A general view of the ancient city of Hattusa, one of the first civilizations established in Anatolia hosting the cultural heritages of the Hattians and the Hittites, takes its visitors on a journey into the history in Corum, Turkey, 2022.Photo Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A Fragment of a Peace Treaty Between the Hittite and Egyptian Empires Discovered in Hattusa, Turkey

by · ARTnews

A fragment of a cuneiform tablet was discovered by archaeologists excavating Hattsua, the ancient capital of the Hittite Empire in present-day Turkey, Heritage Daily reported. The artifact’s text was part of the larger Kadesh Peace Treaty.

The fragment was originally found near Building E in Hattusa’s Büyükkale district of Çorum Province. It has been undergoing scientific analysis for about a year, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Researchers have now confirmed that the piece was part of a larger treaty between the Hittite king Hattusili III and the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II during the 13th century BCE.

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After a prolonged period of rivalry between the Hittite and Egyptian empires, the agreement established provisions for peace, mutual non-aggression, military assistance, and the extradition of fugitives. Both empires produced copies of the treaty that were disseminated throughout their respective lands, with the Egyptian version in hieroglyphic inscriptions and the Hittite version in Akkadian using cuneiform script.

The newly found fragment preserved parts of articles 12 through 20 of the treaty, detailing provisions for those who fled from one kingdom and sought refuge in the other, as well as those related to the preservation of their homes.

Hattusa was the political and administrative capital of the Hittite Empire, which was considered a major power in the Late Bronze Age. In 1906, archaeological excavations began in the ancient city, with Hattusa later designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

During those initial excavations, between 1906 and 1912, fragments of the Hittite copies of the treaty were identified. They have since been housed in museum collections in Ankara, Berlin, Istanbul, and St. Petersburg. This latest discovery could help researchers reconstruct more of the original Hittite clay tablets.

Excavations at the site are expected to continue through the Istanbul branch of the German Archaeological Institute under the direction of Andreas Schachner.