100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 89 6 The War Between Ancient Egypt and the Hittites

Chapter 96 The War Between Ancient Egypt and Hittites

——An injustice can only hurt both sides. There are often disputes, but they cannot be resolved by continuous revenge.Otherwise, I am afraid that the final result will be a loss for both sides.

In the 13th century BC, Pharaoh Ramses II of the No.19 dynasty of ancient Egypt was in power.At that time, the Hittites from Asia Minor developed and became Egypt's biggest confidant.The Hittites continued to expand outward, capturing what is now Syria and Palestine, and also captured Babylon, the capital of the ancient Babylonian kingdom.The Hittites thus came into direct conflict with Egypt.

Under the leadership of Ramses II, Egypt took the initiative to launch a fierce attack on the Hittite country after accumulating strength.

One day, the Hittite king Muwatari was discussing with his ministers the plan to attack Egypt. A clerk hurried in and said to the king, "Your Majesty, here is an urgent battle report! The Egyptian pharaoh Ramses led an army of 10 to attack Egypt. Our country has launched an attack..."

The Hittite king was shocked and shouted hysterically: "What, Egypt dares to attack us! It's unbelievable, it's unbelievable! Our army is invincible in the world, and he dares to fight hard. He will beat him to death!" But after all, how to defeat the Egyptian army with 10 people, the Hittite king couldn't help but feel troubled for a while.He asked loudly: "Who has a good plan to retreat from the enemy, please donate it quickly!" But the ministers below just looked at each other, and no one said a word.Mowatari felt annoyed in his heart, thinking: These idiots have lost their minds when it comes to critical moments.

At this time, a general named Nadin stood up and said: "I have a plan..." He explained his thoughts in detail, and the king nodded frequently and agreed to his battle plan.

At the dawn of the next day, the Egyptian troops drove over mightily.The team was divided into four echelons, and the vanguard was led by Pharaoh Ramses II, and soon approached the city of Kadesh occupied by the Hittites.

Ramses II rode in a very gorgeous chariot, inlaid with gold and gems all around, dazzling in the morning light.

"Report to Pharaoh, two spies have been caught!" the guard reported. "Bring it up!" Pharaoh ordered.

Those captured were two Hittite cavalry dressed as shepherds.They said that the Hittite king had ordered his troops to withdraw from Kadesh in order to avoid conflict.Ramses II was overjoyed and ordered the whole army to continue marching towards Kadesh.On the way, he felt that the whole team was moving too slowly, so he abandoned the brigade and quickly arrived at the city of Kadeshi with only his guards.At this time, the Hittite king had already led the army along the valley to the east and outflanked the Pharaoh's army.The two Hittites captured by the Egyptian army in the morning were actually sent by the Hittite king to confuse the Egyptians.Muwatari planned to encircle and annihilate the few Pharaoh's army early the next morning and capture Pharaoh Ramses alive.For the sake of prudence, he sent two more spies to observe the terrain of the Egyptian army camp at night.

Pharaoh is in the camp preparing for tomorrow's siege.Suddenly, the guard came up and reported: "Your Majesty, two more spies have been caught!" The pharaoh ordered: "Bring them up!"

These two spies were different from the two in the morning. No matter what you asked them, they refused to say anything. Ramesses II was furious and ordered torture to extract a confession.After a while, the two spies were beaten to pieces, and they couldn't stand it anymore, so they had to leak the plan of the Hittites' counterattack tomorrow.

Ramesses II was about to ask for details when a guard stumbled in and reported, "The Hittites have surrounded us!"

Ramses II was stunned.But after all, he has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he immediately calmed down.One minister said: "Before the Hittites make a move, let's fight!" Another minister said: "Break out, if you don't break out, you will only die!"

Ramses II decided: break out immediately.

At daybreak, the Egyptian army launched an attack on the Hittite army. The Hittites were caught off guard and the whole army was in chaos. Many soldiers ran to the river, and some jumped into the river and were drowned.

The Hittite king immediately organized a counter-charge.After all, the Egyptian soldiers were limited in number and were forced to retreat.The Hittite army rushed into the Pharaoh's camp at once.Ramses II, who was running away, was about to be overtaken by a group of Hittite cavalry. Ramses yelled: "Release my lion guards!" It turned out that Ramses raised a group of lions for protection. , he never took them into battle.This time when it was time for life and death, he used his last resort to save his life.Sure enough, when the Hittite cavalry saw the lion rushing towards them, they turned around and fled.

Just as the Hittite army threw down their knives and guns and plundered the Egyptian military camp, the Egyptian vanguard arrived across the sea and beat the chaotic Hittite army to pieces.

The Hittite king organized a third charge, using the last remaining reserve force of 1000 chariots and 3000 soldiers.The Egyptians desperately resisted the attack of the Hittite chariots.The outskirts of Kadesh were littered with the dead bodies of soldiers from both sides.The number of Egyptian troops dwindled, and by sunset the Hittites appeared to be victorious.Suddenly, they scattered and fled in all directions.

Pharaoh Ramses was amazed, what's going on?Could it be that the gods came to help?It wasn't until a few fierce horses galloped in front of him and a few cavalry raised their arms to cheer him that he knew that it was their third echelon who came from behind the enemy.The Hittites could not withstand the front and rear attacks, so they had to retreat.

After the Kadeishite War, the hatred between Hittite and Egypt deepened.The two sides are constantly at war.

In this way, the Egyptians and the Hittites launched a tug-of-war.The war between them lasted for 16 years.In the end, both sides were exhausted and suffered heavy losses.

In 1296 BC, the new Hittite king came to the throne.At this time, the Hittite country was like a dying patient, unable to stand up anymore.The new king decided to send a friendship mission to Egypt to negotiate peace.

Ramses II was also unable to fight anymore at this time, and seeing King Hittite take the initiative to make peace, it was in his arms.The two sides signed a peace treaty at Memphis.The peace treaty is engraved on a silver plate, so it is also called "silver plate document".It reads: "The great and brave Hittite King Hassil" and "the great and brave Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses" jointly swear: "From now on, trust each other and never go to war; and if a country is bullied by other countries, , another country should send troops to support..."

After the peace treaty was signed, King Hittite married his daughter to Ramesses II.Since then, the two countries have lived in peace for hundreds of years.

Wisdom Interpretation:

The war between Egypt and Hittite lasted for 16 years, and the grievances were reciprocated. Both sides suffered losses, and finally returned to the original point.That tells us.If you refuse to give in to each other in the face of contradictions, you can only lose to both sides, and if you give in to each other, the sea and the sky will be brighter.

(End of this chapter)