Most contacts between the Egyptians and the Hittites concern the military and diplomatic struggle for power in the territory between their countries and Assyria.
There are two letters from King Suppiluliumas I (1344-1322 BC) among the Amarna letters which reveal that he was a 'Great King', evidently on an equal footing with Pharaoh himself.
The rivalry culminated in the Battle of Kadesh (1275 BC). A peace treaty was subsequently agreed, and two copies survive, one on temple walls at Karnak, another in the Hattushash (Boghazkoy) archives.
Peaceful relations ensued and resulted in the marriage of a daughter of Hattusilis III to Ramses II.
From the Boghazkoy archives comes the tale of the widow of a Pharaoh requesting one of the sons of Suppiluliumas I as a husband. The last mention of the Hittites by the Egyptians tells how the 'Hatti' have been overwhelmed by the 'Peoples of the Sea'.
