Eric Cline

But other people, too.

Matani sends daughters over.

The Artsawa on the western coast of Anatolia, there are negotiations there.

So we wind up with quite a few royal princes or princesses.

Over many generations.

Exactly.

I think there's at least two generations, if not three in some cases.

And yes, we have one example where one of the kings says, you're asking me for my daughter, but has anybody seen my sister?

Is she still there?

And the Egyptian pharaoh says, we'll send somebody over who can recognize her.

I suspect that there were so many women in the harem that Amenhotep III wouldn't have been able to pick her out of the lineup.

So, yeah.

So these are diplomatic treaties, diplomatic marriages.

And that's what a lot of these great letters are about, the 50 letters.

They are arranging dowries.

They're arranging bride price.

They're arranging gifts, etc.

And some of the kings did not know how far apart they were.

There's one king who says to the Egyptian pharaoh, I was sick and you didn't even ask how I was doing.

And then I asked your messenger, how far away is Egypt?