Kadesh, battle of (1300 bc). Ramesses II, Pharaoh of Egypt (1304-1237 bc) defeated the Hittites of King Muwattallish (1315-1296) outside the strategically important city of Kadesh on the river Orontes, in northern Syria. The conquest of the state of Mitanni in the late 14th century by the Hittites had created a crucial border zone between their empire and the Egyptians. Ramesses led four divisions north, each of 500 chariots and 5, 000 men, against 15, 000 Hittites. His vanguard division, ‘Amun’, was already encamped against Kadesh when the pharaoh arrived. The Hittites had planned an ambush which caught their enemy by surprise. From their camp on the far side of the Orontes river, and using a wood as cover, the Hittite chariot force, recorded as 2, 500 strong, swung south and behind the advancing Egyptians. Fording the river, still undetected, they fell upon the Egyptian rearguard division and destroyed it. Ramesses then counter-attacked and drove them off. Neither side's infantry took part, perhaps because they could not get across the river. Ramesses claimed the victory from this drawn fight, celebrated in monumental funerary temple reliefs still visible at Thebes on the Nile.
Bibliography
- Healy, M., Qadesh 1300 bc (London, 1993)
— Matthew Bennett
