Researchers in Turkey Have Unearthed an Ancient Fragment Inscribed With the World’s Oldest Peace Treaty

Almost 3,300 years ago, two armies were fighting for control of ancient Syrian land. They were the Hittites of Anatolia, led by King Muwatallis, and the Egyptians, ruled by the pharaoh Ramses II. The pharaoh had invaded Hittite territory, aiming to expand his empire.

The ensuing war involved tens of thousands of soldiers and some of the largest chariot battles ever fought. But the opposing sides proved too evenly matched. Their final standoff, the Battle of Kadesh, was a draw.

Some years after the battle, around 1269 B.C.E., Ramses II and Muwatallis’ successor, Hattusilli III, signed a lofty agreement officially ending the conflict—the world’s first international peace treaty. It promised “eternal friendship, lasting peace, territorial integrity, nonaggression, extradition and mutual help,” per the United Nations. Originally written on silver tablets that have since been lost to history, the treaty’s text was preserved in ancient copies: hieroglyphics on the wall of an Egyptian temple and at least three cuneiform clay tablets in Anatolia.

Now, archaeologists in Turkey have discovered another fragment of one of those ancient copies—a clay remnant inscribed with Akkadian cuneiform. There, in 1906, researchers first discovered a copy of the Kadesh treaty, in the form of a broken clay tablet. Today, its pieces are displayed at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums—and a copper replica hangs in the United Nations building in New York.

The Kadesh Peace Treaty was, in fact, the culmination of centuries of conflict between the Hittites and the Egyptians. Both kingdoms had attempted to conquer Syria, which lies between Egypt and Turkey, throughout the reigns of many different rulers. When the Battle of Kadesh ended in a stalemate, it was likely put to rest by an unpreserved, smaller treaty, as Egyptologist Camilla Di Biase-Dyson told ABC Radio National’s Fran Kelly in 2024.

Sixteen years later, Hattusilli III sought a more comprehensive alliance with Egypt, in part to cement his power. According to a translation by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the treaty declares an eternal bond between Ramses II and Hattusilli III. They studied the artifact’s inscription for about a year before announcing the find.