The Battle of Kadesh: Ramesses II's victory or a stalemate?

What this note covers

1. Context: two empires on the Orontes
2. The course of the battle as the sources tell it
3. Egyptian sources: Poem, Bulletin and reliefs
4. Hittite evidence and the peace treaty
5. Three interpretations and their merits
6. Why the representation of victory mattered: the warrior-pharaoh ideal
7. Gaps, contestability and essay planning

7 sections · 10 key terms & formulas · 6 common mistakes