User:Dami71/sandbox
The ancient war between the New Egyptian Empire and the Hittite Empire to the north occurred at a time when pharaoh Ramesses II sought to reestablish Egyptian influence in its former territory in Syria. The Hittites, whose capital city Hattusa was located in Anatolia, or modern-day Turkey, had defeated the Babylonians in 1595 BCE and had emerged as one of the prominent regional powers at the time. Ramesses II wished to reclaim imperial lands in Syria that had been lost under previous rulers, and he forged an alliance with the Mittani Empire that was situated along the Hittites' eastern flank.[1]
The conflict between the two powers came to a head at the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE. >article>the-battle-of-kadesh-the-first-peace-treaty Battle of Kadesh Marching north from their homeland, the Egyptian army under Ramesses II numbered an estimated 20,000 men split into four divisions and was accompanied by Egyptian war chariots. At Kadesh, which had been fortified against attack by the Hittite king Muwatalli, Ramesses sought to claim a decisive victory that would drive the Hittites from the Egyptian border and allow him to seize control of vital trade routes leading from the Anatolian plateau to the Euphrates River valley. The plateau was rich in copper and tin, the metals required to forge the bronze weapons common to the time.
The two-wheeled Egyptian chariots were fast, and as a result Ramesses inadvertently split his forces.... Bronze Age...the Hittites were known for their metalworking and had ...Iron Age....
Both sides claimed victory...but the two powers eventually signed what is commonly recognized as history's first peace treaty in 1258 BCE...