Ramesses II and the Hittite king Hattusili III conclude one of the earliest peace treaties whose text survives.
Approximate date.
Ramesses II's Egyptian army fights the Hittites near Kadesh in Syria, one of the largest chariot battles of antiquity.
Ramesses II begins a reign of about 66 years, regarded as one of Egypt's most powerful and celebrated pharaohs.
Many Eastern Mediterranean states, including the Hittite Empire, collapse or decline sharply during a prolonged period of upheaval.
Ancient Greek tradition placed the war between the Greeks and Troy around the 12th century BCE; its historicity remains debated.
Pharaoh Akhenaten elevates the worship of the Aten and moves the capital to Amarna, an unusual religious upheaval in Egyptian history.
The Phoenicians use a consonantal alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Arabic scripts.