This document enables us to trace more fully the further relations between Egypt and the Chaldean/Babylonians after the peace treaty had been negotiated between Nebuchadnezzar/Hattusilis and Ramses II/Necho II. A relief at the top shows the king of Babylon/Chaldea and his daughter in the presence of Ramses. We believe that Nebuchadnezzar visited Egypt twice, once in 577 for the marriage of his daughter and then again in 570 BC, shortly before the death of Ramses as we explain below. On the reliefs and inscriptions at Abu Simbel we read the following words before the image of the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar:

"Mat-nefru-re, daughter of the chief of Chaldea-Babylon/Kheta."[10]

The rest of the Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions have been heavily translated in such a way to make it look like the chief of Chaldea came to Ramses as a looser in a war between them. Egyptians always would represent their king as triumphant explaining the reversal of actual history. Ramses would not have set up a state wedding for a daughter of a captive foreign king. That he married the daughter [20] and the rest of the stele indicates that both kings met each other at least on equal terms. The fact is that the chief of Chaldea was not the looser in the conflict many years earlier, but Ramses II was.

The Speech of the King of Chaldea
"Thou didst command the land of Chaldea (Kheta), thou takest captive the people .... with all their possessions, the eldest daughter being at their head, to .... before thy beautiful face. Thou commandest them ... ... under thy feet forever and ever, together with the whole land of Chaldea. While thou shinest upon the throne of Re, every land is under [thy] feet, forever."

Below the relief is a long inscription of 41 lines beginning with the date "year 34", 29 lines of this inscription (3/4 of the text) are devoted to an extravagant encomium of the Pharaoh, containing only the self-exalting phrases of conventional praise, relieved by 2 references to the defeat of Chaldea which as we know is untrue. The last ¼ of the document proceeds with an incident, of which the mutilated condition of the monument and the excessively inaccurate publication permit us to gain only the meagerest outline of events. After a reference to the peace treaty, the king of the Babylonian/Chaldeans apparently proposes to proceed to Egypt. This they do, bringing rich gifts, and the news soon reaches Ramses, who is filled with delight, and prepares to receive his visitors; the chief's of Chaldea, Kode, and "the chiefs of every land." He seems to be concerned for their arrival in the uncertainties of long winter travels, and offers an oblation to Sutekh on their behalf. When finally, with the escort he had sent to them, they arrive in safety, they appear with the Chaldean king's eldest daughter at their head, the troops of Egypt "mingling with the foot and horse of the Chaldeans." A great feast seems to have been immediately held, where those who had once faced each other in combat now eat and drink together, while the Asiatic princes approach the Pharaoh in audience.

It is probably at this feast that the Babylonian/Chaldean princess was married to Ramses. The historical character of this marriage is further evidenced by the colossus of Ramses II at Tanis, attached to which is a statue of a queen bearing this inscription:

"Great king's wife, mistress of the Two Lands: Matnefrure, daughter of the great chief of Chaldea."

The Treaty of Peace

".....The chief of Chaldea sent, asking of me permanent peace. Never did he ... for them. Now [afterward] ...... under the great fame of the Lord of the Two Lands, King Ramses (II)."

The Chief of Chaldea Counsels with His Officers

Then spake the chief of the land of Chaldea to his [army] and his nobles, saying: Now is our land devastated; Sutekh ..[is] our lord to [protect us], (but) [he has] not ... fighting with them. We have been taken captive with all our possessions; my eldest daughter being before them ...."

Breasted's translation of this damaged text is very questionable indeed.

They Proceed with Gifts to Egypt

"Then they [came] with [their] possessions, and [their] splendid [gifts] before them, of silver and gold, marvels many and great, horses to ... them, ... living things ..."

The News Reaches Ramses

Ramses was in love with his favourite queen Nefertari [25], but that didn't stop him of dreaming to add another wife to his harem.

"..... to delight the heart of his majesty, saying: `Behold, the great chief of Chaldea comes, bringing his eldest daughter, bearing much tribute, being everything .... The chief of Chaldea, together with the chief of [Kode and people] of Chaldea, are bringing them. They have traveled over many mountains and difficult ways, that they might reach the boundaries of his majesty .... His majesty received the [word] .... [in] the palace, with joy of heart." [30]

Ramses Makes Preparations to Receive them

"When he heard such strange and unexpected matters .... he commanded the army and the princes to receive them in front of them in haste."

Ramses Sacrifices to Sutekh for Good Weather

Then his majesty took counsel [for] the army with his own heart, saying: `What are these newcomers like! When there goes not a messenger to Zahi in these days of flood on the upper heights in winter.' Then [he] offered and oblation for ... [...] and for Sutekh. Then he came [pray]ing, saying: `Heaven is .... and earth is under [thy feet].' That thou commandest is all that happens. Thou ... to make the flood and the cold upon the [heights] ........ which thou hast assigned to me, King Ramses (II).' Then his father, Sutekh, heard every [word]..."

Arrival of Ramses' Escort with the Visitors

".... his army came, their limbs being sound, and they were long in stride ... The daughter of the great chief of Chaldea marched in [front] of the army ... of his majesty in following her. They were mingled with foot and horse of Chaldea; they were warriors as well as regulars; they ate and they drank [not] fighting face to face .... between them, after the manner of the gods of every country, while they caused the great chiefs of every country to convey .... their ... themselves to King Ramses (II), given life.
........ to convey their silver, to convey their vessels of green [stone to King] Ramses, given life; to bring their herds of horses, to bring their herds of .... their herds of goats, to bring their herds of large cattle. The children of the great chiefs of the land of Chaldea came bearing themselves, from the boundaries of the lands of King Ramses, given life. .... themselves. It was not a prince who came to bring them, it was not the infantry who came to bring them, it was not the chariotry who came to bring them, it was not the [mercenaries] who went to bring them; it was Ptah, father of the gods, who has put all lands, and all countries under the feet of this Good God, forever and ever."

Discussion

In revised view Necho II/Ramses II reigned from 609-569 BC and Nebuchadnezzar/Hattusilis is dated from about 604-561 BC. Nebuchadnezzar could count his regnal years in different ways:

1. From the date he became king of Babylon or
(If Nebuchadnezzar used this method the 34th year of Ramses would be the 29th or 30th year of Nebuchadnezzar and the tablet written in his 37th year would refer to his 2nd visit to Ramses in 570 BC.)
2. from the year his father died.
(But if Nebuchadnezzar used this method the 34th year of Ramses would be the 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar. In this case the tablet of Nebuchadnezzar written in his 37th year is contemporary with the marriage stele of the 34th year of Ramses.)

We know from the autobiography [40] of Hattusilis that for 7 years he subordinated himself to his brother and nephew. During this time he was king of the Upper Land (either Assyria or some part of Anatolia) and commander-in-chief of the western army, the army of Hatti.

The wedding took place about 577 BC. In the paper under `Ramses II' we discuss the close ties between the Egyptian and Biblical sources. That discussion covers the period from 608-588 BC, 19 years. The Book of Daniel does not deal with specifics on the year to year chronology of the kings but allows for the construction so far discussed. The seven years of mental troubles for Nebuchadnezzar would have occurred between 588 and 577 BC. It would not be too much to expect that after that experience the great king had certainly mellowed in his views and dealings with others, thus paving a way of friendship toward his former adversary.

One may ask: `If Ramses II was Necho, why is none of the history presented by the revisionists echoed in the Book of Daniel?'

Our answer to that fair question must be that Ramses was no threat to Babylon from the beginning. That threat would be the kingdom of `silver', Medo-Persia which began in 538 BC when Cyrus conquered Babylon by diverting the flow of the Euphrates into side channels and exposing entrance into the city. 164 years later, in 374 BC, the same Pereset/Persian power would utilize this very same method to expose entrance to Memphis in the days of Ramses III/Nectanebo I and defeat the Greek soldiers penned up in that city. Conventional historians attribute such feats to the Philistines with no proof to back it up, a true travesty in modern historical scuttling of facts. But subtle clues to Egyptian and Babylonian relations can be found in other circumstances, most of which we already discussed. We just want to expand on some of them just a bit more. When Ramses is praying .... `Heaven is .... and earth is under [thy feet].' That thou commandest is all that happens. Thou ... to make the flood and the cold upon the [heights] ........ which thou hast assigned to me, King Ramses (II).' ...these ideas we find also echoed in the Book of Jeremiah who showed their futility when he wrote, "Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which comes from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?" "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens." and again he wrote, "He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heaven by his understanding." Jeremiah 18:14; 10:11; 51:15.

So we find similar speech and Gedankengut in the time we place these events which was also that of the prophet Daniel and Jeremiah. As we learn from the Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar had visions of grandeur for his empirical ambitions while Ramses II/Necho II had the same as expressed by his numerous monumental rock carvings and images. Pharaoh Seti the Great/Psammetichus had used a 3 division army in some of his war efforts. His son and successor, Ramses II/Necho II, used a 4 division army to attack the heart of the strengthening Babylonian/Chaldean nations and not some lesser fortified outpost at Riblah. Two monarchs with budding, similar ambitions met at Kadesh/Carchemish, one lost and one began his ascendency to be the one of the super powers of the ancient world, perhaps not so much in military adventures, but in monumental constructions, most of which since vanished in the sands of Iraq and others of which were dug up and placed into museums around the world. Only 13 years after the fall of Babylon, Egypt was conquered by the Persian King Cambyses in 525 BC. Later on the author of the Papyrus Harris would refer to that time and its aftermath as "Egypt was overthrown from without" and it would speak of a long period without native royal power in Egypt (525 to about 398 BC, Setnakht), culminating in the domination by the Persian plenipotentiary Arsa which lasted from about the 470's to about 407 BC and not mentioning brief native rebellions. Ramses III does also not mention Israel in his annals but he uses an occasional Hebrew word in his inscriptions at Medinet Habu for features Egyptian words were handy enough, indicating late period for Egypt. If he lived in the 11th century he should have mentioned Israel in some way, but in the 4th, Israel too, was under the rule of Persia and had no direct impact on Egyptian affairs that we know of. The balance of power began to shift westward where Greece trained its muscle against the Persian giant.

What is the archaeological evidence for contacts between Nebuchadnezzar and Egypt?

In Egypt

1. The Abu Simbel relief shown below and its comparison to the only very damaged picture of Nebuchadnezzar from Wadi Brissa.[50]

3.The "three cylinders of terra-cotta bearing an inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, an ordinary text referring to his constructions in Babylon ... These were said to come from the Isthmus of Suez, and they apparently belong to the same place where Nebuchadnezzar had `set up his throne' and `spread his royal pavilion.' As he only passed along the Syrian road, and Daphnae would be the only stopping place on that road in the region of the Isthmus, all the inferences point to these having come from Defenneh (Daphnae), and being the memorials of establishment there." [70]

In Carchemish

1.Excavations conducted by Leonard Woolley in Carchemish brought the following results.

Beneath the floor of a room (Room E) in the Northwest Fort of Carchemish Woolley found in the so called `Gold Tomb' golden objects, mainly figurines "the finest small objects that came to light during the whole expedition." [80]

It was a ceremonial burial containing an urn with calcified bones, a little lapis lazuli, and four gold tassels inside a krater and covered by a smaller krater. All was enclosed within wood ash and in this mass they found 39 small figures carved in relief in lapis lazuli or in steatite set in gold cloisons. There were also lumps of molten bronze made shapeless by fire, fragments of ivory from furniture, also burned; a great number of minute gold beads and gold nailheads, and a couple of disks of gold, one of them in a damaged state, with designs of human and animal figures. Some of the objects had suffered greatly from the cremation, others were obviously put in the ash while still hot.

The 39 small figurines - not all of them survived well - were described: "These little figures are the jeweler's reproduction in miniature of the great rock-cut reliefs of Yazilikaya. Not only is the general subject the same - a long array of gods, royalties, and soldiers - but the individual figures are identical in type, in attitude, and in dress. The central figure wearing a long cloak, with the winged disk above his head, grasping a reversed lituus; the figure with conical headdress, open kilt, and caduceus-like staff; the female figure with pleated skirt reaching to the feet; the soldiers with their pointed helmets, short kilts, and upturned shoes - all are derived directly from Yazilikaya."

But this description indicates a chronological problem.

"The close relation between the rock carvings and the Carchemish jewelery cannot be mistaken. The difficulty is in the first place one of date; the carvings are of the 13th century BC and the grave is of the last years of the 7th century. Either then the jewels are themselves much older than the grave in which they were found and had been handed down as heirlooms through many generations, or they are relatively late in date and of Syrian manufacture (the Hittites having disappeared hundreds of years before) but preserved unbroken the old Hittite tradition(s). It must be admitted that the `heirloom' theory is farfetched in view of the fact that Carchemish is far removed from Hattusas and any family continuing bridging that gulf of space and time is most improbable."

However this view was not shared by other authorities. Güterbock, who for many years dug at Hattusas (Boghazkoi) and studied the nearby rock reliefs of Yazilikaya, wrote:

"There is no doubt that both in style and in subjects these figures ... are Hittite in the sense of the Hittite Empire of Bogazköy. How did carvings of the 13th century get into a tomb of the 7th? Two possibilities offer themselves: either the figures were made before 1200 and handed down as `heirlooms' until they were deposited in the tomb, or they were made in the Late Hittite period but in a style that survived from the Empire. Sir Leonard seems inclined to favor the 2nd alternative, but his argumentation is in part based upon his dates for the Water gate and Herald's Wall sculptures with which I cannot agree. I would rather prefer the `heirloom' theory ... The objection to the `heirloom' theory, that there was no family continuity between the kings of the Empire and the Late Hittite rulers of Carchemish, is correct. ... The only 3rd possibility would be to doubt the age of the tomb itself, but this is not possible in view of the clear description of the find-circumstances." [90]

2. The `Beth-niki' building inscription outside the walls of Babylon. [See under `Ramses II' for details.]

Summary: Here then we have added evidence for this gap in time of 500 to 600 years separating Hattusilis and with it Ramses II from their real moorings in time in the late 7th to 6th centuries BC. We have not yet cited all corroborating evidence but the reader has enough information already to judge for him/herself where the weight of the evidence falls. Should we continue teaching conventional chronology just because it is so popular today and so many can't be wrong?

Notes & References

[010] 1) Others spell her name as `Maat-hor-neferure'. Marriage stela were found at Karnak, Elephantine, Abu Simbel and Amara West. [See P. Clayton, `Chronicle of the Pharaohs', p. 153] It appears sometime later her name was changed to `Meryetamun'.
[020] Two cuneiform tablets with the text of a letter from Ramses II to the Hittite Queen Puduhepa, mother of the princess and written in Akkadian, concerns the sending of envoys to pour oil on the head of Ramses future queen Mahorneferure (Source: Istanbul, Bo. 1231); TGH James, `Ramses II', Friedman/Fairfax, 2002, p. 82f.
[025] When a man and a woman get married, during the church wedding ceremony, the minister of the gospel usually asks, `Do you love your wife?' This question is usually understood to refer to physical love. But among the Puritans this question was asked differently. They would ask, `Do you find it in your heart to love me?' By asking the question this way they are much more inclusive. The say, in effect, `do you think that I will be man (woman) enough to love you, no matter what? Do you trust that I will be acting responsible to you and before God?'
[030] See also J.Z., `Conserving Nefertari's Tomb', Egyptian Archaeology, No. 3, 1993, p. 23-26.
[040] Götze, `Mitteilungen, Vorderasiatisch-Ägyptische Gesellschaft', Vol. XXIX (1925); and "Neue Bruchstücke zum grossen Texte des Hattusilis", ibid., XXXIV, Heft 2 (1930).
The text of the wedding of the daughter of Hattusilis/Nebuchadnezzar to Ramses II/Necho II can be found on the steles at Karnak, Elephantine, and Abu Simbel. [See Ch. Kuentz in `Annales du Service des Antiquitiés de l'Egypte', Vol. XXV (1925), and J. Wilson's translation in Pritchard, `Ancient Near Eastern Texts', pp. 256ff.]
A good summary of the texts from Boghazkoi referring to the journey of Hattusilis to Egypt is found in the article of Elmer Edel, "Der geplante Besuch Hattusilis III in Ägypten", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft", Vol. 92 (1960), pp. 16-20.]
Besides the `Marriage Stele' of the 34th year of Ramses II, there exists a stele found in Coptos containing a reference to royal princes of Hatti who accompanied "his [the king's] other daughter" and to a coming "to Egypt for the 2nd time." Either the `Marriage Stele' or the `Coptos Stele' is a counterpart of the 37th year tablet of Nebuchadnezzar.
[050] Found in H. Pognon, `Inscriptions Babyloniennes' (1905), Plate IV.; See also `The Lost Worlds', N.Y., 1962, p. 311; and F.H. Weissbach, `Die Inschriften Nebukhadnezars II im Wadi Brissa und am Nahr el-Kelb', (Leipzig, 1906), p. 3.
[060] Sir W.M. Flinders Petrie, A.S. Murray and F. Ll. Griffith, `Panis, Pt. II, Nebesh (Am) and Defenneh (Tahpanhes) (London, 1888).
[070] Petrie, `Tanis', Pt. II, Nebesheh and Defenneh, p. 51.
[080] Leonard Woolley, `Carchemish III (London, 1952), pp. 250ff.
[090] H.G. Güterbock, `Carchemish', Journal of Near-Eastern Studies, 1954, pp. 113ff.