A treaty signed around 1259 BCE between Egyptian pharaoh Ramsès II and Hittite king Hattusili III is recognized as the oldest known international peace agreement. The treaty, created during the 21st year of Ramsès’s reign, included a mutual obligation to return fugitives to their original rulers without punishment. These individuals were to be returned safely, with protections such as the preservation of their homes, the safety of their families, and a prohibition against physical harm or mutilation. The agreement was reached after a personal conflict between Hattusili and his nephew, who had taken refuge in Egypt, and it helped ease tensions between the two powerful empires. The conflict between Egypt and the Hittites had begun with the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE, which ended in a stalemate. Faced with threats from the Assyrians, the Hittites chose diplomacy over continued warfare, even if it meant accepting a peace that did not fully restore their earlier territorial gains. The treaty extended beyond the issue of fugitives, covering non-aggression, military support in case of invasion, and Egypt’s promise to back the Hittite heir if there were challenges to his rule. The Egyptian version of the treaty includes more detailed protections, such as the explicit prohibition against killing the mother of a fugitive and against harming the individual in ways that would affect their eyes, mouth, or feet—references to actual forms of mutilation. Most of the treaty’s clauses are worded in a reciprocal manner, with the cuneiform version containing six rules on refugees, compared to four in the Egyptian version. The Akkadian version of the treaty was discovered in 1906 in Hattusa, the former Hittite capital in modern-day Turkey, by German archaeologists. It is now preserved on a clay tablet in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. The Egyptian version is inscribed in hieroglyphs on the walls of the temple of Amun at Karnak and the Ramesseum. Although the original silver tablets given to the two kings have been lost, descriptions by Egyptian scribes have allowed scholars to reconstruct the Hittite version on paper. In late September 2026, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the discovery of a new cuneiform fragment in the province of Çorum, which contains passages from articles 12 to 20 of the treaty. These sections address the treatment of individuals who had fled from Egypt or the Hittite kingdom and emphasize the protection of homes from destruction. This discovery adds more detail to the extradition clause over 3,000 years after the treaty was first written. The text of the treaty was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World register in 2001, recognizing its historical significance. In 1970, Turkey gifted a copper replica of the treaty tablet, created by sculptor Sadi Çalık, to the United Nations. It was presented by Turkish Foreign Minister İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil and accepted by UN Secretary-General U Thant. The replica is displayed in the corridor of the UN conference building, near the Security Council chamber. While the exact date of the treaty remains debated, with estimates ranging from 1259 to 1269 BCE, the 21st year of Ramsès II’s reign is widely accepted as the correct timeframe.