Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses II's Iron Legacy: The Bronze Weapons of Kadesh
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to the Fexingo History network, where we dig into the layers of the past. I’m Lucas, and with me is Luna. Luna: Hi Lucas, ready for another deep dive. Lucas: We’ve spent quite a while exploring Ramses II’s monuments, his wives, and even his diplomatic treaties with the Hittites. But today, I want to pull back the curtain on the actual machinery of his empire—the steel and bronze that kept it running. Luna: So, the weapons behind the glory. Lucas: Exactly. And before we get into the arsenals of the Delta, I have a small request for our listeners. If you’ve been stepping into history with us episode by episode, know that your support is what keeps this ad-free and independent. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: It really does make a difference for the quality of the research. Lucas: It absolutely does. Now, when we think of Ramses II at Kadesh, we usually see the reliefs: the king standing tall, shooting arrows from his chariot, surrounded by rows of identical soldiers. It looks like a monolith. But the reality of his military force was surprisingly diverse and constantly evolving. Luna: Diverse? I always thought it was just standard Egyptian troops. Lucas: That’s the propaganda version. In reality, Ramses inherited a massive expansion from his father, Seti I, and he integrated many foreign fighters into his core army. The most famous example are the Sherden. These were Sea Peoples who initially raided the coast, but Ramses captured them, put them in his service, and turned them into elite guards. Luna: Enemies becoming bodyguards? Lucas: Precisely. And they didn’t just bring loyalty; they brought new technologies. The Sherden were known for their distinctive round shields and curved swords. When they settled in Per-Ramesses, the new capital city in the Delta, they influenced local smithing techniques. We find evidence of blade designs that are distinctly non-Egyptian in style. Luna: So the capital itself was a melting pot of martial tech. Lucas: It was. And this matters because the Battle of Kadesh wasn’t just a fight with bows and arrows. It was a close-quarters meat grinder once the chariots collided. The Hittites under Muwatalli II used heavy chariots with three men each—driver, shield-bearer, and warrior with a long spear. The Egyptians relied on speed and agility, using two-man chariots. Luna: Speed versus heavy armor. Lucas: Right. And in the chaos, the short sword became king. The Egyptian standard issue was the khopesh, or sickle sword. It’s iconic, shaped like a cow’s horn, designed for hooking shields and slashing. But recent archaeological finds suggest Ramses also issued simpler, straighter bronze daggers to his infantry, which were easier to mass-produce. Luna: Mass production implies a huge industrial effort. Lucas: It does. And here is where it gets interesting. We are at the very end of the Bronze Age. Copper and tin are getting harder to source. The Hittites, who controlled much of the Anatolian trade routes, were experimenting with iron. Iron was rarer than gold at the time, but it held a sharper edge and was tougher. Luna: Did Ramses know about this? Lucas: He likely knew of it, but he didn’t adopt it. Why? Because bronze worked. The existing supply chains for tin from Afghanistan and copper from Cyprus were stable enough for his needs. Plus, bronze was easier to cast into complex shapes like chariot fittings and arrowheads. Iron required different forging techniques that weren’t yet widespread in Egypt. Luna: So tradition over innovation? Lucas: In part. But also pragmatism. The Egyptian military machine was optimized for bronze. Changing that would require retraining tens of thousands of smiths and soldiers. Instead, Ramses focused on refining what he had. He built the Ramesseum partly as a factory for memorializing these victories, but also as a storage hub for the vast quantities of weapons needed to patrol Nubia and Syria. Luna: Patrolling requires a lot of gear. Lucas: An enormous amount. We have records from Deir el-Medina, the village of the tomb builders, showing that they were sometimes called upon to guard armories. They weren’t just carving tombs; they were guarding the state’s lethal inventory. One inventory list mentions thousands of arrowsheads, spears, and helmets stored in the temples of Amun-Re. Luna: The gods were armed too? Lucas: In a sense, yes. Statues of Amun were carried into battle on boats, accompanied by real warriors. The line between divine protection and military might was blurry. But let’s talk about one specific figure who might have seen the writing on the wall: Khaemwaset. He was Ramses’ fourth son, a high priest and archaeologist. Luna: The one who restored old monuments? Lucas: Yes. Khaemwaset was fascinated by the past. He repaired the Sphinx and the pyramids. Some scholars argue that his interest in antiquity was a reaction to the changing world. As he looked back at the Old Kingdom, he saw a stability that felt distant. Meanwhile, the Hittite Empire was fracturing, and the Sea Peoples were stirring. Luna: Looking backward while the world shifts. Lucas: Exactly. And then there’s Merenptah, the son who actually succeeded Ramses. He had to deal with the first major invasion of the Delta by the Libyans and Sea Peoples. His victory stela is famous for the first mention of Israel, but it also details the weapons used against him. He fought with the same bronze kit his father used, proving its durability. Luna: But did it last forever? Lucas: No. Within a century, iron became common. The Bronze Age collapsed. But during Ramses II’s reign, the bronze machine was at its peak. It was efficient, familiar, and powerful enough to keep the Hittites at bay after Kadesh. The peace treaty wasn’t signed because Ramses had superior weapons, but because both sides were exhausted. Luna: Exhaustion led to diplomacy. Lucas: And diplomacy allowed Ramses to spend his remaining decades building. He didn’t need to fight as much. He could carve his name into every stone. The weapons gathered dust in the armories, while the chisels never stopped moving. It’s a strange legacy: an emperor who conquered with bronze but ruled with stone. Luna: Stone lasts longer than any sword. Lucas: That’s the truth of it. We remember the weapons because they define the era, but we remember Ramses because he refused to let the stone forget him. Next time, we might look at how those armories were managed in the later dynasties, when iron finally took over. Luna: I’d love to hear about that transition. Lucas: Until then, keep looking at the details. I’m Lucas. Luna: And I’m Luna. Thanks for listening.