Siege of Dapur

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Siege of Dapur
Part of the Egyptian-Hittite wars
The Siege of Dapur on a mural in Ramesses II's temple in Tebes
Date 1269 BC Location Dapur, Syria Result Egypt takes Dapur; Egyptian victory
Belligerents
New Kingdom of Egypt	Hittite Empire
Commanders
Ramesses II	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	Considerably fewer
Casualties and losses
Unknown (probably lower)	Unknown

The Siege of Dapur occurred as part of Ramesses II's campaign to suppress Galilee and conquer Syria in 1269 BC. He inscribed his campaign on the wall of his mortuary temple, the Ramesseum in Thebes. The inscriptions say that Dapur was "in the land of Hatti".^[1] Although Dapur has often been identified with Tabor in Canaan, Kenneth Kitchen argues that this identification is incorrect and that the Dapur in question is in Syria.^[2]

From Egyptian reliefs we can see that Dapur was a city, heavily fortified with both inner and outer walls, and situated on a hill which was usual for Syrian cities and many other cities in the Bronze Age.

Contemporary illustrations of the siege show the use of ladders and chariots with soldiers climbing scale ladders supported by archers. Six of the sons of Ramesses, still wearing their side locks, also appear on those depictions of the siege. Those include:

“

King's son, of his body, his beloved, Khamwese. King's son, of his body, his beloved, Montu[...]. King's son, of his body, his beloved, Meriamon. King's son, of his body, his beloved, Amenemuya. King's son, of his body, his beloved, Seti. King's son, of his body, his beloved, Setepnere.

”

[edit] References

• James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Part III § 359.