at least, since the Hittite kingdom had been developed and established under the impulse given to it by Sapalulu, everything had been in its favour.  The campaign of Seti had opposed merely a passing obstacle to its expansion, and had not succeeded in discouraging its ambitions, for its rulers still nursed the hope of being able one day to conquer Syria as far as the isthmus.  The check received at Qodshu, the abortive attempts to foment rebellion in Galilee and the Shephelah, the obstinate persistence with which Ramses and his army returned year after year to the attack, the presence of the enemy at Tunipa, on the banks of the Euphrates, and in the provinces then forming the very centre of the Hittite kingdom—­in short, all the incidents of this long struggle—­at length convinced Khatusaru that he was powerless to extend his rule in this direction at the expense of Egypt.  Moreover, we have no knowledge of the events which occupied him on the other frontiers of his kingdom, where he may have been engaged at the same time in a conflict with Assyria, or in repelling an incursion of the tribes on the Black Sea.  The treaty with Pharaoh, if made in good faith and likely to be lasting, would protect the southern extremities of his kingdom, and allow of his removing the main body of his forces to the north and east in case of attack from either of these quarters.  The security which such an alliance would ensure made it, therefore, worth his while to sue for peace, even if the Egyptians should construe his overtures as an acknowledgment of exhausted supplies or of inferiority of strength.  Ramses doubtless took it as such, and openly displayed on the walls at Karnak and in the Eamesseum a copy of the treaty so flattering to his pride, but the indomitable resistance which he had encountered had doubtless given rise to reflections resembling those of Khatusaru, and he had come to realise that it was his own interest not to lightly forego the good will of the Khati.  Egypt had neighbours in Africa who were troublesome though not dangerous:  the Timihu, the Tihonu, the Mashuasha, the negroes of Kush and of Puanit, might be a continual source of annoyance and disturbance, even though they were incapable of disturbing her supremacy.  The coast of the Delta, it is true, was exposed to the piracy of northern nations, but up to that time this had been merely a local trouble, easy to meet if not to obviate altogether.  The only real danger was on the Asiatic side, arising from empires of ancient constitution like Chaldaea, or from hordes who, arriving at irregular intervals from the north, and carrying all before them, threatened, after the example of the Hyksos, to enter the Delta.  The Hittite kingdom acted as a kind of buffer between the Nile valley and these nations, both civilized and barbarous; it was a strongly armed force on the route of the invaders, and would henceforth serve as a protecting barrier, through which if the enemy were able to pass it would only be with his strength broken or weakened by a previous encounter.  The sovereigns loyally observed the peace which they had sworn to each other, and in his XXXIVth year the marriage of Ramses with the eldest daughter of Khatusaru strengthened their friendly relations.