Historical background for the Battle of Kadesh (c. 1275 BCE)

The Battle of Kadesh was fought between two powerful empires at the time; Egypt and Hittite, in circa 1275 BC. It is known as one of important battles fought in the ancient Middle East for a couple of unique elements attached to it; 1) it is ‘the first true battle for study, for it is the first time in history where enough historical evidence survives, from both sides, to paint a fairly accurate picture’ (http://www.allaboutturkey.com/kades.htm), and 2) as a result of the battle, the earliest peace treaty known in the human history emerged...

When the battle was fought, in circa 1275 BCE, Egypt and Hittite were both acknowledged as super-powers of the day. However, both empires had to overcome their political instabilities in the preceding decades before the battle, respectively; The Hittites, based on Anatolia, had ‘lost much of their northern Syrian territories to the Hurrians’ (ibid) before the succession of Suppiluliumas I, who restored ‘Hittite prestige’ (ibid) largely by introducing vassal treaty system, whilst Egypt had been ‘Occupied with her religious revolution’ (ibid) took place in the end of the XVIII Dynasty, led by Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten due to his religious conversion.

Akhenaten

For full text: http://wrex2009.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/the-battle-and-the-treaty-of-kadesh/