Author Description

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world’s first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art that spread across the known world. With famous leaders like King Tut and Cleopatra, it’s no wonder that today’s world has so many Egyptologists. 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. Seeking to spread the area of Egypt’s influence and control, Ramesses II led his first military campaign as pharaoh into Canaan in 1275 BCE. There were many battles fought during this campaign, but the one that is recorded in most detail describes Ramesses II fighting one of the Canaanite princes. This prince was apparently wounded by an arrow before his army was broken and routed by the Egyptian force. In the aftermath of the battle, the other princes of Canaan were made prisoners by Ramesses II, captured, and sent back to Egypt as their lands were plundered by the pharaoh’s troops. Cowed by Egypt’s military power, these vassal lands were thereafter forced to provide tribute to Egypt every year, which Ramesses II received himself at ruling headquarters he set up for himself in Riblah. The Hittite vassal state of Amurru was another one of those captured on this military campaign, and the e