13th century BCE
Orontes Valley, northern Syria
The Battle of Kadesh was a major confrontation between the Egyptian forces of Ramses II and a coalition assembled by the Hittite king Mutawallis. Ramses’s vanguard entered an enemy trap and suffered a severe setback, but the Egyptian king rallied his forces and presented the outcome as a qualified victory. The conflict continued until Ramses II and Hattusilis concluded a peace treaty.
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The Story
In the fifth year of his reign, Ramses II marched with four armies against a powerful coalition of Asiatic peoples assembled by the Hittite king Mutawallis. His campaign continued the efforts of his father Seti I to recover Egypt’s possessions in northern Syria. The confrontation took place near Kadesh on the River Orontes, a strategic point in the struggle between Egyptian and Hittite power.
Ramses led the vanguard into an enemy trap, and one of his armies was routed by Hittite chariotry. The king nevertheless fought his way out of the crisis, regrouped his forces, and converted what could have been a defeat into what the narrative calls a somewhat questionable victory. The battle therefore revealed both the reach of Egyptian military power and the limits of its control in Syria.
Hostilities continued for years after Kadesh. In the twenty-first year of Ramses II’s reign, he concluded a peace treaty with Hattusilis, the Hittite king, after which cordial relations were maintained and Ramses married Hattusilis’s eldest daughter. Egyptian influence subsequently extended along the coast to Ras Shamra, identified with Ugarit, although Hittite power remained strong inland.
13th century BCE
Orontes Valley, northern Syria
The Battle of Kadesh was a major confrontation between the Egyptian forces of Ramses II and a coalition assembled by the Hittite king Mutawallis. Ramses’s vanguard entered an enemy trap and suffered a severe setback, but the Egyptian king rallied his forces and presented the outcome as a qualified victory. The conflict continued until Ramses II and Hattusilis concluded a peace treaty.
Continue exploring
The Story
In the fifth year of his reign, Ramses II marched with four armies against a powerful coalition of Asiatic peoples assembled by the Hittite king Mutawallis. His campaign continued the efforts of his father Seti I to recover Egypt’s possessions in northern Syria. The confrontation took place near Kadesh on the River Orontes, a strategic point in the struggle between Egyptian and Hittite power.
Ramses led the vanguard into an enemy trap, and one of his armies was routed by Hittite chariotry. The king nevertheless fought his way out of the crisis, regrouped his forces, and converted what could have been a defeat into what the narrative calls a somewhat questionable victory. The battle therefore revealed both the reach of Egyptian military power and the limits of its control in Syria.
Hostilities continued for years after Kadesh. In the twenty-first year of Ramses II’s reign, he concluded a peace treaty with Hattusilis, the Hittite king, after which cordial relations were maintained and Ramses married Hattusilis’s eldest daughter. Egyptian influence subsequently extended along the coast to Ras Shamra, identified with Ugarit, although Hittite power remained strong inland.
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