meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The History of Egypt

215: Ramesses II Taking Hands, Healing Wounds

The History of Egypt

Dominic Perry

Society & Culture, History

4.82.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Who won? In the aftermath of battle, Ramesses and Muwattalli withdrew from Kadesh. We discuss the short- and long-term fallout and consider the "score card" for the respective armies. Then, we spend time with the wounded soldiers, using the Edwin Smith Papyrus to understand diagnoses and treatments used by ancient Egyptian physicians (swnw). Finally, we explore a curious hypothesis, suggesting that Ramesses practiced a form of "decimation" on his troops... Kadesh LIVESTREAM Sunday 07 September (UK time) on “The Art of Kadesh” via our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ancientegypthist Want more medicine? My interview with Dr. Bob Brier is available at https://open.spotify.com/episode/3mOg7BanFze6F4DYbSWT4K and my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/h8I6M7-czYA The Edwin Smith Papyrus: Breasted, J. H. (1930). The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus (Vols. 1–2) free online: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015027232282; For a modern medical approach, see Sanchez, G. M., & Meltzer, E. S. (2012). The Edwin Smith Papyrus: Updated Translation of the Trauma Treatise and Modern Medical Commentaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Why are businesses like HelloVet choosing Apple products and services?

0:04.8

So we started the business two years ago.

0:07.2

We had a few people who were used to PCs and this was their first foray into Macs.

0:12.5

But it's been super smooth getting everyone onto those devices and everyone seems really, really happy.

0:18.0

Find out how Mac can help you run and grow your business at apple.com forward slash

0:23.6

HelloVet.

0:28.3

In June of 1287 BCE, the sun rose over Syria, and a mess. Across a floodplain and hilly region

0:42.1

near the town of Kadesh, the remnants of battle strew fields and riverbanks. Overturned chariots,

0:50.2

dead horses, broken weapons littered the ground. Of course, there were also human bodies.

0:57.5

Warriors from Egypt, Nubia, Libya, the Mediterranean, Syria, and Anatolia, had fallen in service

1:05.5

to the great kings, Muatali and Remices. Now they lay pierced by arrows and javelins, cut down by axes and swords,

1:16.3

crushed by maces or pinioned by spears. Above, dust clouds lingered over a battlefield,

1:23.7

kicked up by wheels and hooves. On the ground, the yellow sand and dark soils mingled with

1:30.5

blood and awful, spilled from limbs and torsos. The smell must have been awful, the stink of feces

1:38.6

from animals and terrified humans, the sour odor of vomit and sweat, and above it all, the coppery tang of

1:47.0

blood spilled from countless wounds. We do not know how many soldiers or animals died at

1:53.9

Kadesh. The King Rameses makes vague allusions to overthrowing multitudes and slaughtering them

2:00.6

all, but firm numbers of casualties

2:03.5

are absent.

2:04.6

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

2:10.6

a northward drive, and a running battle around the camp.

2:14.6

Actual human deaths may have been relatively low, perhaps a few thousand in the

...

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 2025.