In January of 1915, Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, became encased in the ice in the Weddell Sea.

Through determination, grit, and savvy, Shackleton would lead his men through a brutal winter,

then over hundreds of miles of Antarctic ice, followed by 800 miles across some of the roughest waters in the world.

It is one of the most extraordinary and inspirational journeys in the history of

exploration. Find this story and many others at the Explorers Podcast, available wherever you get

your podcasts or at explorerspodcast.com.

The year was 1286 BCE, approximately.

The king of Egypt, Wasmuria Satapnaria, or Ramesses II, had recently returned from a campaign

into Canaan and Syria. Things had gone unsatisfactorily.

Ramesses army had unexpectedly faced the Hittites before Kadesh, in a near catastrophic ambush. On the field itself, one might credit the Egyptians

with a limited skin-of-the-teeth victory. However, make no mistake, strategically, it was a Hittite triumph.

But the wars were not over. Over the next few years, Remusis and his followers would launch a new

series of campaigns. Egyptian armies marched into Canaanite regions like Galilee and Moab, attacking

small kingdoms and subjugating them. Subsequently, the Pharaoh's troops would push north once more.

In some cases, their marches took them well north of Kadesh, resulting in bloody sieges.

In short, the Battle of Kadesh ended nothing.

It was merely another phase in an unfolding conflict. First things first, let's explore the fallout of Kadesh on the enemy side. As Rameses returned home, the Hittites celebrated their strategic victory

and looked to new opportunities. Muatali, king of Hattiland, was in a strong position. Looking out

from the walls of Kadesh, he could see multiple paths of expansion. Thus, the Hittites did what you might expect. They marched.

At this point, our history is terribly uncertain. Written documents, including ones from Hatti,

might describe the aftermath of Kadesh, or at least phases of the Hittite-Egyptian war generally.

But as we will see, there are gaps in this part of the tale.

...