ABSTRACT
It is the year 1327. The scene is set before the walls of Carchemish on the west bank of the Euphrates. The once great Mitannian empire has disintegrated beneath the repeated onslaughts of the Hittite king Suppiluliuma. But Carchemish, its last stronghold, remains defiant. Suppiluliuma takes personal command of his troops for a final assault on the city’s defences. In the midst of his preparations, he receives word that a messenger has come post-haste from Egypt with an urgent letter from the pharaoh’s queen. Though immersed in plans for Carchemish’s destruction, Suppiluliuma is curious to hear what the queen has to say. A scribe is hastily summoned to translate the letter from Akkadian. It begins with a simple statement: ‘My husband is dead!’ Then follows an extraordinary request. The king is dumb-founded at what the queen asks of him. ‘Such a thing has never happened to me in all my life!’ he exclaims. Amazement quickly turns to suspicion. ‘Maybe they’re deceiving me!’ He summons a council of his leading men to discuss the matter. Can the queen be trusted? Is it a trick? A decision is made to investigate further. Suppiluliuma entrusts the task to his chamberlain Hattusa-ziti. ‘Go to Egypt,’ he instructs him, ‘and bring me back the truth!’
