It was in the latter pan of the second millennium ВС that the ancient Near Kasi witnessed a prolonged and at times hitter contest between the great powers of the day as they vied for control and domination of the Kastern Mediterranean seaboard or Levant. While such a convergence of imperial ambitions, centred on ihe lands we know today as Syria and the Lebanon, reflects the shared perception of the vital economic importance of this area in ancient times, it cannot totally account for the prolonged interest of Iliiiile, Mitanni and Kgypt in the region. This is certainly true ol the latter power. The 'Kingdom of the Two Lands' had traditionally viewed the territories of the Levant as falling within its 'sphere of influence'.
I [owcvcr, the presence of Egyptian armies campaigning as far north as the River Euphrates between the 16th and 13th centuries ВС, contesting control of such strategical!) important cities as Tunip and Kadesh (see map), against lirst the kingdom of Mitanni and later the I liiiiics, must he seen as a radical departure from the military policies of the Old and Middle Kingdoms...