naturally brought it in conflict with Mitanni. The third state, Hatti in central Turkey, did not emerge as an interregional power until the rise of King Suppiluliumas in the mid-fourteenth century. Once on the scene, however, Hatti replaced Mitanni as the master of northern Syria and as Egypt’s primary rival. Syria-Palestine thus served as both arena and object of conflict between the northern states and Egypt.
Aleppo, the old capital of Yamhad, sank to lesser status after its destruction by the Hittites in the early sixteenth century. It managed, however, to retain some importance during the Late Bronze Age. To the northeast of Aleppo was Carchemish, a well-fortified city located at a strategic crossing of the Euphrates River, which came to play an important part in the political drama of the period.
Northwest Syria was divided into several states, including Mukish, with its capital at Alalakh, Ugarit on the coast, and Niya and Nuhashe in the interior. Farther south, three important cities lay on or near the Orontes River—Tunip, Qatna, and Qadesh/Kinza. These cities formed the buffer zone between the spheres of influence of the northern and southern powers; each had to play dangerous political games, striving either to maintain its independence or to choose one imperial power as its protector. To their west lay the area known as Amurru, another bone of contention between the great powers. Several important coastal cities, including Arvad, Sumur, Gubla (Byblos), Beruta (Beirut), Sidon, and Tyre, played an active commercial role during this period. Between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges were the states of Tahshi in the north and Amqa in the south. The area around Damascus—at an earlier date called Apum—was now known as Upi. Amqa and Upi marked the northernmost bounds of the area regularly controlled by Egypt throughout the Late Bronze Age. In Canaan proper the land was divided into more than a dozen small, weak city-states, none of which had any political clout, with Hazor, Shechem, Megiddo, Gezer, and Jerusalem as the most prominent.
The end of the Middle Bronze and beginning of the Late Bronze Age saw the expansion of an important population group known as the Hurrians in northern Syria and, later, as far south as Canaan. Mitanni, in northeast Syria, dominated by Hurrians, became the most significant Hurrian power of the period, controlling the northern half of the Near East by the early fifteenth century. Despite its great importance, however, we know little about Mitanni. Its capital city, Washukani, is one of the few major capitals that remain as yet unidentified, and only a few Mitannian documents have been found in the archives of other cities. It is clear, however, that after 1470, Mitanni, under King Saushtatar, extended its sway over all of northern Syria to the Mediterranean, as well as eastward through Assyria. The states of central Syria as far south as Qadesh, on the southern end of the Orontes, may also have become Mitannian vassals.
While Mitanni was becoming established in northern Syria, Egypt was beginning its expansion from the south. Having expelled the Semitic-speaking Hyksos from the delta, the Egyptians apparently began to see both the economic and the political value of controlling an empire. The first three kings of Dynasty 18—Ahmose, Amenhotep I, and Thutmose I—moved quickly to seize control of the Canaanite city-states inPalestine. Thutmose I (1504–1492) marched his troops all the way to the Euphrates River in the second year of his reign.
Thutmose III (1479–1425) brought Egypt to its greatest power during the New Kingdom. In a series of campaigns he managed to impose Egyptian control over Canaan, as well as most of southern and central Syria. His first campaign brought Thutmose up against a large coalition of Canaanite and Syrian city-states led by the central Syrian city of Qadesh. The enemies clashed in a famous battle in the Jezreel Valley in northern
Aleppo, the old capital of Yamhad, sank to lesser status after its destruction by the Hittites in the early sixteenth century. It managed, however, to retain some importance during the Late Bronze Age. To the northeast of Aleppo was Carchemish, a well-fortified city located at a strategic crossing of the Euphrates River, which came to play an important part in the political drama of the period.
Northwest Syria was divided into several states, including Mukish, with its capital at Alalakh, Ugarit on the coast, and Niya and Nuhashe in the interior. Farther south, three important cities lay on or near the Orontes River—Tunip, Qatna, and Qadesh/Kinza. These cities formed the buffer zone between the spheres of influence of the northern and southern powers; each had to play dangerous political games, striving either to maintain its independence or to choose one imperial power as its protector. To their west lay the area known as Amurru, another bone of contention between the great powers. Several important coastal cities, including Arvad, Sumur, Gubla (Byblos), Beruta (Beirut), Sidon, and Tyre, played an active commercial role during this period. Between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges were the states of Tahshi in the north and Amqa in the south. The area around Damascus—at an earlier date called Apum—was now known as Upi. Amqa and Upi marked the northernmost bounds of the area regularly controlled by Egypt throughout the Late Bronze Age. In Canaan proper the land was divided into more than a dozen small, weak city-states, none of which had any political clout, with Hazor, Shechem, Megiddo, Gezer, and Jerusalem as the most prominent.
The end of the Middle Bronze and beginning of the Late Bronze Age saw the expansion of an important population group known as the Hurrians in northern Syria and, later, as far south as Canaan. Mitanni, in northeast Syria, dominated by Hurrians, became the most significant Hurrian power of the period, controlling the northern half of the Near East by the early fifteenth century. Despite its great importance, however, we know little about Mitanni. Its capital city, Washukani, is one of the few major capitals that remain as yet unidentified, and only a few Mitannian documents have been found in the archives of other cities. It is clear, however, that after 1470, Mitanni, under King Saushtatar, extended its sway over all of northern Syria to the Mediterranean, as well as eastward through Assyria. The states of central Syria as far south as Qadesh, on the southern end of the Orontes, may also have become Mitannian vassals.
While Mitanni was becoming established in northern Syria, Egypt was beginning its expansion from the south. Having expelled the Semitic-speaking Hyksos from the delta, the Egyptians apparently began to see both the economic and the political value of controlling an empire. The first three kings of Dynasty 18—Ahmose, Amenhotep I, and Thutmose I—moved quickly to seize control of the Canaanite city-states inPalestine. Thutmose I (1504–1492) marched his troops all the way to the Euphrates River in the second year of his reign.
Thutmose III (1479–1425) brought Egypt to its greatest power during the New Kingdom. In a series of campaigns he managed to impose Egyptian control over Canaan, as well as most of southern and central Syria. His first campaign brought Thutmose up against a large coalition of Canaanite and Syrian city-states led by the central Syrian city of Qadesh. The enemies clashed in a famous battle in the Jezreel Valley in northern
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