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"... like his father Montu, Lord of Thebes..."
Introduction
Of all the battles in ancient history, none equal that fought between Rameses II of Egypt and Muwatallis the Hittite king in 1285 BC at Kadesh on the Orontes River in Syria. This is not only because of the extensive historical record left for posterity by both parties, especially Rameses, but also because of the intensity of the interest it inspires. Whether studying Rameses as a personality, Ramesside Society, or the New Kingdom,1 students are universally fascinated by the events of the battle, and universally puzzled by the nature of the historical sources. When presented with the famous scenes and texts of the battle with which Rameses adorned his many temples, in which he singlehandedly defeats the entire Hittite army, the questions most frequently asked by students are "Why would the Egyptian people swallow a story so obviously false and fantastic?" and "How could Rameses expect to get away with so obvious a lie?" Given the usual acceptance at face value of Rameses' narrative in the student texts,2 their questions require a more in-depth answer than is currently available.
Translations and scholarly discussions of Rameses' accounts of the Battle of Kadesh are not lacking.3 A review of these reveals that many issues connected with the battle and the interpretation of the sources are still hotly debated, specifically the historical outcome of the battle and the reasons that inspired Rameses to publicise this event far beyond any other in his reign.4 One side of the debate sees the outcome as solely the result of Rameses' personal prowess, which turned an imminent defeat into an honorable draw;5 the other sees Rameses' account as an unabashed attempt to cover up his defeat by the Hittite ruler and to make the best of the disaster.6 The extensive publicising is seen either as propaganda to serve Rameses' vanity, or as trying to shore up his political position with an 'official' report.7 Usually, the textbooks take the more fantastic events of the battle and the extensive reporting of it at face value, without questioning either. Such questions need to be asked however, in order to answer satisfactorily the questions of students studying the battle and Rameses' account. This paper provides firstly...