The Battle of Kadesh was waged between Ancient Egypt under the rule of Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the Great), and the Hittite Empire under King Muwatalli II. According to Egyptian chronology, the battle was fought in 1274 BCE at the city of Kadesh, a city in Syria that was an important trade centre in the ancient world. Not only is the Battle of Kadesh the best-recorded conflict from the ancient world, but it's the earliest battle whose formations and tactics are known and fully documented.
After Ramesses received the omens he needed, he led the Amun division of his forces out of the gates of the grand city he had built, Per-Ramesses, with the Ra, Ptah and Set divisions following, totalling around 20,000 men. The Hittite army was close at hand, and Ramesses II soon found himself and his division ambushed and overrun by Hittites. The Egyptians, using their chariots, and with the Hittite forces either drowning in the river or being slaughtered on land, drove the rest of the Hittite forces from the field. Ramesses II was most proud of this victory over the Hittites, but Muwatalli also claimed victory since he did not surrender the city of Kadesh to the Egyptians.
The aftermath of the battle resulted in the first known peace treaty in history, known as the Treaty of Kadesh. In 1258 BCE the Treaty of Kadesh was signed and included terms such as if a person of importance were to seek refuge in the other’s territory, they had to be returned. The Treaty of Kadesh initiated a period of open trade relations between Egypt and the Hittites until the fall of the Hittite Empire around 1200 BCE.
Did you know that the Battle of Kadesh fought in 1274 BCE is the most thoroughly documented
military engagement from the ancient world that also resulted in the first known peace
treaty in history? Stick around to learn more. Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia.
My name is Kelly and today's video is all about the Battle of Kadesh. Don't forget the easiest
way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up and subscribing to our channel so
you don't miss out on any new uploads. The Battle of Kadesh was waged between Egypt under the rule
of Ramesses II or the Great and the Hittite Empire under King Muatali II. According to
Egyptian chronology, the battle was fought in 1274 BCE at the city of Kadesh, hence the name,
a city in Syria that was an important trade center in the ancient world.
Not only is the Battle of Kadesh the best recorded conflict from the ancient world,
but it's the earliest battle whose formations and tactics are known and fully documented.
We know so much about it because of the two Egyptian sources, poem of Pentor and Bulletin,
which are now accepted more as propaganda than hard fact, since they depict a definitive
Egyptian victory, even though modern historians now believe the battle to have been closer to a
draw based on the few Hittite documents of the event. Under the pharaoh Seti I, Kadesh had been
taken and held by the Egyptians, but the Hittites reclaimed the city and fortified it. Prior to the
multiple changing of ownership over the city, the Hittites had been causing trouble for Thutmose III
and had made multiple incursions into Egypt. To say the tensions were high between the two groups
is an understatement, and so Ramesses II decided he wanted to well and truly drive the Hittites
from Egyptian borders, and to do that he had to recapture Kadesh. Not only would it have extended
the borders of the Egyptian empire, but it would have been advantageous to have control over a
great hub of commerce and trade. After Ramesses received the omens he needed, he led the Amun
division of his forces out of the gates of the grand city he had built, per Ramesses, with the
Ra, Ptah, and Set divisions following, totaling around 20,000 men. Ramesses then made two mistakes.
The first, in his eagerness to engage in battle, Ramesses very quickly outdistanced the rest of
his forces, leaving three divisions trailing far behind him, and the second was that he believed
the reports of some captured Bedouins who said that the Hittites had withdrawn from the area
because they feared the might of the young pharaoh. In reality, the Bedouins had been employed by the
Hittites to misdirect Ramesses, and the Hittite army was actually quite close at hand, and Ramesses
soon found himself and his division ambushed and overrun by Hittites. Ramesses called on his
protector, Amun, and then reorganized his forces and brought a calm to his men. By the time the
Ptah division arrived, Ramesses had turned the tide of the battle. Ramesses took leadership of
the Ptah division and drove the Hittite forces back to the Orontes river, where many of the enemy
forces drowned. Muatali had reserve forces waiting in Kadesh, and at this point the Egyptians were
in between these reserve forces and the Hittites at the river, but Muatali didn't deploy the reserve
forces, refusing to use his advantage, and we don't know why. The Egyptians, using their chariots and
with the Hittite forces either drowning in the river or being slaughtered on land, drove the rest
of the Hittite forces from the field. Ramesses was most proud of this victory over the Hittites,
but Muatali also claimed victory since he did not surrender the city of Kadesh to the Egyptians.
The aftermath of the battle resulted in the first known peace treaty in history, known as the Treaty
of Kadesh. In 1258 BCE, the Treaty of Kadesh was signed and included terms such as if a person of
importance were to seek refuge in the other's territory, they had to be returned. The Treaty of
Kadesh initiated a period of open trade relations between Egypt and the Hittites until the fall of
the Hittite empire in around 1200 BCE. The sources we have about the Battle of Kadesh are almost all
composed by the Egyptians, and it is said that history is written by the victors. Can you think
of any other event from history that survives to us through a single perspective? What issues do
you think this poses to modern historians? Let us know what you think down in the comments below.
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