About Pharaoh King of Egypt
- Wikipedia: Father of Pharaoh's daughter.
- Source: Biblical Archaeology - Solomon.
Pharaoh Haremheb was reigning during the early years of King Solomon. (pg 181)
Previous to the time of Haremheb the Pharaohs would not have suffered the indignity of allowing an Egyptian princess to be married off to a foreign ruler. For example, Amenhotep II had once been asked by the king of Mitanni to supply one of his daughters to seal an alliance but he haughtily refused. (pg 184-185)
However, if ever there were a time in Egyptian history when a Pharaoh's daughter might be offered to a foreign ruler it was during Haremheb's reign. Four reasons: (pg 185)
- Haremheb was not directly descended from the royal bloodline and was not so overly burdened with the sense of dynastic purity. (pg 184).
- Haremheb made his career in the military and was Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian army. He was a practical man. (pg 184-185).
- Egypt was no longer militarily strong enough to recover the Levant by a force of arms. It would be expedient to tie powerful Levantine city-state rulers to the Egyptian throne through marriage alliance perhaps for a mutually-beneficial trading partnership. (pg 185).
- The lady 'Sharelli' of the Pharaoh's court (almost certainly a princess) was married to one of the more powerful city-state rulers of Western Asia at around the same time. (pg 185).
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