1274 BC
Battle of Kadesh
The setting
Near Kadesh on the Orontes River (in modern Syria)
River plain by the Orontes near the fortified city of Kadesh
Reveal the outcome
Recorded sideNew Kingdom Egypt
Recorded resultavoided destruction and held the field; did not capture Kadesh (indecisive)
Tactically and strategically indecisive (a draw). Hittite spies deceived Ramesses into believing the Hittite army was far off; a surprise chariot ambush shattered the Re division and nearly overran the Egyptian camp before Egyptian reinforcements (and Ramesses' rally) restored the line.
How the atlas explains it
For the Hittites, deception (false deserters) and a massed chariot ambush against a strung-out marching column nearly won outright; for Egypt, the timely arrival of the Ne'arin/Ptah reinforcements and Ramesses rallying his forces prevented annihilation. Neither side achieved its objective, so the field result was a draw.
What followed
One of the earliest battles with detailed surviving records (from both Egyptian and Hittite sources) and the largest chariot battle known; despite Ramesses' monumental propaganda proclaiming a great personal triumph, the encounter was militarily indecisive and led to the earliest surviving international peace treaty (Egyptian-Hittite, c. 1259 BC).