Fragment of oldest known peace treaty found in Turkey

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptians/we-have-found-traces-of-peace-thousands-of-years-old-fragment-of-worlds-oldest-known-peace-treaty-found-in-turkey

Comments

pfdietzSep 27, 2026, 6:57 PM
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.

doeblerSep 27, 2026, 6:32 PM
> 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".

wahernSep 27, 2026, 6:49 PM
FWIW, the longest peace treaty lasted approximately 700 years, from the 7th to 14th centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baqt
domhSep 27, 2026, 7:32 PM
The longest alliance still in force is the Anglo-Portuguese alliance which was signed in 1386!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance

wahernSep 28, 2026, 4:20 AM
Good one. Not quite the same thing, but Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula claims to hold a covenant specifically guaranteeing their protection, signed by and possibly given to them in person by Muhammad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtiname_of_Muhammad That would make it over 1400 years old. The authenticity is disputed, both whether it's original and whether it named and was given to them specifically, though AFAIU it's well known that Muhammad gave out that type of thing to various groups, for example Yemeni Christians[1]. Nonetheless, it seems to have been honored, albeit sometimes half heartedly, for most of the time since. The ironic thing is the greatest threat to its continuance is the nominally secular Egyptian state, which in its secularity feels less obliged, notwithstanding the motivation to infringe upon the monastery's autonomy principally arises from the Islamic culture and pressure groups.

[1] In the Yemeni case seemingly to forestall the Aksumite/Ethiopian Empire coming to their defense, which they had done pre-Islam when, IIRC, the Christians were slaughtered by the Yemeni Jewish kingdom.

JoeAltmaierSep 27, 2026, 7:30 PM
Note the Treaty of Ebla and Abarsal, from about 2350 BCE, exists in scores of clauses on a tablet.
cloudbonsaiSep 27, 2026, 10:21 PM
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. Ditto with civil wars. We help each other.

4. If a high-profile person flees from Egypt or Hatti, send the bastard back.

5. If people flee 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.

senderistaSep 28, 2026, 2:42 AM
Related:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarna_letters

RazenganSep 27, 2026, 9:15 PM
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

potatosalad99Sep 27, 2026, 9:42 PM
I remember this campaign from Age of Empires