(Santa Fizzarotti Selvaggi) On the occasion of the Conference "Mediterranean Sea of Peace" organized by the Association Crocerossine d'Italia of the non-profit section of Bari, which was attended by a very large and qualified public, prof. Oronzo Sciacovelli, a distinguished scientist, presented the text which is published below with his consent.
After the intervention of Prof. Filippo Maria Boscia, also published here and regarding children in transit, the report by prof. Oronzo Sciacovelli for reflection on the role of women in history. A story, in this case, not known to all, but which is believed to be of extraordinary importance to reaffirm the role of women as a foundation of peace. And it is precisely in this role that the Crocerossine d'Italia Onlus Association strongly believes.
The first written peace treaty of Humanity: Kadesh and the Queen's seal
"The theme of the meeting organized by the Bari section focuses on the Mediterranean as a sea of peace but, before talking about peace, we must speak of wars because, if it is true that the Mediterranean is the sea that has contributed to spreading the greater part and more significant than progress and human culture, it is also true that in the waters of the Mediterranean, or on its shores, decisive battles have been fought for the destiny of peoples.
Greeks versus Persians. Marathon in the 490 BC; Thermopylae, Leonidas had 61 years when he blocked the Persians at Thermopylae, luckily for the Greeks then there was no '100 quota'; in Salamis (480 BC), the Greek fleet stopped the Persian invasion by sinking 300 ships whose wreckage ended up on the beach of Colia. This made the prophecy understandable: Colia's women will roast the barley with the oars.
Romans against Carthaginians. For hegemony in the western Mediterranean, Rome and Carthage fought three wars. The most famous battles: Canne (Puglia, 2 August 216 BC) and Zama (Africa 19 October 202 BC) were won, respectively, by Hannibal (the greatest general of all time) and Scipione Africanus who, at 17 years , in battle (Ticino) he had saved the life of his wounded father. The 3 ^ Punic war had no history, Carthage was literally razed to the ground by Scipione Emiliano in the 146 BC
Christians against Muslims. In less distant times (1571), the battle of Lepanto was fought between the fleets of the Lega Santa (Pio V) and the Ottoman Empire and was very bloody, the Christians wanted to avenge the atrocious torture suffered by Marcantonio Bragadin in Famagosta for work of the Ottomans.
If we consider the near and middle east, which also gravitate on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, we can say that, in the Mediterranean area, more wars have been fought than in the rest of the world. Currently, peace, understood as the absence of war, 'reigns' in the Mediterranean with the exception of the civil war in Syria. Theoretically, Israel is also at peace with its Arab neighbors. But it is not the peace signified by the words 'Shalom' and 'Salam'.
And yet, right on the shores of the Mediterranean, in the 1259 BC, the first written peace treaty of Humanity (treaty of Kadesh) was stipulated. By definition, a peace treaty ends a war, the treaty in question, as we will see later, went much further. Before presenting it, I will talk about its contractors and the historical context in which they lived and operated. In this way, the peculiarity of that treatise will emerge better, whose clauses were very advanced with respect to the modus operandi of the time. Due to its historical importance, a copy of the treaty is located in the UN headquarters building
The Kadesh treaty ended a long period of hostility between Egypt and the Hittite kingdom. When Ramses became Pharaoh (in 1279 BC), the Hittites had extended their influence over principalities and vassal kingdoms of Egypt located in northern Syria, at the epic important trading center for the supply of metals and wood for the construction of ships, materials of which Egypt was without. To take back those territories, Ramses decided to face the Hittites in Kadesh. When he arrived at the fortress of Kadesh (May of 1274 BC), Ramses was ambushed. 2.500 Hittite battle tanks attacked and destroyed an Egyptian division and then attacked the Pharaoh's camp. Ramses, despite having at that time of inferior strength: 4.000 infantrymen, including his bodyguard: 500 Sherden (ex-Sardinian pirates), reacted with courage and determination. He left the soldiers with the defense of the camp, got into his chariot and drove his 700-800 wagons against the 2.500 Hittite tanks. He attacked the wing of the Hittite camp, dispersed it and thus had the green light to attack the whole camp behind. This was possible because the Egyptian chariots were a masterpiece of the technology of the time, sturdy and very light, weighed little more than a suitcase (between 25 and 30 kg, a specimen weighing 24 kg is kept in Florence) and they could carry two people: the charioteer and the archer. The Hittite tanks, to attack the infantry, carried two archers over the charioteer. In combat, the greater weight of the Hittites (130-150 kg) made them slower and less maneuverable, which is why Ramses managed to get around them and attack from behind. Moreover, due to the difference in weight and maneuverability, the horses yoked to Hittite carts tired much sooner than those yoked to the Egyptian chariots.
With a vehemence that must have terrified the enemies; Ramses reorganized and led his to attack six times. Seeing Ramses fight had to be impressive. He was tall 1,85, so very high compared to his contemporaries. He was light-skinned and had a natural red-haired hair. He was also a good archer, capable of darting a dozen arrows per minute.
The Hittite wagons, surrounded and decimated by the attacks of Ramses, escaped. The Hittite commander sent all the other carts to the attack, but even these were overwhelmed, Ramses was now master of the battlefield. Moreover, she had come to give him an allied division.
Thus closed the first day of the battle. There is no news of subsequent fighting.
The Hittites, despite having their infantry in perfect working order, had lost most of their wagons and locked themselves in the fortress of Kadesh. Ramses had only two efficient divisions; the other three had been severely tested by the fighting. Therefore, not having sufficient forces to besiege the fortress, he returned to Egypt. No one had won, although everyone attributed the victory.
After the battle of Kadesh, Egyptians and Hittites no longer directly clashed and fifteen years later Ramses and Hattusili ended the war by entering into the Kadesh treaty.
That treatise would not exist or, at least, would not exist in its astonishing version if it had not occurred that ...
On his way back from Kadesh, Hattusili stopped at a temple of the goddess Istar and was struck by the beauty of a teenage priestess, Puduhepa, fell in love with her and married her. Despite the age difference, Hattusili had 40 years and Puduhepa was fifteen, between the two a unique bond was established for the customs of the time (and not only then): they formed a couple with equal powers in governing, in relations with other countries , in administering justice etc. Hattiusili was a military man, he had been the commander in chief of the Hittite army; under the influence of Puduhepa, he became a diplomat and mediator. Once he became emperor (1265 BC), he developed diplomatic relations with the rulers of neighboring states and empires of equal importance and involved the vassal states in a network of peaceful collaboration.
Some aspects of the treaty of interest to us moderns
1 - The first and most surprising of the novelties is that the treaty was also signed by a woman. More precisely, since the signatures did not exist at the time, on the treaty he affixed his personal seal: the Queen of the Hittites, Puduhepa, in addition to the Pharaoh and the Emperor of the Hittites.
Queen Puduhepa affixed her seal because she had contributed, in a decisive manner: to the peace negotiations, to the formulation of the rules that would regulate relations between the two states and, among these, to the guarantees on respect for human rights. 3.278 years ago, Puduhepa, a young woman from 30 years, grown up in a society of warriors, queen in a totalitarian state, managed to convince the most famous Pharaoh in history - represented on bas-reliefs while trampling and killing enemies - to insert into a treaty of peace and for the first time, respect for human rights. Today, something does not work on the scale of human values if one rages over prisoners in front of cameras or if unarmed women and children are shot down.
2 - Recently, President Trump recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, occupied by the 1967. Trump's gesture probably does not change the de facto situation ... In the peace treaty of Kadesh the boundaries of the areas of influence are not indicated, which, moreover, constituted the reason why the war had begun. The negotiators of that treaty had come to the conclusion that stipulating peace was the priority end, then an agreement on borders would be reached.
3 - It was not a peace treaty between winners and losers, but it was a peace treaty between equals. Egypt and the Hittite empire were then, by military potential, what the United States and Russia are today: two superpowers. The Pharaoh of Egypt and the Emperor of the Hittites had realized that, continuing to fight for control of northern Syria, it made no sense. The north of Syria was a crossroads of commercial traffic and at war the businesses languished. Moreover, the battle of Kadesh had been emblematic, no one had won, yet in no other battle of antiquity had so many combat wagons (5.500) been used. Between the dead and the wounded, Ramses had lost about 10.000 men on 15.000 fighters and the Hittites 7.000 of the 10.500 tanks that they had in total. Ramses had been about to be killed or captured and had been fighting on his wagon for hours; on the Hittite side, two brothers of the Hittite emperor had fallen in combat. Thus, it was more convenient to freeze the status quo, as far as the respective zones of influence were concerned, and to establish a peace and alliance treaty.
The treaty
The original versions were written on silver plates. The Egyptian version in hieroglyphics, with the Pharaoh's seal affixed, was sent to the emperor of the Hittites and the Hittite version, sent to Ramses, bore the personal seal of the Queen, in addition to the Emperor's seal.
The original specimens were not found, copies of the two versions were found: on clay tablet fragments, in the Akkadian language and cuneiform writing and in the Egyptian language and hieroglyphic writing (temple of Karnak). The seal of the Queen is still legible on the Egyptian copy ... omissis ... is the seal of Padukhepa, the great sovereign of the country of Kheta ... omissis ...
Summary of the qualifying points
1) For the first time, a declaration of peace was binding for future generations of rulers and, more extraordinary, the declaration involved the respective peoples in the peace process (At that time, the treaties were stipulated between the rulers and only committed the contractors) .
2) Declaration of non-aggression
The renunciation, always (ie in any case) and forever, of any form of hostility between the two countries: "none of the two rulers will cross the border of the other country to seize something and this forever."
3) Military alliance
The military alliance was only defensive and was well articulated:
a) it would have entered into force only at the explicit request of the reigning ruling authority
b) the ally could intervene directly in the conflict or, alternatively, make his army available to the attacked country.
The treaty foresaw the military intervention of the ally even in the case of internal revolts or, in general, of other subjects, ie rebellions of vassal peoples.
4) Extradition
The treaty distinguished two categories of refugees; the VIPs (fugitives for 'political' crimes) and the common people (emigrants).
The obligation to extradite VIPs was extended to vassal states. Vip refugees did not have to be granted asylum or permission to reside, they had to be taken and delivered: the Hittite refugees in Hattusili, and the Egyptian refugees in Ramses.
Emigrants had to be denied residence permits and had to be sent home. This is understandable since some categories of artisans were strategic for their respective countries, for example, for Egypt, the manufacturers of battle tanks and, for Hatti, the iron foundries for the construction.
5) Guarantees for the respect of Human Rights
The extradited were to be returned 'in life, health and strength'.
The treaty required that one should not act against relatives (wives and children) and the assets of the fugitives. It also prohibited the killing of returnees, as well as the imposition of corporal punishment.
Queen Puduhepa
Of Queen Puduhepa, there were no statues or paintings. We received part of your correspondence (institutional and private) sufficient to outline your personality: an excellent government woman, a good wife and mother. His limitations stemmed from the fact that he was aware of his own abilities and intelligence; veins of irony permeate, sometimes, his letters, and of this he gives splendid testimony a letter written to Faraone.Visse 90 years and officially reigned together with his son and then, in fact, with his nephew. His seal is a masterpiece of affirming his role as a woman. The emperor is not represented there, while she is represented in the seal of the emperor. The seal, circular in shape, is divided into two semicircles from the name of the queen written in Hittite hieroglyphics. In the two semicircles there are the stylized profiles of two feminine faces, one facing the other, on the right the queen, on the left the divinity: the sun goddess Arinna, simple profiles, not dresses, not ornaments, not symbols of divine or temporal power. The seal is striking for its essentiality: the Queen and the Divinity. It is probable that the affixing of the seal had for the Queen, in addition to the value of signature, also that of religious commitment.
Puduhepa's contribution to peace was not limited to the treaty. From archaeological finds, it appears that the queen asked (ie imposed) on the king of the city-state of Ugarit, to sign a peace treaty with Egypt.
Moreover, after the signing of the treaty, he linked letters with Ramses and Nefertari, the beautiful and cultured Nefertari.
At that time, maintaining regular correspondence was not a simple thing for two reasons: writing and transport.
The Egyptians spoke Egyptian (a Semitic language) and used hieroglyphics for writing.
The Hittites spoke Hittite one of the oldest Indo-European languages, the writing was of the cuneiform type.
The language used in relations between states was Akkadian (the oldest Semitic language) and cuneiform writing.
Thus, a letter sent by the Pharaoh was to be translated from the Egyptian hieroglyphics into Cacheiform Akkadian and came to the Emperor of the Hittites from Akkadian (Semitic language) to Hittite (Indo-European language). The answer was the reverse procedure.
The messengers traveled over 2.000 km to come from Luxor to Hattusa, of which 500 to cross the rugged mountains of Anatolia. Moreover, at the time there were no relay races on horseback, the horse had not yet been completely tamed and was used for the shooting of battle carts, for journeys carts pulled by onagers were used, very robust wild donkeys. It is reasonable to assume that for an exchange of letters (message and reply) it would take from four to six months, depending on the weather seasons.
The difficulty in connections allows me to report an episode that highlights how peace had modified relations between Egypt and Hatti.
Some time after the treaty was signed, Hattusili had an eye infection and medicines to treat it were only available in Egypt. Ramses knew that Hattusili in Kadesh had ambushed him, but now they were no longer at war and Hattusili needed him. Ramses organized a swift transport of medicines from Luxor to Hattusa (more or less, Bari-Kopenhagen without roads and highways) and wrote to him: 'I have arranged for a chariot to carry my envoy with medicines to the Prince of Amurru, who he will deliver them to you through a liaison officer of your battle tanks. "
They had been bitter enemies and had fought harshly but, after signing the treaty, they didn't think of revenge or revenge, they laid down their arms and lived in peace and brotherhood, helping each other in times of difficulty. When, many years later, a terrible famine struck the country of the Hittites (Ramses and Hattusili were already dead), Merempath, son and successor of Ramses, rescued the Hittite population by sending the necessary grain. It did not occur to him to take advantage of the situation to recover northern Syria.
The Kadesh treaty worked well and the violations were of little consequence.
Its success is due to the fact that the contractors had understood that, between sovereign states, the stability of the relations is linked to a substantial reciprocity of the rights and duties established in the treaties. Only this reciprocity can generate security.
Furthermore, the treaty in question, as old as 3.278 years, imparts two lessons to the modern world.
The first lesson is easy to highlight: in the treaty there are no ethnic, political or religious centralisms.
The second lesson is more subtle. At the time of Ramses, the Egyptians used the term 'htp' (hotep) to indicate peace as a situation of non-hostility (military and political). Therefore, a peace treaty (hotep) established the rules of non-hostile coexistence between two peoples. The Treaty of Kadesh insists on peace and brotherhood, it almost never separates the two terms. Peace is a relationship between peoples. Peace and brotherhood create a community that goes beyond belonging to a people.
This difference was well known to Queen Puduhepa, who, as well as being queen, was a priestess for life: states create societies, religion creates community.
Around another queen: Nefertari.
Allow me an off topic on another woman, also a queen, more of the heart of her husband than of the Egyptians. Almost every day we read about acts of violence and murders committed by men against women. I wish to recall the esteem, respect and love with which Ramses surrounded Nefertari. Ramses married her very young and loved her intensely.
In ancient Egypt the temples were built only in honor of the Pharaohs.
Ramses had a temple built for Nefertari, at Abu Simbel. The facade is wide 28 meters and the statues that represent Ramses and Nefertari are 10 meters high and it is the only Egyptian temple in which the queen has the same importance as the pharaoh.
On the frontispiece of the temple, Ramses had these two dedications carved:
- The Pharaoh Ramses II built a temple by digging the mountain, a human work destined to be eternal, this Pharaoh temple built it for the Great Royal Bride Nefertari.
- This temple of large and impressive monuments is dedicated to the Great Royal Bride Nefertari, for whose sake the sun rises ...
A splendid expression; Ramses universalizes the object of his love, as Dante and Beatrice will do in a very famous sonnet 'it seems to be something coming from heaven to earth to miraculously show' (so kind and so honest it seems).
Ramses was a lucky man because he had a woman who knew how to capture his love, to the point that, as a last declaration of love, Ramses wrote:
"She is my only love, no one can compete with her, she is the most beautiful woman in the world. Now, dying, he took my heart with him. "
(Oronzo Sciacovelli. Full Professor of Organic Chemistry (iq) University of Bari)