July 24, 2015
The first battle in human history of which we have a tactical account is the Battle of Kadesh, which took place in 1274 B.C.E., near the modern Syrian–Lebanese border. It pitted the ancient Egyptians under Ramesses II against the Hittites under Muwatalli II and may have been the largest chariot battle of all time. Afterwards, both sides plausibly claimed victory. However, it might have come out quite differently. Ramesses’ intelligence staff (for lack of a better term) did not do its work and as a result the pharaoh almost led his army into an ambush. The Battle of Kadesh has a certain grim resonance today because the Egyptians were saved from disaster only because they abused two Hittite prisoners.
We know of this battle from several sources, both Egyptian and Hittite. Today, however, we will focus on the Egyptian ones, available in translation on the internet. The Egyptian accounts include two inscriptions: a relatively short piece known as “The Bulletin” (and elsewhere called “The Official Record”), much of which is about the run up to the battle, and a longer “Poem of Pentaur” which gives an extended account of the battle. There are also images of the battle carved in Egyptian temples that add important details to the story.
