Image Details

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Pharaoh Ramesses II crushes the Hittites under the wheels of his chariot at the Battle of Kadesh in 1273 B.C in this relief from the Ramesseum in Thebes. In fact, the Egyptians suffered a near disaster and the battle was more a stalemate than a victory. The ancient Egyptians, however, did not trumpet—or admit—their defeats. There is no reason to expect an Egyptian reference to the Israelite Exodus.