Conclusion

Nonetheless, the negotiations do clearly indicate pahaoh’s lack of respect for Kadashman-Enlil. From calling the Babylonian envoys liars, to sending only 30 gold minas, to refusing to send his daughter, Amenhotep certainly did not concede much, suggesting that he may have been well aware of the waning status of the Babylonians in the Near East. He may have even gone so far as to have deliberately misled Kadashman-Enlil about the well-being of his sister, the Babylonian princess whom his father had previously sent to Amenhotep III. By the time Amenhotep died in the early 1350s BCE, Egypt reached a new high with respect to its power and international respect in no small part due to his shrewd and successful dealings with foreign empires. It is impossible to say what exactly compelled Amenhotep III to act the way he did with Kadashman-Enlil I, but the record does seem that the pharaoh was able to get the better of his “brother”, the Babylonian King, in these marriage negotiations.