The Battle of Qadesh
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The Battle of Qadesh is the earliest and most detailed account we have of a battle in human history. A few other earlier battles were recorded in ancient texts, but none of them were as detailed as the account we have of this clash between the Egyptians and Hittites, the two superpowers of the Bronze Age Near East.
Mark Healey gives us an overview of this epic battle. He sets the scene by describing the historical background to the battle, with a look at the opposing commanders, Pharaoh Rameses II and the King of Hatti, Muwatallish. He then provides a look at the armies of the two Empires, with a look at chariot and infantry divisions and the command structure of the two sides.
With the scene set, he provides a detailed account of the Battle. He questions many of the contradictions in the Egyptian account of the battle. He believes that the Hittite chariot attack on the marching column of P'Re was less a surprise ambush, but more of a debacle by Muwatallish's scouts, who were actually in search of the Egyptian army and not in waiting to spring an ambush. Each section of the battle is portrayed in detailed 3D bird's eye-view maps, which show the movements of each army.
The book is well written and illustrated. It provides modern black and white photographs of the battlefield, as well as illustrations of the Egyptian and Hittite army by Angus McBride. These illustrations come from other titles in Osprey Publishing's books. Sadly there is no original art work, and certainly no colour plates illustrating the battle. Perhaps Osprey can provide an updated reprint in the future.
Overall this is not a bad book. If you are curious about this early battle, then this book is the best title available on the subject.
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Takes you back to the dawn of warfare
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Great book to start ones Osprey Campaign collection with.
Takes one back to the dawn of recorded warfare with good text and great illustrations.
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