Everyone is excited for the buildup to the great battle of Kadesh, but before we get to the battle itself, there is quite a lot going on in the reign of King Muwatalli that often gets overshadowed in the rush to the greatest battle of the late bronze age. Muwatalli is going to build a new capitol city, Tarhuntassa, which will be hugely unpopular and risk splitting the empire in half. In the west, meanwhile, we have the appearance of a famous and mysterious new renegade named Piyramaradu, who will also bring the story of the Greeks, and maybe even the tale of the Trojan War, into our story as well for the first time. But, of course, there will still be plenty of time for all the buildup to the conflict with Pharoah Ramesses II as well.
And below, we have a pair of maps that look over Muwatalli’s reign in the run up to the battle of Kadesh. Note that it isn’t completely clear when the Assyrians took over the Mitanni heartland, as we will discuss when we get to the Assyrians soon.
Oldest Stories 