The Battle of Kadesh is among the most famous military engagements of the ancient Middle East, pitting the renowned Pharaoh Ramses II and a formidable Egyptian army against an even more powerful Hittite force. Both powers sought control over the city of Kadesh and its surrounding region, and accounts of the battle’s outcome vary depending on the source.

Kadesh was a strategically important city situated on the Orontes River, in what is now Syria but was then part of the ancient Levant. Over time, several Near Eastern civilizations held authority over the city, including the Hittites and the Mitanni.

As Egyptian pharaohs expanded their military presence in the region, they increasingly clashed with the Canaanites, Hittites, Mitanni, and other local powers. One of the earliest pharaohs to take decisive action against the Mitanni was Thutmose I, who reigned around the beginning of the 14th century B.C. A few decades later, a major Egyptian force led by Thutmose III defeated a coalition of Canaanite, Kadesh, and Mitanni troops at the pivotal Battle of Megiddo. Following this victory, the armies of Thutmose III and several subsequent pharaohs advanced farther into the region, pushing the boundaries of Egypt’s empire to their greatest extent.