Ramesses II
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Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses) was an Egyptian pharaoh. He lived from c. 1314 BC to 1224 BC and reigned from 1290 BC to 1224 BC, He ruled for a total of 66 years, becoming pharaoh at the age of 24 and dying in his 90th year. (Note: there is some evidence that places his reign during the 10th Century BC). Ancient Greek writers (such as Herodotus) ascribed his accomplishments to the semi-mythical Sesostris.
He was the third king of the 19th dynasty, and the son of Seti I and his Queen Tuya. The most memorable of Ramesses' wives was Nefertari. Others among his wives were Isisnofret and Maetnefrure, Princess of Hatti. The writer Terence Gray stated in 1923 that Ramesses II had as many as 200 sons and 200 daughters; more recent scholars, however, believe his offspring, while numerous, were far fewer, somewhere around 90. His children include Bintah (Bintanath) (princess and her father's wife), Setakht (Sethnakhte), the Pharaoh Merneptah (who succeeded him), and prince Kha'emweset.
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Ramesses led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria). At the Battle of Kadesh in the fourth year of his reign (1286 BC), Egyptian forces under Ramesses II engaged the forces of Muwatallis, king of the Hittites. Over the following years, neither power could effectively defeat the other, so in the 21st year of his reign (1269 BC), Ramesses concluded an agreement with Hattusilis III, the earliest known surviving peace treaty, believed to have been drawn up in 1271 BC.
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Ramesses also campaigned south of the first cataract into Nubia. He constructed many impressive monuments, and more statues of him exist than of any other Egyptian pharaoh: Ramesses indeed provided the artisans who lived in Deir el Medina with plenty of work.
At least as early as Eusebius of Caesarea, he was identified with the pharaoh of whom the biblical figure Moses is popularly believed to have demanded that his people be released from slavery.
His mummy was found at Deir el-Bahri in 1881 and placed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo five years later, where it is still exhibited with pride by the Egyptian people. His successor was his son Merneptah.
As with most pharaohs, Ramesses had a number of names. The two most important, his praenomen (regnal name) and nomen (birth name) are shown in Egyptian hieroglyphs to the right. These names are transliterated as wsr-m3‘t-r‘–stp-n-r‘ r‘-ms-sw–mry-ỉ-mn, which is usually realised as something like Wesermaatra-setepenra Ramessu-meryamen. They can be translated as 'Powerful one of Maat and Ra, chosen of Ra, Ra bore him, beloved of Amun'.
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Pop culture
- Christian Jacq's Ramses book series where he tells the story of the pharaoh offer a simplified vision of the life of Ramesses II: he has two vile power-hungry siblings, Shanaar, his decadent older brother, and Dolora, his corrupted older sister who married his teacher. In his marital life, he first has Isisnofret (renamed Iset) as a mistress (second Great Wife), meets his true love Nefertari (first Great Wife) and after their death, gets married with Maetnefrure in his older life. Ramesses II only has three biological children: Kha'emweset, Merytamon (she being the only child of Nefertari, the two others being from Iset) and Merneptah. The other "children" are only young officials trained for government and who are nicknamed "sons of the pharaoh".
Related articles
Further reading
- 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
- Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson. 1982. Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt. Monumenta Hannah Sheen Dedicata 2. Mississauga: Benben Publications. ISBN 0856682152. This is an English language treatment of the life of Ramesses II at a semi-popular level
- Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson. 1996. Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations. Volume 2: Ramesses II; Royal Inscriptions. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0631184279. 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
The life of Ramesses II has also inspired a large number of historical novels, including the five volume series, Ramsès, by the French writer Christian Jacq. Translated editions are available for non-French readers. Each volume encompasses one aspect of Ramesses' known historical life while it is weaved in a fictional tapestry of the ancient world for an epic tale of love, life and deceit.
External links
- TourEgypt.net site devoted to the Pharaohs, with many pages on Ramesses and his family
- A short study of his prosperous reign (on GeoCities; JavaScript pop-up ad)
| Preceded by: Seti I | Pharaoh of Egypt Nineteenth Dynasty | Succeeded by: Merneptah |