It reads more like a military alliance agreement between kings:
1. Reamasesa-Mai-amana (King of Egypt) and Hattusili (King of Hatti) are best friends forever.
2. If a foreign country invaded one of us, the other one must send his troops.
3. Dotto with civil wars. We help each other.
4. If an important person frees from Egypt or Hatti, send the bastard back.
5. If people free from Hatti to Egypt, order them back. Do not retaliate against returnees, though. No pulling eyes/tongues. No cutting feet/ears. No destroying wives/houses/kids. Please.
Egypt and the Hittites were now concerned with the rise of Assyria.
All would suffer in the late Bronze Age (LBA) collapse, with the Hittite empire collapsing soon after a string of three drought years about half a century after the treaty. Egypt and Assyria, at least, would persist in truncated form, with the latter rising to new heights of power in the Iron Age.
Full text of the treaty: https://corum.ktb.gov.tr/EN-61494/kadesh-war-and-peace-treat...
It reads more like a military alliance agreement between kings:
1. Reamasesa-Mai-amana (King of Egypt) and Hattusili (King of Hatti) are best friends forever.
2. If a foreign country invaded one of us, the other one must send his troops.
3. Dotto with civil wars. We help each other.
4. If an important person frees from Egypt or Hatti, send the bastard back.
5. If people free from Hatti to Egypt, order them back. Do not retaliate against returnees, though. No pulling eyes/tongues. No cutting feet/ears. No destroying wives/houses/kids. Please.
Egypt and the Hittites were now concerned with the rise of Assyria.
All would suffer in the late Bronze Age (LBA) collapse, with the Hittite empire collapsing soon after a string of three drought years about half a century after the treaty. Egypt and Assyria, at least, would persist in truncated form, with the latter rising to new heights of power in the Iron Age.
Note the Treaty of Ebla and Abarsal, from about 2350 BCE, exists in scores of clauses on a tablet.
> The country of Egypt and the country of Hatti [Hittite Empire] will be forever in a state of peace.
Wonder how long it lasted?
Edit: turns out it lasted until the Hittite empire collapsed 80 years later, so in a sense indeed "forever".
FWIW, the longest peace treaty lasted approximately 700 years, from the 7th to 14th centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baqt
The longest alliance still in force is the Anglo-Portuguese alliance which was signed in 1386!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance
I remember this campaign from Age of Empires
Somewhat in the similar vein: Irving Finkel reads the Pharaoh's private mail (from the -14th century) :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MZq_ZQDhJA