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In June of 1287 BCE, the sun rose over Syria and a mess.

Across a floodplain and hilly region near the town of Kadesh, the remnants of battle strew fields and riverbanks.

Overturned chariots, dead horses, broken weapons littered the

ground. Of course, there were also human bodies. Warriors from Egypt, Nubia, Libya,

the Mediterranean, Syria, and Anatolia had fallen in service to the great kings, Muatali, and Remeses.

Now they lay pierced by arrows and javelins, cut down by axes and swords, crushed by maces,

or pinioned by spears. Above, dust clouds lingered over a battlefield, kicked up by wheels and hooves.

On the ground, the yellow sand and dark soils mingled with blood and awful, spilled from limbs and

torsos. The smell must have been awful. The stink of feces from animals and terrified humans, the

sour odor of vomit and sweat, and above it all, the coppery tang of blood spilled

from countless wounds.

We do not know how many soldiers or animals died at Kadesh.

The King Ramesses makes vague allusions to

overthrowing multitudes and slaughtering them all, but firm numbers of casualties are absent.

Bearing in mind the Hittite attack had primarily been chariot-driven, a sudden ambush,

...