y raised to
the throne. The members of their families who remained in Asia were
naturally proud of these bonds of close affinity with the Pharaoh, and
they rarely missed an opportunity of reminding him in their letters that
they stood to him in the relationship of brother-in-law, or one of his
fathers-in-law; their vanity stood them in good stead, since it afforded
them another claim on the favours which they were perpetually asking of
him.*

* Dushratta of Mitanni never loses an opportunity of calling
Aoienothes III., husband of his sister Gilukhipa, and of one
of his daughters, "akhiya," my brother, and "khatani-ya," my
son-in-law.

These foreign wives had often to interfere in some of the contentions
which were bound to arise between two States whose subjects were in
constant intercourse with one another. Invasions or provincial wars may
have affected or even temporarily suspended the passage to and from of
caravans between the countries of the Tigris and those of the Nile; but
as soon as peace was re-established, even though it were the insecure
peace of those distant ages, the desert traffic was again resumed and
carried on with renewed vigour. The Egyptian traders who penetrated
into regions beyond the Euphrates, carried with them, and almost
unconsciously disseminated along the whole extent of their route, the
numberless products of Egyptian industry, hitherto but little known
outside their own country, and rendered expensive owing to the
difficulty of transmission or the greed of the merchants. The Syrians
now saw for the first time in great quantities, objects which had been
known to them hitherto merely through the few rare specimens which made
their way across the frontier: arms, stuffs, metal implements, household
utensils--in fine, all the objects which ministered to daily needs or to
luxury. These were now offered to them at reasonable prices, either
by the hawkers who accompanied the army or by the soldiers themselves,
always ready, as soldiers are, to part with their possessions in order
to procure a few extra pleasures in the intervals of fighting.

[Illustration: 031.jpg THE LOTANU AND THE GOLDSMITHS'WORK CONSTITUTING
THEIR TRIBUTE]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Insinger. The scene
here reproduced occurs in most of the Theban tombs of the
XVIIII. dynasty.

On the other hand, whole convoys of spoil were despatched to Egypt
after every successful campai