Skip to content
TRACEKEEPERS
Menu
English

Choose language

Your Tracekeepers account

← Back to the collection

09 · DIPLOMACY · QADESH

Treaty with Egypt

Peace needed two versions and many gods as witnesses

Egypt and Hatti agreed peace, mutual aid and extradition in a treaty preserved in two versions.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Image 1 of 2 · Main image
DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS

Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

Image 1 of 2 · Main image
Specific historical recreation of Peace needed two versions and many gods as witnesses, Hattusa and Egypt, c. 1259 BCE, year 21 of Ramesses II
DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS

Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

Years after Qadesh, Hattusili III and Ramesses II sealed a peace treaty, alliance and extradition. An Akkadian version was preserved in Hattusa and the Egyptian version was carved in temples; both present the pact from their own chancery.

It is often called the first peace treaty in history, a formula too absolute. Its value lies in the parallel preservation, the invocation of gods and the transformation of enemies into partners facing new pressures.

The agreement between Hattusili III and Ramesses II articulated peace, alliance, succession and extradition under the guarantee of gods. Surviving cuneiform copies and hieroglyphic versions allow comparison of the two chanceries.

The versions are not identical facsimiles and the date is reconstructed from regnal chronology. Calling it the 'first peace treaty' ignores earlier agreements and confuses the best-preserved parallel example with a universal beginning.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: cuneiform and hieroglyphic copies survive of the same agreement between Hatti and Egypt. Interpretation and caution: it cannot be demonstrated that it was the first treaty ever signed; the exact date and equivalences between versions require textual criticism.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date
c. 1259 BCE, year 21 of Ramesses II
Location
Hattusa and Egypt
Material
Clay tablets · monumental hieroglyphic inscription
Context
Interstate treaty between Hattusili III and Ramesses II
Curatorial reading
The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Date
c. 1259 BCE, year 21 of Ramesses II
Location
Hattusa and Egypt
Support
Clay tablets · monumental hieroglyphic inscription
Documentary coverage
3 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

Clay32 dated objects

27 / 32In the centre: Treaty with Egypt

Also connected, without a comparable date (8)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .

The return of fugitives included conditions

The treaty is not limited to promising friendship between monarchs: it regulates the return of persons who fled from one territory to the other. The Egyptian version translated in Ancient Near Eastern Texts adds guarantees against their execution, mutilation and destruction of their houses or families. These clauses show that the movement of persons was a negotiated diplomatic matter. They do not constitute a universal declaration of rights nor allow verification of each return, but they do document concrete restrictions formulated within the agreement between the two courts.

Location and territory

Physical world map with routes of human evolutionPresent-day world coastline from Natural Earth in an equirectangular projection. The overlaid markers let you explore each milestone.Map base: Natural Earth 1:110m · public domain · present-day reference coastline

LOCATED SITE

Hattusa and Yazılıkaya · TurkeyLandscape marker of the Hittite capital.

Where it is held

İstanbul Archaeology Museums · Museum of Ancient Oriental Art

Item or group in the record · On display

The official portal of Turkish museums confirms that two copies found in Hattusa are exhibited in the museum; they are not confused with the United Nations replica.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

Did you enjoy this exhibit?

Your opinion helps us improve the museum. You can change it whenever you like.

Loading your rating…