As the setting sun painted the deep blue waters of the Aegean Sea red, the princess's tears dripped down her cheeks, spreading over her neck and then her chest. The princess still couldn’t believe she was about to embark on a one-way journey into the unknown, leaving behind Apaşaş, where she was born and raised.

Even as a king, how could a father cast his only daughter out of the palace where she was born and raised, and send her to a distant land for the sake of his own interests? Did a person’s heart not ache at all? These unanswered questions buzzed in the princess's mind like bees.

Last night, for the last time, she tried her luck and pleaded with her father, King Tarhundaradu of Arzava, not to send her to the hot lands along the banks of the Nile to become yet another wife of the Egyptian pharaoh. Despite hours of crying, she couldn’t change Tarhundaradu’s decision. The King of Arzava had merely said the following to his daughter, who he didn’t even look at:

“You are the Princess of Arzava. You have to make this sacrifice for your country. You know very well that the Hittite Kingdom has exploited our beautiful country. Every year we are forced to pay taxes to them and send Arzava warriors to fight for the Hittites in their capital, Hattusa, whenever they wish. Enough! We must break free from the Hittite yoke and gain our independence, and for this, we need the support of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep. The easiest way to secure this support is for you to marry into Egypt. Thus, the Egyptian pharaoh will become my son-in-law and my greatest ally against the Hittites. The King of the Hittites will not dare to exploit us Arzavas any further.”

The princess’s heart was so filled with profound disappointment that she did not even see her father before leaving with her entourage. She passed through the sea-scented lands where the ancient city of Ephesus would be established hundreds of years later, heading towards her fate. As the princess traveled, countries, climates, and even seasons changed. Finally, when she arrived in the warm lands of the pharaoh, she gazed at the yellow sands she had seen for the first time in her life and reflected on her life story.

**

Many years had passed since the princess arrived in Egypt. Every day there, she longed for her childhood spent in the Arzava palace overlooking the Aegean Sea. She still despised both the Egyptian pharaoh and her father, King Tarhundaradu of Arzava, for stealing her life and dreams. In fact, she hadn’t even seen her husband, who would go down in history as Amenhotep III, after the wedding night. On the first evening she arrived in Egypt, she bathed, dressed in beautiful clothes, became the pharaoh’s wife, and was installed in the harem where hundreds of women lived the next morning. Among the pharaoh's hundreds of concubines, the turn never came back around to the Arzava Princess. She didn’t mind not seeing the pharaoh’s face again.

Like almost every day, the Arzava Princess left the harem quarters towards evening and walked to the banks of the Nile. As her long white hair fluttered in the warm desert breeze, she was once again reminded of the refreshing climate of her childhood. As she thought of the Arzava Palace in Apaşaş, the Aegean Sea, and the pine trees, a gate opened in the waters of the Nile, and the princess passed through it, vanishing into the unknown. The next morning, the princess's body was found on the banks of the Nile, already cold, but the smile on her face was surprisingly fresh and vibrant.

NOTE: During the Hittite period (1650-1200 BC), the Luwians lived in Western Anatolia. The royal palace of Arzava, the largest principality of the Luwians, was on Ayasuluk Hill near Ephesus. Tarhundaradu, one of the kings of Arzava, sent his daughter to marry Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt to form an alliance against the Hittites.

Written by Archaeologist Özlem Ertan for the Ephesus Foundation.

As the setting sun painted the deep blue waters of the Aegean Sea red, the princess's tears dripped down her cheeks, spreading over her neck and then her chest. The princess still couldn’t believe she was about to embark on a one-way journey into the unknown, leaving behind Apaşaş, where she was born and raised.

Even as a king, how could a father cast his only daughter out of the palace where she was born and raised, and send her to a distant land for the sake of his own interests? Did a person’s heart not ache at all? These unanswered questions buzzed in the princess's mind like bees.

Last night, for the last time, she tried her luck and pleaded with her father, King Tarhundaradu of Arzava, not to send her to the hot lands along the banks of the Nile to become yet another wife of the Egyptian pharaoh. Despite hours of crying, she couldn’t change Tarhundaradu’s decision. The King of Arzava had merely said the following to his daughter, who he didn’t even look at:

“You are the Princess of Arzava. You have to make this sacrifice for your country. You know very well that the Hittite Kingdom has exploited our beautiful country. Every year we are forced to pay taxes to them and send Arzava warriors to fight for the Hittites in their capital, Hattusa, whenever they wish. Enough! We must break free from the Hittite yoke and gain our independence, and for this, we need the support of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep. The easiest way to secure this support is for you to marry into Egypt. Thus, the Egyptian pharaoh will become my son-in-law and my greatest ally against the Hittites. The King of the Hittites will not dare to exploit us Arzavas any further.”

The princess’s heart was so filled with profound disappointment that she did not even see her father before leaving with her entourage. She passed through the sea-scented lands where the ancient city of Ephesus would be established hundreds of years later, heading towards her fate. As the princess traveled, countries, climates, and even seasons changed. Finally, when she arrived in the warm lands of the pharaoh, she gazed at the yellow sands she had seen for the first time in her life and reflected on her life story.

**

Many years had passed since the princess arrived in Egypt. Every day there, she longed for her childhood spent in the Arzava palace overlooking the Aegean Sea. She still despised both the Egyptian pharaoh and her father, King Tarhundaradu of Arzava, for stealing her life and dreams. In fact, she hadn’t even seen her husband, who would go down in history as Amenhotep III, after the wedding night. On the first evening she arrived in Egypt, she bathed, dressed in beautiful clothes, became the pharaoh’s wife, and was installed in the harem where hundreds of women lived the next morning. Among the pharaoh's hundreds of concubines, the turn never came back around to the Arzava Princess. She didn’t mind not seeing the pharaoh’s face again.

Like almost every day, the Arzava Princess left the harem quarters towards evening and walked to the banks of the Nile. As her long white hair fluttered in the warm desert breeze, she was once again reminded of the refreshing climate of her childhood. As she thought of the Arzava Palace in Apaşaş, the Aegean Sea, and the pine trees, a gate opened in the waters of the Nile, and the princess passed through it, vanishing into the unknown. The next morning, the princess's body was found on the banks of the Nile, already cold, but the smile on her face was surprisingly fresh and vibrant.

NOTE: During the Hittite period (1650-1200 BC), the Luwians lived in Western Anatolia. The royal palace of Arzava, the largest principality of the Luwians, was on Ayasuluk Hill near Ephesus. Tarhundaradu, one of the kings of Arzava, sent his daughter to marry Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt to form an alliance against the Hittites.

Written by Archaeologist Özlem Ertan for the Ephesus Foundation.