The first written peace treaty: between Pharaonic Egypt and Hittie Empire
The land called Levant, encompassing Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, is rife with warfare, bloodshed, migrations, bombings and untold miseries for its people. It doesn't have to be so provided that the lessons of history are taken as a guide. In the year 1274 BC, three and a quarter centuries ago, the Egyptian empire located along the River Nile and Hittite empire spread over present day Turkey went to a prolonged war over control of this very area but then negotiated and signed a peace treaty. It was a remarkable diplomatic triumph that assured peace and cooperation between the two nations till Hittite empire disintegrated a century later. We will recount the story of this remarkable treaty. In 1822, the French Egyptologist Jean Francois Champollion decoded the ancient Egyptian writing. One of the texts translated by researchers was 30 lines of writing at the Temple of Karnak on the wall extending south of the Great Hypostyle Hall in present day Luxor on the right bank of