The war of the words. Following his strategic defeat at Kadesh, Ramesses set about putting his version of the story into wide circulation. Today, art and texts of this conflict survive at the temples of Abu Simbel, Karnak, Luxor, Abydos, and the Ramesseum. Among those texts, we have the “Literary Record” or “Kadesh Poem.” A lengthy, dramatised version of the events, painting Ramesses as the great hero. In this episode, I introduce the Literary Record and then read it in full, with musical accompaniment by Jeffrey Goodman.
LIVESTREAM about "The Art of Kadesh" on Sunday 14 September. To join, simply subscribe to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ancientegypthist. The Livestream will be Sunday September 14 at 16:30 (UK time). This translates to:
Berlin, Germany Sun, 14 Sep 2025 at 17:30 CEST
London, United Kingdom Sun, 14 Sep 2025 at 16:30 BST
New York, USA Sun, 14 Sep 2025 at 11:30 EDT
Los Angeles, USA Sun, 14 Sep 2025 at 08:30 PDT
Check other timezones here https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20250914T153000&p1=37&p2=136&p3=179&p4=137
To learn more about the “Battle of Kadesh” narrative as a piece of literary/historical storytelling, see:
Brand, P. J. (2023). Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh. Lockwood Press. https://www.lockwoodpress.com/product-page/ramesses-ii-egypt-s-ultimate-pharaoh-paper
Manassa, C. (2013). Imagining the Past: Historical Fiction in New Kingdom Egypt. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199982226.003.0003
Spalinger, A. J. (2021). The Books Behind the Masks: Sources of Warfare Leadership in Ancient Egypt. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004466111
More music by Jeffrey Goodman www.jeffreygoodman.com and on Spotify.
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