DRAMATIS PERSONAE 
(Listed in Alphabetical Order)
The chronology for Egyptian regnal dates follows the most commonly accepted scheme, for which see, for example, Kitchen 1982 and Clayton 1994. The following list does not include all names mentioned in the text, but rather those of the major rulers and related personnel.
Adad-nirari I: King of Assyria; ruled 1307–1275 BC. Conquered kingdom of Mitanni.
Ahmose: Egyptian queen, Eighteenth Dynasty; ca. 1520 BC. Wife of Thutmose I and mother of Hatshepsut.
Ahmose I: Pharaoh and founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1570–1546 BC. Responsible, along with his brother Kamose, for expelling the foreign Hyksos from Egypt.
Akhenaten: Heretic pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1353–1334 BC. Banned all gods and goddess except for Aten; possible monotheist. Husband of Nefertiti; father of Tutankhamen.
Amenhotep III: Pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1391–1353 BC. Extensive correspondence with fellow royal rulers found at the site of Amarna; established trade connections as far away as Mesopotamia and the Aegean.
Ammistamru I: King of Ugarit; ruled ca. 1360 BC. Corresponded with the Egyptian pharaohs.
Ammistamru II: King of Ugarit; ruled 1260–1235 BC. In charge during the time that Sinaranu sent his ship from Ugarit to Crete.
Ammurapi: Last king of Ugarit; ruled ca. 1215–1190/85 BC.
Ankhsenamen: Egyptian queen, Eighteenth Dynasty; ca. 1330 BC. Daughter of Akhenaten and wife of Tutankhamen.
Apophis: Hyksos king; ruled in Egypt ca. 1574 BC as part of the Fifteenth Dynasty. Quarreled with Seknenre, the Egyptian pharaoh ruling simultaneously elsewhere in the country.
Assur-uballit I: King of Assyria; ruled 1363–1328 BC. Corresponded with Amarna pharaohs; major player in the world of realpolitik.
Ay: Pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1325–1321 BC. Military man who became pharaoh by marrying Ankhsenamen after the death of Tutankhamen.
Burna-Buriash II: Kassite king of Babylon; ruled 1359–1333 BC. Corresponded with Amarna pharaohs.
Hammurabi: King of Babylon; ruled 1792–1750 BC. Renowned for his law code.
Hatshepsut: Egyptian queen/pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1504–1480 BC. Came to the throne as regent for her stepson Thutmose III; ruled as pharaoh for approximately twenty years.
Hattusili I: Hittite king; ruled 1650–1620 BC. Probably responsible for moving the Hittite capital to Hattusa.
Hattusili III: Hittite king; ruled 1267–1237 BC. Signed peace treaty with Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II.
Idadda: King of Qatna; presumably defeated by Hanutti, commander in chief of the Hittite army under Suppiluliuma I, ca. 1340 BC.
Kadashman-Enlil I: Kassite king of Babylon; ruled ca. 1374–1360 BC. Corresponded with Amarna pharaohs; daughter married Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Kamose: Pharaoh; last king of the Seventeenth Dynasty; ruled 1573–1570 BC. Responsible, along with his brother Ahmose, for expelling the foreign Hyksos from Egypt.
Kashtiliashu IV: Kassite king of Babylon; ruled ca. 1232–1225 BC. Defeated by Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria.
Khyan: Hyksos king, Fifteenth Dynasty; ruled ca. 1600 BC. One of the best known of the Hyksos kings; items with his name inscribed on them have been found in Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and the Aegean region.
Kukkuli: King of Assuwa in northwestern Anatolia; ruled ca. 1430 BC. Initiated Assuwan Rebellion against the Hittites.
Kurigalzu I: Kassite king of Babylon; ruled ca. 1400–1375 BC. Corresponded with Amarna pharaohs; daughter married Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Kurigalzu II: Kassite king of Babylon; ruled ca. 1332–1308 BC. Puppet king who was placed on the throne by Assur-uballit I of Assyria.
Kushmeshusha: King of Cyprus; ruled early twelfth century BC; a letter from this king was found in the House of Urtenu at Ugarit.
Manetho: Egyptian priest who lived and wrote during the Hellenistic period, in the third century BC.
Merneptah: Pharaoh, Nineteenth Dynasty; ruled 1212–1202 BC. Best known for his stele mentioning Israel and for fighting the first wave of the Sea Peoples.
Mursili I: Hittite king; ruled 1620–1590 BC. Destroyed Babylon in 1595 BC, bringing an end to Hammurabi’s dynasty.
Mursili II: Hittite king; ruled 1321–1295 BC. Son of Suppiluliuma I; wrote Plague Prayers and other historically important documents.
Muwattalli II: Hittite king; ruled 1295–1272 BC. Fought against Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II at the battle of Qadesh.
Nefertiti: Egyptian queen, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled ca. 1350 BC. Married to Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh; may have been a power behind the throne.
Niqmaddu II: King of Ugarit; ruled ca. 1350–1315 BC. Corresponded with the Egyptian pharaohs during the Amarna Period.
Niqmaddu III: Penultimate king of Ugarit; ruled ca. 1225–1215 BC.
Niqmepa: King of Ugarit; ruled ca. 1313–1260 BC. Son of Niqmaddu II and father of Ammistamru II.
Ramses II: Pharaoh, Nineteenth Dynasty; ruled 1279–1212 BC. Opponent of Hittite king Muwattalli II at the battle of Qadesh and later cosignatory of peace treaty with Hattusili III.
Ramses III: Pharaoh, Twentieth Dynasty; ruled 1184–1153 BC. Fought against the second wave of Sea Peoples; assassinated in a harem conspiracy.
Saushtatar: King of Mitanni; ruled ca. 1430 BC. Expanded the Mitannian kingdom by attacking the Assyrians and may have fought against the Hittites.
Seknenre: Pharaoh, Seventeenth Dynasty; ruled ca. 1574 BC. Probably killed in battle, with at least one mortal head wound visible.
Shattiwaza: King of Mitanni; ruled ca. 1340 BC. Son of Tushratta.
Shaushgamuwa: King of Amurru, on northern coast of Syria; ruled ca. 1225 BC. Signed treaty with Hittites in late thirteenth century BC, mentioning Ahhiyawa.
Shutruk-Nahhunte: Elamite king in southwestern Iran; ruled 1190–1155 BC. Related to the Kassite dynasty ruling Babylon, he attacked the city and overthrew its king in 1158 BC.
Shuttarna II: King of Mitanni; ruled ca. 1380 BC. Corresponded with Amarna pharaohs; daughter married Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Sinaranu: Merchant in Ugarit; ca. 1260 BC. Sent ship(s) to Minoan Crete; exempt from taxation.
Suppiluliuma I: Hittite king; ruled ca. 1350–1322 BC. Powerful king; expanded Hittite holdings throughout much of Anatolia and down into northern Syria. Corresponded with Egyptian queen who requested one of his sons as her husband.
Suppiluliuma II: Last Hittite king; ruled ca. 1207 BC onward. Fought several naval battles and invaded Cyprus during his reign.
Tarkhundaradu: King of Arzawa, in southwestern Anatolia; ruled ca. 1360 BC. Corresponded with Amarna pharaohs; daughter married Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Thutmose I: Pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1524–1518 BC. Father of Hatshepsut and Thutmose II.
Thutmose II: Pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1518–1504 BC. Half brother and husband of Hatshepshut; father of Thutmose III.
Thutmose III: Pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1479–1450 BC. One of the most powerful Egyptian pharaohs; fought the battle of Megiddo during the first year of his reign.
Tiyi: Egyptian queen, eighteenth Dynasty; ruled ca. 1375 BC. Wife of Amenhotep III; mother of Akhenaten.
Tudhaliya I/II: Hittite king; ruled ca. 1430 BC. Put down the Assuwan Rebellion, dedicating Mycenaean sword(s) at Hattusa afterward.
Tudhaliya IV: Hittite king; ruled 1237–1209 BC. Responsible for the sanctuary at Yazlikaya, near Hattusa.
Tukulti-Ninurta I: King of Assyria; ruled 1243–1207 BC.
Tushratta: King of Mitanni; ruled ca. 1360 BC. Son of Shuttarna II; corresponded with Amarna pharaohs; daughter married Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Tutankhamen: Pharaoh, Eighteenth Dynasty; ruled 1336–1327 BC. Famous boy king who died young, with fabulous wealth placed in his tomb.
Twosret: Egyptian queen, last ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty; widow of Pharaoh Seti II; known to have ruled 1187–1185 BC.
Zannanza: Hittite prince, son of Suppiluliuma I; lived ca. 1324 BC; promised in marriage to widowed Egyptian queen but assassinated while en route to Egypt.
Zimri-Lim: King of Mari in what is now modern Syria; ruled 1776–1758 BC. Contemporary of Hammurabi of Babylon and author of some of the “Mari Letters,” which give insight into life in Mesopotamia during the eighteenth century BC.