卡迭石战役

The Battle of Kadesh was a major military conflict in the early 13th century BC, between the attacking Ramesses II of the Egyptian Empire and defending Muwatalli II of the Hittite Empire. In the previous year, Ramesses II had invaded the neighboring province of Amurru. At the Orontes River, the armies engaged each other just upstream of Lake Homs and near the stronghold of Kadesh, along what is today the Lebanon–Syria border.

The battle occurred on Year 5 III Shemu day 9 of Ramesses II, generally dated to May 1274 BCE based on the standard Egyptian chronology (low chronology; the high chronology has the date about 20 years earlier). It is the earliest pitched battle in recorded history for which details of tactics and formations are known, and believed to be the largest battle ever fought involving chariots, numbering at a total of 5,000 to 6,000. After being outmaneuvered, ambushed, and surrounded, Ramesses II personally led a charge through the Hittite ranks with his bodyguard. He broke through and, with the arrival of a rearguard Egyptian force, managed to reverse the disaster and drive off the Hittites. The outcome is considered a stalemate.

Background

After expelling the Hyksos' 15th Dynasty around 1550 BC, the rulers of the New Kingdom of Egypt became more aggressive in reclaiming control of their state's borders. Thutmose I, Thutmose III, and his son and coregent Amenhotep II fought battles from Megiddo north to the Orontes, including conflict with Kadesh.

Many Egyptian accounts between c. 1400 and 1300 BC reflect the general destabilization of Djahy, a region in southern Canaan. During the reigns of Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III, Egypt continued to lose territory to the Mitanni in northern Syria.

Contending forces

Ramesses led an army of four divisions: Amun, Re, Set, and the apparently newly-formed Ptah division.

There was also a poorly documented troop called the nrrn (Ne'arin or Nearin), who were possibly Canaanite military mercenaries or Egyptians, that Ramesses II had left in Amurru in order to secure the port of Sumur. This division would come to play a critical role in the battle. Also significant was the presence of Sherden troops fighting for the Egyptian army. This is the first record of them as Egyptian mercenaries.……

Battle

Muwatalli had positioned his troops behind "Old Kadesh". Ramesses II was misled by two captured nomads who said the Hittite army was still far off at Aleppo. The nomads were Hittite spies sent to mislead the pharaoh.

Ramesses ordered his forces to set up camp. He marched hastily towards Kadesh, completely unaware of the large enemy force waiting for him.

Ramesses II describes his arrival on the battlefield in the two principal inscriptions concerning the battle, the so-called "Poem" and the "Bulletin":

Aftermath

Unable to support a long siege of the walled city of Kadesh, Ramesses gathered his troops and headed south towards Damascus and ultimately back to Egypt. Ramesses proclaimed he had routed his enemies and that he had not attempted to capture Kadesh. The battle was a personal triumph for Ramesses. After moving into the ambush, facing defeat and death, the king had managed to rally his scattered troops and save the day. The following day, the Egyptians and Hittites faced off directly, in a battle that resulted in stalemate.

Documentation

There is more evidence in the form of texts and wall reliefs for this battle than for any other in the Ancient Near East. Almost all of it is from an Egyptian perspective. The first scholarly report and reconstruction of the battle was done by James Henry Breasted in 1903, based on Egyptian sources.

Egyptian influence over Amurru and Qadesh seems to have been lost forever.

The main source of information is in the Egyptian record. The bombastic nature of Ramesses' version is recognized.……

Hittite allies

Sources: Goetze, A., "The Hittites and Syria (1300–1200 B.C.)", in Cambridge Ancient History (1975) p.……