A site strategically placed on the River Orontes in Syria, famous for the inconclusive battle between Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatallis of the Hittites c 1286 (1275 in some accounts) BC. Both sides claimed the victory, but it was actually a truce. Kadesh is mentioned for the first time in Egyptian sources when Thutmose III (1479-1426 BC) defeated a Syrian insurrection by the prince of Kadesh at Megiddo in Palestine. Kadesh remained an outpost of Egyptian influence until it came under Hittite rule (c 1340 BC). The invasion of the Sea Peoples in c 1185 BC was the demise of Kadesh.