The Battle of Kadesh was fought in Syria in approximately 1275 BC and pitted the Egyptians, under the great pharaoh Ramses II, against the Hittites. The sources that depict the battle are Egyptian: an epic inscription called the “Poem”, written by an anonymous scribe, and numerous reliefs in the temple known as the “Ramessium”. Led by Muwatallish, the Hittite army boasted as many as 19,000 men, with around 10,500 of them fighting in three-man chariots. Although the forces of Ramses II outnumbered the Hittites, with an estimated 20,000 men, the Egyptians lost the battle. Despite this, however, the Egyptian sources claimed a victory, marking the first known instance of written propaganda.