The “miserable and deceitful king of the Hittites,” however, had prepared an ambush. When the Hittites sprang their trap with their king in their midst, Pharaoh called on his mighty men to follow him. Leaping into his chariot, he assaulted the numberless horsemen and the armored footmen of the horde of the Hittites, and plunged into the midst of their ablest and bravest warriors. As he fought his way into the press of these noble horses, Ramses looked around to see how his force was getting along. To his surprise he found that they had not followed him; and he was hemmed in by two thousand five hundred chariots which were manned by the mightiest of the Hittite champions. Deserted by his entire army, Pharaoh saw that he had to rely upon his own ability, so “shouting for joy, with the aid of the god Amon, he hurled darts with his right hand and thrust with the sword in his left hand!” He “slew two thousand five hundred horses which were dashed to pieces!” He “laid dead the noble Hittite knights until their limbs dissolved with fear and they had no courage to thrust!” He swept them into the river Orontes and slew as long as it was his pleasure.
It is quite evident that Pentauer relied largely upon his imagination for the details of this great battle. However exaggerated this poem may be, nevertheless it has some historical value. Especially is this so since the poem of Pentauer and the Karnak record of Ramses the Second are in virtual agreement as to the essential details of this battle.
Plate 21
{hieroglyphs}
divinity king country plurality supremacy e, i. u, o. dimes, di tu, to kus ku khat, khattu si es tar sis sar tarku, tarkus kue, mesi seal, inscription “to speak” sun-god: “behold”
From such funerary papyri much valuable information regarding Egyptian beliefs and customs is derived
Incidentally, the walls of Karnak yielded from the records of other kings the historic evidence of an actual Hittite empire. Tuthmosis the Third immortalized the Hittites on the walls of Karnak when he gave a list of towns in the land of the Hittites over which he was victorious. Unquestionably this list contains the first and oldest authentic account of ancient cities, which are frequently afterwards mentioned in the Assyrian records as well. This record is found in the splendid temple which is called the “Hall of Pillars” and which was erected by this notable pharaoh. It has been said that in this work the art of Egypt reached its highest point. Certainly the walls and pillars are literally covered with the beautifully engraved pictures and names of the races and cities which the pharaoh had conquered.
When the Department of Antiquities was working upon the wall of a lower section, a catalog of one hundred nineteen conquered places came to light. This record showed that, more than three hundred years before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, the Hittites were established in a powerful dominion over that lovely land. There are seven separate records of the contacts of this pharaoh with the people who were the Hittites.