Portal:Ancient Near East/Selected article/7
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Battle of Kadesh was fought between between Ancient Egyptian forces under Ramesses II and the Hittites under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, modern Tell Nebi Mend, Syria, and is generally dated to Year 5, III Shemu, day 9 of Ramesses II's reign, or May 12, 1274 BC, based on Ramesses' commonly accepted accession date in 1279 BC. The battle was part of the Egyptian New Kingdom's campaign to regain control over the Levant, which they were losing to Mitanni's expansion. Over the course of these campaigns, lighter 2-man chariots, the battle axe, and the curved khopesh sword came into use, with the Battle of Kadesh probably being the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5,000—6,000 chariots. The battle was also extensively documented, especially by the Egyptians, and gives modern historians the earliest accounts of military strategy.
Ultimately the battle was fought to a stalemate, essentially a loss for Egypt, and conflicts continued for 15 more years, after which the earliest extant international peace treaty was reached (pictured).
