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Ramesses II
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Ramesses II
Ramesses II
Ramesses the Great
Ramesses II: one of four external seated statues at Abu SimbelRamesses II: one of four external seated statues at Abu Simbel
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign
1279–1213 BC, 19th Dynasty
Predecessor
Seti I
Successor
Merneptah
Consort(s)
Nefertari, Isetnofret, Maathorneferure, Meritamen, Bintanath, Nebettawy,
Henutmire
Children
Amun-her-khepsef
Prince Ramesses
Pareherwenemef
Khaemweset
Merneptah
Meryatum
Bintanath
Meritamen
Nebettawy
See also: List of children of Ramesses II
Father
Seti I
Mother
Queen Tuya
Born
c. 1300s BC
Died
1213 BC
Burial
KV7
Monuments
Abu Simbel, Abydos,
[3]
Ramesseum, Luxor and Karnak temples
[4]
Ramesses II (c. 1303 BC – July or August 1213 BC; Egyptian: *Riʻmīsisu, alternatively transcribed as Rameses
/ˈræməsiːz/[5] and Ramses /ˈræmsiːz/ or /ˈræmziːz/),[6] referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian
pharaoh (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC) of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most
celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire.[7] His successors and later Egyptians called him the
"Great Ancestor". Ramesses II led several military expeditions into the Levant, re-asserting Egyptian control over
Canaan. He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf
Hussein.
At age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father Seti I.[7] He is believed to have taken the
throne in his late teens and is known to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[8] for a total of 66 years and 2
months, according to both Manetho and Egypt's contemporary historical records. He was once said to have lived to
be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became Pharaoh in 1279 BC as most
Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession
date of III Shemu day 27.[9] [10] Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more
than any other pharaoh.[11] On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings;[12] his body was later
moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.[13]
Ramesses II
The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of
Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the
remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main
Temple of Set.
He is also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses's
throne name, Usermaatre Setepenre, "Ra's mighty truth, chosen of Ra".[14]
Campaigns and battles
Early in his life, Ramesses II embarked on numerous campaigns to
return previously held territories back from Nubian and Hittite hands
and to secure Egypt's borders. He was also responsible for
suppressing some Nubian revolts and carrying out a campaign in
Libya. Although the famous Battle of Kadesh often dominates the
scholarly view of Ramesses II's military prowess and power, he
nevertheless enjoyed more than a few outright victories over the
enemies of Egypt. During Ramesses II's reign, the Egyptian army is
estimated to have totaled about 100,000 men; a formidable force that
he used to strengthen Egyptian influence.[15]
Battle against Sherden sea pirates
In his second year, Ramesses II decisively defeated the Shardana or
Sherden sea pirates who were wreaking havoc along Egypt's
Mediterranean coast by attacking cargo-laden vessels travelling the
Ramesses II as a child (Cairo Museum)
sea routes to Egypt.[16] The Sherden people probably came from the
coast of Ionia or possibly south-west Turkey. Ramesses posted
troops and ships at strategic points along the coast and patiently allowed the pirates to attack their prey before
skillfully catching them by surprise in a sea battle and capturing them all in a single action.[17] A stele from Tanis
speaks of their having come "in their war-ships from the midst of the sea, and none were able to stand before them".
There must have been a naval battle somewhere near the mouth of the Nile, as shortly afterwards many Sherden are
seen in the Pharaoh's body-guard where they are conspicuous by their horned helmets with a ball projecting from the
middle, their round shields and the great Naue II swords with which they are depicted in inscriptions of the Battle of
Kadesh.[18] In that sea battle, together with the Shardana, the pharaoh also defeated the Lukka (L'kkw, possibly the
later Lycians), and the Šqrsšw (Shekelesh) peoples.
First Syrian campaign
The immediate antecedents to the Battle of Kadesh were the early campaigns of Ramesses II into Canaan and
Palestine. His first campaign seems to have taken place in the fourth year of his reign and was commemorated by the
erection of a stele near modern Beirut. The inscription is almost totally illegible due to weathering. His records tell
us that he was forced to fight a Palestinian prince who was mortally wounded by an Egyptian archer, and whose
army was subsequently routed. Ramesses carried off the princes of Palestine as live prisoners to Egypt. Ramesses
then plundered the chiefs of the Asiatics in their own lands, returning every year to his headquarters at Riblah to
exact tribute. In the fourth year of his reign, he captured the Hittite vassal state of Amurru during his campaign in
Syria.[19]
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Ramesses II
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Second Syrian campaign
Further information: Battle of Kadesh
The Battle of Kadesh in his fifth regnal year was the climactic
engagement in a campaign that Ramesses fought in Syria, against the
resurgent Hittite forces of Muwatallis. The pharaoh wanted a victory
at Kadesh both to expand Egypt's frontiers into Syria and to emulate
his father Seti I's triumphal entry into the city just a decade or so
earlier. He also constructed his new capital, Pi-Ramesses where he
built factories to manufacture weapons, chariots, and shields. Of
course, they followed his wishes and manufactured some 1,000
weapons in a week, about 250 chariots in 2 weeks, and 1,000 shields
in a week and a half. After these preparations, Ramesses moved to
attack territory in the Levant which belonged to a more substantial
enemy than any he had ever faced before: the Hittite Empire.[20]
Although Ramesses's forces were caught in a Hittite ambush and
outnumbered at Kadesh, the pharaoh fought the battle to a stalemate
Statue of Ramesses II (Museo Egizio of Turin)
and returned home a hero. Ramesses II's forces suffered major losses
particularly among the 'Ra' division which was routed by the initial
charge of the Hittite chariots during the battle. Once back in Egypt, Ramesses proclaimed that he had won a great
victory.[21] He had amazed everybody by almost winning a lost battle. The Battle of Kadesh was a personal triumph
for Ramesses, as after blundering into a devastating Hittite ambush, the young king courageously rallied his scattered
troops to fight on the battlefield while escaping death or capture. Still, many historians regard the battle as a strategic
defeat for the Egyptians as they were unable to occupy the city or territory around Kadesh. Ramesses decorated his
monuments with reliefs and inscriptions describing the campaign as a whole, and the battle in particular as a major
victory. Inscriptions of his victory decorate the Ramesseum,[22] Abydos, Karnak, Luxor and Abu Simbel. For
example, on the temple walls of Luxor the near catastrophe was turned into an act of heroism:
His majesty slaughtered the armed forces of the Hittites in their entirety, their great rulers and all their
brothers ... their infantry and chariot troops fell prostrate, one on top of the other. His majesty killed them ...
and they lay stretched out in front of their horses. But his majesty was alone, nobody accompanied him ...[23]
Third Syrian campaign
Egypt's sphere of influence was now restricted to Canaan while Syria fell into Hittite hands. Canaanite princes,
seemingly influenced by the Egyptian incapacity to impose their will, and goaded on by the Hittites, began revolts
against Egypt. In the seventh year of his reign, Ramesses II returned to Syria once again. This time he proved more
successful against his Hittite foes. During this campaign he split his army into two forces. One was led by his son,
Amun-her-khepeshef, and it chased warriors of the Šhasu tribes across the Negev as far as the Dead Sea, and
captured Edom-Seir. It then marched on to capture Moab. The other force, led by Ramesses, attacked Jerusalem and
Jericho. He, too, then entered Moab, where he rejoined his son. The reunited army then marched on Hesbon,
Damascus, on to Kumidi, and finally recaptured Upi, reestablishing Egypt's former sphere of influence.[24]
Ramesses II
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Later campaigns in Syria
Ramesses extended his military successes in his eighth and ninth
years. He crossed the Dog River (Nahr el-Kelb) and pushed north
into Amurru. His armies managed to march as far north as Dapur,[25]
where he erected a statue of himself. The Egyptian pharaoh thus
found himself in northern Amurru, well past Kadesh, in Tunip,
where no Egyptian soldier had been seen since the time of Thutmose
III almost 120 years earlier. He laid siege to the city before capturing
it. His victory proved to be ephemeral. In year nine, Ramesses
erected a stele at Beth Shean. After having reasserted his power over
Canaan, Ramesses led his army north. A mostly illegible stele near
Beirut, which appears to be dated to the king's second year, was
probably set up there in his tenth.[26] The thin strip of territory
pinched between Amurru and Kadesh did not make for a stable
possession. Within a year, they had returned to the Hittite fold, so
that Ramesses had to march against Dapur once more in his tenth
year. This time he claimed to have fought the battle without even
bothering to put on his corslet until two hours after the fighting
began. Six of Ramesses's sons, still wearing their side locks, took
Relief from Ramesseum showing the siege of Dapur
part in this conquest. He took towns in Retenu,[27] and Tunip in
Naharin,[28] later recorded on the walls of the Ramesseum.[29] This
second success here was equally as meaningless as his first, as neither power could decisively defeat the other in
battle.[30]
Peace treaty with the Hittites
The deposed Hittite king, Mursili III fled to Egypt, the land of his
country's enemy, after the failure of his plots to oust his uncle from the
throne. Hattusili III responded by demanding that Ramesses II
extradite his nephew back to Hatti.[31]
This demand precipitated a crisis in relations between Egypt and Hatti
when Ramesses denied any knowledge of Mursili's whereabouts in his
country, and the two Empires came dangerously close to war.
Eventually, in the twenty-first year of his reign (1258 BC), Ramesses
decided to conclude an agreement with the new Hittite king at Kadesh,
Hattusili III, to end the conflict. The ensuing document is the earliest
known peace treaty in world history.[32]
The peace treaty was recorded in two versions, one in Egyptian
hieroglyphs, the other in Akkadian, using cuneiform script; both
versions survive. Such dual-language recording is common to many
subsequent treaties. This treaty differs from others however, in that the
Tablet of treaty between Hattusili III of Hatti and
two language versions are differently worded. Although the majority of
Ramesses II of Egypt, at the Istanbul
Archaeology Museum
the text is identical, the Hittite version claims that the Egyptians came
suing for peace, while the Egyptian version claims the reverse.[33] The
treaty was given to the Egyptians in the form of a silver plaque, and this "pocket-book" version was taken back to
Egypt and carved into the Temple of Karnak.
Ramesses II
The treaty was concluded between Ramesses II and Hattusili III in Year 21 of Ramesses's reign.[34] (c. 1258 BC) Its
18 articles call for peace between Egypt and Hatti and then proceeds to maintain that their respective gods also
demand peace. The frontiers are not laid down in this treaty but can be inferred from other documents. The Anastasy
A papyrus describes Canaan during the latter part of the reign of Ramesses II and enumerates and names the
Phoenician coastal towns under Egyptian control. The harbour town of Sumur north of Byblos is mentioned as being
the northern-most town belonging to Egypt, which points to it having contained an Egyptian garrison.[35]
No further Egyptian campaigns in Canaan are mentioned after the conclusion of the peace treaty. The northern
border seems to have been safe and quiet, so the rule of the pharaoh was strong until Ramesses II's death, and the
waning of the dynasty.[36] When the King of Mira attempted to involve Ramesses in a hostile act against the Hittites,
the Egyptian responded that the times of intrigue in support of Mursili III, had passed. Hattusili III wrote to
Kadashman-Enlil II, King of Karduniash (Babylon) in the same spirit, reminding him of the time when his father,
Kadashman-Turgu, had offered to fight Ramesses II, the king of Egypt. The Hittite king encouraged the Babylonian
to oppose another enemy, which must have been the king of Assyria whose allies had killed the messenger of the
Egyptian king. Hattusili encouraged Kadashman-Enlil to come to his aid and prevent the Assyrians from cutting the
link between the Canaanite province of Egypt and Mursili III, the ally of Ramesses.
Campaigns in Nubia
Ramesses II also campaigned south of the first cataract into Nubia.
When Ramesses was about 22, two of his own sons, including
Amun-her-khepeshef, accompanied him in at least one of those
campaigns. By the time of Ramesses, Nubia had been a colony for two
hundred years, but its conquest was recalled in decoration from the
temples Ramesses II built at Beit el-Wali[37] (which was the subject of
epigraphic work by the Oriental Institute during the Nubian salvage
campaign of the 1960s),[38] Gerf Hussein and Kalabsha in northern
Nubia. On the south wall of the Beit el-Wali temple, Ramesses II is
Photo of the free standing part of Gerf Hussein
depicted charging into battle against the Nubians in a war chariot,
temple, originally in Nubia
while his two young sons Amun-her-khepsef and Khaemwaset are
shown being present behind him, also in war chariots. On one of the
walls of Ramesses's temples it says that in one of the battles with the Nubians he had to fight the whole battle alone
without any help from his soldiers.
Campaigns in Libya
During the reign of Ramesses II, there is evidence that the Egyptians were active on a 300-kilometre (190 mi) stretch
along the Mediterranean coast, at least as far as Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham.[39] Although the exact events surrounding
the foundation of the coastal forts and fortresses is not clear, some degree of political and military control must have
been held over the region to allow their construction.
There are no detailed accounts of Ramesses II's undertaking large military actions against the Libyans, only
generalised records of his conquering and crushing them, which may or may not refer to specific events that were
otherwise unrecorded. It may be that some of the records, such as the Aswan Stele of his year 2, are harking back to
Ramesses's presence on his father's Libyan campaigns. Perhaps it was Seti I who achieved this supposed control over
the region, and who planned to establish the defensive system, in a manner similar to how he rebuilt those to the east,
the Ways of Horus across Northern Sinai.
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Ramesses II
Religious impact
Ramesses was the pharaoh most responsible for erasing the Amarna Period from history. He, more than any other
pharaoh, sought deliberately to deface the Amarna monuments and change the nature of the religious structure and
the structure of the priesthood, in order to try to bring it back to where it had been prior to the reign of Akhenaten.
Sed festival
Further information: Sed festival
After reigning for 30 years, Ramesses joined a selected group that included only a handful of Egypt's longest-lived
kings. By tradition, in the 30th year of his reign Ramesses celebrated a jubilee called the Sed festival, during which
the king was ritually transformed into a god.[40] Only halfway through what would be a 66-year reign, Ramesses had
already eclipsed all but a few greatest kings in his achievements. He had brought peace, maintained Egyptian borders
and built great and numerous monuments across the empire. His country was more prosperous and powerful than it
had been in nearly a century. By becoming a god, Ramesses dramatically changed not just his role as ruler of Egypt,
but also the role of his firstborn son, Amun-her-khepsef. As the chosen heir and commander and chief of Egyptian
armies, his son effectively became ruler in all but name.
Building activity and monuments
Ramesses built extensively throughout Egypt and Nubia, and his
cartouches are prominently displayed even in buildings that he did not
actually construct.[41] There are accounts of his honor hewn on stone,
statues, remains of palaces and temples, most notably the Ramesseum
in the western Thebes and the rock temples of Abu Simbel. He covered
the land from the Delta to Nubia with buildings in a way no king
before him had done.[42] He also founded a new capital city in the
Delta during his reign called Pi-Ramesses; it had previously served as a
summer palace during Seti I's reign.[43]
His memorial temple Ramesseum, was just the beginning of the
pharaoh's obsession with building. When he built, he built on a scale
unlike almost anything before. In the third year of his reign Ramesses
started the most ambitious building project after the pyramids, that
were built 1,500 years earlier. The population was put to work on
changing the face of Egypt. In Thebes, the ancient temples were
The Younger Memnon part of a colossal statue of
transformed, so that each one of them reflected honour to Ramesses as
Ramesses from the Ramasseum, now in the
a symbol of this divine nature and power. Ramesses decided to
British Museum
eternalize himself in stone, and so he ordered changes to the methods
used by his masons. The elegant but shallow reliefs of previous pharaohs were easily transformed, and so their
images and words could easily be obliterated by their successors. Ramesses insisted that his carvings be deeply
engraved in the stone, which made them not only less susceptible to later alteration, but also made them more
prominent in the Egyptian sun, reflecting his relationship with the sun god, Ra.
Ramesses constructed many large monuments, including the archeological complex of Abu Simbel, and the
Mortuary temple known as the Ramesseum. He built on a monumental scale to ensure that his legacy would survive
the ravages of time. Ramesses used art as a means of propaganda for his victories over foreigners and are depicted on
numerous temple reliefs. Ramesses II also erected more colossal statues of himself than any other pharaoh. He also
usurped many existing statues by inscribing his own cartouche on them.
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Ramesses II
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Pi-Ramesses
Further information: Pi-Ramesses
Ramesses II moved the capital of his kingdom from Thebes in the Nile valley to a new site in the eastern Delta. His
motives are uncertain, though he possibly wished to be closer to his territories in Palestine and Syria. The new city of
Pi-Ramesses (or to give the full name, Pi-Ramesses Aa-nakhtu, meaning "Domain of Ramesses, Great in
Victory")[44] was dominated by huge temples and the king's vast residential palace, complete with its own zoo. For a
time the site was misidentified as that of Tanis, due to the amount of statuary and other material from Pi-Ramesses
found there, but it is now recognised that the Ramasside remains at Tanis were brought there from elsewhere, and the
real Pi-Ramesses lies about 30 km south, near modern Qantir.[45] The colossal feet of the statue of Ramesses are
almost all that remains above ground today, the rest is buried in the fields.[44]
Ramesseum
Further information: Ramesseum
The temple complex built by Ramesses II between Qurna and the
desert has been known as the Ramesseum since the 19th century. The
Greek historian Diodorus Siculus marveled at the gigantic and famous
temple, now no more than a few ruins.[46]
The Younger Memnon digitally restored with its
base still in the Ramesseum
Ramesseum courtyard
Oriented northwest and southeast, the temple itself was preceded by
two courts. An enormous pylon stood before the first court, with the
royal palace at the left and the gigantic statue of the king looming up at
the back. Only fragments of the base and torso remain of the syenite
statue of the enthroned pharaoh, 17 metres (56 ft) high and weighing
more than 1000 tonnes (980 long tons; 1100 short tons). The scenes of
the great pharaoh and his army triumphing over the Hittite forces
fleeing before Kadesh, represented on the pylon. Remains of the
second court include part of the internal facade of the pylon and a
portion of the Osiride portico on the right. Scenes of war and the
alleged rout of the Hittites at Kadesh are repeated on the walls. In the
upper registers, feast and honor of the phallic god Min, god of fertility.
On the opposite side of the court the few Osiride pillars and columns
still left can furnish an idea of the original grandeur.[47]
Scattered remains of the two statues of the seated king can also be
seen, one in pink granite and the other in black granite, which once
flanked the entrance to the temple. Thirty-nine out of the forty-eight
columns in the great hypostyle hall (m 41x 31) still stand in the central
rows. They are decorated with the usual scenes of the king before
various gods.[22] Part of the ceiling decorated with gold stars on a blue
ground has also been preserved. Ramesses's children appear in the
procession on the few walls left. The sanctuary was composed of three
consecutive rooms, with eight columns and the tetrastyle cell. Part of
the first room, with the ceiling decorated with astral scenes, and few
remains of the second room are all that is left. Vast storerooms built in
mud bricks stretched out around the temple.[47] Traces of a school for
scribes were found among the ruins.[48]
A temple of Seti I, of which nothing is now left but the foundations, once stood to the right of the hypostyle hall.[22]
Ramesses II
Abu Simbel
Further information: Abu Simbel
In 1255 BC Ramesses and his queen Nefertari had traveled into Nubia to inaugurate a new temple, the great Abu
Simbel. It is an ego cast in stone; the man who built it intended not only to become Egypt's greatest pharaoh but also
one of its gods.[49]
The great temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel was discovered in 1813 by the famous Swiss Orientalist and traveler
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. However, four years passed before anyone could enter the temple, because an enormous
pile of sand almost completely covered the facade and its colossal statues, blocking the entrance. This feat was
achieved by the great Paduan explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni, who managed to reach the interior on 4 August
1817.[50]
Other Nubian monuments
As well as the famous temples of Abu Simbel, Ramesses left other monuments to himself in Nubia. His early
campaigns are illustrated on the walls of Beit el-Wali (now relocated to New Kalabsha). Other temples dedicated to
Ramesses are Derr and Gerf Hussein (also relocated to New Kalabsha).
Tomb of Nefertari
Further information: Tomb of Nefertari
The most important and famous of Ramesses's consorts was discovered
by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904.[47] [50] Although it had been looted in
ancient times, the tomb of Nefertari is extremely important, because its
magnificent wall painting decoration is regarded as one of the greatest
achievements of ancient Egyptian art. A flight of steps cut out of the
rock gives access to the antechamber, which is decorated with
paintings based on chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. This
astronomical ceiling represents the heavens and is painted in dark blue,
with a myriad of golden five-pointed stars. The east wall of the
antechamber is interrupted by a large opening flanked by
representation of Osiris at left and Anubis at right; this in turn leads to
the side chamber, decorated with offering scenes, preceded by a
vestibule in which the paintings portray Nefertari being presented to
the gods who welcome her. On the north wall of the antechamber is the
stairway that goes down to the burial chamber. This latter is a vast
quadrangular room covering a surface area of about 90 square metres
(970 sq ft), the astronomical ceiling of which is supported by four
Tomb wall depicting Nefertari
pillars entirely covered with decoration. Originally, the queen's red
granite sarcophagus lay in the middle of this chamber. According to
religious doctrines of the time, it was in this chamber, which the ancient Egyptians called the golden hall that the
regeneration of the deceased took place. This decorative pictogram of the walls in the burial chamber drew
inspirations from chapters 144 and 146 of the Book of the Dead: in the left half of the chamber, there are passages
from chapter 144 concerning the gates and doors of the kingdom of Osiris, their guardians, and the magic formulas
that had to be uttered by the deceased in order to go past the doors.[50]
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Tomb KV5
Further information: KV5
In 1995, Professor Kent Weeks, head of the Theban Mapping Project rediscovered Tomb KV5. It has proven to be
the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and originally contained the mummified remains of some of this king's
estimated 52 sons. Approximately 150 corridors and tomb chambers have been located in this tomb as of 2006 and
the tomb may contain as many as 200 corridors and chambers.[51] It is believed that at least 4 of Ramesses's sons
including Meryatum, Sety, Amun-her-khepeshef (Ramesses's first born son) and "the King's Principal Son of His
Body, the Generalissimo Ramesses, justified" (i.e.: deceased) were buried there from inscriptions, ostracas or
canopic jars discovered in the tomb.[52] Joyce Tyldesley writes that thus far
"no intact burials have been discovered and there have been little substantial funeral debris: thousands of
potsherds, faience ushabti figures, beads, amulets, fragments of Canopic jars, of wooden coffins ... but no
intact sarcophagi, mummies or mummy cases, suggesting that much of the tomb may have been unused. Those
burials which were made in KV5 were thoroughly looted in antiquity, leaving little or no remains."[52]
Colossal statue
Further information: Statue of Ramesses II (Mit
Rahina)
The colossal statue of Ramesses II was reconstructed
and erected in Ramesses Square in Cairo in 1955. In
August 2006, contractors moved his 3,200-year-old
statue from Ramesses Square, to save it from exhaust
fumes that were causing the 83-tonne (82-long-ton;
91-short-ton) statue to deteriorate.[53] The statue was
originally taken from a temple in Memphis. The new
site will be located near the future Grand Egyptian
Museum.[54]
Death and legacy
Giant statue of Ramesses II in Memphis.
By the time of his death, aged about 90 years,
Ramesses was suffering from severe dental problems and was plagued by arthritis and hardening of the arteries.[55]
He had made Egypt rich from all the supplies and riches he had collected from other empires. He had outlived many
of his wives and children and left great memorials all over Egypt, especially to his beloved first queen Nefertari.
Nine more pharaohs would take the name Ramesses in his honour, but few ever equalled his greatness. Nearly all of
his subjects had been born during his reign and thought the world would end without him. Ramesses II did become
the legendary figure he so desperately wanted to be, but this was not enough to protect Egypt. New enemies were
attacking the empire which also suffered internal problems and it could not last. Less than 150 years after Ramesses
died the Egyptian empire fell and the New Kingdom came to an end.
Ramesses II
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Mummy
Ramesses II was originally buried in the tomb KV7 in the Valley of the Kings, but because of looting, Ancient
Egyptian priests later transferred the body to a holding area, re-wrapped it, and placed it inside the tomb of queen
Inhapy. 72 hours later, it was again moved to the tomb of the high priest Pinudjem II. All of this is recorded in
hieroglyphics on the linen covering the body.[56] His mummy can be found today in Cairo's Egyptian Museum.
The pharaoh's mummy features a hooked nose and strong jaw, and stands at some 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in).[57] His
successor was ultimately to be his thirteenth son: Merneptah.
In 1974, Egyptologists visiting his tomb noticed that the mummy's
condition was rapidly deteriorating. They decided to fly Ramesses II's
mummy to Paris for examination.[58] Ramesses II was issued an
Egyptian passport that listed his occupation as "King (deceased)".[59]
The mummy was received at Le Bourget airport, just outside Paris,
with the full military honours befitting a king.[60]
Mummy of Ramesses II
In Paris, Ramesses's mummy was diagnosed and treated for a fungal
infection. During the examination, scientific analysis revealed battle
wounds and old fractures, as well as the pharaoh's arthritis and poor
circulation.
Egyptologists were also interested by the mummy's noticeably thin neck. After an x-ray they found that the
mummy's neck had a piece of wood lodged into the upper chest, essentially keeping the head in place. It is believed
that during the mummification process that the head of Ramesses II had accidentally been knocked off by those
performing the mummification. In Egyptian culture if any part of the body were to come off then the soul of the
body would not continue to exist in the afterlife, therefore those performing the mummification carefully placed the
head back on by lodging a wooden stick into the neck in order to keep the head in place.
For the last decades of his life, Ramesses II was essentially crippled with arthritis and walked with a hunched
back,[61] but a recent study excluded ankylosing spondylitis as a possible cause of the pharaoh's arthritis.[62] A
significant hole in the pharaoh's mandible was detected. Researchers observed "an abscess by his teeth (which) was
serious enough to have caused death by infection, although this cannot be determined with certainty." Microscopic
inspection of the roots of Ramesses II's hair proved that the original color of the king's hair was once red which
suggests that he came from a family of redheads.[63] This has more than just cosmetic significance; in ancient Egypt,
people with red hair were associated with the god Seth, the slayer of Osiris, and the name of Ramesses II's father,
Seti I, means "follower of Seth."[64] After Ramesses's mummy returned to Egypt, it was visited by then-President
Anwar Sadat and his wife.
Popular culture
Ramesses was considered the inspiration for Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous poem "Ozymandias". Diodorus Siculus
gives an inscription on the base of one of his sculptures as: "King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know
how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works."[65] This is paraphrased in Shelley's poem.
The life of Ramesses II has inspired a large number of fictional representations, including the historical novels of the
French writer Christian Jacq, the Ramsès, series, the graphic novel Watchmen, the character of Adrian Veidt uses
Ramesses II to form part of the inspiration for his alter-ego known as 'Ozymandias' and Norman Mailer's novel
Ancient Evenings is largely concerned with the life of Ramesses II, though from the perspective of Egyptians living
during the reign of Ramesses IX, and Ramesses was the main character in the Anne Rice book The Mummy or
Ramses the Damned (1989).
Ramesses II is one of the more popular candidates for the Pharaoh of the Exodus. He is cast in this role in the 1944
novella Das Gesetz ("The Law") by Thomas Mann. Although not a major character, Ramesses appears in Joan
Ramesses II
Grant's So Moses Was Born, a first person account from Nebunefer, the brother of Ramoses, which paints the picture
of the life of Ramoses from the death of Seti, with all the power play, intrigue, plots to assassinate, following
relationships are depicted: Bintanath, Queen Tuya, Nefertari, and Moses. In film, Ramesses was played by Yul
Brynner in the classic film The Ten Commandments (1956). Here Ramesses was portrayed as a vengeful tyrant as
well as the main antagonist of the film, ever scornful of his father's preference for Moses over "the son of [his]
body".[66] The animated film The Prince of Egypt (1998), also featured a depiction of Ramesses (voiced by Ralph
Fiennes), portrayed as Moses' adoptive brother, and ultimately as the film's de facto villain. The Ten
Commandments: The Musical (2006) co-starred Kevin Earley as Ramesses.
Notes and references
Notes
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Clayton (1994) p. 146
Tyldesly (2001) p. xxiv
"Mortuary temple of Ramesses II at Abydos" (http:/ / www. philae. nu/ akhet/ ARamsTempl. html). . Retrieved 2008-10-28.
Anneke Bart. "Temples of Ramesses II" (http:/ / euler. slu. edu/ Dept/ Faculty/ bart/ egyptianhtml/ kings and Queens/
Temples_of_Ramesses_II. html). . Retrieved 2008-04-23.
[5] "Rameses" (http:/ / www. yourdictionary. com/ Rameses). Webster's New World College Dictionary. Wiley Publishing. 2004. .
[6] "Ramses" (http:/ / www. yourdictionary. com/ Ramses). Webster's New World College Dictionary. Wiley Publishing. 2004. .
[7] Putnan (1990)
[8] Rice (1999) p.165
[9] von Beckerath (1997), pp.108 and 190
[10] Brand (2000), pp.302-305
[11] O'Connor & Cline (1998) p.16
[12] Christian Leblanc. "Gerard" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20071204180741/ http:/ / ourworld. compuserve. com/ homepages/
Gerard_Flament/ ramstomb. htm). Archived from the original (http:/ / ourworld. compuserve. com/ homepages/ Gerard_Flament/ ramstomb.
htm) on 2007-12-04. . Retrieved 2008-04-23.
[13] Rice (1999) p.166
[14] "Ozymandias" (http:/ / www. pbs. org/ wgbh/ nova/ egypt/ explore/ ramses. html). . Retrieved 2008-03-30.
[15] R. Gabriel, The Great Armies of Antiquity, 6
[16] Grimal (1992) pp.250–253
[17] Tyldesley (2000), pp.53
[18] "The Naue Type II Sword" (http:/ / www. eclectichistorian. net/ Griffzungenschwert). . Retrieved 2008-05-30.
[19] Grimal (1994) pp. 253ff
[20] Tyldesley, Ramesses, p.68
[21] Kuhrt (1995) p.258
[22] Guy Lecuyot. "The Ramesseum (Egypt), Recent Archaeological Research" (http:/ / www. archeo. ens. fr/ IMG/ pdf/ RAMESSEUM-2. pdf).
. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
[23] Lichtheim (1976) p.62
[24] Grimal (1992) p.256
[25] Kitchen (1996) p.26
[26] Kitchen (1979) p.223–224
[27] Kitchen (1996) p.33
[28] Kitchen (1996) p.47
[29] Kitchen (1996) p.46
[30] Kitchen (1982) p.68
[31] Kitchen (1982) p.74
[32] Grimal, op. cit., p.256
[33] Kitchen (1983) p.73–79 & 62–64
[34] Grimal, (1992) p.257
[35] Stieglitz (1991) p.45
[36] Kitchen (1982) p.215
[37] "Beit el-Wali" (http:/ / oi. uchicago. edu/ gallery/ pa_egypt_bees_beit_el-wali/ ). University of Chicago. . Retrieved 2008-04-21.
[38] Ricke & Wente (1967)
[39] Geoff Edwards. "Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham" (http:/ / www. zurdig. com/ HomeFrame. htm). . Retrieved 2008-04-07.
[40] "Sed festival" (http:/ / www. globalegyptianmuseum. org/ glossary. aspx?id=334). The Global Egyptian Museum. . Retrieved 2008-04-07.
11
Ramesses II
[41] Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards. "Chapter XV: Rameses the Great" (http:/ / digital. library. upenn. edu/ women/ edwards/ nile/ nile-XV.
html). . Retrieved 2008-04-23.
[42] Wolfhart Westendorf, Das alte Ägypten, 1969
[43] Kitchen (1982) p.119
[44] Kitchen (2003) p.255
[45] John Van Seters, "The Geography of the Exodus", in John Andrew Dearman, Matt Patrick Graham, (eds), "The land that I will show you:
essays on the history and archaeology of the Ancient Near East in honour of J. Maxwell Miller" (Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), pp.265
(http:/ / books. google. com. au/ books?id=YzQe_4Waz34C& printsec=frontcover& dq=The+ Land+ That+ I+ Will+ Show+ You:+ Essays+
in+ History+ and+ Archaeology+ of+ the+ Ancient+ Near+ East& source=bl& ots=Jjp2Y0h3Sz& sig=jauEX7cJJ8_AIVgGe9KfjDjYQzg&
hl=en& ei=IQbxS-OzIpCTkAXp59HWBg& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CBgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q&
f=false)
[46] Diodorus Siculus (1814). The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=agd-eLVNRMMC&
printsec=titlepage#PPA33,M1). Printed by W. MʻDowall for J. Davis. pp. Ch.11, p.33. .
[47] Skliar (2005)
[48] "À l'école des Scribes" (http:/ / www2. cnrs. fr/ presse/ journal/ 3436. htm) (in fr). . Retrieved 2008-04-21.
[49] Kitchen (1982) p.64–5
[50] Siliotti (1994)
[51] Tomb of Ramses II sons (http:/ / www. narmer. pl/ kv/ kv05en. htm)
[52] Tyldesley (2000) p.161–162
[53] "Giant Ramses statue gets new home" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ middle_east/ 5282414. stm). BBC NEWS. 2006-08-25. . Retrieved
2008-07-05.
[54] Hawass, Zahi. "The removal of Ramses II Statue" (http:/ / guardians. net/ hawass/ news/ removal_of_ramses_ii_statue. htm). . Retrieved
2007-03-17.
[55] La Momie de Ramsès II: Contribution Scientifique à l'Égyptologie (http:/ / cat. inist. fr/ ?aModele=afficheN& cpsidt=12146724)
[56] Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt: Ramesses II (http:/ / www. touregypt. net/ 19dyn03. htm)
[57] Tyldesley (2000) p.14
[58] John Ray. "Ramesses the Great" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ ancient/ egyptians/ ramesses_01. shtml). BBC. . Retrieved 2008-05-15.
[59] "Engineering Egypt" (http:/ / channel. nationalgeographic. com/ episode/ engineering-egypt-2960/ facts). National Geographic. . Retrieved
July 22, 2010.
[60] Stephanie Pain. "Ramesses rides again" (http:/ / space. newscientist. com/ article/ mg18424736. 400-ramesses-rides-again. html). New
Scientist. . Retrieved 2008-05-15.
[61] Bob Brier, The Encyclopedia of Mummies, Checkmark Books, 1998., p.153
[62] Can. Assoc. Radiol. J. 2004 Oct;55(4):211–7, PMID 15362343
[63] Brier, p.153
[64] Bob Brier, Egyptian Mummies: Unravelling the Secrets of an Ancient Art, William Morrow & Co. Inc, New York. 1994. pp.200-201
[65] RPO Editors. "Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ozymandias" (http:/ / rpo. library. utoronto. ca/ poem/ 1904. html). University of Toronto Department
of English. University of Toronto Libraries, University of Toronto Press. . Retrieved 2006-09-18.
[66] John Ray. "Ramesses the Great" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ ancient/ egyptians/ ramesses_01. shtml). BBC history. . Retrieved
2008-05-30.
Bibliography
• Balout, L., Roubet, C. and Desroches-Noblecourt, C. (1985). La Momie de Ramsès II: Contribution Scientifique à
l'Égyptologie.
• Bietak, Manfred (1995). Avaris: Capital of the Hyksos - Recent Excavations. London: British Museum Press.
ISBN 0714109681.
• von Beckerath, Jürgen (1997). Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern.
• Brand, Peter J. (2000). The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis. NV Leiden:
Brill. ISBN 9004117709.
• Brier, Bob (1998). The Encyclopedia of Mummies. Checkmark Books.
• Clayton, Peter (1994). Chronology of the Pharaohs. Thames & Hudson.
• Dodson, Aidan; Dyan Hilton (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
ISBN 0500051283.
• Grajetzki, Wolfram (2005). Ancient Egyptian Queens– a hieroglyphic dictionary. London: Golden House
Publications. ISBN 0954721896.
• Grimal, Nicholas (1992). A History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0631174729.
12
Ramesses II
• Kitchen, Kenneth (1983). Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt. London: Aris
& Phillips. ISBN 0856682152.
• Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson (2003). On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8028-4960-1.
• Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson (1996). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations. Volume 2:
Ramesses II; Royal Inscriptions. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-18427-9. Translations and (in the
1999 volume below) notes on all contemporary royal inscriptions naming the king.
• Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson (1999). Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments.
Volume 2: Ramesses II; Royal Inscriptions. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
• Kuhrt, Amelie (1995). The Ancient Near East c.3000–330 BC. Vol. 1. London: Routledge.
• O'Connor, David; Eric Cline (1998). Amenhotep III: Perspectives on his reign. University of Michigan Press.
• Putnan, James (1990). An introduction to Egyptology.
• Rice, Michael (1999). Who's Who in Ancient Egypt. Routledge. ISBN 0415154480.
• Herbert Ricke; George R. Hughes; Edward F. Wente (1967). The Beit el-Wali Temple of Ramesses II.
• RPO Editors. "Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ozymandias" (http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1904.html).
University of Toronto Department of English. University of Toronto Libraries, University of Toronto Press.
Retrieved 2006-09-18.
• Siliotti, Alberto (1994). Egypt: temples, people, gods.
• Skliar, Ania (2005). Grosse kulturen der welt-Ägypten.
• Stieglitz, Robert R. (1991). "The City of Amurru". Journal of Near Eastern Studies (The University of Chicago
Press) 50.1.
• Tyldesley, Joyce (2000). Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh. London: Viking/Penguin Books.
• Westendorf, Wolfhart (1969) (in de). Das alte Ägypten.
• Can. Assoc. Radiol. J. 2004 Oct;55(4):211–7, PMID 15362343
• The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak III: The Bubastite Portal, Oriental Institute
Publications, vol. 74 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954
Further reading
• Hasel, Michael G. 1994. “Israel in the Merneptah Stela,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
296., pp. 45–61.
• Hasel, Michael G. 1998. Domination and Resistance: Egyptian Military Activity in the Southern Levant,
1300–1185 BC. Probleme der Ägyptologie 11. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 90-04-10984-6
• Hasel, Michael G. 2003. "Merenptah's Inscription and Reliefs and the Origin of Israel" in Beth Alpert Nakhai ed.
The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever, pp. 19–44. Annual of the American
Schools of Oriental Research 58. Boston: American Schools of Oriental Research. ISBN 0-89757-065-0
• Hasel, Michael G. 2004. "The Structure of the Final Hymnic-Poetic Unit on the Merenptah Stela." Zeitschrift für
die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 116:75–81.
• James, T. G. H. 2000. Ramesses II. New York: Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. A large-format volume by the
former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum, filled with colour illustrations of buildings, art, etc.
related to Ramesses II
13
Ramesses II
External links
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Egypt's Golden Empire: Ramesses II (http://www.pbs.org/empires/egypt/newkingdom/ramesses.html)
Ramesses II (http://www.aldokkan.com/egypt/ramses.htm)
Usermaatresetepenre (http://www.touregypt.net/19dyn03.htm)
Ramesses II Usermaatre-setepenre (about 1279–1213 BC) (http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/
ramsesii.html)
Egyptian monuments: Temple of Ramesses II (http://www.egyptsites.co.uk/upper/luxorwest/temples/
rameses2.html)
Ramesses II (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7260259) at Find a Grave
List of Ramesses II's family members and state officials (http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/Faculty/bart/egyptianhtml/
kings and Queens/Ramses-II.html)
Newly discovered temple (http://www.netnewspublisher.com/
remains-of-pharaoh-ramses-ii-temple-discovered-near-cairo-egypt/)
14
Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
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