The earliest known surviving peace treaty was drawn up in 1271BC and signed by the Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses II (Ramses the Great), and Hattusilis III, King of the Hittites. Two copies of the treaty were made, one in hieroglyphics, the other in the Mesopotamian language of Akkadian (or Babylonian-Assyrian). In the treaty, both parties not only agreed to end years of warring between Egypt and Hatti (in present-day Turkey), but also to a mutual alliance in the event of foreign or domestic aggression and to the extradition of rebels, fugitives and political refugees. A fragile peace remained for the next 40 years until the fall of the Hittite Empire.

A copy remains in the Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt, the initial version were recorded on silver tablets.