The neutralization of Mitanni and the fall of Qadesh lifted some of the restraints which heretofore had moderated Hittite ambitions. Flushed with success, Suppiluliuma pushed further into the fringes of formerly Egyptian-dominated territory, while still avoiding a direct confrontation with Egyptian forces. His favorite target seems to have been the fertile agricultural lands of the Amqa district, lying in the Litani River basin of the Beqa’a Valley of Lebanon, south of the headwaters of the Orontes River, not far from the fortified town of Qadesh. Some of the Syrian city-states rushed to welcome Hatti, while others once more appealed desperately to Egypt for help as the tides of war and the currents of local politics fluctuated endlessly. Several loyal vassals sent identical reports to their Egyptian overlord: “Look, we are in Amqa, in cities of the king, my lord; and Etakkama, the ruler of Qadesh, assisted the troops of Hatti, and set the cities of the king, my lord, on fire. May the king, my lord, take cognizance, and may the king, my lord, give archers that we may (re)gain the cities of the king, my lord, and dwell in the cities of the king, my god, my Sun” (translation collated and adapted from Moran 1992: 260-61, 361-62). This situation is verified by a remark in another letter: “Moreover, troops of Hatti under Lupakku have captured cities of Amqa” (adapted from Moran 1992: 257). Even if, belatedly, Akhenaten did send an expedition to the area, it must have served little or no practical purpose (Moran 1992: xxxiii).
Finally, under Tutankhamun, the general Horemheb launched a counterattack in Syria,13 for the first time bringing Egyptians and Hittites face to face across the field of battle, as they struggled for control of Qadesh and Amqa (Darnell 1991: 120-21). The pattern seems to have been this: the Egyptians headed straight for their erstwhile possession Qadesh, intent on recovering it; Hatti repulsed them and retaliated by attacking Amqa. The historical questions concerning who had actually started the current cycle of violence, and whether the inevitable retaliation was justified, seem to have become largely matters of indifference, as the partisans of each side rushed to avenge the latest outrage committed by the other.
World History
