Kadesh inscriptions

Last updated
A carved relief showing Shasu spies being beaten by Egyptians Ancient carving - Shasu spies being beaten by Egyptians.png
A carved relief showing Shasu spies being beaten by Egyptians

The Kadesh inscriptions or Qadesh inscriptions are a variety of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions describing the Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC). The combined evidence in the form of texts and wall reliefs provide the best documented description of a battle in all of ancient history. [1]

Contents

The Egyptian version of the battle of Kadesh is recorded in two primary accounts, known as the Bulletin or Report and the Poem which are often placed side by side in the locations they were inscribed. In addition, some reliefs also inscribed in the same location offer pictorial depictions of the battle. Some scholars divide these accounts into three. The Bulletin is repeated seven times and the Poem eight times, spread across temples in Abydos, Temple of Luxor, Karnak, Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum, and two hieratic papyri. [2]

Poem

The Poem of Pentaur (pntAwr.t), usually short referred to as the Poem is known from eight inscriptions, [2] and lists the peoples which went to Kadesh as allies of the Hittites. Amongst them are some of the Sea Peoples and many of the other peoples who would later take part in battles of the 12th century BC (see Battle of Kadesh).

The Poem has been questioned as actual verse, as opposed to a prose account similar to what other pharaohs had recorded.

Bulletin

The Bulletin or the Record is itself simply a lengthy caption accompanying the reliefs. [3]

Eight copies survive today on the temples at Abydos, Karnak, Luxor and Abu Simbel, with reliefs depicting the battle. [2]

Other inscriptions

In addition to these lengthy presentations, there are also numerous small captions used to point out various elements of the battle.

Outside of the inscriptions, a hieratic copy of the Poem is preserved in the Raifet-Sallier papyrus, of which the first page is lost, the second page ("Papyrus Raifet") is in the Louvre and the third page ("Papyrus Sallier III") is in the British Museum. [4] [5] However, this is "an inaccurate copy of the whole text". [6]

Cuneiform references to the battle have been found at Hattusa, including a letter from Ramesses to Hattusili III written in response to a scoffing complaint by Hattusili about the pharaoh's victorious depiction of the battle. [7] However, no annals have been discovered that might describe it as part of a campaign. Instead, there are various references made to it in the context of other events.

Copies

Poem

Bulletin

Reliefs

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nefertari</span> Ancient Egyptian queen consort

Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women as Cleopatra, Nefertiti, and Hatshepsut, and one of the most prominent not known or thought to have reigned in her own right. She was highly educated and able to both read and write hieroglyphs, a very rare skill at the time. She used these skills in her diplomatic work, corresponding with other prominent royals of the time. Her lavishly decorated tomb, QV66, is one of the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens. Ramesses also constructed a temple for her at Abu Simbel next to his colossal monument there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Egypt-related articles</span>

Articles related to Egypt include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seti I</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Menmaatre Seti I was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom period, ruling c. 1294 or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Peoples</span> Purported ancient seafaring confederation of invaders

The Sea Peoples were a group of tribes hypothesized to have attacked Egypt and other Eastern Mediterranean regions around 1200 BC during the Late Bronze Age. The hypothesis was first proposed by the 19th century Egyptologists Emmanuel de Rougé and Gaston Maspero, on the basis of primary sources such as the reliefs on the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. Subsequent research developed the hypothesis further, attempting to link these sources to other Late Bronze Age evidence of migration, piracy, and destruction. While initial versions of the hypothesis regarded the Sea Peoples as a primary cause of the Late Bronze Age collapse, more recent versions generally regard them as a symptom of events which were already in motion before their purported attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Simbel</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Egypt

Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km (140 mi) southwest of Aswan. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. Their huge external rock relief figures of Ramesses II have become iconic. His wife, Nefertari, and children can be seen in smaller figures by his feet. Sculptures inside the Great Temple commemorate Ramesses II's heroic leadership at the Battle of Kadesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesses I</span> Founding pharaoh of 19th dynasty of Egypt

Menpehtyre Ramesses I was the founding pharaoh of ancient Egypt's 19th Dynasty. The dates for his short reign are not completely known but the timeline of late 1292–1290 BC is frequently cited as well as 1295–1294 BC. While Ramesses I was the founder of the 19th Dynasty, his brief reign mainly serves to mark the transition between the reign of Horemheb, who had stabilized Egypt in the late 18th Dynasty, and the rule of the powerful pharaohs of his own dynasty, in particular his son Seti I, and grandson Ramesses II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kadesh</span> Military battle between Egyptians and Hittites around 1274 BC

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 Kadesh, along what is today the Lebanon–Syria border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesseum</span> Memorial temple of Ramesses II in Egypt

The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II. It is located in the Theban Necropolis in Upper Egypt, on the west of the River Nile, across from the modern city of Luxor. The name – or at least its French form Rhamesséion – was coined by Jean-François Champollion, who visited the ruins of the site in 1829 and first identified the hieroglyphs making up Ramesses's names and titles on the walls. It was originally called the House of millions of years of Usermaatra-setepenra that unites with Thebes-the-city in the domain of Amon.Usermaatra-setepenra was the prenomen of Ramesses II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Kingdom of Egypt</span> Period in ancient Egyptian history (c. 1550 BCE–1069 BCE)

The New Kingdom, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire, was the ancient Egyptian state between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC. This period of ancient Egyptian history covers the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties. Through radiocarbon dating, the establishment of the New Kingdom has been placed between 1570 BC and 1544 BC. The New Kingdom followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period. It was the most prosperous time for the Egyptian people and marked the peak of Egypt's power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muwatalli II</span> Hittite king

Muwatalli II was a king of the New Kingdom of the Hittite empire c. 1295–1282 and 1295–1272 BC in the short chronology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medinet Habu</span> Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III

Medinet Habu is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, Egypt. Although other structures are located within the area and important discoveries have also been made at these sites, the location is today associated almost synonymously with the largest and best preserved site, the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precinct of Amun-Re</span> Building in Egypt

The Precinct of Amun-Re, located near Luxor, Egypt, is one of the four main temple enclosures that make up the immense Karnak Temple Complex. The precinct is by far the largest of these and the only one that is open to the general public. The temple complex is dedicated to the principal god of the Theban Triad, Amun, in the form of Amun-Re.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III</span> Temple

The Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu was an important New Kingdom period temple structure in the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt. Aside from its size and architectural and artistic importance, the mortuary temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III, including the Battle of the Delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meritamen</span> Ancient Egyptian princess and queen

Meritamen was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amun-her-khepeshef</span> Kings Son and Heir Apparent

Amun-her-khepeshef was the firstborn son of Pharaoh Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuya (queen)</span> Queen consort of ancient Egypt

Tuya was the wife of Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and mother of Tia, Ramesses II, and possibly Henutmire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesses II</span> Third Egyptian pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty (1303–1213 BC)

Ramesses II, commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, he is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, which itself was the most powerful period of ancient Egypt. He is also widely considered one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior pharaohs, conducting no fewer than 15 military campaigns, all resulting in victories, excluding the Battle of Kadesh, generally considered a stalemate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pareherwenemef</span> Ancient Egyptian prince

Pareherwenemef was an ancient Egyptian prince of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, the third son of Pharaoh Ramesses II, the second by Queen Nefertari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty</span> Peace treaty concluded between Ancient Egypt and the Hittites

The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, also known as the Eternal Treaty or the Silver Treaty, is the only Ancient Near Eastern treaty for which the versions of both sides have survived. It is also the earliest known surviving peace treaty. It is sometimes called the Treaty of Kadesh, after the well-documented Battle of Kadesh that had been fought some sixteen years earlier, although Kadesh is not mentioned in the text. The treaty was concluded between Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II and king of the Hittite empire Ḫattušili III in c. 1259 BC. Both sides of the treaty have been the subject of intensive scholarly study. The treaty itself did not bring about a peace; in fact, "an atmosphere of enmity between Hatti and Egypt lasted many years" until the eventual treaty of alliance was signed.

References

  1. Ockinga 1987, p. 38: "No battle fought in antiquity is so well-documented as the clash between the Egyptians and the Hittites before the city of Kadesh on the Orontes in 1275 BC"
  2. 1 2 3 Lichtheim 1973 , p. 57: "Subsequently the campaign was told al length in two separate accounts which scholars have called the Bulletin (or the Record) and the Poem. The two accounts are supplemented by pictorial reliefs with explanatory captions. The whole composition offers a number of striking features. First the fact that there are two distinct though overlapping accounts. Second the fact that the two versions were not merely carved once on the walls of a temple but were repeated in multiple copies – the Bulletin seven times and the Poem eight times. They are inscribed on the walls of the temples of Abydos, Luxor, Karnak, Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum, and the Poem is also found on fragments of two hieratic papyri.
  3. Gardiner, Alan, The Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses II (1975) pp. 2–4. However, Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol. 2: The New Kingdom (1978) p. 58, maintains that the Poem is truly just that, contra Gardiner, and prefers to maintain the older tripartite division of the documentation.
  4. Transactions: The Third Sallier Papyrus. 1874. p. 84.
  5. Breasted, James Henry, Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents (1906) p. 58.
  6. Gardiner, p. 2
  7. Kitchen, Kenneth A., Ramesside Inscriptions, Notes and Comments Volume II (1999) pp. 13ff.
  8. Breasted 1903, p. 84, n.19.1: "The Luxor copy occupies the lower portion of the front (north side) of both towers of Ramses II's pylon... The inscription was partially cleared by Mariette, which permitted E. de Rouge to copy [most of it]"
  9. Breasted 1903, p. 84 n.20: "All these texts, including the hieroglyphic, were once combined by E. de Rouge and published after his death by J. de Rouge (Rev. e.g., III–IX) [in 1883]."
  10. Breasted 1903, p. 84, n.19.2: "The Karnak copy is on the outside of the south wall of the great hypostyle hall. "
  11. Breasted 1903, p. 84, n.19.3: "The Abydos copy on the walls of Ramses II's mortuary temple there has preserved only the lower ends of the lines, as the walls are destroyed except the last few courses."
  12. Breasted 1903, p. 85, n.21.1: "Abu Simbel – In the great rock temple on the north wall of the first hall over the battle reliefs. It was published by Champollion (Mon., 27–9), by Rossellini (Mon. stor., 100–102), and by Lepsius (LD., Ill, l87c–e). The original itself is very careless, the scribe having omitted the lower two-thirds of 1. 7 and beginning of 1. 8 (Ramesseum numbering)."
  13. Breasted 1903, p. 85, n.21.2: "Ramesseum – Over the battle reliefs on the rear (west) side of the first pylon. It was published by Sharpe (Eg. Inscr. 2d part 52), and by Lepsius (LD., III, 153). It is the best of all the texts, though Lepsius's copy needs some correction."
  14. Breasted 1903, p. 85, n.21.3: "3. Luxor. – On the rear (south side) of Ramses II's pylon... But these modern buildings of the natives have never been removed, and we have only a copy of the visible fragments by Brugsch (Rec. de mon., II, 53)"
  15. Breasted 1903, p. 86, n.22.1: "Abydos. – On the outside of the north, west, and south walls of the temple of Ramses II. Nearly the whole has perished, as only the lower courses of the walls remain. The short inscriptions were published by Mariette (Abydos II, pp. 10–11)"
  16. Breasted 1903, p. 86, n.22.2: "Ramesseum, First Pylon. – Champ., Not. Descr., I, 870–72"
  17. Breasted 1903, p. 86, n.22.3: "Ramesseum, Second Pylon. – Champ., Mon., 328–30; Not. Descry. 585–89, 873, 874"
  18. Breasted 1903, p. 86, n.22.4: "Karnak. – Chiseled out in antiquity; published infra, pp. 45, 46, and Plate VIII."
  19. Breasted 1903, p. 86, n.22.5: "Luxor – On pylon of Ramses II.; Champ., Mon., 323, 324, 327–327 (last two incorrectly marked Ramesseum)"
  20. Breasted 1903, p. 86, n.22.6: "Derr – Now destroyed, but seen by Champollion, Weidemann, Aeg. Gesch., 434, n. 5"
  21. Breasted 1903, p. 86, n.22.7: "Abu Simbel – In the great temple, first hall, north wall; Champ Mon., 17 bis-33; Not. Descr., I, 64–66"

Bibliography

External websites