meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The History of Egypt Podcast

182: Sety's Battle for Kadesh

The History of Egypt Podcast

Dominic Perry

History, Society & Culture

4.82.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2023

⏱️ 53 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sety I (Part 4): Catching Up with the Kadeshians. Around 1300 BCE (chronology uncertain), Sety led another campaign into the north. This time, the pharaoh of Egypt marched into Canaan, Lebanon, and Syria. In the process, he visited local chieftains, went “shopping” for luxury items, and then launched a daring attack on Kadesh… Details and sources: Date: c. 1300 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Intro Music: Bettina Joy de Guzman. Interludes: Keith Zizza. Outro music and interludes: Luke Chaos. Logo image: A warrior/cattleman flees with his animals, while Sety I attacks Kadesh. Image colours based on traces found at Karnak, edited by Dominic Perry 2023. Sety’s Battle Reliefs at Karnak, published by The Epigraphic Survey of The University of Chicago: Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak, Volume IV: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (uchicago.edu). Texts: Kenneth Kitchen's Ramesside Inscriptions volume 1. Hieroglyph versions at Internet Archive, English translations at Abercromby Press. Peter Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh, out now from Lockwood Press. Select Bibliography: M. R. Abbas, ‘The Town of Yenoam in the Ramesside War Scenes and Texts of Karnak’, Cahiers de Karnak 16 (2017), 329–341. S. Aḥituv, Canaanite Toponyms in Ancient Egyptian Documents (1984). P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000). P. J. Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh (2023). T. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites (2005). T. Bryce, The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire (2009). T. R. Bryce, Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History (2014). T. R. Bryce, Warriors of Anatolia: A Concise History of the Hittites (2019). A. Dodson, Sethy I King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (2019). H. El-Saady, ‘The Wars of Sety I at Karnak: A New Chronological Structure’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 19 (1992), 285–94. R. O. Faulkner, ‘The Wars of Sethos I’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33 (1947), 34–9. K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments, I (1993). K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations, I (2017). W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (1985). N. Na’aman, ‘Yeno’am’, Tel Aviv 4 (1977), 168–77. D. B. Redford, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times (1992). A. Spalinger, Aspects of the Military Documents of the Ancient Egyptians (1982). A. J. Spalinger, ‘The Northern Wars of Seti I: An Integrative Study’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 16 (1979), 29–47. A. J. Spalinger, War in Ancient Egypt: The New Kingdom (2005). The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak Volume 4: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I (1986). W. Wreszinski, Atlas zur altaegyptischen Kulturgeschichte (1988). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello everyone, Dominic here.

0:03.0

Before we begin, a quick note about chronology.

0:06.5

The story I am about to tell you took place some time during the reign of SETI I

0:11.1

the first.

0:12.1

Unfortunately, we don't have specific dates.

0:15.5

The King's records from Egypt and Canaan present a fairly detailed picture of the events, what SETI did,

0:23.0

where he went, and so forth.

0:24.9

Alas, the timing and order remains unclear.

0:29.4

Different scholars present different itineraries for SETI's campaigns and battles.

0:34.7

With that in mind, the story I am sharing might have taken place in a single

0:39.7

grand campaign, or these episodes may have occurred at different times. We really can't say for

0:46.5

sure, so this is my version, but there are alternatives. If you are interested, you can find

0:52.6

more details in the references for this episode.

0:56.5

Anyway, on with the show.

1:15.0

Hello, and welcome back to the History of Egypt podcast.

1:22.9

Episode 182, The Battle for Kadesh, aka catching up with the Kadeshians.

1:28.5

Today, King Setti I launched another military endeavor. Going north, Pharaoh and his troops wage war on distant cities and kingdoms.

1:34.0

In the process, they bring a famous town into their empire.

1:38.3

Kadesh, on the Arundtay's River, is a prominent site in modern Syria, and it is a legendary battlefield of the late Bronze Age.

1:48.8

Today, we explore SETI's campaign to this region.

1:53.4

This episode comes to you on behalf of Luis from New York and Justine from Exeter.

1:59.7

These fine folks made donations to the podcast, for which I am most

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dominic Perry, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dominic Perry and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.