157567
How Ramses II made people think that Egypt won the Battle of Kadesh
In May of 1274 BC, the world’s two major empires fought a decisive battle on the banks of the Orent River in Syria. Despite the personal appearance of Pharaoh Ramses II, the Egyptian army failed to complete the expected northward strategy. The opposing army of the Hexi Empire was jointly led by the co-rulers Mursili III and Hatusilis III. The inherent contradiction between them allowed the Egyptians who were ambushed to withdraw from the battlefield by chance.
Egyptian army saves face only in final moments of battle
Although the frontline army suffered defeat on the frontal battlefield, most Egyptians at that time thought that Pharaoh had won a big victory for themselves. Even many modern archaeologists have long held the same view, regarding the Battle of Kadesh as the pinnacle of Ramses II’s military career. This is not how well the Egyptian soldiers performed, but their leaders did a lot of deceptive public opinion propaganda work after the war.
The previous nineteenth dynasty of Egypt had been competing with the Hittites for a large tract of fertile land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But they are completely inferior in military technology, and they have no advantage in the mobilization system of the army. Although Egypt has long used the meteorite iron discovered by accident to create battlefield artifacts exclusive to the king, it needs to face powerful opponents who have widely popularized iron smelting.
The Heshu Empire also adopted a set of overall warfare methods similar to the later Qin State, allowing the male core residents to undergo a large amount of military training from an early age. Coupled with the wider adoption of iron weapons and heavy chariots, it naturally has obvious advantages in confrontation. This is also an important reason why they were able to break out from the desolate mountains of Asia Minor Peninsula and march all the way to Syria, Lebanon and Babylon.
The military technology of the Hittites is completely above that of ancient Egypt
However, it was impossible for Pharaoh to admit defeat in front of the country. According to the long tradition of ancient Egypt, he is not only the supreme leader on both sides of the Nile River, but also a special existence with the lineage of gods. Unless an unstoppable enemy army comes to the gate of the palace, it is absolutely impossible to expose one’s incompetence in foreign policy-making.
Considering that most Egyptian farmers were illiterate and lacked close communication with the outside world, they were easily fooled by Pharaoh’s propagandists. But Ramses wanted more than that. He hoped to use more forceful methods to make the domestic elite and future generations think that he had won the Battle of Kadesh.
Ramses Is The Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Who Liked To Build Personal Monuments
Soon, a large number of monumental buildings with its name were gradually started to be built in various parts of Egypt. Although the pharaohs of all dynasties have a tradition of building magnificent facilities, their total project volume is not as crazy as that of Ramses II. Whether it is in the Nile Delta adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea or in the south near the upper reaches of the Nile, statues, moments and monuments of various sizes have been erected.
There are everything from the size of a single person to the height of several floors. So much so that when Egyptology became a popular project in modern times, the name of Ramses was known to almost all scholars. Because among the similar cultural relics unearthed, nearly half of them were engraved with his name. Even today, this monarch who is known for his fame is still the ancient Egyptian pharaoh most familiar to people all over the world. Many former kings who were far above him in achievement were compared to obscurity.
