters found at Hattusa, we know that Puduhepa was very assertive. She wrote to Ramses saying, 'You are my brother, and I am your sister. Let us be bound by this marriage as equals.' So the Hittites saw it as a union between equals, not a tribute. Luna: That's fascinating — the two sides spinning it differently. So what happened to Maathorneferure after the wedding? Lucas: She disappears from the record pretty quickly. We know she was alive at least until year 34 of Ramses's reign because she appears in a relief at Abu Simbel dated to that year. But she doesn't seem to have had any children — at least none that survived to adulthood. And she may have died relatively young, possibly in childbirth. Lucas: There's also a later mention of a second Hittite princess who married Ramses around year 44 of his reign, possibly a niece or relative of the first. So the diplomatic ties continued. But by then, the Hittite Empire was starting to decline, and within a few decades it would collapse under the Sea Peoples. Luna: It's almost like this marriage was one last golden moment before everything fell apart. Lucas: That's a beautiful way to put it. And it's a reminder that even in the ancient world, personal relationships could be as important as armies. Ramses's marriage to Maathorneferure didn't just seal a treaty — it created a bond between two royal families that lasted for generations. Luna: It really humanizes the whole era. I mean, you have these larger than life figures like Ramses and Puduhepa, but they're also writing love letters — or at least diplomatic ones — and arranging marriages like any family. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what we try to get at in these episodes — not just the big battles and monuments, but the everyday politics and personal stories that shaped history. Next time, we might look at the daily life of a Hittite princess in the Egyptian court. There's a lot we can piece together from the letters and the art. Luna: I'd love that. Thanks for this deep dive, Lucas. Lucas: My pleasure, Luna. Until next time.