The Treaty of Kadesh
-Jason

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The Treaty of Kadesh, signed following the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE, is the first recorded peace treaty in world history.  It established peaceful relations between the ancient Egyptians and the Old Hittites, two super-powers of the late Bronze Age.  Tensions between the two empires had previously led to wars for control over the city-states in Syria and Canaan.  The two principal rulers were the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite king Muwatalli II.

Over the previous centuries the Hittites had established a sprawling kingdom in Anatolia, modern Turkey, and had become a powerful rival for the Egyptians.  Hostilities erupted again following the ascension of Ramses II to Egyptian pharaoh in 1279 BCE.  Within five years of taking the throne, Ramses faced the prospect of allied city-states in Syria and Canaan either defecting to, or being conquered by, the Hittite Empire. 

Raising an army of 20,000 soldiers, the pharaoh left Egypt and marched toward Kadesh, a city located in Syria which had recently been absorbed by the Hittites. The Egyptian army was split into four divisions to ease the strain on supply lines.  Ramses II’s Amun division led the Egyptian advance.  This was his first major campaign, and the pharaoh was overconfident; he refused to heed the advice of his generals when they advised caution.  This recklessness almost led to the destruction of the Egyptian army.

As the Egyptians approached Kadesh, they had no idea of the actual situation they were about to encounter.  The Hittite king, Muwatalli II, had already garrisoned Kadesh with 37,000 soldiers and 3,500 chariots, heavily outnumbering his opponent.  Muwatalli had also left spies throughout the countryside to both inform him of the Egyptian approach and feed Ramses false information.  The Hittites hoped to crush the Egyptian army in an ambush, once that was victory was secured, they would launch further attacks into a now defenseless Egypt-controlled central and southern Canaan.

According to Egyptian sources, two Bedouins approached Ramses’ camp on the eve of battle.  They said that they were defectors from the Hittite army and that their former comrades were unprepared for battle.  The pharaoh was faced with a tantalizing choice: launch a quick attack against the Hittites while their units were still disorganized with only a portion of his army or wait until all his forces arrived and launch a combined attack against a prepared enemy.  Ramses decided against waiting for other three divisions of the Egyptian army to join him; he would attack the next day with only the troops he personally commanded.

As the Amun division prepared for combat the next morning, they captured more Hittite spies.  These prisoners revealed dire information during their interrogation: the entire Hittite army was laying in wait.  Ramses quickly sent messengers to the remaining three Egyptian divisions to speed up their advance.  Muwatalli had split his own army into two divisions: one outside Kadesh, and the other reserved inside the city.  The Amun division found itself heavily outnumbered and threatened with annihilation if their countrymen could not reach them in time. 

Ramses II led his men in a desperate series of attacks to prevent the Hittites from encircling them.  According to Ramses’ later propaganda, he slew thousands of Hittites by himself.  The reality of the battle was much more dire: the Amun division was nearing destruction when the second Egyptian formation, the Re division, arrived on the battlefield.  They were caught in the open and shattered by the Hittite chariot forces.  The battle was getting progressively more desperate for the Egyptians.

Finally, the appearance of the fresh Ptah division helped to turn the tide for the Egyptians.  They linked up shattered remained of the Amun and routed this portion of the Hittite army.  Despite this momentary set back, Muwatalli still greatly outnumbered the Egyptians with the reserves sitting inside the city.  For reasons unknown, the Hittite king did not send the rest of his army to crush Ramses.  The Egyptians left the battlefield withdrawing to their fortified camp. The Battle of Kadesh was draw: Mutawalli controlled Kadesh but had not crushed the young Ramses and his army.

Ramses II did not have the supplies or equipment to conduct a siege against Kadesh and this led to a prolonged war.  He withdrew the remains of his army south, and upon reaching Egypt, declared that he had won a major victory.  Muwatalli and his army continued campaigning in Canaan and captured more territory while Ramses launched a series of counterattacks that pushed the Hittites out of their new conquests.  Muwatalli died while the war was still being fought and his brother, Hattusili III, fought a civil war to secure his reign.

Both the Egyptians and the Hittites were exhausted from the war and sought to reestablish peace.  Hattusili and Ramses sent emissaries to discuss terms of a treaty.  Ramses II offered to support the Hittite king’s reign in exchange for the Syrian borders being solidified, an alliance between the two empires secured by a royal marriage, and the exchange of political enemies within their borders.  Ramses was able to build upon his version of a crushing Egyptian victory at Kadesh because it was Hattusili who proposed the treaty.  The Eternal Treaty, as was known, ensured that both empires no longer had to spend money on building fortifications, maintaining garrisons, or to fight each other in Syria.  Each ruler also agreed to support the reign of their contemporary against revolts, usurpation, and foreign wars.  This relationship lasted until the invasions of the Sea Peoples that ushered in the end of the Bronze Age in 1200 BCE.  The Hittite Empire was destroyed over the course of these invasions, leaving Egypt was the last surviving member of the great kingdoms of ancient Near East.