The Secrets of the World’s First Peace Treaty

Recommended age: 16+ years

There are still many secrets to reveal in the peace treaty between Ramses II of Egypt and Ḫattušili III of Ḫatti (modern day Turkey), the earliest extant case in world history (2nd millennium BCE). Who wrote it? Did they really record it on precious silver? Why is the Egyptian version so different from the Akkadian version? Egypt and Ḫatti seem to have already been at peace at the time, so why did they bother to create a new treaty? Award-winning journalist and broadcaster Natasha Mitchell sits down with Macquarie University Egyptologist, Dr Camilla Di-Biase Dyson to discuss some of these burning questions.

Note: Ticket price does NOT include entry to Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs.

Dr Camilla Di Biase-Dyson studied Egyptology, Ancient History and modern languages at Macquarie University and gained her doctorate there in 2009. She then moved to Germany, to take up postdoctoral positions (including the Alexander von Humboldt research fellowship) in Berlin (2010–2012). From 2012–2019 she was Junior Professor for Egyptology at the University of Göttingen in Germany.

In 2019–2020 she held a research fellowship at the University of Vienna. In 2020 she returned to Australia and is now Senior Lecturer in Egyptology at Macquarie University in Sydney. Her research focuses on emotion, cognition, medical and body knowledges and religious belief, based on case studies from Ancient Egyptian texts.

Natasha Mitchell is a multi-award-winning science and culture journalist, radio presenter, podcaster, and documentary maker. She is host of ABC Radio National's flagship Big Ideas program, was founding host and producer of the blockbuster radio show and podcast All in the Mind for a decade, hosted the ABC's daily social affairs program Life Matters, and was founding host and producer of Science Friction, awarded Best Science and Medicine podcast at the Australian Podcast Awards.

Natasha served as vice president of the World Federation of Science Journalists and was recipient of a prestigious Knight Fellowship at MIT/Harvard. Her journalism has received numerous accolades, including the overall Grand Prize and four Gold World Medals at the New York Radio Festivals. She has facilitated many public forums around Australia, including four science dialogues with the Dalai Lama and guests. She has an engineering degree with first class honours and a postgraduate qualification in science communication.

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