The Treaty of Kadesh of 1258 BCE, between Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II and king of the Hittite empire Ḫattušili III, is considered the first-ever formal peace treaty between two nations.
The treaty was signed, ending a two centuries long war between the Hittite Empire and the Egyptians, over control the eastern Mediterranean.
After the attempted Egyptian invasion in 1274 BCE, repelled by the Hittites in the city of Kadesh, now Syria, the Egyptians and Hittites had heavy casualties, but neither triumphed. The conflict then continued for another 15 years.
Finally, with Egypt threatened by the “Sea Peoples” and the Hittites alarmed by Assyria to the east, both wanted to end the conflict.
So, intermediaries met and negotiated without the two monarchs ever meeting, with the treaty ratified in 1258 BCE.
Eight years after the treaty was signed, the Hittite Empire collapsed.
The Egyptian version of the peace treaty was engraved in hieroglyphics on the walls of two temples belonging to Pharaoh Ramesses II in Thebes.
The Hittite clay tablet versions were found in the Hittite capital of Hattusa in present-day Turkey.
Two of the Hittite tablets are displayed at the Museum of the Ancient Orient, part of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. While the third is displayed in the Berlin State Museums in Germany.
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| The Egyptian version of the peace treaty was engraved in hieroglyphics on the walls of two temples belonging to Pharaoh Ramesses II in Thebes, at the Temple of Karnak. The Hittite version was found in the Hittite capital of Hattusa, in today Turkey (Boğazköy) and is preserved on baked clay tablets uncovered among the Hittite royal palace's sizable archives. |
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| Egyptian-Hethite peace treaty on the western outer wall of the Cachette farm in the temple of Karnak, Luxor, Egypt. |