'…Ovanpå Bergen i Guds Land, i Närheten av Damen avByblos…' : En studie om byggnadsprojekten uppförda av Thutmosis III och Ramses II iByblos

This thesis investigates the monuments commissioned by Thutmosis III and Ramesses II at ancient Byblos with the purpose to understand the methods of diplomacy implemented during the Late Bronze Age and their effect on the city when areas of the Levant were under Egyptian control. The study analyzed to what extent the Egyptian state utilized direct physical control, versus indirect control leveraging religious ideology to consolidate their power at Byblos. This was done through an analysis and historical contextualization of the Egyptian commissioned monuments in relation to supporting textual and archaeological material from Egypt and the Levant. A theory pertaining to the construction of social relationships using direct and indirect methods of domination is applied using the ritualization of diplomacy. The analysis displayed that Thutmosis III and Ramesses II did not exercise violent control over Byblos, but rather leveraged ideological concepts shared by the two states since the Old Kingdom in order to secure their assets.