Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great vs the Hittites: The Battle of Kadesh
Transcript
- Lucas: We've talked a lot about Ramses the builder, the husband, the father. But today I want to turn to the moment that almost broke him: the Battle of Kadesh. Fought in 1274 BCE, it's one of the best-documented battles of the ancient world — and one of the most misunderstood. Luna: I know the basics — huge chariot battle, Ramses claimed a great victory. But I've also heard it was more of a draw? Lucas: Exactly. The trouble is, almost everything we know comes from Egyptian sources. Ramses plastered the story all over his temples — the 'Poem of Pentaur' and the 'Bulletin' — complete with gods intervening and the pharaoh single-handedly routing the enemy. But the Hittite archives from Hattusa tell a very different story. Luna: So what actually happened? Lucas: Let's set the scene. The Hittite king Muwatalli II had amassed a huge coalition — Hittites, plus allies from places like Arzawa, Karkemish, even the Shasu bedouin. Ramses marched north with four divisions: Amun, Ra, Ptah, and Seth. About 20,000 men total. He thought he was heading straight for Kadesh, a fortified city on the Orontes River. Luna: He had four divisions, but they got separated? Lucas: That's the key. Ramses, leading the Amun division, arrived first. He set up camp northwest of Kadesh. Then two Shasu spies were captured — they 'confessed' that the Hittite army was still far away, near Aleppo. It was a trap. In reality, Muwatalli's entire force was hidden just east of the city, waiting. Luna: So Ramses walked right into an ambush. Lucas: Absolutely. The Hittites struck at midday, hitting the Ra division as it marched toward camp. The Ra division shattered — men scattered, chariots abandoned. The Hittite chariotry then crashed into the Egyptian camp itself. Ramses describes it vividly: 'His Majesty was alone, no officer with him, no chariot commander.' He claims he prayed to Amun, then charged. Luna: But he wasn't literally alone, was he? Lucas: Probably not. But here's the thing: the Egyptian account says Ramses personally led a counterattack that drove the Hittites back. And there might be some truth in it — the Egyptian force was nearly destroyed, but they held on long enough for the Ptah division to arrive from the south. That turned the tide. Luna: And the Hittites just retreated? Lucas: Not exactly. Muwatalli had committed his reserves, but the Egyptians had fresh troops. The Hittite charioteers, after routing the Ra division, got bogged down looting the camp. That gave Ramses time. By evening, both sides had taken heavy losses and the battle ended in a stalemate. But Ramses claimed a massive victory because he survived and kept the field. Luna: So it was a draw that he spun into a triumph. Lucas: Exactly. And he had every incentive to do so. Back in Egypt, the people expected a pharaoh to be invincible. Carving the battle on temple walls — at Abu Simbel, the Ramesseum, Luxor — was state propaganda. But the Hittite letters tell a different story: they say the Egyptians were defeated and fled. The truth is somewhere in between. Luna: And what about the peace treaty that came later? That's the famous one, right? Lucas: Right. Sixteen years after Kadesh, in 1258 BCE, Ramses and Hattusili III — Muwatalli's brother, who had seized the throne — signed a treaty. It's the oldest known peace treaty in the world, and a copy even hangs in the UN today. It was a non-aggression pact, mutual defense, extradition of fugitives. Both sides realized they couldn't win. Luna: So Kadesh didn't really settle anything. Lucas: It settled nothing militarily, but it set the stage for diplomacy. After Kadesh, Egypt and Hatti became uneasy allies. Ramses even married a Hittite princess, Maathorneferure, to seal the deal. The battle itself — for all the hype — was a bloody, chaotic mess that neither side could afford to repeat. Luna: And Ramses lived to be over ninety, so he had a long time to tell his version. Lucas: Exactly. He outlived most of his sons and enemies. The 'victory' at Kadesh became a cornerstone of his legend. But if you look at the evidence — the Hittite letters, the tactical situation — it's clear he made a serious mistake and was saved by sheer luck and the arrival of reinforcements. Luna: What about the weapons? I've heard about Egyptian chariots being lighter, more maneuverable. Lucas: Great question. Egyptian chariots were indeed lighter — two men, not three, with a composite bow as the main weapon. Hittite chariots carried three: a driver, a shield-bearer, and a spearman. At Kadesh, the terrain — open plains near the Orontes — favored the Hittite heavier chariots early on. But Ramses's charioteers were trained to shoot and retreat, harassing the enemy. Luna: And the infantry? Did they play much of a role? Lucas: Not really. The battle was won and lost by chariots. The Egyptian infantry, mostly spearmen and archers, were slow and vulnerable. Once the Ra division was ambushed, they were cut down. The real hero was the Ptah division arriving just in time. Ramses's personal courage may have inspired his guard, but it was the fresh troops that saved the day. Luna: It's fascinating how much we can piece together from both sides. Lucas: It is. The Hittite archives at Hattusa contain letters from Muwatalli and Hattusili that describe the battle from their perspective. One tablet even mentions a 'great victory' over the Egyptians. So both sides claimed victory. In the ancient world, that's how it worked — you declared victory and moved on. Luna: So what's the real legacy of Kadesh? Lucas: I think it's the treaty. Kadesh showed that two great powers could fight to a standstill, then negotiate. It's a lesson in the limits of military power. Ramses learned that he couldn't conquer Hatti, and Hatti learned they couldn't push into Egypt's Canaanite provinces. So they made peace, and it lasted. Luna: And Ramses got to be the hero of his own story. Lucas: He did. And that story — the pharaoh alone against the horde, saved by his god — became a template for later rulers. But the real hero might be diplomacy. Or maybe just the Ptah division, marching hard to save their king. Luna: I'd rather have been on the Egyptian side that day. Lucas: If you were in the Ra division, you'd have had a very bad day. But if you were in the Ptah division, you'd have arrived to a scene of chaos and helped turn the tide. Either way, the battle is a reminder that history is written by the survivors — and Ramses was the ultimate survivor. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. That really paints a different picture than the temple walls. Lucas: My pleasure. Next time, we'll look at another overlooked aspect of Ramses's reign — maybe his building projects in Nubia, or the role of his viziers. There's always more to uncover.