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Ramesses II
Ramesses II (ruled c.1279-1213 BC) was the third ruler of the 19th Dynasty, the son of the successful Seti I
(himself the son of Ramesses I). An enormous number of temples, monuments and statues were created
(and usurped) from earlier rulers during his long and illustrious reign, including the famous rock-cut
temple of Abu Simbel in Nubia, numerous temples at Memphis, the decoration of the great Hypostyle Hall
at Karnak, and his mortuary temple, the Ramesseum at Thebes. The great dedication stele in the temple
at Abydos is the longest inscription of Ramesses II's reign (116 lines) and is the main source for details of
his earlier years and of his relationship with his father in the kingship.
Ramesses the Builder
This extraordinarily long reign, the wealth available in the state coffers, and, undeniably, the pharaoh's
personal vanity meant that Ramesses, of all the ancient rulers, left what is perhaps the most indelible
mark on the country. His legacy can be seen most clearly in the archaeological record – in the many
buildings that Ramesses modified, usurped, or constructed from the ground up. His building achievements
stand pre-eminent amongst the pharaohs of Egypt. He added to the great temples at Karnak and Luxor,
completed his father's (Seti I) mortuary temple at Gourna (Thebes) and also his temple at Abydos, and
then built his own temple at Abydos.
The Ramesseum viewed from the air
On the west bank at Thebes he constructed a giant mortuary temple known as the Ramesseum. In Nubia
he built mortuary temples at Beit el-Wali, Gerf Hussein, Wadi es-Suba, Derr and Napata. The greatest
achievement without a doubt however, has to have been the two temples at Abu Simbel in Nubia. The
Great temple was a miracle of engineering and its orientation was so precise that the rising sun on the
spring and vernal equinox would flood directly through the great entrance to illuminate the gods of the
Sanctuary, over 200 ft/60m inside the mountain.
Facade of the great temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel
Battle of Kadesh
One of the major events of his reign was the confrontation with the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh.
Celebrated repeatedly on the walls of his major temples, this propaganda ensured that the Hittite empire
was kept at bay and Egyptian interests in the Levant were protected. He eventually signed a treaty with
the Hittites in 1258 BC, the 21st year of Ramesses II's reign, with the new king of the Hittites, Hattusili III.
A large number of the letters sent by Ramesses II to the Hittite King and his wife are now contained within
the archive of cuneiform tablets at Boghazköy.
This battle marked a stalemate between Hittite and Egyptian power and the two met face to face along
their outermost marches, in what is now Syria. The Hittites, based at Carchemish, were angry over the
defection of Amurru* (to Egypt and wanted to bring it back under control – on the other hand the
Egyptians wanted to protect their new vassal. The Hittite king Muwatallis, who had mustered several of
his allies (among them Rimisharrinaa, the king of Aleppo), had positioned his troops behind the hill at
Kadesh, but Ramesses thought they were at Aleppo and learned the truth only after capturing two
Hittites. Immediately Ramesses sent messengers to hasten the coming of the Ptah and Setekh divisions of
his army which were still on the far side of the river Orontes.
Fragments from the Kadesh peace agreement - on display at the
Istanbul Museum of Archeology. © Deror
Ramesses at the battle of Kadesh detail from a relief at Abu Simbel
Before Ramesses could gather them all together, however, 2500 of Muwatillis' chariots attacked the Re
and Amun divisions and plundered the Egyptian camp. The Egyptians retreated, and Ramesses himself
narrowly escaped capture, mainly thanks to the intervention of a troop contingent from Amurru, which
suddenly arrived to assist the pharaoh and drive the Hittites back. The Egyptians regrouped and almost
surrounded the Hittites, but the Hittite chariots retreated back across the Orontes to join their infantry.
Muwatallis called for a truce with Ramesses. Though both sides later proclaimed the battle a victory,
Ramesses' troops had suffered many casualties and he was unable to capture any more territory. The
Hittite king, on the other hand, continued to campaign successfully as far south as Apa. Kadesh remained
in Hittite hands, and Amurru was recaptured by the Hittites. The consequent loss of prestige sparked
revolts within the Egyptian empire, and Ramesses could not resume direct hostilities against the Hittites
until 1269 BC.
*The deity of the Amorite people - semitic people who occupied the country west of the Euphrates from the second half of the third
millennium BC.
Ramesses established a new capital called Pi-Ramesse at a site near modern el-Khatana, where his father
Seti I had previously build a palace. This became the capital city for the duration of his reign, although the
Royal Cemetery remained as the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Ramesses mummy was one of those found
in the Royal Cache at Deir el-Bahri, which was discovered by local "dragoman" (tourist guide) Ahmed Abd
er-Rassul in 1871.
Eight royal Queens
During his long reign, Ramesses had eight principle wives, but Nefetari was his first and favourite of them
all. Her tomb is one of the finest in the Valley of the Kings.
Ramesses's royal Queens:
[1] Nefetari
[5] Nebettawy
[2] Istnofret
[6] Henutmire (king's sister)
[3] Bint-Anath (daughter of Istnofret)
[7] Maathorneferure (1st Hittite princess)
[4] Meryetamun (daughter of Nefetari
[8] Name Unknown (2nd Hittite princess)
A Fine Old Age
Ramesses reigned for 67 years, longer than the
average lifespan during the period of Ancient
Egypt. No other pharaoh constructed so many
temples, erected so many colossal statues or sired
so many children. Ramesses managed to father an
astonishing number of children in his lifetime
(approximately 90-100) many of whom were simply
not numbered. At least five sons and two daughters
were born to Nefetari and Istnofret before
Ramesses's father Seti I died.
In Year 67 at around 92 years of age, Ramesses was
called to join the gods. His tomb in the Valley of
the Kings was larger than that of his father, Seti I,
but is now so damaged that it is virtually
inaccessible. The splendour of the contents and
treasures of this tombs must have been
breathtaking, if only by comparison with the tomb
of the short lived Tutankhamum. His mummy was
discovered in the Royal Cache at Deir el-Bahri in
1881, together with that of his father Seti.
When he eventually died Ramesses was succeeded by his 13th son Merenptah. Merenptah was middle aged
by the time he eventually came to power, the first of several short lived rulers who had perhaps already
passed their peak as a result of Ramesses' unusually long reign.
“Ramses II”. Egyptology Online. March 19, 2009. http://www.egyptologyonline.com/ramesses_the_great.htm
Great Lives from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-476 C.E.
Ramses II
BORN: c. 1300 B.C.E.; probably the Eastern Delta of Egypt
DIED: 1213 B.C.E.; probably Pi-Ramesse (Qantir), Egypt
EGYPTIAN PHARAOH (R. 1279-1213 B.C.E.)
Renowned for his statesmanship, military leadership, administrative abilities, and building activity, Ramses
set a standard by which subsequent rulers of Egypt measured themselves.
AREA OF ACHIEVEMENT Government and politics, war and conquest, architecture
EARLY LIFE
Born of Egypt’s great god Amen (personified by King Seti I) and Queen Tuya, Ramses (RAM-zeez) was
designated “while yet in the egg” as Egypt’s future king: Such is Ramses II’s account of his own birth. The
period into which he was born, that of the New Kingdom, was a time when Egypt was attempting to maintain
control of an extensive empire that ranged from the Fourth Cataract of the Nile in the Sudan to the provinces
of North Syria.
Some fifty years prior to his birth, during the Eighteenth Dynasty, Egypt had undergone a period of turmoil.
Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV, r. 1377-1360 B.C.E.), reacting against the ever-growing power of the Amen
priesthood, had abandoned the traditional religion and proclaimed the sun god, represented as the sun disk
Aton, as sole god of the country. He worshiped the Aton at the virgin site of Amarna. He died without heirs;
after his demise, a series of relatively ineffectual kings, including Tutankhamen (r. 1361-1352 B.C.E.), ruled
for brief periods as the Amen priesthood set about reestablishing religious domination and refurbishing
Amen’s temples.
Meanwhile, using this period of uncertainty in Egypt to best advantage, vassal states in Syria held back their
tribute and fomented revolt. When Tutankhamen died without living heirs, a military man of nonroyal birth,
Ay, assumed the throne. He was followed only four years later by another, the general Horemheb, who also
ruled only a short period before his death, but not before designating another man with a military
background, his vizier Pa-Ramessu, as his heir. Pa-Ramessu (Ramses I, first king of the Nineteenth
Dynasty) had what rulers since Akhenaton had lacked: viable male descendants. Thus, when Ramses I died
after only a two-year rule, his son, Seti I (r. 1294-1279 B.C.E.), assumed the throne. Immediately, Seti began
an active program of military campaigns in Canaan, Syria, and Libya. During many of these excursions, his
son, the young Ramses II, was at his side, learning the art of warfare.
Seti I instructed his son in civil and religious affairs as well, and Prince Ramses accompanied his father or
acted as his deputy on state occasions and at religious festivals. As prince-regent, Ramses received the
rights of Egyptian kingship, including his titulary (five royal names attributing to him divine power and linking
him with Egypt’s divine past) and a harem.
When his father died, after a rule of between fifteen and twenty years, Ramses II oversaw Seti’s burial in the
Valley of the Kings and assumed the throne. At that time, he was probably in his mid-twenties. He was about
5 feet, 6 inches (1.7 meters) tall and had auburn hair. Many children had already been born to him and his
numerous wives.
LIFE’S WORK
Larger version (108K)
Ramses II.
Ramses II.
(Library of Congress)
With great ceremony, on the twenty-seventh day of the third month of summer, 1279 B.C.E., Ramses II
acceded to the throne of Egypt. Following an age-old tradition, the great gods of Egypt, in the persons of
their high priests, placed the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt (Nile Valley and Delta) on his head and
presented him with other symbols of rulership: the divine cobra (uraeus) to protect him and smite his
enemies, and the crook and flail. At the sacred city of Heliopolis, his name was inscribed on the leaves of the
sacred ished tree, and birds flew in all directions to proclaim his names to all Egypt. With this ceremony
concluded, the divine order (or balance) in the universe, a concept known as Ma’at, was once again in place.
It would be Ramses’ duty, as it had been of every king before him, to maintain Ma’at, thereby guaranteeing
peace and prosperity for all.
Ramses II set out with determination to ensure the preservation of Ma’at. He was a shrewd politician from
the start; one of his first acts as king was to journey south to Thebes to act as high priest in the city’s most
important religious event, the Opet Festival. Amid great and joyous celebration, Amen’s cult image was
carried from his home at Karnak to the Luxor temple. There, through a reenactment of his divine conception
and birth, the ceremonies of Opet Festival assured the divinity of Ramses’ kingship and promoted his
association with the god Amen, whose cult image was recharged with divine energy during its stay at Luxor.
Afterward, Ramses II headed north to Abydos, restored that city’s holy sites, and promoted a member of the
Abydos priesthood to the position of high priest of Amen at Thebes, the highest and most powerful religious
office in the land. In this way, he kept Amen’s priesthood under his control and averted the power struggles
that had beset earlier kings.
From Abydos, Ramses continued his northerly journey to the eastern Nile Delta. There, in his ancestral
homeland near Avaris, he established a new capital, naming it Pi-Ramesse (the house of Ramses). Scribes
extolled its magnificence, likening the brilliant blue glaze of its tile-covered walls to turquoise and lapis lazuli.
Not only at Pi-Ramesse but also at Memphis, Egypt’s administrative capital, at Thebes, her religious capital,
and at numerous other sites throughout Egypt and Nubia, Ramses II built extensively and lavishly. Indeed,
few ancient Egyptian cities were untouched by his architects and artisans. Monuments that Ramses II did not
build he often claimed for his own by substituting his name for those of his predecessors. Colossal statues of
the king erected outside temples were considered to function as intermediaries between the villagers and the
great gods inside. They also reminded every passerby of Ramses’ power.
The territorial problems and general unrest that had compelled Seti I to travel to the Levant continued during
Ramses II’s rule. When the growing Hittite empire annexed the strategically important city of Kadesh in
northern Syria, an area formerly under Egyptian sovereignty, Ramses rose to the challenge.
In April of the fifth year of Ramses’ reign, he led an army of about twenty thousand men to meet about twice
as many enemy soldiers. As the Egyptian army neared Kadesh, two Hittites posing as spies allowed
themselves to be captured. The main Hittite army, they assured the Egyptians, was still far to the north.
Thinking that he had nothing yet to fear, Ramses marched ahead, accompanied by only his personal guard.
Two more captured Hittites, this time true spies, revealed, on vigorous beating, that the Hittites were
encamped just on the other side of Kadesh, a few miles away. Suddenly, the enemy attacked the Egyptian
line, sending surprised soldiers fleeing in confusion and fright.
With valor and courage, Ramses succeeded virtually single-handedly in holding the Hittite attackers at bay.
Relief came at a critical moment in the form of the king’s advance guard arriving from the north. Gradually,
the rest of Ramses’ army regrouped and joined battle. The day ended with no clear victor. The second day
also ended in a stalemate, and both sides disengaged.
Ramses headed home in triumph, having, after all, saved his army (and himself) from great disaster.
Although during the next fifteen years Ramses returned frequently to the Levantine battlefield, no battle
made as great an impact as the Battle of Kadesh. For decades following, on temple walls throughout the
land, the king’s artists told the story of this battle in prose, poetry, and illustration, with each telling more
elaborate than the one before. What the chroniclers neglected to mention each time was the battle’s
outcome: The disputed city, Kadesh, remained a Hittite possession.
Sixteen years after the Battle of Kadesh had made Ramses a great military leader, at least in his own eyes, it
cast him into the role of statesman as well. A new generation of leadership in the Hittite Empire, the lack of
military resolution with Egypt, and the rising power of Assyria made the prospect of continued warfare with
Egypt unattractive to the Hittites. Accordingly, a peace treaty was proposed (by the Hittites according to
Ramses and by Ramses according to the Hittites). Its terms are as timely today as they were in 1258 B.C.E.:
mutual nonaggression, mutual defense, mutual extradition of fugitives, and rightful succession of heirs. A
thousand gods of Egypt and a thousand gods of Hatti were said to have witnessed this treaty, which survives
today in both the Egyptian and Hittite versions.
Former enemies became fast friends following the treaty’s execution, as king wrote to king and queen to
queen. In Year 34, the Hittite king even sent his daughter to Ramses. Chronicles of Ramses’ reign indicate
his pleasure on his first sight of her, accompanied by her dowry of gold, silver, copper, slaves, horses, cattle,
goats, and sheep.
Matnefrure, as Ramses II named his Hittite bride, joined a harem that was already quite large. In the course
of his long rule, the king had at least eight great royal wives and numerous lesser wives. To Nefertari (c.
1307-c. 1265 B.C.E.), who must have been his favorite wife, he dedicated a temple at Abu Simbel, and on her
untimely death he buried her in a tomb whose wall paintings are the finest in the Valley of the Tombs of the
Queens. Ramses II fathered at least ninety children (some fifty sons and forty daughters), who were often
represented in birth-order procession on temple walls or sculpted knee-height beside images of their father.
In 1213 B.C.E., nearly ninety years old and after more than sixty-six years of rule over the most powerful
country in the world, King Ramses II died. His carefully mummified body was laid to rest in a splendidly
carved tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and he was succeeded on the throne of Egypt by his thirteenth son,
Merenptah (r. c. 1213-1203 B.C.E.).
SIGNIFICANCE
Military leader, statesman, builder, family man, and possibly pharaoh of the biblical Exodus, Ramses II left a
legacy that history never forgot. He distinguished himself in battle in the early years of his reign, and during
the remainder of his lengthy rule—the second longest in Egyptian history—he maintained an interlude of
peace in an increasingly tumultuous world. Egypt under his leadership was a cosmopolitan empire.
Foreigners were free to come to Egypt to trade or settle; others were taken as prisoners of war and joined
Egypt’s labor force. It was an era of religious permissiveness, and foreign gods were worshiped beside
traditional Egyptian deities. The cultural climate of Ramses’ Egypt is similar to the one described in the Bible
just prior to the Exodus (an event for which no archaeological record has been found).
The monuments Ramses II built to Egypt’s gods (and to himself) are larger and more numerous than those
of any other Egyptian king. Nine kings named themselves after him and patterned their lives after his. During
his own lifetime, he promoted himself as a god, and he was worshiped as such for the next thousand years.
Greek and Roman tourists marveled at his monuments and immortalized them in their writings, just as the
poet Percy Bysshe Shelley did hundreds of years later in his 1818 poem “Ozymandias.” (The name
Ozymandias is the Greek rendering of User-Ma’at-Ra, throne name of Ramses II.) When the greatest of all
Ramses’ monuments, Abu Simbel, was threatened by the rising waters of the Aswān High Dam in the
1960’s, ninety countries around the world contributed funds and expertise to save it. In this way, they too
paid homage to Ramses, as do millions of tourists who travel thousands of miles to visit his monuments.
Although his tomb was plundered and his body desecrated, Ramses II has gained the immortality he sought.
His monuments and his actions bear testimony to his importance and justify the appellation Ramses the
Great.
FURTHER READING

Bierbrier, Morris. The Tomb Builders of the Pharaohs. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1984. A
delightfully written description of the community of workmen who built the tombs of the New Kingdom
kings, including that of Ramses II. An intimate picture of their day-to-day lives. Includes a description
of how they built the tombs.

Healy, Mark. The Warrior Pharaoh: Ramses II and the Battle of Qadesh. Mechanicsburg, Penn.:
Stackpole, 2000. A military history detailing the battle, its causes, and its consequences. Discusses
Ramses’ military tactics and the equipment used by the armies; describes the location of the battle
and other matters of interest to military historians.

James, T. G. H. Ramses II. New York: Sterling, 2002. A lavishly illustrated biography that
accompanies a major traveling exhibit from the British Museum.

Menu, Bernardette. Ramesses II: Greatest of the Pharaohs. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999. A
concise, well-balanced history of Ramses and his reign. Includes useful information such as lists of
Ramses’ known advisors, spouses, and children.

Murnane, William. The Road to Kadesh. 2d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Oriental Institute,
1990. Background for the understanding of Egypt’s far-flung empire. Consideration of Egypt’s
relations with Syria and the Hittites through the reign of Ramses’ father, Seti I, and detailed analyses
of Seti’s military campaigns.

Tyldesley, Joyce A. Ramesses: Egypt’s Greatest Pharaoh. New York: Penguin, 2001. An
approachable, well-written biography of Ramses and his time.

Weeks, Kent. The Lost Tomb. New York: William Morrow, 1998. In 1995, an expedition led by
Weeks discovered the enormous tomb complex of Ramses II’s fifty sons, possibly the most important
find in modern Egyptology. This book is more of an archaeological memoir than a site study, but it
offers an inside look at the archaeological site and provides Weeks an opportunity to explain why this
tomb is so important.

Weeks, Kent, ed. The Valley of the Kings. New York: Sterling, 2001. Essays by experts interpret the
archaeological evidence from the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens for the
nonspecialist reader. Includes many illustrations, as well as plans, diagrams, and bibliography.
RELATED ARTICLES IN GREAT LIVES FROM HISTORY: THE ANCIENT WORLD
c. 1570 b.c.e., New Kingdom Period Begins in Egypt; From c. 1500 b.c.e., Dissemination of the Book of the
Dead; c. 1450 b.c.e., International Age of Major Kingdoms Begins in the Near East; c. 1365 b.c.e., Failure of
Akhenaton's Cultural Revival; c. 1275 b.c.e., Battle of Kadesh; 1069 b.c.e., Third Intermediate Period Begins
in Egypt.
Rita E. Freed
Rameses II 1279 - 1213 BC
Rameses II (right 19th dynasty), son of Seti I, was around thirty
years old when he became king of Egypt - and then reigned for 67 years. He had many
wives, among them some of his own near relatives, and was the father of about 111 sons
and 51 daughters.
As was usual in those days, the threat of foreign aggression against Egypt was always at
its greatest on the ascension of a new Pharaoh. Subject kings no doubt saw it as their duty
to test the resolve of a new king in Egypt. Likewise, it was incumbent on the new Pharaoh
it make a display of force if he was to keep the peace during his reign. Therefore, in his
fourth year as pharaoh, Rameses was fighting in Syria in a series of campaigns against
the Hittites and their allies. The Hittites, however, were a very strong foe and the war
lasted for twenty years.
On the second campaign, Rameses found himself in some difficulties when attacking "the
deceitful city of Kadesh". This action nearly cost him his life. He had divided his army
into four sections: the Amun, Ra, Ptah and Setekh divisions. Rameses himself was in the
van, leading the Amon division with the Ra division about a mile and a half behind. He
had decided to camp outside the city - but unknown to him, the Hittite army was hidden
and waiting. They attacked and routed the Ra division as it was crossing a ford.
With the chariots of the Hittites
in pursuit, Ra fled in disorder - spreading panic as they went. They ran straight into the
unsuspecting Amun division. With half his army in flight, Rameses found himself alone.
With only his bodyguard to assist him, he was surrounded by two thousand five hundred
Hittite chariots.
The king, realising his desperate position, charged the enemy with his small band of men.
He cut his way through, slaying large numbers as he escaped. "I was," said Rameses, "by
myself, for my soldiers and my horsemen had forsaken me, and not one of them was bold
enough to come to my aid."
At this point, the Hittites stopped to
plunder the Egyptian camp - giving the Egyptians time to regroup with their other two
divisions. They then fought for four hours, at the end of which time both sides were
exhausted and Rameses was able to withdraw his troops.
In the end neither side was victorious. And finally - after many years of war - Rameses
was obliged to make a treaty with the prince of the Hittites. It was agreed that Egypt was
not to invade Hittite territory, and likewise the Hittites were not to invade Egyptian
territory. They also agreed on a defence alliance to deter common enemies, mutual help
in suppressing rebellions in Syria, and an extradition treaty.
Thirteen years after the conclusion of this treaty in the thirty-fourth year of his reign,
Rameses married the daughter of the Hittite prince. Her Egyptian name was Ueret-ma-aneferu-Ra: meaning " Great One who sees the Beauties of Ra".
Although brave in battle, Rameses was
an inept general - and I wonder how Thutmose III would have dealt with the Hittites.
Maybe Rameses also pondered this because he spent the rest of his life bolstering his
image with huge building projects. His name is found everywhere on monuments and
buildings in Egypt and he frequently usurped the works of his predecessors and inscribed
his own name on statues which do not represent him. The smallest repair of a sanctuary
was sufficient excuse for him to have his name inscribed on every prominent part of the
building. His greatest works were the rock-hewn temple of Abu Simbel, dedicated to
Amun, Ra-Harmachis, and Ptah; its length is 185 feet, its height 90 feet, and the four
colossal statues of the king in front of it - cut from the living rock - are 60 feet high. He
also added to the temple of Amenhotep III at Luxor and completed the hall of columns at
Karnak - still the largest columned room of any building in the world.
Although he is probably the most famous king in Egyptian history, his actual deeds and
achievements cannot be compared with the great kings of the 18th dynasty. He is, in my
opinion, unworthy of the title 'Great'. A show-off and propagandist, he made his mark by
having his name, like a graffiti artist, inscribed on every possible stone. Whereas kings
such as Thutmose III left a stronger and more dynamic Egypt, after Rameses death Egypt
fell into decline. Luckily for Egypt, her prestige and pre-eminence as a world superpower
was such that this process took a long time. Only one other king, Rameses III (1184 - 1153
BC), was able to temporarily halt this process.
http://www.discoveringegypt.com/k-q4.htm
Need more details? Or better quotations? Try the follow sites:
http://www.egyptologyonline.com/the_life_of_ramessess_the_great.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/19dyn03.htm