Moves and counter-moves. In the aftermath of Kadesh, Muwattalli (King of Hatti) apparently consoldiated his hold over Syria. Border territories like Amurru fell to Hittite influence. At home, Ramesses spent at least one year regrouping before launching his reponse…
Soon, pharaonic armies were marching into northern Canaan (around Galilee) and east, into Moab (Mwibw). The pharaoh’s imperial authority had taken a beating; it was time to assert his strength.
Music by Luke Chaos.
Hattusili Reminiscence
As Ramesses returned home, the Hittites celebrated their strategic victory and looked to new opportunities. Muwattalli, King of Hatti-Land, was in a strong position. Looking out from the walls of Kadesh, he could see multiple paths of expansion. So, the Hittites did what you might expect. They marched.
At this point, our history is terribly uncertain. Written documents, including ones from Hatti, might describe the aftermath of Kadesh; or at least, the “Hittite-Egyptian War” generally. But as we’ll see, there are gaps in this part of the tale. With that in mind, here’s our evidence…
The first text comes from a high-ranking Hittite. Specifically, from Muwattalli’s own brother, a man named Hattusili. Hattusili (or “The Man from Hattusa,” referring to the great Hittite city) was a prominent member of his brother’s court. He led armies and governed provinces; and he wielded enormous influence in the military and civil administration. Hattusili outlived Muwattalli, and several years after Kadesh (we don’t know how long) he inscribed a clay tablet with a “memorial” of his brother’s wars. In one fragment, Hattusili describes a conflict between the Hittites and Egyptians; one that might relate to the Battle of Kadesh. Hattusili wrote the following:
“…my brother Muwattalli campaigned against the king of Egypt and the king of Amurru; and when he defeated the kings of Egypt and Amurru, then he (Muwattalli) went back to the land of Aba. Muwatalli, my brother, defeated Aba, [… and wen]t back to Hatti, but [he left] me in Aba [as governor].”[1]
This text is intriguing, but also frustrating. Hattusili mentions Amurru (which is west of Kadesh) and also Aba (or Upe, an Egyptian province, to the southeast). Geographically, the text seems to record events in southern Syria, and in the general region of Kadesh. So, it’s easy to assume this document describes events around or after that campaign. Notably, though, Hattusili does mention Kadesh by name. Nor does he name the “King of Egypt” against whom Muwattalli was fighting. That’s a problem. Muwattalli II reigned for about twenty-three years.[2] And he died in the first decade of Ramesses’ rule. Working backwards, that means that Muwattalli’s twenty-three years overlap with the early reign of Ramesses II; the entire reign of his father, Sety I; the reign of his grandfather Ramesses I; and also, the later years of Horemheb. What’s worse, we know most of those kings sent (or led) armies into this region. So, when Hattusili writes that Muwattalli fought a King of Egypt, there are several Egyptians who could fit the chronology.
With those gaps in mind, it’s really unclear if Hattusili is describing the aftermath of Kadesh or another, earlier campaign. The fact he doesn’t mention the great city, by name, makes it hard to rely on this account for the “post-Kadesh” situation. It’s so weak that historians really can’t extract much from it. In fact, if this were the only surviving text, scholars would be totally in the dark about the immediate Kadesh aftermath.
Fortunately, there is another source that might reinforce Hattusili’s account. This next record is slightly more reliable, at least for the geopolitical situation. It concerns the land of Amurru.
Tudhaliya Reminiscence
Amurru, on the western coast of Syria, had been a problem for the Hittites and the Egyptians. The rulers of this land were rogues at best. They raided their neighbours, seized territory and took hostages, generally making trouble in the neighbourhood. When the imperial powers, Hatti or Egypt, stamped their authority on the region, the Amurrites would bow to the current conqueror, and then go right back to their mischief. When the next overlord turned up, they would switch sides; and the whole rotten business would continue.
At the time of Kadesh, Amurru was (temporarily) in the Egyptian camp. Ramesses’ father, Sety I, had reconquered the area early in his reign. Subsequently, Ramesses himself had used Amurru as a “launch-pad” for his attack on Kadesh, sending one of his armies through this area to surprise his foes. So, up until Year 5, Amurru had been temporarily part of the Egyptian sphere.
But now, pharaoh was in retreat. So, what would happen to Amurru?
The answer comes not from the annals of war, but the records of peace. Decades after Kadesh, a King of Hatti (named Tudhaliya) made a treaty with the ruler of Amurru. In this treaty, Tudhaliya referenced historical events, and he reminded his new vassal of their… checkered past… when it came to matters of loyalty. Describing relations between Hatti and Amurru, Tudhaliya said the following:
“When Muwattalli, my uncle… became King, the people of Amurru broke covenant with him, and (they) had this to say to him, ‘From free individuals we have become vassals. But now we are your vassals no longer!’ And they entered into the following of the King of Egypt. Thereupon Muwattalli… and the King of Egypt did battle with each other over the people of Amurru. Muwattalli defeated the King of Egypt and destroyed the land of Amurru, with his weapons, and he subjugated it.”[3]
Once again, we have the same issues. Tudhaliya mentions a battle between Egypt and Hatti; but he does not say where that battle took place; nor the identity of the Egyptian king. So, hypothetically, this fight for Amurru’s soul could have occurred anytime in Muwattalli’s two-decades of rule.
Fortunately, we do have other records. A second treaty, between Hatti and Amurru, also describes the political history of this era. It’s kind of complicated, lots of names. But to make a long story short, the two treaties paint a consistent picture. They say that Amurru had broken faith with Hatti and joined together with Egypt. In this time, the Lord of Amurru was “dead to (Muwattalli).”[4] That’s dead in the political sense because, subsequently, the same Lord of Amurru participated in a battle between Muwattalli and the Egyptian king. Following that, Muwattalli invaded Amurru, deposed this ruler, and took him hostage. But then (according to another treaty), the Lord of Amurru returned to power and regained his throne after Muwattalli’s death. In other words, the career of this rogue vassal lines up quite nicely with the final years of Muwattalli, and they describe a great battle between Egypt and Hatti. One that led to a Hittite invasion, and the (temporary) deposition of this ruler. Chronologically, these events probably match with the aftermath of Kadesh.
These treaty texts provide important context, to suggest that Hattusili’s account (of a Hittite invasion in Amurru, following a battle with Egypt) is broadly reliable. On that basis, we may have the following sequence of events.
Muwattalli fought the King of Egypt, probably the battle of Kadesh. He blunted the Egyptian campaign and compelled them to withdraw. Subsequently, the Hittite armies moved east into Upe and west into Amurru. They subjugated both areas, with great force. Subsequently, Muwattalli made his brother, Hattusili, governor in the Upe province (near Damascus); and he deposed the Lord of Amurru, replacing him with a more compliant vassal. Thus, having achieved three victories in a row, Muwattalli could wash his hands and return home.
Strategically, the Egyptians were on the back foot. Kadesh was out of their hands. Upe had fallen; and Amurru was under new (old) management. Put that string of outcomes together, and you get (for Egypt) a rather unfortunate conclusion. In the aftermath of Kadesh, the Hittites conquered Syria.
The Moab Campaign
Around the same time (we’re not sure which year), the King despatched another army eastward. This one went through Sinai and Canaan, past the Dead Sea, and entered a region called Moab.[5]
Moab (or Mwibw in the Egyptian texts) is famous for its part in the Biblical tale of Exodus. According to the Hebrew Bible (Deuteronomy 23:4—5), the people of Moab (along with nearby Ammon) did not offer hospitality to the wandering Hebrews. The reference states “…they met you not with bread and water… when you came forth out of Egypt…” Additionally, the Moabites supposedly hired a prophet or wise man to “curse” the Hebrews. Whether you take that Biblical story as “gospel,” so to speak, is up to you. But I include it here for completeness.
At Luxor Temple, Ramesses shows the results of this campaign. It’s not a battle, more of a triumph. Small, fortified towns disgorge prisoners under the pharaoh’s watchful eye. These captives come forth bound and tied; and royal sons lead them forward. The eldest prince, Amunherkhopeshef, presents a Moabite ruler before the King. Ramesses speaks to his son, commanding him to relay messages to this foreigner.
Ramesses berates a local ruler: “The King speaks to … Amunherkhopeshef (saying), ‘Speak with the foreign chief, let him perceive his misdeed!’”
Amunherkhopeshef to the Ruler of Butartu-in-Moab: ‘You are wretched. One does not know your good deeds, so it is said in the palace… you have allied yourself with the Hittite, another wretched man, just like every one of your kind!’
Ramesses II, Luxor Temple, east wall (Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, II).
==
Notably, Ramesses receives the prisoners from his son. The crown prince, Amunherkhopeshef, brings the ruler of Butartu before the pharaoh. And Ramesses speaks to his son, instructing him to communicate with the enemy. He says:[6] “…to the Hereditary Noble and Eldest Son of the King, Amunherkhopeshef, (pharaohs says) ‘Speak with the foreign chief, let him perceive his misdeed!’”
So, pharaoh asked his child to berate the enemy. Subsequently, the prince turns to the ruler of Butartu and berates him on behalf of the King. Amunherkhopeshef says:[7] “You are wretched. One does not know your good deeds (at all), so it is said in the palace (LPH), for you have allied yourself with the Hittite, another wretched man, just like every other of your sort!”
Interesting. If we take this allegation at face value, it sounds like Muwattalli (King of Hatti-Land) was making overtures to Canaanite rulers. Perhaps he was trying to build a coalition against Ramesses; or simply wanted to follow-up his strategic victory by acquiring new tributaries and vassals. Unfortunately, Ramesses’ intelligence network was doing a better job than it had in Year 5. The pharaoh learned of these overtures, and now his army invaded Moab.
[1] CTH 86, of Hattusili III. Bryce, Kingdom of the Hittites, 239; KRITANC, II, 14; Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 158 nn. 189—193.
[2][2] Bryce, Kingdom of the Hittites, 221—245.
[3] CTH 105, of Tudhaliya IV. Bryce, Kingdom of the Hittites, 240.
[4] From the treaty of Hattusili III and Benteshina. Beckman, Hittite Diplomatic Texts, 96.
[5] KRITA, II, 49—50; KRITANC, II, 89—97; Kitchen, K. A. (1964). Some New Light on the Asiatic Wars of Ramesses II. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 50, 47–70. https://doi.org/10.2307/3855742; Na’aman, N. (2006). Did Ramesses II Wage Campaign Against the Land of Moab? Göttinger Miszellen, 209, 63—69; Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 186—195; Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 191—192.
[6] Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 192.
[7] KRI, IX, 37; Darnell, J. C., & Jasnow, R. (1993). On the Moabite Inscriptions of Ramesses II at Luxor Temple. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 52(4), 263—274.
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