The Battle of Kadesh: The History of the Most Important Battle Between the Egyptians and Hittites

Many battles fought in antiquity remain famous thousands of years later, such as Marathon, Thermopylae, and Cannae, mainly due to the belligerents involved and the ways in which the battles changed the course of history. However, even as people are fascinated by the Egyptians, one of the most important battles in antiquity has also been one of the most overlooked: the Battle of Kadesh, fought by Ramesses II against the Hittites. 

For one thing, it is the earliest known pitched battle to be documented, and the number of troops deployed by both the Egyptians and Hittites may have made it the largest battle ever fought up until that point in time. The organization of the forces, especially the Egyptians, is another intriguing aspect of this battle, because the Egyptians organized their units into divisions, which may be the first such case in history or simply the first time the organization was recorded.

Arguably the most famous aspect of the battle is that it was passed down in ways that barely aligned with reality. Surrounded and swiftly outnumbered, most of the Egyptian soldiers were killed in the battle, and Ramesses II was forced to retreat in order to survive. What is known of the rest of the battle is that the pharaoh rallied his forces, fought on through the battlefield in order to evade capture and death, and managed to get away with only with a fraction of his troops, while the majority of his army lay slain on the field of battle that he left behind him.

Nonetheless, the battle essentially ended in a stalemate, after which there was a period of extended peace and eventually an alliance between the Egyptians and Hittites. The ensuing peace also helped to solidify the Late Bronze Age Near Eastern geopolitical system modern scholars often refer to as the “Great Powers Club,” during which the most powerful empires of the Near East tended to use diplomacy instead of warfare to settle their differences.