Ramses II: Military Impact

辣白菜味辣条

Ramses II, who saw numerous military battles during his reign, became one of the famous Egyptian pharaohs, known for his military prowess. Much of his reign was occupied with reclaiming territories lost to Egypt during the reigns of other ancient Egyptian pharaohs (most notably Akhenaten), and he was preoccupied with establishing a monotheistic religion. Ramses II's army numbered 100,000 men, which was huge for that period. Ramses ii's most famous battle is the battle of kadesh, occurred in kadesh city (in Syria today). This chariot battle was fought against the Hittites in 1274 BC and was the largest chariot battle ever fought.
The Battle of Kadesh
They marched for two months before reaching a place where he felt confident in arranging his army in battle formation for attack on the city and waited with his Amun division, along with his sons, for the others to catch up. At this time, two Hittite spies were captured who, under torture, gave up the location of the Hittite army which they said was nowhere near the city. Reassured, Ramesses abandoned his plans for an immediate strike and gave orders for his division to encamp and wait for the rest of the army to arrive. The Hittite army, however, was actually less than a mile away and the two spies had been purposefully sent. As Ramesses was pitching camp, the Hittites roared out from behind the walls of Kadesh and struck.

The battle is described in Ramesses accounts, Poem of Pentaur and The Bulletin, in which he relates how the Amun division was completely overrun by the Hittites and the lines were broken. The Hittite cavalry was cutting down the Egyptian infantry and survivors were scrambling for the safety of their camp. Recognizing his situation, Ramesses called upon his protector god, Amun, and fought back.
Ramesses had only just turned the tide of battle when the Ptah division arrived and he quickly ordered them to follow him in the attack. He drove the Hittites toward the Orontes River killing many of them while others drowned trying to escape. He had not considered the position his hasty charge might place him in, however, and was now caught between the Hittites and the river. All Muwatalli II needed to do to win at this point was to send his reserve troops into battle and Ramesses and his army would have been destroyed; yet, for some reason, the Hittite king did not do this. Ramesses rallied his forces and drove the Hittites from the field.

He then claimed a great victory for Egypt in that he had defeated his enemy in battle but the Battle of Kadesh nearly resulted in his defeat and death. According to his own reports, it was only owing to his own personal courage and calm in battle (and the goodwill of the gods) that he was able to turn the tide against the Hittites.
Rameses immortalized his feats at Kadesh in the Poem of Pentaur and The Bulletin in which he describes the battle as a dazzling victory for Egypt but Muwatalli II also claimed victory in that he had not lost the city to the Egyptians. The Battle of Kadesh led to the first peace treaty ever signed in the world between Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatalli II's successor, Hattusili III (d. 1237 BCE) of the Hittite Empire.
After the Battle of Kadesh, Ramesses devoted himself to improving Egypt's infrastructure, strengthening its borders, and commissioning vast building projects commemorating his victory of 1274 and his other accomplishments.