With the defeat and expulsion of the Asiatic Hyksos, King Amosis (c.1550 - 1524 BC) took a firm hold on the regins of Egyptian government. The barons who so troubled earlier kings became non-exsistant under his hard rule. He re-established Egyptian claims on Kush and Nubia, restored the border outposts, and placed "his" people into the places of power. Later historians of Egypt credit Amosis, even though he is the direct son of the XVII Dynasty, with founding of a new and strong dynasty. The kings that followed in the XVIII Dynasty followed the harsh policies set by Amosis and set up a new period of expansion and prosperity.
It is during this time that Egypt changed from a feeling that they were better than anyone else and concerned with mainly their own affairs, to one of international politics and holding of vassel states. The pharoah became the national hero of his day and was the incarnation of the warrior-god. He was considered the best at everything and was the head of a caste of military leaders.
The New Kingdom saw increased action in the Canaanite region with Egypt attempting to create a buffer state between them and the rest of the world. The Egyptians established garrison cities in the region and regularly took the sons of the city-states of Canaan to raise in their own Courts to be good and faithful followers of their king.
Under Tuthmosis III (c.1479 - 1424 BC), the Egyptian Pharoah undertook 17 campaigns against a rival power in the north of Syria, the Mitanni. The end of the wars and the conclusion of peace with them brought a century of relative stability to the Palestine region.
This stability was upset with the downfall of the Mitanni by the Hittites in the 1300's BC. Egypts failure to respond to the Hittites destruction of their Mitanni allies is debatable. Some attribute this to the religous reforms taken on by Akhenaten (c.1360 - 1343 BC) while others see it as being the result of a treaty which the Egyptians had between both the Hittites and Mitanni. It was more like two friends fighting and Egypt not knowing whose side to take. Whatever the reason, the Egyptian influence in the Canaan region during this time was greatly reduced to non-exsistant. A few later campaigns were fought but nothing major came of them and they were mainly for show rather than an attempt to fight the Hittites.
It wasn't until the time of Sethos I (c. 1296 - 1279 BC) of the XIX Dynasty that an effort was made to really regan lost territory from the Hittites. He gained a great victory at Kadesh and strengthed control in Canaan. It was left to his son Rameses II, called the "Great", to conclude the struggle with the Hittites. Under him relations became more friendly and a mutal defense treaty was signed which firmly established the borders of the two kingdoms, dividing in Syria.
The later part of the New Kingdom saw the last of the great Egyptian Pharoahs, Rameses III (c.1185 - 1153 BC). His reign saw the decline of Egypt under the weight of immigrating foreigners from Lybia and wars with the Sea Peoples. The Lybians forced their way through the western borders not in search of loot or treasure but rather for new homes as their old lands became more dry and arid. Even after several defeats, the Lybians persisted and eventually gained a measure of power and founded several dynasties.
The Sea Peoples were a group who remoulded the Middle Eastern political landscape and it was said that "no country could stand up to them". The rich lands of Egypt soon came under their aspirations and Ramses III met them on two fronts. First he won a land victory against them in Palestine and then lured them into a trap in one of the greatest sea battles of antiquity. he lured the Sea People's ships into the mouth of the Nile and then closed their ships around them in a clasping movement that squeezed out the victory. So then the threat to Egypt was disspelled.
The 12th century BC in the Middle East was a time of trouble and of the breaking of kingdoms. Peoples roamed from region to region in search of safety and a place to settle down. It was said that the Philistines of the Bible were some of the remanants of these Sea Peoples who were scattered by the Egyptians. This time saw the rise of brigands and pirates on the sea and of men born of war telling tales of former glory and of the plundering of cities.
The XX Dynasty saw the end of the New Kingdom and also the end of Egypt as a world power.. With the incursions by the Lybians and the revolts that wracked the kingship of the 1100's BC, Egypt found itself back at its original borders of the now ancient Old Kingdom. With the passing of Ramses XI (c.1094 - 1064 BC), the passing of a great epoch in Egyptian history also passed.
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