Syria Trails › Places

Kadesh (Tell Nebi Mend)

قادش (تل النبي مند)

Ancient Kadesh on the Orontes near al-Qusayr, scene of the famous 13th-century BC battle between Ramesses II and the Hittites.

On the Orontes southwest of Homs near al-Qusayr rises Tell Nebi Mend, holding ancient Kadesh, an important Bronze Age city controlling the main route between southern and northern Syria.

It is world-famous for the battle fought nearby in the early 13th century BC between Pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite king Muwatalli II, one of the earliest battles documented in detail, with vast numbers of chariots. Ramesses celebrated it as a victory on Egyptian temple walls, but historians see it as inconclusive; years later Egypt and the Hittites signed one of the oldest known written peace treaties.

Occupation continued in later periods, including Hellenistic and Roman times. Today the mound, named after a local shrine, overlooks fertile Orontes farmland near Lake Qattinah.

Note: photos may not reflect the site's current condition.

For the visitor

Photos

Photos: Grégoire Loukianoff, Maurice Pezard — via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Matson Collection — via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Author Georges Perrot Author Charles Chipiez Translator I. Gonino — via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Murat Özsoy 1958 — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)