HITT-10B
John Jenkins Designs
Not yet Released - expected in mid-October.
The Battle of Kadesh took place in the 13th century BC between the Egyptian Empire led by pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire led by king Muwatalli II.
Their armies engaged each other at the Orontes river, just upstream of lake Homs and near the archaeological site of the fortified city of Kadesh.
It is generally dated to May 1274 BC, as accounted by Egyptian chronology, and is the earliest pitched battle in recorded history for which details of tactics and formations are known. It is believed to be the largest battle ever fought involving chariots, numbering a total of around 6,000.
Kadesh remains a popular battle with historians because of the detailed pictorial representations left by Rameses II on the walls of temples at Thebes, Karnak, Luxor, Agydos and Abu Simbel.
As Rameses army marched up from the south, the Hittite king Muwatallis II, launched his attack by despatching 2,500 chariots in four bodies across the Orontes via a ford just below the fortified city of Kadesh.
The Egyptian records describe how these chariots cut through the army of Ra in its middle, while they were marching without knowing and without being drawn up for battle, which broke the army and caused panic. The fleeing army fell into confusion against the army of Amun the second Egyptian army to the north, which also fell into confusion and flight.
The Hittites followed up this initial attack and finally encircled the Egyptian camp. Rameses’ personal leadership and tactical dexterity in the swirling chariot battle saved him at the decisive moment, and he was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The outcome of the Battle of Kadesh is uncertain, although the timely arrival of Egyptian reinforcements prevented a total Hittite victory, the Egyptians did force the Hittites to take refuge in the fortress city of Kadesh, but their own losses prevented them from sustaining a siege.
In the peak period of the Hittite empire, the standing army was probably some tens of thousands strong. During troubles or unrest, a general levy of the Hittite population was gathered to swell the ranks of the professional army. Troops were called up from the various homeland regions as well as from the vassal states and other subject territories.
The Hittite homelands were vulnerable to attack from all directions, and Hattusa was burnt to the ground sometime around 1180 BC following a combined onslaught from new waves of invaders, the Kaskians, Phrygians and the Bryges.
The Hittite kingdom was soon to vanish from historical records, with much of the territory being seized by Assyria.
Many internal issues also contributed to this collapse, and can be considered as part of the larger Bronze Age collapse.