Battle of Kadesh
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The battle of Kadesh was fought around 1274 BCE between Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatalli II of the Hittite empire on the Orontes river in Syria, and it is the best documented battle of the late Bronze Age. Both sides fielded perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 men and several thousand chariots, the elite weapon of the age. Egyptian intelligence was wrong: Ramesses believed the Hittite army was far away, and when he camped near Kadesh the Hittite chariots smashed into his rear guard and drove into the camp. Ramesses rallied the troops of Amun from a reserve division, and a timely arrival of the Ne'arin, Egyptian and allied soldiers, steadied the line; the Hittite drivers, stopping to loot, lost their formation. Neither side took the city, and both claimed victory in their monuments: Ramesses had the battle painted on temple walls at Luxor, Karnak and Abu Simbel as an epic triumph, while the Hittite records describe an Egyptian retreat. Twelve years later the two powers signed a treaty, the earliest international agreement to survive in both versions, and it established a lasting balance of power in Syria. The battle is preserved in both Egyptian and Hittite archives, which is unusual for the age.