Arms control, risk reduction, and the art of the possible

By Jack Kennedy | May 13, 2026

The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty (also known as the Treaty of Kadesh) was concluded between the pharaoh Ramesses the Great of Egypt and the emperor Ḫattušili III of the Hittites around 1259 BC. A copy of it was written on clay tablets in cuneiform, which can be seen today on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum in Turkey. It may well be the world’s oldest surviving peace treaty—or even the earliest example of any written international agreement of any kind. Image courtesy of Museum of the Ancient Orient, one of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, under terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2

Arms control, risk reduction, and the art of the possible

By Jack Kennedy | May 13, 2026

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References

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