The battlefield at Kadesh, the largest engagement Egypt had then fought, estimated to be 20 to 40 thousand soldiers on each side. From the Ramesseum.

The narrative structure is unusual in that it is always presented as two separate accounts, one told by Rameses himself, the other a 3rd person account of the overall situation, incorporating information that would not have been known by Rameses in the moment. I have combined both into one. The specificity of the events is such that there is no doubt how to combine them into one continuously forward thrusting story, and after a brief hagiographic intro, begins a relentless and continuously advancing narrative.

The Battle of Kadesh

Here begins the victory of the King of Egypt United, elected by the Sun, the son of the Sun, Rameses loved by Amun, given life forever. This is what he achieved among the Turks, the Ephesians, the Bithynians, the Dardanians, the Mysians, the Dorians, the Lydians, in Karkemish, in Aleppo, in Kadesh, in Ugarit, in Tarhuntasha.

The king was a youthful lord, active and unequalled, in control, level headed, as careful as Atum, as sharp as Vengeance himself. Acclaimed by everyone, dominant in all the foreign lands, with no enemies left to fight. The bulwark of his army, their protector on the day of struggle. A skilled warrior, braver than hundreds of thousands, leading the charge into the hordes, his heart trusting his soul, his strength surging in the combat like a roaring fire. As stubborn as a bull defending his range, unafraid of any foreign nation. A thousand men cannot restrain him, hundreds of thousands flee his advance, fear of him in the hearts of all outsiders, like Sickness herself, like a savage lion among foxes, advancing bravely and only returning in triumph.

It is no empty praise, he is an excellent listener and well planned, finding the best solution: saving his army, safely deploying his chariots, protecting his people, bringing his troops home. His heart is a mountain of copper, he is the king of the plants and the bees, the son of the Sun, Rameses loved by Amun, given life forever.

His Majesty prepared his infantry and chariots, and also his Sardinian mercenaries, everyone well armed and well trained. They marched north, setting out on April 23rd in 1274 BC. When they passed the fortress at Suez on the border of Egypt, his Majesty began to look like Vengeance when his time is near. Every foreign country was trembling, all their miserable leaders bringing gifts, bowing down in fear before him.

The army went through the narrow mountain roads as if on the highways of Egypt, and in only a few days was passing through Rameses-Miamun, the town in the Levant. On May 21st his Majesty was about to enter Lebanon, waking up in his tent to a beautiful morning. He marched north and came to Zebelun.

Two shepherds came to his Majesty and said, “We have been sent by our brothers, the chiefs of the Shosu tribes, who are suffering under the Turkish invasion, and we are here to help you, because we would never help the Turks.”

His Majesty asked, “In what region do your brothers live?”

They said, “Where the foul leader of Turkey is, in Aleppo, north of Tunip. He has heard of your approach and is afraid of coming further south.”

But the two shepherds who said this were lying. The Turks had sent them to misinform his Majesty so he could be caught unawares. The miserable leader of Turkey had brought his infantry and chariots, along with all the princes of his allied nations, and they were eager to fight. They were hiding behind the city of Kadesh, waiting to catch his Majesty in a trap.

The two shepherds were believed, and so they continued north. On the plains south of Kadesh his Majesty forded the river Orontes, the division of Amun following behind. On the outskirts of Kadesh they pitched camp, his Majesty resting on a throne of electrum. Then his Royal Guard captured two Turkish scouts.

His Majesty questioned them under torture, asking, “Who are you?”

They said, “We work for the leader of Turkey and were sent to scout your location.”

His Majesty asked, “Where is your army now? I’ve been told it’s at Aleppo.”

They said, “Just wait, the Turks are close, with many foreign allies as well, from Dardania, Turkey, Keshkesh, Mysia, Pedasia, Cilicia, Lycia, Illium, Karkemish, Arzawa, Ugarit, Mushanet, Kadesh, and Aleppo. They have heavy infantry and calvary and are more numerous than the grains of sand on the beach. Soon you will see, they are just on the other side of Kadesh, eager to fight.”

His Majesty called all his officers and said, “The governors of the colonial possessions as well as my own intelligence officers have said day after day that the Turkish army is in Aleppo, overextended and afraid of Egypt. But just now I learned from two captured enemy soldiers that the Turks are here, with a coalition of many nations, men and horses as numerous as sand, hiding right now behind Kadesh. The governors and my own intelligence failed to inform me of this.”

The officers answered, “It is criminal what the colonial governors have done, not bothering to track the movements of the Turks, or not reporting it.”

An order was sent to the armies of his Majesty who were on the road, some as far away as Zebelun, to hurry quickly to Kadesh. But while he was in conference, the miserable loser of Turkey sent all the chariots of his combined forces south to the ford on the Orontes, where they charged into the middle of the division of Ra, cutting them in two. They had just crossed and were unprepared to fight, fleeing to his Majesty in a panic, pursued by the Turks, who soon began arriving at the camp.

When his Majesty saw them he rose like his father Montu lord of Vengeance, grabbing his weapons and buckling his armor, like Seth at the peak of his powers. He hitched his chariot to Victory in Thebes and Mut the Calm, his two horses, and headed out at a gallop, charging towards the hordes of losers from Turkey.

The division of Amun was a mile south of camp, the division of Ra was cut in half, the division of Seth was at Aronama, and the division of Ptah was at Zebelun. The enemy had brought so many soldiers, never before seen, covering the mountains and the valleys like a horde of locusts, pillaging the land as they went. This was their method of paying and feeding their army. He was all alone, no one else was with him, and he came upon 1,000 enemy chariots, led by all the champions of the losers from Turkey and their many allies. Each of their chariots carried three men, whereas no other officers, no other chariots, no soldiers, no shield bearer was with him. His infantry and chariots had scattered, not one of them standing firm.

His Majesty said, “Father Amun, what is happening? Has the father forgotten his son? Have I ever done anything without thinking of you? Do I not fulfill your will? Have I ever disobeyed you? The lord of Egypt is too great to permit foreigners to block his way. What do you care, Amun, for these vile Asians ignorant of God? Have I not made many monuments for you and filled your temples with treasure? Have I not given all my wealth to build your mansion of millions of years? I have unified the country and everyone now sacrifices to you. I have given you tens of thousands of cattle and every kind of incense. All I have accomplished was for your benefit. I have built for you gigantic stone gateways, raising the flags myself. I have brought you obelisks from Elephantine, carrying the stones myself. I launched boats on the ocean bringing you foreign trade. What will people say if harm comes to those who follow your will? Help the person who needs you, then they will be your loving servant. I am pleading with you, surrounded by innumerable enemies, all the foreign nations combined against me, all alone with no one beside me. My infantry has scattered, my chariots are no where in sight. I cried out to them but no one came.”

It was then that I discovered Amun was more helpful than millions of soldiers, than hundreds of thousands of chariots, or ten thousand brothers united with one heart. No work of man compares to the results of Amun. It was only by following his guidance I had arrived this far, always trusting in him. I was praying at the ends of the earth, but my words flowed back to Thebes. Amun came to me when I called to him. He gave me his hand and I was filled with light. He cried out from so far away, but it was as if he was right beside me.

He said, “Forward! I am with you. I am your father, my hand is with you. I am stronger than hundreds of thousands, I am the lord of Victory who favors the brave.”

My heart became firm, my body was filled with light. Everything I started came to a finish. I was like Vengeance himself, shooting with my right arm and blocking with my left, like Seth reborn. I found myself surrounded by 2,500 of the enemy, but I charged into them and not one of them was worth a damn. Their hearts were weak, quivering with fear, unable to use their weapons, terrible shots, none of them knowing how to throw a spear. I drove them into the river like crocodiles, they were crawling all over each other. Killing them was as easy as thinking. They ran away without looking back, not even helping their own wounded.

The miserable leader of Turkey was far away, watching me fighting alone without my army. But he hesitated to engage personally because of fear, sending instead his calvary, equipped with the best weapons, a thousand chariots galloping straight into the fire. I was like Vengeance himself, and they tasted my hand in a second as I cut them down, pursuing them like a griffon, killing them without stopping.

One of the Turks cried out to his companions, saying, “This is no man, but Seth himself, Baal in the flesh. A man could not do that, defeating hundreds of thousands singlehanded without support. We should flee and save ourselves. Look, everyone who approaches him becomes clumsy and weak, unable to get in a shot.”

I called out to my army, saying, “Stand firm my troops, steady your hearts, I am alone but Amun protects me, his hand is with me. Why are my chariots afraid to fight? Are any of them worthy of trust? Has a single one of you been mistreated by me? When I rose as lord you were poor. I promoted you to officers because you helped me. I made sons wealthier than their fathers and drove out all evil from the land. I have not taken any of your property, and returned what was stolen from you. Whoever asked me for a favor, I did it the same day. Never has a lord done for his army what I have done for you. I have been too soft with you, without enough discipline, letting you spend time at home, expecting to find you fit when I called. Look at you now, cowering in fear, running away, none of you lending me a hand. As the soul of my father Amun endures, would that I lived in the Egypt of my father’s fathers who never met an Asian, much less fought one, but now when you return what will you say?"

The monuments I had built in Thebes for Amun were all I had left, my infantry and chariots had abandoned me. Only Amun has given me this victory, spreading the reputation of my power throughout every distant land. All the enemies who escaped are witness to what I did. I charged into millions of them and they were unable to hold their ground. Whoever shot at me failed every time.

But now my chariot driver Menna, seeing so many of the enemy all around us, panicked with fear. He said to me, “My lord and savior of Egypt, we are cut off and left for dead, abandoned by the army, why are you fighting to save them? Let’s save ourselves and flee, I think only of your own safety.”

I said, “Pull yourself together, stand firm, we are hitting them like a falcon pouncing, cutting them down, tossing them to the ground. Why are you afraid of these women? Millions of them amount to nothing.”

Then we charged into the enemies for a sixth time. I was like Seth at the height of his power, killing them without stopping.

That night the soldiers returned to camp one by one and found all the foreigners who I had cut down lying in pools of their own blood, even the knights of Turkey and their children. There were so many bodies it was hard to walk. Now my army praised me, seeing what I had done, and my officers congratulated me on my bold actions.

My charioteers as well, saying, “A skilled warrior who steadies the heart. You have saved the army! Truly you are the son of Amun, taking hold of the situation with both hands, completely destroying the Turks. A warrior without equal, a king who fights at the head of his army, first in battle, unafraid of foreigners. You are the savior of your army. It is no exaggeration, you are the Wall of Egypt, a Shield against Heathens. You have broken the back of Turkey forever.”

Then I spoke to the whole army, saying, “What is your problem, why have you forgotten how to fight? Is a man not praised in his community when he returns having shown bravery while serving his king? From days of old a man is elevated and respected on account of his actions. What have I done that would cause you to abandon me in the midst of battle? You were lucky to have been able to catch your breath while I was struggling to not suffocate. Do you not trust in your hearts that I am your wall of iron? What will be said when it is heard you deserted me? I was alone and none of you gave me a hand. I have subjugated millions of foreigners while pulled by my horses Thebes and Mut, and they never abandoned me. They will continue to eat by my side when I return to the Residence. They were who I relied upon at the moment of battle. As well as my driver Menna. And my Royal Guards. They are witnesses to what I have done, the ones who I found ready at hand.”

The next morning the army was formed up for battle. I was as ready to fight as an angry bull, setting out like Vengeance himself, charging into battle, pouncing like a falcon, the cobra on my head striking fear into the enemy, incinerating those who looked at me, like the Sun rising in the morning, my brilliance burning their flesh.

Then the miserable leader of Turkey sent a messenger who praised me to the heavens, saying, “You are Seth, Baal in the flesh, the fear of you has been seared into the people of Turkey forever.”

He delivered a letter written by the leader of Turkey. It said, “Greetings to Pharaoh, the son of the Sun, the bull of truth, protector of his army, a wall for his soldiers on the day of fighting, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt United, lion lord of strength, Rameses eternal. Your servant writes to say you have been given the most perfect country on Earth. As for Turkey, they are your servants. The rising Sun has given them to you. Do not enslave us. We have seen your power, you have hit Turkey hard. What benefit is it to kill your servants, unleashing punishment without pity. Yesterday you killed hundreds of thousands, and now all our youth is dead. Do not be unreasonable in your terms, peace is better than war. Let us breath again.”

Then I declared a truce between the nations, like Vengeance when his time has passed. I called all my officers together and had the letter from the miserable leader of Turkey read out.

The officers said with one voice, “Peace is best my lord, there is no shame in forgiveness for the forgiver. Who would not seek to be forgiven when faced with your wrath?”

I followed their advice and we travelled south in peace, returning to Egypt with the army. We were alive and in control, the talismans of all the gods and goddesses protecting us. I reached the capitol in peace, resting like the Sun at the end of a long day.

I pursued them like a griffon, defeating all the foreign nations by myself, my infantry and chariots not bothering to fight, the enemy fleeing without looking back. I swear by the love of Ra, and by my forefather Atum, that everything I have said is true. It has been witnessed by my infantry and my chariots.

This was written in 1270 BC, October [...], and has come to a happy conclusion. Dedicated to the soul of the chief librarian, recorder of the treasures of Pharoah, the scribe Pentaur.