THE BATTLE OF KADESH: ITS CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES By Dorothy Natalie Witham Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject of ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN STUDIES at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR P.S. VERMAAK August 2020 Declaration Student Number: 35145099 I, Dorothy Natalie Witham, declare that THE BATTLE OF KADESH: ITS CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. Date 16/08/2020 i For Dennis Witham, in memory of him ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, all praise, honour and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ for granting me the strength and perseverance to complete this dissertation. I would like to thank the following persons and institution for their respective contributions to this dissertation: My family, Regina, Ivan and Peter Reid, and James, Susan, and Pixie Witham, for their support and encouragement. My friends and colleagues for their support and understanding. Professor P.S. Vermaak, my supervisor, for his guidance and encouragement. His passion for Ancient Near Eastern Studies serves as an inspiration. I would like to convey my gratitude to the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies and UNISA, for granting me a bursary. iii ABSTRACT The Battle of Kadesh fought between the Hittites and Egyptians in Syria is one of the biggest chariot battles in ancient Near Eastern history. Previous research has shown that the significance of the Battle of Kadesh is derived predominately from a tactical and strategic level. This dissertation introduces the idea that although this is a tactical battle, its overall importance comes from applying a holistic approach, in particular, investigating the causes and consequences, alongside the battle. By extending prior work on tactics and strategy to include an identified cause, the Zannanza Affair, and the consequences, the Treaty of Kadesh and the Royal Marriages it makes allowances for a wider evaluation of the battle. Attention is paid to textual, iconographical and archaeological sources to gain a better understanding of the battle. The findings provide support for the argument that the murder of the Hittite prince in the Zannanza Affair led to crucial military innovations and operational changes adopted by the Hittites and Egyptians, which impacted how they fought on the battlefield. While a considerable amount of research has been done on the Hittite and Egyptian military organisations, the role of the elite units on the battlefield has largely not been explored. The Treaty of Kadesh and the Royal Marriages were a critical turning point in Hittite-Egyptian relations offering a strong alliance and unprecedented peace in the ancient Near East. Traditionally, the Battle of Kadesh has been viewed as a tactical battle. However, for further advances, the contribution of this study prompts a rethinking of the latter by placing the operational details of the battle in a broader context encouraging new research on the social, cultural and political aspects, which is crucial for the understanding of the importance of the Battle of Kadesh, on and off the battlefield. KEY TERMS Syria; Hittites; Egyptians; Causes and consequences; Zannanza Affair; Kadesh Treaty; Royal Marriage; Military organisation; Operational changes; Innovation; Three- man chariot; Ramesses II; Muwatallis II iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ......................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT AND KEY TERMS ................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... ix ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................2 1.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................5 1.2 HYPOTHESIS...................................................................................................5 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .....................................................................6 1.4 LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................7 1.4.1 Traditional military Literature ..................................................................7 1.4.2 Non-traditional military literature ..........................................................11 1.5 METHODOLOGY ...........................................................................................13 1.6 THE SOURCES ..............................................................................................13 1.6.1 Primary sources .....................................................................................13 1.6.2 Secondary sources ................................................................................14 1.7 LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................17 1.8 OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS ..............................................................................18 CHAPTER 2: THE ZANNANZA AFFAIR ..................................................................21 2.1 THE SOURCES ..............................................................................................22 2.2 BACKGROUND TENSIONS BETWEEN HATTI AND EGYPT ........................23 2.3 THE MARRIAGE OFFER ...............................................................................25 2.4 THE REACTION OF ŠUPPILULUIUMA I .......................................................28 2.5 THE DEATH OF ZANNANZA .........................................................................29 2.6 ŠUPPILULUIUMA I‘S REACTION TO HIS SONS DEATH ..............................31 2.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................32 CHAPTER 3: MUWATALLIS II’S ARMY ..................................................................34 3.1 THE SOURCES ..............................................................................................34 3.2 MOTIVES AND ATTITUDES TO WAR ...........................................................35 3.3 THE HIERARCHY OF COMMAND .................................................................36 3.4 ENLISTMENT .................................................................................................38 v 3.5 MILITARY BRANCHES ..................................................................................39 3.5.1 Infantry ....................................................................................................39 3.5.2 Chariotry .................................................................................................40 3.6 WEAPONARY ................................................................................................42 3.7 SPECIAL FORCES .........................................................................................44 3.7.1 Mesedi and “Men of the Golden Spear” ................................................44 3.7.2 “Golden Chariot Fighters” .....................................................................45 3.7.3 “Troops of Sutu” ....................................................................................46 3.7.4 Horse riders ............................................................................................46 3.7.5 War Dogs ................................................................................................46 3.8 ON CAMPAIGN ..............................................................................................47 3.9 THE HITTITE ARMY IN BATTLE ....................................................................48 3.10 HITTITE STRATEGY ....................................................................................49 3.11 MUWATALLIS II: MILITARY OPERATIONS .................................................50 3.11.1 The move of the Royal Capital to Tarhuntassa: Strategic base of operations ........................................................................................................50 3.11.2 The Might of Hatti: Additional Manpower ...........................................51 3.11.3 The Hittite three-man chariot ...............................................................52 3.12 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................55 CHAPTER 4: RAMESSES II‘S ARMY ......................................................................57 4.1 THE SOURCES ..............................................................................................57 4.2 THE HYKSOS.................................................................................................58 4.3 MOTIVES AND ATTITUDES TO WAR ...........................................................60 4.4 THE HIERARCHY OF COMMAND .................................................................61 4.5 ENLISTMENT .................................................................................................63 4.6 MILITARY BRANCHES ..................................................................................64