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Treaty of Kadesh

Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty

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The Akkadian Version

Chapter 2

[And so be it. Riamašeša-mai-]Amana, the great king, king [of Egypt, the strong], [with Ḫattušili, the great king], king of the land Ḫatti, his brother, in order to give good peace, [good brotherhood and to obtain] a mighty [king]dom(?) between them as long as we [live] (and) [forever] [a treaty] has made. Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the great king, king of Egypt, the strong in all lands, son [of] Minmuaria, the great king, king of Egypt, the strong, son of the son of Minpaḫiritaria, the great king, [king of Egy]pt, the strong, to Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, the strong the son of Muršili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, the strong, son of the son of Šubbiluliuma, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, the strong, behold now I give [good] brotherhood, good peace between us forever, in order to give good peace, good brotherhood by means of [a treaty (?)] of Egypt with Ḫatti forever. So it is. Behold, the policy of the great king, king of Egypt, [and of the great king], king of Ḫatti since eternity—god did not permit the making of hostility between them, [by means of a treaty] forever. Behold, Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the great king, king of Egypt, in order to make the policy [which Šamaš and] Tešub made for Egypt with the land Ḫatti because of his policy which is from eternity, wickedly(?) [will not become host]ile to make hostility between them to everlasting and to all (time). Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the great king, king of Egypt, has made himself in a treaty upon a silver tablet with Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, his brother,⁠ from this day to give good peace and good brotherhood between us forever; and he is a brother to me and at peace with me, and I am a brother to him and at peace with him forever.⁠ And we have made brotherhood, peace and goodwill more than the brotherhood and peace of former times, which was between [Egypt and] Ḫatti. Behold, Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the great king, king of Egypt, is in good peace and good brotherhood with Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti. Behold, the sons of Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the king of Egypt, are at peace (and) are bro[thers with] the sons of Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, forever; and they are according to our policy of [our] brotherhood [and] our peace. And Egypt with the land Ḫatti—they are at peace, they are brothers like us forever. And Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the great king, king of Egypt, shall not trespass into the land Ḫatti to take anything from it [forever]; and Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, shall not trespass into Egypt to take anything from it [forever]. Behold, the decree of eternity which Šamaš and Tešub have made for Egypt and the land Ḫatti [to make peace] and brotherhood in order not to give hostility between them. And behold, Riamašeša-mai-A[mana, the great king], king of Egypt, takes hold of it to make peace from this day. Behold, Egypt and Ḫatti [are at peace, and] they are brothers forever. And if another enemy come [against] the land Ḫatti, and Ḫattušili, [the great king of the land Ḫat]ti, send to me saying, ‘Come to me for [my] help against him’; then Ri[amašeša-mai-Ama]na, the great king, king of Egypt shall send his troops (and) his chariots and shall slay [his enemy and] he shall restore [con]fidence (?) to the land Ḫatti. And if Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, [become incensed] against servants of his [and they] sin against him, and you send to Riamašeša, the great king, king of [Egypt] concerning it; straight[way] Riamašeša-mai-Amana his troops (and) his chariots shall send, and they shall destroy all [of them] against whom [you have become incensed]. [And if] another enemy come against Egypt, and Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the king of Egypt, your brother, [send] to Ḫattušili, king of the land Ḫatti, his brother, saying, ‘[Co]me for my help against him’; straightway then shall Ḫa[ttušili], king of the land Ḫatti, send his troops (and) his [chariots]; he [shall slay] my enemy. And if Riamašeša, [the great king, king] of Egypt, become incensed against servants of his, and they commit sin against [him, and I send] to Ḫattušili, king of the land Ḫatti, my brother, concerning [it]; then Ḫattušili, the great king, king of Egypt, shall send his troops (and) his chariots and they shall destroy all [of them]; and I will ... (?). And behold the son of Ḫattušili, king of the land Ḫatti, [the treaty which] we(?) have made ... in the place of Ḫattušili, his father, after years ... of the land Ḫatti have committed sin ... chariots where(?) shall I return ... in the land Ḫatti(?)

Texts in conversation

Compare Treaty of Kadesh 2:5 and 1 Kings 9:13

Ancient Near East, Egyptian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In the Akkadian text of Ramses II's treaty, the pharaoh names the Hittite king as his brother. In 1 Kings, Hiram of Tyre, unhappy with the towns Israel's king has given him, addresses his ally with the Hebrew word for brother.

Passages

Treaty of Kadesh 2:5

Ancient Near East, Egyptian · Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty
Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the great king, king of Egypt, has made himself in a treaty upon a silver tablet with Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti, his brother, from this day to give good peace and good brotherhood between us forever; and he is a brother to me and at peace with me, and I am a brother to him and at peace with him forever. And we have made brotherhood, peace and goodwill more than the brotherhood and peace of former times, which was between [Egypt and] Ḫatti. Behold, Riamašeša-mai-Amana, the great king, king of Egypt, is in good peace and good brotherhood with Ḫattušili, the great king, king of the land Ḫatti.
1259 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Treaty of Kadesh

1 Kings 9:13

Hebrew Bible
10 After 20 years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, 11 King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre 20 towns in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. 12 When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 Hiram asked, “Why did you give me these towns, my friend?” He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Kings

References

“... The word פשע employed in the Amos oracles seems to allude to the fact that these nations have violated their treaty with Israel and ‘sinned’ against her. [...] Cf. Amos 1: 9: ‘And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood’, which refers to the treaty between Israel and Tyre in Solomonic times or thereafter. The Akkadian term for a parity treaty is aḫūtum (see Munn-Rankin, Iraq 18 (1956), 68 ff.) and cf. Hiram’s designation of his ally Solomon as ‘my brother’ (1 Kgs. 9: 13). ...”
Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School (London: Oxford University Press, 1972), 138.
“... In the crucial treaty there are two features which are not distinctively Hittite. One is the playing on the 'beautiful brotherhood and beautiful friendship' which the treaty established. This echoes the phrases of the Amarna correspondence and the phrases in the correspondence of the Egyptian queen Nefertari to Puduhepa, her Hittite counterpart. The other distinctive element is the modification of the historical section in the version which came originally from Egypt. The rest of the text - the stipulations and god list - are in terms which are typical for Hittite treaties. The reference to the thousand gods is a characteristic Hittite expression. ...”
Noel Weeks, Admonition and Curse: The Ancient Near Eastern Treaty/Covenant Form as a Problem in Inter-Cultural Relationships (London: T&T Clark International, 2004), 102.

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Treaty of Kadesh 2:5 and 1 Kings 9:13

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