jats:titleAbstract</jats:title> jats:pThis article sets out to debunk the Egyptological myth of Dynasty 18 as a successful imperial power through an evidence-based reconsideration of the local histories of five Syrian cities – Qadesh, Ugarit, Tunip, Qatna, and Niya. A combined analysis of Egyptian and cuneiform sources, including the recently published Hurro-Akkadian documents from Qatna, clearly indicates a progressive failure of the foreign policies of the pharaonic monarchy from Tuthmosid times through the Amarna Period, and this study challenges Egyptological consensus and denies the very existence of an Egyptian empire in the northern Levant. Theories from International Relations that question sovereignty and territoriality and the growing body of research on global cities and city diplomacy outline a promising avenue of future research to reconsider the nexus between diplomacy and the failure of imperialism, and to reappraise Dynasty 18 not as an imperialist power, but as a territorial state struggling to cope with the geopolitical and economic challenges of globalization.</jats:p>