 Căsătoria politică

Introducere?

În Egipt

Egiptul rămâne o structură model pentru ceea ce se consideră a fi statul de

tip oriental. Caracteristicile principale sunt: centralizarea administrativă cu
funcţionari de carieră şi urmând o scară ierarhică, cu birouri şi arhive centrale;
tipul de economie şi forma de proprietate sunt predominant de stat, cu concentrarea
tuturor puterilor în mâna regelui care guvernează absolut; natura zeiască (fiu sau
zeu încarnat sau epifanie a zeului) a regelui; elaborarea unei teologu politice
justificatoare; organizare teritorială în concordanţă cu principiul centralizam statului.
Sigur este că administraţia centrală şi cea provincială s-au definitivat în
Regatul Vechi (din.III-V) paralel cu evoluţia spre absolutism a puterii regale şi cu
proclamarea naturii ei universale. Această tendinţă explică transferarea centrului
vieţii administrative, politice, economice şi religioase la palat, organizarea
cultului regal în relaţie nemijlocită cu mormântul regelui, centralizarea excesivă
şi concentrarea tuturor puterilor în mâna suveranului.

 In 1887, local Egyptians discovered a series of cuneiform tablets buried at the Akhenaten palace
complex at Amarna. These tablets would go on to be sold in the antiquities market until
archaeologists were able to uncover the source of these tablets to be Amarna. After further
excavation and study, these tablets would come to be known as the Amarna Letters,
representing an extensive communication between the pharaohs of Egypt and the kings of
contemporary Near East states, including Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni and Canaan among others.
Though the letters often raise more questions than they answer, valuable insights about the
economic and political relations between Egypt and its Near East contemporaries abound. The
letters themselves span between 15 and 30 years and are organized by their political
arrangement (Moran xxxiv); that is, they are divided according to correspondence with
particular states. The first set of letters is a correspondence between the Egyptian pharaoh
Amenhotep III and the Kassite king of Babylonia Kadashman-Enlil I. The most salient topic of
conversation between the two is what can perhaps best be described as marriage diplomacy.
The kings of these great powers often saw it prudent to forge alliances through marriage, as it
proved a relatively sustainable way to establish and maintain ties. This type of politically
arranged marriage did, however, present certain challenges. The correspondence reveals a
consistent bickering between the kings over whose daughters were being offered for marriage
and the gifts to be exchanged as a result. These specific letters between Amenhotep III and
Kadshman-Enlil of Babylonia reveal the diplomatic complexities of the relationship between
these two empires; particularly, the letters portray Amenhotep III as a cunning negotiator, often
unwilling to compromise with the Babylonian king.
  Ramses II enjoyed one of the longest reigns in Egyptian history.
He spent more than 65 years on the throne during a period of
military and cultural splendor which would win him the title
Ramses the Great.
Nothing, for the moment, imperiled the prosperity and security of
Egypt, especially the Hittites to the north, whose empire spread over
modern-day Turkey and northern Syria. Ramses II had defeated them
in 1275 B.C. at the Battle of Kadesh. Ramses presented his win as a
crushing victory over the Hittites. Historians now know, by comparing
Hittite and Egyptian accounts of the battle, that the outcome of Kadesh
was probably less one-sided than Ramses’ depiction.
In 1258 B.C., partly as a result of that battle, the Hittite king, Hattusilis
III, agreed to sign a treaty to bring the long hostilities between the two
empires to an end, ushering in one of ancient Egypt’s most creative and
prosperous periods. Nine years later, around the time of his 30-year
jubilee, Ramses and the Hittites decided to work for a closer, political
alliance by proposing a marriage between the pharaoh and a Hittite
princess. And not just any princess: Envoys sent from the Egyptian
capital, Pi-Ramses, made it clear the pharaoh had his eye on no one
other than King Hattusilis’s firstborn daughter.
The two courts embarked on lengthy negotiations, whose twists and
turns historians have interpreted from the clay tablets preserved in the
archives of the Hittite capital, Hattusha, in the central region of modern
Turkey. Discovered by archaeologists in 1906-08, the tablets have
provided a wealth of detail on the day-to-day diplomacy between these
two ancient empires and the intricate details involved in planning a
royal union.
Written in cuneiform, the ancient writing was formed by pressing a
wedge-shaped tool into wet clay. The Hittite tablets reveal how the
pharaoh’s emissaries convinced the king to send Ramses II a formal
marriage proposal. On the Hittite side, the arrangements were mainly
conducted by Hattusilis’s consort, Queen Puduhepa, who focused on
her daughter’s dowry.
The main demand on the Hittite side was that the princess should hold
the rank of principal wife. She was not to be a mere secondary spouse,
in the same category as other Near Eastern princesses who had joined
the pharaoh’s harem. Making the princess his principal wife was the
only concession Ramses was willing to make.
Any suggestion that he might send Hattusilis an Egyptian princess in
return was unthinkable. Pharaohs had entered into arranged marriages
with foreign princesses for more than a century. Ramses himself had
five non-Egyptian wives and his predecessor had seven. But the
pharaohs never allowed their own daughters to go abroad. It was their
way of demonstrating that, for all the military power of the Hittites, an
Egyptian pharaoh enjoyed the higher status, in spite of the pretense of
treating one another as equals in their letters. When Kadashman-Enlil
I, a Babylonian king, dared ask for the hand of an Egyptian princess, the
reply was blunt.
Few details about the bride have been recorded. The Hittite princess’s
identity is only recorded with her adopted Egyptian name,
Maathorneferure. She traveled to Egypt accompanied by a vast retinue
—a common practice in the dynastic marriages of the time. Just over a
century before, a princess from the Mitannian empire in what is today
northern Syria, had arrived at Amenhotep III’s court with more than
3,300 ladies-in-waiting. These huge entourages acted as an ancient
diplomatic service that could return valuable information back to their
home countries.
Puduhepa also took care to arrange security for the journey. Puduhepa
told Ramses that the princess would be escorted by Hittite troops, and
that she would accompany her some of the way. King Hattusilis himself
did not go with his daughter, because to have been seen in the retinue
could have been interpreted as paying homage to a superior ruler.
Ramses, however, always the expert propagandist, simply ignored this
absence when he documented the wedding. On the Marriage Stela in
Ramses’ temple of Abu Simbel, the Hittite king is shown alongside his
daughter, both figures submissively approaching and honoring the
pharaoh.

Little about her life after marriage is known. She is not thought to have
had any sons, although she probably bore a daughter. There is an
inscription that proves that at one time Maathorneferure was living in
the Gurob harem to the south of El Faiyum, which may mean that she
lost her status as principal wife. In any case, a second Hittite princess
later arrived to become Ramses’ wife, suggesting that Maathorneferure
died and a second marriage took place to renew the alliance between
the two great powers of the ancient world.

Marriage formed a central social construct of ancient Egyptian culture. It provided the normative
framework for producing children, who would act as one’s rightful heirs. The latter were responsible for
performing one’s funerary cult, thereby securing one’s eternal life. The economic effects of marriage
were also notable. The husband, wife, and children were all perceived as having equal rights to the
conjugal joint-property consisting of a 1/3 share each. In addition to this, the spouses might own private
property of their own. As marriage modified many aspects of daily life such as social status, domicile,
and the intricate network of interpersonal rights and obligations, it was not a relationship entered into
at random. A sequence consisting of a choice of partner followed by an exchange of gifts and assets
preceded the actual marrying. Once the marital status was a fact, both parties were expected to abstain
from extramarital relationships. However, it was possible for men to have several wives.

Interpersonal relationships interpreted in terms of “marriage” appear to exist in practically all cultures.
However, the specific features of such relationships are quite diverse, often influenced or determined by
a number of various factors to a point where one may argue that all universal definitions of marriage are
in vain. Thus, contextualization plays a key role when analyzing marriage and divorce. The general
conclusion that marriage is a bundle of rights befits the ancient Egyptian case. Moreover, in view of
textual evidence dating to the New Kingdom (1548 - 1086 BCE), marriage may be defined as a contract.
Local customs and social status most likely made their mark on the specifics of any actual marriage
process. The wedding of a pharaoh was different from that of a poor farmer. Marriage practices appear
also to have become somewhat modified as times changed.

The earliest text references to marriage originate from Old Kingdom (2670 - 2168 BCE) tomb
inscriptions, various types of tomb equipment, and other monuments. The owner of these was usually a
male official belonging to the elite of the society. Evidence of marriage obtained from the Old Kingdom
source material consists mainly of titles indicating the marital state (often associated with depictions of
the spouses), the word used for wife being Hmt and that for husband hAy. Monuments with this kind of
data continue to constitute a notable source of information through Pharaonic history. References to
wives outnumber those to husbands. This is to be expected as persons mentioned in tombs were
identified through their relationship to the tomb owner, who in most cases was a man. Marking the
marital state does not appear to overshadow other titles designating high social rank and functions.
References to actual marriages or marrying dating to the Old Kingdom are few.

Various types of written source material multiply from the Middle Kingdom (2040 - 1640 BCE) onward as
literacy and access to written culture increase, yet references with specific information on the marriage
process and divorce remain sparse (Jasnow 2003b: 274 - 275). Didactic literature, situated in the circle of
the elite, contains some references to male ideals of marriage and family. In the Teaching of Ptahhotep
(Žába 1956: 41 - 43 [maxim nos. 325 - 338]) one is advised to found a household when one prospers. The
wife is to be loved, respected, and provided for while at the same time kept under control. She should
not be divorced on light grounds (Junge 2003: 178; Lesko 1998: 166 - 167; Parkinson: 1997: 257, 268 -
269, note 29). Similar ideals, with the additional mention of procreating male children, are articulated
also in the Instruction of Djedefhor (Helck 1984), the Teaching of Ani, which additionally advises not to
control an efficient wife but to treat her well (Quack 1994), and the Teaching of Onchsheshonqy
(Glanville 1955).

Other literary texts also contain references to marriage, such as the Story of Sinuhe (Koch 1990) and the
Tale of the Doomed Prince (Gardiner 1932: 1 - 9). In both tales, the main character is given a foreign
woman as a wife. He also receives ample gifts by his father-inlaw.

References to marriage in various literary texts seem to advocate unions between social equals.
However, in the story of The Doomed Prince the main character, disguised as a chariot warrior’s son,
manages to be given another prince’s daughter as wife before his true noble birth is revealed (The
Doomed Prince 6,16 - 7,5, see Gardiner 1932: 6,1 - 10). In this case, the young man is said to have
personal qualities that make up for the lack of the right social background. In real life, personal social
upward mobility through marriage did occur both among the elite and common people. Occasionally
even slaves could be freed and adopted and subsequently married into their previous owners’ families
(Pestman 1961: 8). That a spouse was of foreign origin was not entirely unheard of either (Allam 1983:
118; Jasnow 2003c: 324). The Egyptian royal families used marriage alliances as part of their
international diplomatic strategies.

Marriage between close kin was no taboo in ancient Egypt, but the evidence for such couplings outside
the royal family is meager (Frandsen 2009). A possible, and as it would seem, the earliest attested case
of a brothersister marriage (dating to the 6th Dynasty, 2350 - 2200 BCE) is found in the tomb of
HemRa/Isi I at Deir el-Gabrawi (Kanawati 2005: 39). From Middle Kingdom sources at least two certain
and another three possible marriages between half-siblings have been attested (Černý 1954: 25 - 27;
Fischer 1957: 231, note 47; Frandsen 2009: 38). There are also some attested New Kingdom and Late
Period sibling marriages in addition to the above mentioned Deir el-Medina case (Černý 1954: 23 - 24,
27 - 29; Frandsen 2009: 38 - 39), but the practice does not seem to have been specifically common until
the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.
ÎNCHEIERE Marriage embodied legal, economic, and social rights and obligations, which affected social
networks in a community. Thus, also a larger group of friends and neighbors must have taken some
interest and involved themselves on some level in marriage arrangements (Toivari-Viitala 2001: 60 - 61).
Regarding the royal family, several officials were probably needed for the practical arrangements.

În Hatti

The device of the interdynastic marriage had long been recognised for its diplomatic efficacy, and
practised in ancient Mesopotamia. 12 ) Just prior to the Amarna period Amenophis III had stated its
purpose succinctly in his reported request to Tarhunaradu, King of Arzawa, for his daughter in marriage.

Although there are no preserved references to Hitt. interdynastic marriages later in the Old Kingdom, for
the earlier period there is the difficult passage from KBo III I (I )' t·' \ i \ l' I \ \ \ 2e, II 21' - 24', cited above
(Ch.VI,§5.B . as 20», in which ;.l l j the King related that his father had introduced the "Queen " .1 of
Hurma" - or her daughter? - as a "bride" for him .

The "Mid dl e Kingdom" pe r io d, from Telepinus to the accession of Suppiluliumas I, yields no direct
evidence for interdynastic marriage concluded by the royal house of Hatti. However, Otten had
remarked that Queen Nikalmati, the wife of Great King Tuthaliyas, with her Hurrian name, may have
been a "foreign princess".2

Documentary evidence for Hitt. interdynastic marriages is greatly augmented by the texts pertaining to
the reign of Suppiluliumas I which introduced an era during which the power of Hatti and its newly
extended empire, bound to the Hitt. royal house and land by Treaties of various political types, was a
determining factor in the history of Anatolia and the Near East. 29 ) By an astute response to the
diplomatic and military challenges of the Amarna Age, Suppiluliumas won overlordship in Northern
Mesopotamia and Syria where Mittanni and Egypt previously had maintained their own protectorates
and interests. 30 ) 1.2. There are attested five interdynastic marriages, arranged or intended by
Suppiluliumas I, namely of: a) a daughter, Muwattis, to Mashuiluwas, refugee from Western Anatolia; b)
a sister to Huqqanas, vassal ruler of Azzi-Hayasa: c) the daughter of Burnaburias, King of Babylon, to
Suppiluliumas himself; d) a daughter to Sattiwaza, vassal ruler of Mittanni; e) a son, Zannanza, to the
widow of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Suppiluliumas' efforts in this field of diplomacy may be appreciated
the more for a survey of the interdynastic marriages in Anatolia and the Near East in the period
preceding his arrival on the historic scene as commander of the Hitt. forces for his ailing father.

The marital ties desired by Egypt were initiated by a request for a princess as "wife", which might
include women from Mittanni, Gasga country, as well as Ugarit, and other Syro-Palestinian states in
Egypt's political orbit, al though their ultimate destiny would be the royal harem. 51 ) Dominating the
procedures were the sheer quantity and quality of the "gifts" which changed sides in the marital
transactions, forming a veritable trade in the greatly desired Egyptian gold for Eastern artifacts and
produce, which enhanced the Pharaoh's stature in Egypt. 52 ) However, as Amenophis III explained to
Kada~man-Ellil I when he asked for an exchange of princesses, it would have been contrary to custom
for the Pharaoh to give away his daughter. 53 ) The transaction in this respect was notably one-sided.
Even the Babylonian King's alternate request was refused, for the substitution of "a beautiful (Egyptian)
woman" to pass as a royal daughter.

As Goetze suggested, the purpose of Suppiluliumas' marriage to the daughter of the Babylonian King,
probably Burnaburias II/III, already attested by their seals on the Treaty texts of Niqmadu II of Ugarit,
was to assure Babylon's friendship during Bitt. wars against Mittanni and Syria.

Ankhesenpaaten, later Ankhesenamun, was the third daughter of Amenophis IV/Akhenaten and
Nefertiti. 132 ) Her elder sister Merytaten became Queen of Egypt and her father's wife after the fall
from grace of Nefertity.133) When Smenkhkare acceded to the co-regency with Akhenaten, Merytaten
became his wife and mother of his daughter. 134 ) Smenkhkare was almost certainly the full brother of
Tutankhamun,135) and consequently either the son of Akhenaten, if the inscription on the Hermopolis
block actually designates Tutankhamun as son of the latter,136 ) or Akhenaten's brother by the same
father, Amenophis 111. 137 ) Ankhesenpaaten succeeded her sister as Akhenaten's wife, bearing him a
child. 138 ) Then after the deaths within a brief period of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, she married the
young Tutankhaten to whom, before his death at approximately eighteen years old, she May have borne
two stillborn infants whose miniature coffins were interred with the Pharaoh, whose name, like hers,
now honoured the god Amun after the return to Thebes from Akhetaten.

Suppiluliumas gave a daughter in marriage to Sattiwaza, who had sought his protection when his life was
threatened after the murder of his father Tu~ratta, King of Mittanni, by a conspiracy led by another son.
141 ) The latter did not achieve independent rule since Tusratta's brother Artatama II and nephew
Suttarna III yielded Mittanni to despoliation by Assyria and Alse, previously subject to Mittanni.

Diplomatic relations between the royal Houses of Hatti and Babylonia are attested for the reigns of
Hattusilis and Kada~man-Turgu, who wrote to the former (KUB III 71; CTH 174) concerning the
incantation priest he had sent to his "brother".221) Later Hattusilis wrote to Kada~man-Enlil II, his
friend's son and successor (KBo I 10+; CTH 172), refer ring to a pact of friendship and agreement
between himself and Kadasman-Turgu to support the other's heir should that partner die.
Surse

 https://hist1039-16.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/exhibits/show/marriage-diplomacy--the-
power-/an-introduction-to-marriage-di
 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/ancient-
egypt-ramses-pharaoh-hittite-royal-wedding
 https://escholarship.org/content/qt68f6w5gw/qt68f6w5gw.pdf

https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18018/1/573933_vol1.pdf

 Ligia Bârzu, Istoria Orientului Antic

 Trevor Bryce, The Kingdom of The Hittites