What was the Battle Of Kadesh in the Ancient Egyptian Times?

Answer 1

Battle of Kadesh

Further information: Battle of Kadesh

Ramses atop chariot, at the Battle of Kadesh, in a relief inside his Abu Simbel temple.
Ramses atop chariot, at the Battle of Kadesh, in a relief inside his Abu Simbel temple.

Ramses could not afford to lose this war. So, to assure that he wouldn't, he made a kind of draft that asked the men of Egypt to fight for their country. He also built his new capital, Per-Ramesses. Here he built factories to manufacture weapons, chariots, and shields. Of course, they followed his wishes and manufactured some 1,000 weapons in a week, about 250 chariots in 2 weeks, and 1,000 shields in a week and a half. After these preparations, Ramesses decided to attack territory in the Levant which belonged to a more substantial enemy: the Hittite Empire. At the Second Battle of Kadesh in May 1274 BC towards the end of the Fourth year of his reign, Egyptian forces under his leadership marched through the coastal road through Canaan and south Syria through the Bekaa Valley and approached Kadesh from the south.[15] Ramesses planned to seize the citadel of Kadesh which belonged to king Muwatallis of the Hittite Empire. The battle almost turned into a disaster as Ramesses was initially tricked by two Bedouin spies in the pay of the Hittites to believe that Muwatallis and his massive army were still 120 miles north of Kadesh. Ramesses II only learned of the true nature of his dire predicament when a subsequent pair of Hittite spies were captured, beaten and forced to reveal the truth before him:
“ When they had been brought before Pharaoh, His Majesty asked, 'Who are you?' They replied 'We belong to the king of Hatti. He has sent us to spy on you.' Then His Majesty said to them, 'Where is he, the enemy from Hatti? I had heard that he was in the land of Khaleb, north of Tunip.' They replied to His Majesty, 'Lo, the king of Hatti has already arrived, together with the many countries who are supporting him... They are armed with their infantry and their chariots. They have their weapons of war at the ready. They are more numerous than the grains of sand on the beach. Behold, they stand equipped and ready for battle behind the old city of Kadesh.'[16] ”

Ramesses had fallen into a well-laid trap by Muwatallis whose thousands of infantry and chariotry were hidden well behind the eastern bank of the Orontes river under the command of the king's brother, Hattusili III. The Egyptian army itself had been divided into four main forces, the Re, Amun, Set and Ptah brigades. Ramses was leading the Amun division. They, along with the Ptah division, were separated from the rest of the army by forests and the far side of the Orontes river.[17] The Re brigade was almost totally destroyed by the surprise initial Hittite chariot attack and Ramesses II, fighting among his body guard, had barely enough time to rally his own Amun division. At this time a troop contingent from Amurru called Ne'arin, suddenly arrived, surprising the Hittites. Ramesses reorganized his forces and drove the Hittites back across the Orontes. Muwatalli sent an additional 1000 chariots against the Egyptians but the Hittite forces were almost surrounded and retreated back across the Orontes river to join their infantry.
The Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II (green) bordering on the Hittite Empire (red) at the height of its power in ca. 1290 BC
The Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II (green) bordering on the Hittite Empire (red) at the height of its power in ca. 1290 BC

While Ramesses II had in theory 'won' the battle, Muwatallis had effectively won the war since the pharaoh could not secure victory due to his battlefield losses. Ramesses was compelled to retreat south with the Hittite commander Hattusili III relentlessly harrying the Egyptian forces through the Bekaa Valley; the Egyptian province of Upi was also captured according to the Hittite records at Boghazkoy.[18]
[edit] Aftermath

Egypt's sphere of influence was now restricted to Canaan while Syria fell into Hittite hands. In the seventh year of his reign, Rameses II returned to Syria once again. This time he proved more successful against his Hittite foes. On this campaign he split his army into two forces. One of these forces was led by his son, Amun-her-khepeshef, and it chased warriors of the Šhasu tribes across the Negev as far as the Dead Sea, and captured Edom-Seir. It then marched on to capture Moab. The other force, led by Rameses, attacked Jerusalem and Jericho. He, too, then entered Moab, where he rejoined his son. The reunited army then marched on Hesbon, Damascus, on to Kumidi, and finally recaptured Upi.

Rameses extended his military successes in his eighth and ninth years. He crossed the Dog River (Nahr el-Kelb) and pushed north into Amurru. His armies managed to march as far north as Dapur, where he erected a statue of himself. The Egyptian pharaoh thus found himself in northern Amurru, well past Kadesh, in Tunip, where no Egyptian soldier had been seen since the time of Thutmose III almost 120 years previously. His victory proved to be ephemeral. The thin strip of territory pinched between Amurru and Kadesh did not make for a stable possession. Within a year, they had returned to the Hittite fold, so that Rameses had to march against Dapur once more in his tenth year. This time he claimed to have fought the battle without even bothering to put on his corslet until two hours after the battle began. His second success here was equally as meaningless as his first since neither power could decisively defeat the other in battle. Consequently, in the twenty-first year of his reign (1258 BC), Ramses decided to conclude an agreement with the new Hittite king at Kadesh, Hattusili III, to end the conflict. The ensuing document is the earliest known peace treaty in world history.

Ramesses II also campaigned south of the first cataract into Nubia.

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Answer 2

The Battle of Kadesh was a huge battle between the Egyptian Empire and the Hittite Empire.

The Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II was up against the Hittite king Muwatallish.

About 20,000 Egyptian troops and 35,000 Hittite troops were involved in the battle, and it was a near disaster for Ramses.
His army was divided into four corps, Amon, Re, Ptah and Seth.
These were separated from each other, and the Hittites smashed the Re division, and encircled the Amon division, and Ramses. Only by luck and personal courage did Ramses survive, and with help from the Ptah division.

Ramses claimed great victory, but really the battle was a draw.

Sixteen years later, a peace treaty was drawn up between Egypt and the Hittites.

Answer 3

It was one of the first battles that a god-king lost, but thanks to his propaganda machine, he was able to turn a defeat against the Hitites into a victory... His depiction of the battle in stone pictures do not coincide with the facts.

The battle took place in 1300 BC. It’s the earliest fully documented battle in history, that I know about.

Rhamses II (the Great) lead the Egyptian army of 20,000 men, in four divisions toward the city of Qadesh. The Hittites were waiting in ambush with 3,700 chariots and 37,000 foot soldiers.

A surprise attack by Hittite chariots overran the Egyptian RE division as it was marching north. The Hittites then attacked the nearby camped AMUN division, causing the defenders to abandon their positions. Ramasses, trying to prevent a disaster, lead an almost single handed chariot attack upon the Hittite eastern flank, causing large losses and breaking up the attack. The Hittites then sent in a second wave of chariots. At this time, the NE ARIN division of the Egyptian army arrived and attacked the Hittite reinforcements. With Ramasses forces joining in the attack, the second group of Hittites were broken up, and largely destroyed.

In the end, the battle was in effect a draw. A military Disengagement was agreed on by both sides and years later a formal peace treaty was signed. I call it a defeat, since the egyptians were supposedly led by a 'god-king.' Anything less than a victory should've been a defeat in the eyes of the egyptian masses.

Answer 4

Rameses II greatest battle against the Hittites in Asia Minor.
He always claimed it as a great victory but the truth is it was probably a draw.