The nature of diplomatic contacts shaped between Egypt and the Near East during the Late Bronze Age is arguably one of the most challenging themes, not only for Egyptology but generally for the history of the ancient Mediterranean. Although aspects of such a diplomatic procedure as the protagonists involved have been examined in several studies in the past, a comprehensive analysis of all relevant primary texts and the secondary sources is still lacking.
Crucial questions related to the innermost mechanisms involved in the mobilization of the Pharaonic institute and power towards the foreign rulers and hegemonies have not been properly investigated in the past. This thesis will cover this gap by searching and analyzing various modes of political thought and action: imperialistic ambitions, tools of acculturation, diplomatic contacts, the diverse notion of the uniqueness of Pharaonic authority and aspects of ideological abandonment of Pharaoh’s power as well as the reciprocal approach of these contacts by New Kingdom Egypt and its Near Eastern peers will be examined.
The crucial underlined theme, which will be thoroughly examined, is the Egyptian attitude towards Egypt’s Late Bronze Age Near Eastern peers and the issue of political and cultural adaptation in the multicultural area of the southeastern Mediterranean basin of the second millennium BC.