All language subtitles for Battle of Kadesh 1274 BC (Egyptian - Hittite War) DOCUMENTARY

The Fertile Crescent is one of the first regions human civilization began to thrive in

So it is no surprise that conflicts over it began very early happened often and still rage on today

The empires of the Bronze Age were no different, and had they fought over it for centuries

To the south Egypt was forming an empire in the middle of the 17th century

BC a Semitic people called the Hyksos invaded it and established the 15th dynasty

The Fertile Crescent was the only way to expand so by 1550 BC the Sinai Peninsula was occupied

To the north in Anatolia the Hittite kingdom was formed at the beginning of the second millennium

BC the history of the state is shrouded in time and most of the information we have is from

Mesopotamian sources

But we know that by the time the Hyksos dynasty started their expansion

The his eyes controlled most of central and southern Anatolia and had started moving into modern Syria

Here they met with the kingdom of Mitanni

Which used the collapse of the old Assyrian Empire to gain independence by 1500 BC?

The Mitanni and hitted kingdoms fought each other on the edge of Anatolia throughout the early 15th century BC with differing results

They were joined by the Egyptian pharaohs of the 18th dynasty

Which quickly expanded their empire into the northern Fertile Crescent using the relative weakness of the local city-states

Still a great rebellion against the Egyptian rule

Happened as the cities of Kadesh and Megiddo were joined by the Canaanites people and the kingdom of Mitani

the first recorded battle in history occurred during this revolt in

1447 the pharaoh thutmose the third crushed the Kadesh led Alliance near Megiddo and cannon

this battle left such an impression that now we refer to the end of the world as

Armageddon and a number of religions expect the last battle of humanity to happen in the same location

Despite a resounding Egyptian victory rebellions in this region continued which allowed the Hittites to gain a new foothold in the area

The Hittites were growing stronger most of Anatolia fell to them and in the late 14th century

BC the Mitanni became the vassals of the rising Assyrian Empire

The Hittites also lost some territory to the Assyrians

But held the line and even expanded in Syria as the great city of Kadesh was taken from Egypt

The Pharaoh said he the first tried to re-establish

Egyptian influence making a foray into Syria he managed to capture Kadesh and signed a peace treaty

guaranteeing the borders between the two empires

Still the war between the Hittites in Egypt was unavoidable the Egyptians failed to keep an adequate garrison in Kadesh

Which fell back to the Hittites in the early years of the 13th century bc?

Ramses ii became the pharaoh in 1279 bc and was eager to restore the egyptian rule over coastal parts of the Fertile Crescent

in

1277 in 1276 bc he marched to the region twice to deal with the local pirates and recapture some of the lands

He managed to conquer the Hittite vassals the kingdom of a moon

That garner the attention of Mutawalli II

it was clear that an attack on Kadesh would be the next move of the new Pharaoh and

So Hittite forces would be waiting for him here the battle took place in 1274 BC

At this point we probably need to talk about the opposing armies

Ramses II reorganised his army into six divisions with most of the troops concentrated in four divisions called in honour of the Egyptian gods :

Amon, Ra, Ptah, and Seth. Each

Division was a combined arms unit of nine thousand men

Including chariots infantry and bowmen the fifth group was made up of Pharaohs Guard and the last called

Niren consisted of Canaanite mercenaries the base of the Egyptian army was infantry and they were armed with javelins and short swords

For protection the Egyptians wore close fitting helmets and mailed tunics made from natty

Each man carried his shield of ox-hide over a wooden frame square at the bottom men rounded at the top

Ramses also had two thousand chariots. Evenly distributed amongst the first four divisions

Egyptian chariots were primarily a mobile skirmishing platform their melee capabilities were limited

And they weren't able to trample enemy infantry

Each chariot had a skirmisher armed with javelins and a bow while also containing a driver with a shield

Aristocrats usually were archers firing from the chariots the Hittite infantry had a similar armament and were used similarly

But the chariots of this Empire were entirely different from their Egyptian counterparts his high chariots were heavier which made them slower

But also allowed a three-man crew with one driver one warrior and one more arm for the speed while

Devastating to enemy formations these chariots were also imbalanced and susceptible to being overturned

Ramses ii started his march towards Kadesh with just his guard and the oman division as he was not

Expecting the his eyed army to be nearby

Along the way to better ones were captured and they told ramses ii that mowett ali's forces were 200 kilometers away

Near Aleppo and that they would not be able to help the city of Kadesh

Ramses ordered his troops to set up camp to the west of the Arantes River in the bucha Valley

Thankfully for him more captives ended up being questioned and made a different claim

That the Hittites were nearby on the other side of the river, and they were waiting for Ramses to besiege Kadesh

So they could attack him from behind

Ramses sent a messenger to all his divisions within order to march towards the camp

The raw division was the closest and trying to implement the plan, but it was attacked near the settlement of shap tuna by at least

2,000 hit IED chariots

Which crossed the Iran T's to the south of Kadesh the Egyptians were not prepared

They failed to move into formation

And they're marching column was shattered by the chariots the division retreated in disorder and the his I turned to the north

Some Egyptian chariots reached the camp with a tale of their dishonour

but it was too late the Amman division said most of the

Fortifications on the eastern part of the camp as the attack was expected from the side

The chariots attacked from the West and easily entered the camp it is said that some Hittites were so sure of victory

But they started to plunder the camp and their chariots were now heavy from the loot

Rameses sent his guard forward to hold the breach and some of the warriors from the raw division

Finally reached the camp to join the defense

The Pharaoh himself used the eastern gate to move out at the camp along with all the chariots. He had

This group moved to the north and then to the west and ended up behind the Hittite chariots who only now realized that they were

surrounded

Skirmishing Egyptians could not hold the Hittite chariots who found a way to break the envelopment

But as the hit I chariots were now heavier and their horses were tired they were unable to escape

Ramses who chased them and most of the Hittite charioteers were killed

Mowett Ali saw the developing situation and sent his

20,000 strong infantry and thousand chariots forward across the river to attack the enemy camp from the east as

Egyptian chariots were away from the camp this attack could have been decisive

Indeed initially the attack seemed to have been succeeding however the Niran division which was operating in nabiru

Also received the order to move double-time and managed to strike mowett ali's forces from the north

it is said that the chariots of the tall division and Rameses also took part in the counterattack and

Smashed into the enemy from the south the hit sites were encircled and their retreat had no semblance of order

The survivors were pinned to the Orontes River and the majority of the Hittite Army perished

Rameses failed to take Kadesh the peace treaty was signed in 1258 and

Even though this Pharaoh was later known as Ramses the great deer in his reign most of the lands in Asia were lost

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