All language subtitles for Pharaohs at War S01 E02_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: Ancient Egypt.

A civilisation immortalised
by awe-inspiring monuments,

and priceless treasures.

Ruled by Pharaohs: living Gods

and legendary warriors...

But their wealth masks a darker
truth,

power was bought with blood.

They assembled the greatest
armies in history.

Revolutionised the art of warfare.

And waged spectacular battles...

and titanic conquests.

- (elephants trumpet)
NARRATOR: This is the hidden face

of Egyptian history,
the story of the Pharaohs at War.

- (swords zing)

- (doors lock)
- (battle cries)

NARRATOR: May 1274 BCE.

In front of the city of Qadesh,
Pharaoh Ramses II

fights for his life.

- So there was a moment
for Ramses II,

where he must have thought
that he would die,

that everything would be lost.

NARRATOR: Facing him are
the warriors of the powerful

Hittite Empire,
located in present-day Turkey.

- (translation from French)
The Hittite Empire

is as powerful as the Egyptians.

They are forces of equal strength
and prestige.

NARRATOR: On one side
Ramses II, the Pharaoh of Egypt

who has just come to power
and is determined

to prove his worth.

- When he started his reign,
he was 20 years old,

his dynasty had not even 15 years.

NARRATOR: On the other,
the Hittite King Muwatalli II,

whose reign fixated
on expanding his territory.

- He was a worthy
opponent to Ramses.

NARRATOR: This battle is a clash
between the two most influential

rulers of their time.

For years, the Egyptians
and Hittites have been fighting

over the lands of the Levant,
which lie between the two countries.

But this time, the rival kings have
mobilised their entire armies.

The decisive fight will
take place at Qadesh,

on the border
between the two empires.

- (translation from French)
It's the meeting of two giants..

NARRATOR: 5,500 chariots,
and 50,000 men.

Under the fortress of Qadesh,

one of the greatest chariot battles
of history is at its height.

And when the dust settles...
both sides claim victory.

- (dramatic music plays)

NARRATOR: So who is the real winner?

How did the Battle of Qadesh become
the most famed battle in Egypt?

This bloody conflict would
permanently alter relations

between the Hittites
and the Egyptians.

- (dramatic music playing)

NARRATOR: Celebrated in the temples
built by Ramses II,

this battle played a founding role
in the reign and eternal glory

of the most famous of all
pharaohs...

Ramses the Great.

NARRATOR: In the south of Egypt
stands the awe-inspiring temple

of Abu Simbel.

- I'm standing in front of this
colossal statue of Ramses II.

It's over 20 metres tall.

Ramses II carved this image
to show that he's powerful,

that he's a mighty pharaoh
and a divine king.

And I'm small, nothing but a mortal
going to his temple.

It's so impressive.

NARRATOR: The excess doesn't stop
there.

The 60 metre long
and 8-metre-high temple,

built shortly after the battle
of Qadesh,

is carved entirely out of the rock.

An architectural masterpiece.

- It's a place where Ramses II
wanted to make something bigger

than anyone ever had done.

It's absolutely stunning.

This is a monument
to a monumental Pharaoh.

NARRATOR: And as expected,
inside the temple,

the battle of Qadesh
occupies a special place.

MEREDITH: Oh, wow.

This is the inscription
of the battle of Qadesh.

All the parts of the battle
are on this wall.

Ancient Egyptians when they talked
about battles, they would say,

I went to this place, I won.

And that was it.

We don't have the details that give
us a rich military history.

This is the first document
of its kind,

and it tells us of one
of the largest chariot battles

that ever took place
in the ancient Near East.

NARRATOR: All pharaohs
represent their military victories,

but Ramses II takes
the tradition to another level.

The battle of Qadesh is carved
onto gigantic walls

in Egypt's main temples,
Luxor and Karnak.

An action that might suggest
Ramses II had something to prove...

- We are in the temple
of Karnak,

dedicated to the great God, Amun,
magnificent temple.

NARRATOR: Amun, recognisable by
the two feathers on his headdress,

was the main god
at the time of Ramses II.

And his temple is the most important
in ancient Egypt.

A sacred space 400 metres wide
and 600 metres long.

It is monumental.

Here, Ramses II presents a key
moment in his reign:

his coronation.

- Ramses II became Pharaoh
in 1279 BC, at the age of 25.

NARRATOR: In Egyptian tradition,
the God Amun

is the divine father
of the pharaohs.

For centuries, they have been
crowned in his temple at Karnak.

- Up at the top, here, we have
the coronation of Ramses II.

He is surrounded
by four different gods.

NARRATOR: The young Pharaoh appears
in the company of the goddesses

Nekhbet and Ouadjet...

and the falcon-headed god Horus
and the Ibis-headed god Thoth.

Because he needs his kingship
to be indisputable.

Ramses II was the third king
of the 19th Egyptian dynasty.

A recent lineage with no blood ties
to the previous one.

A problem in a country
where divine blood

is supposed to flow
in the veins of the Pharaoh.

He owes his accession to the throne
to his grandfather, Ramses I,

who was opportunely promoted
when the last king

of the 18th dynasty died
without an heir.

- Ramses I was chosen
because he's a military man

and he could protect the borders
of Egypt,

where we have a significant rising
in power of great nations

like the Hittites.

- This was a brand new dynasty
that aimed to be a dynasty of kings,

even though they were kind of picked
for it at random.

NARRATOR: To prove that he
is worthy of being Pharaoh,

Ramses II must show that the gods
support him

and protect Egypt's borders.

In his time, the main threat came
from a powerful enemy:

the Hittites.

- (suspenseful music plays)

NARRATOR: When he became king,
the Egyptian Empire extended

from the 4th cataract of the Nile
to the Levant,

and the edge
of the Hittite Empire...

From Hattusa, their capital,
the Hittites controlled

a large territory currently located
across Turkey and southern Syria.

Situated on the border separating
the two Empires,

Qadesh has been an area of tension
for centuries.

The ruins of Hattusa,
the Hittite capital,

demonstrate the power
of this empire.

Hidden deep in the Anatolian
mountains in present-day Turkey,

the 180-hectare city is being
carefully studied by archaeologists.

- Since 1952, the excavations are
continuing without any interruption.

NARRATOR: These excavations
have enabled us to understand

how this Empire operated.

- The Hittite Empire
is like a federal state.

Each city of the Hittites was
in itself more or less independent.

NARRATOR: At the time of Ramses II,

the king of the capital of this
federal state was Muwatalli II.

- Muwatalli was the Great King,
but he always had to find

compromises with the other important
families and rulers in the country.

So he was not an absolute ruler
like Ramses.

NARRATOR: The title of
'Great King'

did however give Muwatalli II
a special position.

As the head of an empire,

he was the one
who made decisions for the country.

And Hattusa, the city he ruled,
also had a special status.

- We have a large palace area.

We have about 32 temples,
we have official buildings.

But there is no area
where ordinary people lived.

So this settlement is probably
not functioning as a normal city.

NARRATOR: Evidence the city
is unique is everywhere in Hattusa.

- We are just coming in front
of the reconstruction of a part

of the city wall.

It's sitting exactly on top
of the original foundations.

It is about 8 metres wide and,
the wall itself is 9 metres high,

and the tower is up to
13 metres high.

NARRATOR: An impressive fortress,
yet this 70-metre-long wall

only represents 1% of the walls
that once protected the city.

From this citadel, soldiers could
keep a watchful eye

on the surrounding area.

In this astonishing city,
everything is designed to impress.

The site can even be seen
from 20 kilometres away.

On one of the highest points
in the Hittite capital

sits the Royal Palace.

- (translation) We are here
at the palace complex

of Hattusa where the great king
Muwatalli lived

with his wives and children.

Muwatalli became the Great King
around 1290 BCE

and inherits a vast empire.

NARRATOR: An empire that
was already encroaching

on ancient Egyptian land,
but in respect of Hittite tradition,

the Great King wished
to continue expanding.

But Ramses II is determined to put
a stop to Muwatalli II's desires.

At the heart of the conflict,

two territories are particularly
disputed:

the city of Qadesh,
allied to the Hittites,

and the Egyptian region
of Amurru.

- (translation)
The Hittites need Amurru

because it's a southern passageway

that gives them access to the riches
of the Levant.

NARRATOR: An essential strategic
territory for both the Hittites

and the Egyptians.

- The area from Amurru in the north
and Syria, all the way to Canaan

and Palestine was like a highway

in the ancient world
for trade goods.

Ramses II was very interested
in keeping this trade highway open.

He wanted to get luxury goods
like perfume from the Near East,

cedars from Lebanon
that were used to build ships

and massive constructions in Egypt.

NARRATOR: But what he wants most
of all is copper and tin,

which mixed together form bronze...

the most important metal
at the time.

Thanks to bronze, the Egyptians
were able to work with stone

and build incredible monuments.

But importantly, this metal made
it possible to quickly craft weapons

in large quantities,

weapons that Ramses II's soldiers
could use at the battle of Qadesh.

- Egypt had very minimal sources
of tin,

and so if they wanted to expand
the bronze industry,

they needed trade relationships.

And this was an entirely
new situation for Egypt.

Egypt always had all the minerals,
all the wealth,

everything you could need,

and this was the first time
it didn't have something

they needed.

NARRATOR: A confrontation
is inevitable.

Ramses II has three good reasons
for fighting the Hittites.

He wants to secure
the trade routes...

weaken his main enemy...

and establish his reign
by winning a victory

that will prove to everyone
he is worthy of being Pharaoh.

NARRATOR: Archaeologists are
studying the city where Ramses II

prepared for battle.

Its name is Pi-Ramses,
which means the House of Ramses.

In the Nile Delta, Pi-Ramses
was the most important city

under Ramses II.

The Pharaoh made it his new capital,
instead of Thebes, now Luxor,

more than 700 kilometres away.

- It was a move to concentrate
power in his hands.

Because Ramses,
when he came to the throne,

his dynasty had just about 15 years.

So he founded a new capital
to choose all the people

around himself.

So he could cut off old elites
from the access to power,

the access to the King himself.

NARRATOR: And he has other reasons
for building his city in the Delta.

- On the one hand,
his family came from the region.

On the other hand, it's in
a perfect strategic location,

very close to the Mediterranean Sea
and also close to the Levant,

close to the place where Ramses
knew that he would go to battle.

NARRATOR: Thanks to its location,
which gave it easy access

to goods entering Egypt,
the city rapidly developed.

- Pi-Ramses was one of the largest
cities of its time.

We have living quarters,
we have big buildings like palaces,

temples, administrative buildings,

but also a kind of factory
for military goods, for weapons.

- One of the most exciting
archaeological finds

is a bronze foundry.

There was this huge area
for smelting bronze

and moulds found for making
different weapons.

And these are the same
weapons that we see

in the reliefs
of the Battle of Qadesh.

NARRATOR: Its production opens up
new opportunities.

- Raw copper and raw tin would
have been brought into Pi-Ramses

and worked especially into weapons.

And the facilities
that were excavated

have proven to be capable
of producing probably

200 kilograms of bronze
in a span of a few hours.

And when you think that one
small arrowhead,

weighs probably 5 or 10 grams,
then you can produce weapons

for a whole army within
a rather short period of time.

NARRATOR: Ramses II is a warrior.

His father and grandfather
were generals.

His power comes from the military,
and he supervises his army closely.

- The major part of the army,
was closely attached to the king.

So we have these huge workshops,
a palace

and just 2-300 metres away
we have huge stables.

NARRATOR: The reason the stables
are so close to the palace

is because horses played
an essential role at the time.

At the battle of Qadesh, the most
important weapon was the chariot.

- It's not stables made out of wood,
you had stone columns,

and every box kept
five or six horses.

From what we know is,
that at least 500 horses

could have been kept in the stables,
enough for 250 chariots.

NARRATOR: To lead these war horses

and drive the chariot
required specially trained soldiers.

An honour reserved for members
of the elite and pharaohs.

- Chariot was befitting
the high status of the pharaoh.

He could be above everybody else.

NARRATOR: The invention appeared
in Egypt

just 400 years before Ramses II.

- Kings really loved to show
themselves on a colossal scale,

on these huge chariots
as separating themselves

from the rest of the army.

So this image is so fantastic
because we have Ramses II,

and he has the reins of the horse
tied around his waist.

You can see the little bow
in the back,

and he's somehow
steering the horses,

barrelling down a field.

And he's also got
this huge bow strung

and shooting arrows
at the same time.

So this image becomes
a very important element

of royal iconography.

NARRATOR: Is this representation
of the warrior pharaoh realistic?

Could Ramses II really drive
his chariot while shooting

down his enemies by bow and arrow?

- (translation) In this position,
Ramses would need

to steer his chariot alone, by
hooking the reins behind his hips.

Ramses would have to steer
his chariot, watch the terrain,

aim at the enemy, and avoid oncoming
arrows to survive.

This would be impossible.

That's why Ramses II, although
he claims otherwise in the temples,

needed a chariot driver.

NARRATOR: Studying the texts
more closely

reveals Ramses II was not alone.

In the temple of Abu Simbel,
amidst heroic images of the Pharaoh,

one man stands out.

Depicted on the reliefs
of the Battle of Qadesh,

in the midst of the other soldiers,

he is the only one holding the reins
of a chariot.

And this soldier is so important
that Ramses II writes his name:

Mena.

- In the text, he's listed
as the "shield bearer".

Mena's job was to ride
in the chariot with Ramses II

holding the shield,
protecting him from bows and arrows,

and also probably
steering the horses.

NARRATOR: Mena was just one
of more than 5,000 charioteers

that fought in the battle of Qadesh,

considered to be the largest
chariot battle in Ancient Egypt.

But before fighting, the two kings
must prepare themselves.

On the Hittite side,
the Great King Muwatalli II

must ensure the Gods are on his side
before entering into battle.

The Yazilikaya temple,
a few kilometres from Hattusa,

provides an insight
into the relationship

between the Hittites
and their deities.

- (translation) On the left here,
there's a storm god

standing on mountain gods
who are lowering their heads.

Opposite, there is his Divine Wife
standing on a lioness.

The Hittites say they are a kingdom
of 1,000 gods,

and so far we have found
more than 600.

Every time the great Hittite King
conquered a new territory,

the first thing he did was integrate
the God of that territory

and worship them equally
to the Gods of his kingdom.

And so, there was an integration
that included

all the conquered Gods.

NARRATOR: Before leaving
for Qadesh,

the gods must validate
Muwatalli II's plan to wage war

against the Egyptian Pharaoh
and assure him

of their support in battle.

A guarantee that the great king
could only obtain with a soothsayer,

considered a scientist
by the Hittites.

- (translation) There
are a whole series of techniques,

and one of the best known is reading
the liver of a sacrificed animal.

The marks on the surface
of the liver are observed.

If a specific mark goes
in a specific direction,

or is of a certain colour,
has a certain appearance,

it indicates a particular
divine omen.

NARRATOR: In Pi-Ramses, the Pharaoh
has gathered all his men.

He too is preparing for war.

- (translation) The Egyptian army
is made up of both conscripts

and professionals.

All troops are armed with important
weapons:

bows, spears, clubs, axes,
khopeshes.

And then there are the chariots
mounted by seasoned charioteers

and exceptionally trained archers.

NARRATOR: Ramses II makes sure
his soldiers have the best training

and equipment.

- Chariot troops, they are
definitely professional soldiers

equipped by the state
with weaponry

provided for by the state,

with horses that were kept,
at least partially, by the state.

When you want to go around
on a chariot,

this is a rather difficult thing.

And when you want to go to war
with it,

you must have been trained
since childhood.

In the Ramesside period,

everything is basically
constructed around the army.

- The Army was fully part
of the government.

NARRATOR: Some describe this
period as a military dictatorship.

- It's probably pretty close
to what it really was,

that the military was the most
important institution

within the Egyptian state
at that point in time.

NARRATOR: For the Hittites too,
the army was extremely important.

In Hattusa,
the capital of their vast empire,

one of the rare statues discovered,
represents a warrior god.

- (translation) He's wearing
a horned helmet with ear protection

and he's carrying an axe
and an important dagger.

War was at the heart
of the Hittite king's agenda,

as he had a duty to expand
the kingdom during his lifetime.

The problem was that the Hittite
kingdom was never stabilised,

because conquered territories
easily rebelled.

NARRATOR: In order to carry out
conquests and keep the peace,

the Hittite kings needed
a powerful military force.

- (translation) The Hittite army
contained professional warriors,

mostly elites, and conscripts.

NARRATOR: And this system
required serious organisation.

- (translation) The Hittite army
is extremely hierarchical.

At the very top is the great king,
the symbolic leader of the army.

Just below him is the chief
of the king's bodyguards,

a role reserved for members
of the royal family.

And below him are the Mesedi

an elite army responsible
for the king's safety.

NARRATOR: After this comes
the chiefs of the cities

subject to Muwatalli II
and finally their men,

soldiers from all over the Empire.

- (crowd roars)

NARRATOR: At Hattusa,
excavations have uncovered

numerous weapons,
many of which are identical

to those used by the Hittites
at the battle of Qadesh.

- (translation from Turkish)
During the excavations,

we found axes.

You can also see arrowheads here.

Finally, the Hittite army
had defensive weapons,

such as armour.

They sewed bronze strips
onto a leather base,

forming a suit of armour.

NARRATOR: The battle ahead will be
a meeting of two

expertly prepared giants:
two empires, each as vast,

rich and powerful as the other.

Two armies led
by two great warlords.

Aware of the challenge ahead,
Muwatalli II has assembled

a colossal force...

- There could have been up to 3,500
chariots on the Hittite side

and around 37,000 infantry men.

NARRATOR: Ramses II also assembled
a considerable army.

But in his writings,
the Pharaoh does not reveal

the number of soldiers,
preferring to insist on the power

of his opponents in order
to emphasise his bravery.

- We know that Egyptian army
divisions were made up of units

of 5,000 infantrymen

and up to 500 chariots
in each division.

NARRATOR: Since Ramses II leaves
with four divisions,

that's 20,000 men
and 2,000 chariots.

- There was the Amun Division
who Ramses II was the head of.

So it's his main division,

then following that
was the army of Ra, the sun god.

Following that was Ptah,
the main god of Memphis,

and then after that was Seth.

NARRATOR: Divisions to which
we must add two elite groups.

First of all, the Sherdens.

- They're known for their leather
helmets with horns

and discs on top of their heads.

They have round shields,

which are different than the more
rectangular Egyptian one.

They have a dagger that's long
and pointy.

And then they have these very fun
kilts that are short in the front

and long in the back.

- The Sherden were invaders
and combatants.

And the second year
of Ramses reign,

he won a decisive battle
against the Sherdens,

and from that battle,
many of the Sherdens were captured

and integrated
into the Egyptian military.

- And they were serving
right underneath the Pharaoh.

They're his bodyguards.

So he must have trusted
these foreign mercenaries.

NARRATOR: These fearsome warriors
fight alongside

another remarkable battalion:
the Nearins.

- The Nearins are a very
interesting group.

We don't know much about them.
We don't have text about them.

It's an uncommon military
division in Ancient Egypt,

but Ramses II says that these
were his elite troops.

- (battle cries)

NARRATOR: In the spring of 1274 BCE,

the Egyptian army left the capital
Pi-Ramses for the Levant.

The city of Qadesh had fallen
back into Hittite hands

and they were now threatening
the trade region of Amurru...

A confrontation was inevitable.

Ramses II takes the head
of Amun's division.

And considering the large
number of soldiers,

he decides that each division
will leave one day

after the previous one.

After 10 days of marching,
when he arrives in the city of Tyre,

the Pharaoh makes a surprising
decision:

he divides his forces.

- The elite division,
the Nearin separate

and they go north
as if they're going to Amurru.

NARRATOR: While the best soldiers
travel along the coast,

the Pharaoh and his four main
divisions advance inland.

They follow the road to Qadesh.

And just a few kilometres
from the city,

Ramses II had a pivotal encounter.

An encounter so important
that he records it

on the walls of his funerary temple.

This vast sacred domain,
240 metres long and 160 metres wide,

located near the city of Luxor,
is called the Ramesseum.

- Near Qadesh, Ramses II
encounters two Bedouin.

They tell him that the Hittite king
is absolutely terrified of him.

- According to Ramses II,
the Hittite king is so weak

and so cowardly, he has run north
and he's hiding, hiding, hiding.

- He has holed himself up in Aleppo,

which is much further north
than Qadesh.

- Ramses II thinks, well,
this must be true,

because of course,
I'm an intimidating leader

and they should be afraid of me.

NARRATOR: The Pharaoh
then resumes his journey

and as soon as he reaches
the foot of the fortress of Qadesh,

he gives an order
that will seal his fate.

- He decides: "OK,
I have plenty of time.

I'm going to go make camp
near Qadesh."

- (ominous music plays)

NARRATOR: Ramses II moves
to the west of the fortress.

He has no reason to be suspicious
as he has been assured

that the region is deserted.

At first, everything is calm
in the Egyptian camp...

- We have some people who are
carrying food,

and a lovely little donkey here.

- We have this quite lovely scene
where you have a cooking pot

on three legs.

- We have another person
who is bringing a horse to eat.

- And then we have quite
a sweet scene of a guy

who must have a foot injury.

And so, someone's there
trying to tend to his foot.

NARRATOR: Unbeknownst to Ramses II,
he has just fallen into a trap...

MEREDITH: An incident changed
everything for Ramses II.

What we can see here are two spies
being dragged in

by Egyptian officials.

And this is an Egyptian euphemism.

They were questioned with a stick,
which means they were beaten.

And we can see these guys beating
and beating and beating them.

- Ramses asks them,
"What do you want?

What are you doing?"

- And these scouts said
that everything

the Shasu Bedouin
told Ramses II was a lie,

and that the Hittite army
was in fact right behind Qadesh

only around 5 to 10 kilometres away
from Ramses II.

- (battle cries)

NARRATOR: Muwatalli II,
leading his huge army of 37,000 men

and 3,500 chariots,
ambushed the Pharaoh.

- Ramses is very much not prepared
for this outcome.

His divisions aren't even all there.

NARRATOR: To face the Hittites,
Ramses II has only 5,000 men

and 500 chariots...

As the Egyptian divisions left a day
apart, they haven't all arrived yet.

The closest one, Ra,

is only 5 or 10 kilometres away,

Ptah is 30 kilometres away,

and Seth 50 kilometres away.

- There was no way
that the entire army

would make it in time to deal
with the upcoming Hittite onslaught.

NARRATOR: Ramses knows Muwatalli II
is going to attack.

So, he goes ahead and readies
his troops for battle.

- So this is Ramses II in his camp,
sitting on his throne,

and he has his vizier
in front of him

and his closest advisers.

- Ramses II formed an army council.

- He was mad.

He was yelling at everyone.
He's saying, how could this happen?

And he was really angry with them
and screaming.

And what I find so fantastic
about this scene

is they're bending down,
grovelling to Ramses II.

But in their posture
they know they're in trouble.

- So, what he does is he makes
a strategic decision

to send away his vizier to go
and hurry up the other divisions,

so that they can arrive
and fortify his own.

NARRATOR: But the vizier doesn't
have time to warn

the nearest division of Ra.

Muwatalli II is already in action.

Hittite chariots are bearing
down on Egyptian soldiers.

- Muwatalli is attacking
the Ra Division

which is only ten kilometres
away from the Amun Division

in order to make sure that he
doesn't have an army at his back

when he goes to attack
the Amun division.

- So the army of Ra must have come
out of the mountains in the woods,

feeling quite happy. They were going
to join the camp

and have a relaxing time.
But to their surprise,

they were met with Hittite chariots.

NARRATOR: They're not in formation.

And they don't have time
to re-assemble

their chariots for battle.

Many run away in panic...

Others try to fight... But get
killed...

Muwatalli II sent 2,500 chariots,
enough to completely overwhelm

the Egyptians.

And his crews have a secret weapon
that terrifies

the Pharaoh's soldiers:

there are three fighters
per chariot.

- This was something quite unusual

and it's depicted high up there
in one of the battle scenes.

NARRATOR: Hittite chariots
carry three men.

Why can the Egyptian chariots
only carry two?

- It could be that there were maybe
larger chariots that had three men

for more shooting power.

NARRATOR: But another theory
is also possible.

- The chariots would convey
these additional infantrymen

to the battle, after which
they would jump off the chariot

and create their own infantry
division and fight the Egyptians.

Meanwhile, the charioteers who
would have now two to a chariot

would also fight the Egyptians.

- (translation) We know that
there are at least

three or four different types
of chariot, fast war chariots,

and transport chariots
which were much larger.

- So we don't know exactly
whether it's a larger chariot

or a sort of taxi service
to the battle.

- (uplifting music plays)

- (swords clash, horses neigh)

NARRATOR: Quickly, Ra's division,
attacked by surprise, is decimated.

Now that he no longer feared being
caught off guard,

Muwatalli II launched
his main attack:

Ramses II and the division of Amun.

The 2,500 chariots that had just
crushed Ra's division

moved up towards the Egyptians.

They were soon joined
by another 1,000,

sent by the Hittite emperor
to ensure victory.

Their arrival caused panic
in the Pharaoh's camp.

BRIANA: We have people running
and being very afraid.

- Ramses II sees his entire dream
and potentially even his ability

to be king
and his life coming to an end.

NARRATOR: The Pharaoh proclaims his
soldiers run away, abandoning him.

- He tells us that he is alone.

And he's also afraid which is,
unusual for a king

because this puts him
in a very vulnerable position.

- It's where Ramses II has this rare
moment of human doubt

and he prays to the God Amun.

- He says,
"Why are you abandoning me?

"I've done all of these wonderful
things for you.

You should be helping me."

- And the God tells him
everything's going to be OK.

I'm with you.

- "And you will be able to defeat
the Hittites

because I am supporting you."

NARRATOR: Reassured, Ramses II
regains the strength and composure

to fight.

MEREDITH: And he's able to see
the way forward.

- Ramses II is ready
to get into his chariot.

But his shield bearer, Mena,
is not ready. And he's afraid.

He wants to run away.

MEREDITH: Mena, is saying:
"Everything is lost.

We're all going to die.
This is absolutely terrible."

But Ramses II,
stands up big and strong

and has a superhero moment
and says :

"No no, the god Amun is with me.

Don't fear. You're with me.
Everything will be fine."

NARRATOR: With Mena convinced,

Ramses II abandons his camp
for the Hittites.

He bets that his enemies,
instead of fighting his army,

will allow themselves to be
distracted by Egyptian riches.

- Ramses II, hoping that this
would buy him some time

because he was hoping
for reinforcements.

NARRATOR: And his strategy works.

MEREDITH: The Hittites started
to take all of the food and the gold

and the chariots and the weapons.

NARRATOR: While part of the enemy
army goes astray,

the Pharaoh attacks
the rest of the Hittites.

- Ramses II says that he does
six different charges

on the Hittite line.

- This is questionable,
because it's also possible

that it was the Hittites themselves
who were charging Ramses II.

- This is propaganda,
this is something that he projected

to the population and to the gods
so that he would be seen

as the ultimate hero,
but it wasn't the case.

NARRATOR: What might be true though,

is that the Hittites
overwhelmed the Egyptians.

- In the thick of battle,
Ramses II

was surrounded by the Hittite Army.

NARRATOR: Contrary to what
he writes,

the Pharaoh is obviously not alone.

At his side,
his soldiers fight passionately.

But it's not enough...

Thousands of Egyptian soldiers
are dying.

The battle seemed lost.

But just when hope was running out,
against all the odds,

a saviour appeared.

- What happens next
is a true miracle

that is worthy
of almost a Hollywood movie.

- At the decisive moment
of the battle,

a kind of special troops,
the so-called Nearins arrive.

- They would have probably
received the message of the vizier.

NARRATOR: The Nearins,
the elite troops the Pharaoh sent

along the coast, attack the Hittites
who are pillaging the camp...

- The Hittites must have been
completely surprised

because they didn't even know
the Nearins were coming.

The Nearins killing every single
Hittite in the camp,

completely obliterating them.

And we have this fantastically
chaotic fight scene

where the Nearins are coming in,
they're charging

and there's hand battles,
there's chariot battles,

and they're expelling the entire
Hittite army out of the camp.

NARRATOR: With the camp liberated,
the Nearins rally Ramses II

and his soldiers.

- (battle cry)

NARRATOR: With a second wind
behind the Egyptians,

Ramses II gathers the Nearins,
the men of Amon's division,

those who survived
the attack of Ra's division,

and charges
the destabilised Hittites.

- All of his army rallied
behind him,

because now they were confident
that they could defeat the Hittites.

- Here is Ramses II,
giant, colossal Ramses II

shooting bows and arrows

and he's leading the Egyptian army
to attack the Hittites.

But the Hittites have been running
and charging

and fighting all day long.

Their men were very tired.

Whereas Ramses II's army is
now gathered, they're exhausted.

- (horse neighs)

NARRATOR: It's the crucial moment.

Defying all the predictions,
Ramses II and his men

gain the upper hand
and drive back the Hittites.

- So, this was the moment
the battle turned.

The Egyptian Army
make all of the Hittite Army

run panicking and screaming.

- And as it's being shown,
in the scenes, in the reliefs,

many of those people
went into the river.

NARRATOR: On the immense walls
of the Ramesseum,

Ramses II revels in the agony
of the Hittites,

trapped between the Egyptian troops
and the Orontes river.

BRIANA: It looks like
they're swimming,

but probably they have drowned.

NARRATOR: Hittites who don't
drown in the river are slaughtered

on the battlefield.

- They're dying.
Arrows are piercing them.

The arrows are piercing the horses.

It's just an absolute disaster
battle scene.

- But not a single Egyptian has
been killed by a Hittite warrior,

which obviously is not accurate.

NARRATOR: And Ramses II doesn't just
show his superiority in this battle.

He humiliates Hittite allies,
like the King of Aleppo.

- Soldiers are holding him
upside down

because he had fallen
into the river.

He's shown as very vulnerable
and being turned upside down,

it's certainly taking away
any form of strength in this king.

NARRATOR: The Pharaoh
also attacks Muwatalli II.

- According to the text,
Muwatalli fled

and Ramses refers to him
as "the despicable loser".

NARRATOR: But there's no proof
Ramses II is telling the truth.

In fact, there's no proof
the Great Hittite King

fought either.

- (translation) He was probably
at the back

acting as supreme commander,
but in a very symbolic way.

Obviously, he's not going to risk
his life in battle.

NARRATOR: As night falls,
the fighting stops...

- They can't see what they're doing
anymore.

Ramses II gathering his men,

they somehow miraculously survived,
but they also knew

that the Hittites were behind
the City of Qadesh in their camp.

They didn't win.

So the coming day would be
another battle

where they didn't know what would
happen.

NARRATOR: On the Hittite side,
Muwatalli II is confident.

- Muwatalli thinks
that he was victorious

because Ramses II's Army
was considerably smaller,

and they had gotten even smaller
because of the battle.

And he was confident
that the Ptah division

and the Seth division
were still far away.

So he thought he had all the time
in the world to defeat the Egyptians

the following morning.

NARRATOR:
But defying all the odds...

- When Ramses II awoke,
the division of Ptah,

the division of Seth,

the division of Ra,
the division of Amun

and the Nearins were all there.

So, Ramses II
would have woken up thinking,

this is a good situation.

NARRATOR: Ptah and Seth's troops
ran 30 to 50 kilometres

to meet the Pharaoh
on the battlefield...

- It's very shocking that the Ptah
and Seth Division managed to arrive.

Possibly, this was an inspiration
to these two divisions

to get to Ramses
and protect their king.

NARRATOR: Now that the two armies
are complete,

they are of equal strength.

And that changes the game.

- (roar)

- Muwatalli was quite surprised.

And he certainly saw his demise
in front of him.

NARRATOR: The texts provide
few details about what happened

that morning.

There would have been a fight,
but it would have been short-lived.

The death toll
had already reached thousands

from the previous day's fight,
and the two leaders

would not want
to prolong the carnage.

- What Ramses II says
is that Muwatalli sent an emissary

begging for peace, saying, there's
no way we can possibly beat you.

- When we are looking
at what happened later,

it's difficult to believe
that really,

the Hittite king begged for truce.

MEREDITH: Whether that happened
or not, we don't know,

but there was a stalemate.

- It's just a battle with
no conclusion. Nobody's winning.

Which I guess you could say
nobody's losing either.

NARRATOR: Based on this principle,
both sides claimed victory.

And even today, the question of who
won divides the experts.

- (translation) It's clear
that the Hittites won

the battle of Qadesh
for a number of reasons.

Not only did the Hittite Army
advance into southern Syria,

they were not blocked at Qadesh.

And Amurru returned to Hittite rule.

- Ramses II won this battle.
He had a moral victory.

He fell into the trap that made
it very much certain

that he would die and he was able to
walk away with some sort of dignity.

This proved that he was
the son of the God

because how else could anyone
have survived this if they were not

the son of Amun and they were not
the rightful Pharaoh of Egypt?

NARRATOR: Whether the battle was
won by the Egyptians

or the Hittites,
one thing is certain,

the two empires will never
again face each other

in a battle of this magnitude.

In 1259 BCE, a diplomatic act
changes the course of history

for the rival empires.

- 15 years following
the Qadesh battle,

Hattusili III contacted Ramses II
to engage

in a peace treaty.

NARRATOR: Muwatalli II is dead,

the new Hittite ruler is his younger
brother, Hattusili III.

Ramses II accepts the outstretched
hand of his sworn enemy.

This is the world's first
international peace treaty.

And it was so important
that the Hittite king

had it engraved
on a silver tablet...

a precious tablet, which Ramses II
had reproduced

in the heart of the temple of Karnak
on a monumental stele.

- First, they agree that they
will not war against each other.

A second feature of this
peace treaty is up at the very top,

the Hittites and Egyptians agreeing
that they will help each other

in case of a foreign enemy invading
their land and fighting them.

NARRATOR: The former rivals agree
to share the lands of the Levant

and set up extradition agreements
for their prisoners.

But for this treaty to be permanent,
it must be validated by the gods.

- There is a list of Egyptian
and Hittite gods

because they are meant to be
the witnesses

to ensure that they are going to
uphold this treaty

for the rest of history.

NARRATOR: A first guarantee
that the two kings

reinforced with a second one.

So important that Ramses II had it
engraved on another stele.

This was placed outside the temple
of Abu Simbel for all to see.

- (translation) Hattusili is going
to offer one of his daughters

in marriage to Ramses II.

Once the two families are linked
by blood, through children,

the alliance is supposed
to be ratified forever

and impossible to undo.

- And this is a way that Ramses II

showed that he was a diplomat

and not just a warrior.

NARRATOR: The epic battle of Qadesh
ended in a stalemate,

but it served the glory
of Ramses II.

And the intelligent diplomatic
decisions he made afterwards

ushered in an era of peace
and prosperity for Egypt...

- There wasn't fights between Egypt
and the Hittites anymore.

Egypt put itself back
on the golden age.

Goods were flowing
north, south, east, west,

and the entire country prospered...

NARRATOR: A prosperity
that allowed Ramses II

to build immense statues,
gigantic temples,

and even surpass the achievements
of the great pharaohs before him.

But this golden period
would be short-lived...

- There were difficulties because
Ramses II, he reigned for 67 years.

By the time he finally died,
his eldest son was an old man.

So there wasn't the young,
vigorous warrior

to maintain the empire
that he established.

So on the one hand, he created
a golden age, on the other hand,

he opened up the decline
of Ancient Egypt.

NARRATOR: Ramses II was the last
Great Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

At the end of his reign,
the country began a long decline,

but his name remained
synonymous with power.

So much so, that after his death,
many kings would be named Ramses.

And almost 1,000 years later,
when the Ptolemies ruled Egypt,

they had only one ambition:
to equal Ramses the Great.

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