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Facts About Ancient Egypt They Didn’t Teach In School

Khalid Elhassan October 29, 2023 31 min

Egyptian - The Great Pyramids of Giza, as they would have looked when newly built — The Great Pyramids of Giza, as they would have looked when newly built. Quora

Ancient Egypt’s Greatest Warrior King

Egyptian - A Memphis relief depicting Pharaoh Ramesses II capturing enemies - a Nubian, Libyan, and Syrian — A Memphis relief depicting Pharaoh Ramesses II capturing enemies – a Nubian, Libyan, and Syrian. Cairo Museum

Ramesses II fought the Battle of Kadesh in 1274, the earliest battle in recorded history for which details such as tactics and formations are known. 6000 chariots took part, which also made it the biggest chariot clash in history. It occurred against a backdrop of a generations-long rivalry between Egypt and the Hittite Empire of Anatolia, as they jockeyed to control the lands of Canaan between them. Early in his reign, which lasted from 1279 to 1213 BC, Ramesses II decided to finish off the protracted war once and for all. Over a period of years, he patiently assembled a powerful army, and built up supply depots.

When all was ready, Ramesses marched north from Egypt into Canaan with four divisions. First was the Amon Division, led by the pharaoh in person. It was followed by the divisions of Re, Ptah, and Sutekh. When he heard the news, the Hittite King Muwatalli II marched south from Anatolia into Canaan, with 3000 heavy chariots and 8000 infantry. In the late spring of 1274 BC, Ramesses emerged from the hills above the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, near today’s Lebanon-Syria border. Throughout, he had not spotted the Hittites. As seen below, they were far closer than he knew.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.