hter
Gilukhipa; indeed, most of the kings of that period had one or two
relations in the harem at Thebes. This connexion usually proved a
support to Asiatic sovereigns, such alliances being a safeguard against
the rivalries of their brothers or cousins. At times, however, they were
the means of exposing them to serious dangers. When Sutarna died he was
succeeded by his son Dushratta, but a numerous party put forward another
prince, named Artassumara, who was probably Gilukhipa's brother, on the
mother's side;* a Hittite king of the name of Pirkhi espoused the cause
of the pretender, and a civil war broke out.

* Her exact relationship is not explicitly expressed, but is
implied in the facts, for there seems no reason why
Gilukhipa should have taken the part of one brother rather
than another, unless Artassumara had been nearer to her than
Dushratta; that is to say, her brother on the mother's side
as well as on the father's.

Dushratta was victorious, and caused his brother to be strangled, but
was not without anxiety as to the consequences which might follow this
execution should Gilukhipa desire to avenge the victim, and to this end
stir up the anger of the suzerain against him. Dushratta, therefore,
wrote a humble epistle, showing that he had received provocation, and
that he had found it necessary to strike a decisive blow to save his own
life; the tablet was accompanied by various presents to the royal pair,
comprising horses, slaves, jewels, and perfumes. Gilukhipa, however,
bore Dushratta no ill-will, and the latter's anxieties were allayed.
The so-called expeditions of Amenothes to the Syrian provinces
must constantly have been merely visits of inspection, during which
amusements, and especially the chase, occupied nearly as important
a place as war and politics. Amenothes III. took to heart that
pre-eminently royal duty of ridding the country of wild beasts, and
fulfilled it more conscientiously than any of his predecessors. He had
killed 112 lions during the first ten years of his reign, and as it was
an exploit of which he was remarkably proud, he perpetuated the memory
of it in a special inscription, which he caused to be engraved on
numbers of large scarabs of fine green enamel. Egypt prospered under his
peaceful government, and if the king made no great efforts to extend
her frontiers, he spared no pains to enrich the country by developing
industry and agriculture, and also