Ramesses II

“Ramses II” redirects here. For the armored vehicle, see

Ramses II tank.

Ramesses II (variously transliterated as "Rameses"

(/ˈræməsiːz/)[5] or "Ramses" (/ˈræmsiːz/ or /ˈræmziːz/);[6]
born c. 1303 BC; died July or August 1213 BC; reigned
1279–1213 BC), also known as Ramesses the Great,
was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of
Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most cele-
brated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Em-
pire.[7] His successors and later Egyptians called him the
“Great Ancestor”. Ramesses II led several military expe-
ditions into the Levant, reasserting 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 Re-
gent 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] Manetho attributes
Ramesses II a reign of 66 years and 2 months; most Egyp-
tologists today believe, he assumed the throne on May 31,
1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu
day 27.[9][10] Estimates of his age at death vary; 90 or 91 is
Ramesses II as a child (Cairo Museum)
considered most likely.[11][12] Ramesses II celebrated an
unprecedented 14 sed festivals (the first held after thirty
years of a pharaoh’s reign, and then every three years) volts and carrying out a campaign in Libya. Although the
during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.[13] On Battle of Kadesh often dominates the scholarly view of
his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Ramesses II’s military prowess and power, he neverthe-
Kings;[14] his body was later moved to a royal cache where less enjoyed more than a few outright victories over the
it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the enemies of Egypt. During Ramesses II’s reign, the Egyp-
Cairo Museum.[15] tian army is estimated to have totaled about 100,000 men;
The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, a formidable force that he used to strengthen Egyptian
temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi- influence.[18]
Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main
base for his campaigns in Syria. He is also known as Ozy-
mandias in the Greek sources,[16] from a transliteration 1.1 Battle against Sherden sea pirates
into Greek of a part of Ramesses’ throne name, Usermaa-
tre Setepenre, “The justice of Rê is powerful – chosen of In his second year, Ramesses II decisively defeated the
Rê".[17] Shardana or Sherden sea pirates who were wreaking
havoc along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast by attacking
cargo-laden vessels travelling the sea routes to Egypt.[19]
The Sherden people probably came from the coast of
1 Campaigns and battles Ionia, possibly south-west Anatolia or from the island of
Sardinia. Ramesses posted troops and ships at strate-
Early in his life, Ramesses II embarked on numerous gic points along the coast and patiently allowed the pi-
campaigns to return previously held territories back from rates to attack their prey before skillfully catching them
Nubian and Hittite hands and to secure Egypt’s borders. by surprise in a sea battle and capturing them all in a
He was also responsible for suppressing some Nubian re- single action.[20] A stele from Tanis speaks of their hav-

1
2 1
The great Sesostris (Rameses II) in the Battle of Khadesh.
ing 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 mid-
dle, their round shields and the great Naue II swords with
which they are depicted in inscriptions of the Battle of
Kadesh.[21] 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.
1.2 First Syrian campaign
The immediate antecedents to the Battle of Kadesh were
the early campaigns of Ramesses II into Canaan. His first
campaign seems to have taken place in the fourth year of
his reign and was commemorated by the erection of what
became the first of the Commemorative stela of Nahr el-
Kalb, near modern Beirut. The inscription is almost to-
tally illegible due to weathering.
Additional records tell us that he was forced to fight a
Canaanite prince who was mortally wounded by an Egyp-
tian archer, and whose army was subsequently routed.
Ramesses carried off the princes of Canaan as live pris-
CAMPAIGNS AND BATTLES
oners 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.[22]
1.3 Second Syrian campaign
Further information: Battle of Kadesh
The Battle of Kadesh in his fifth regnal year was
Ramesses II storming the Hittite fortress of Dapur.
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 em-
ulate his father Seti I’s triumphal entry into the city just
a decade or so earlier. He also constructed his new cap-
ital, Pi-Ramesses, where he built factories to manufac-
ture weapons, chariots, and shields, supposedly produc-
ing some 1,000 weapons in a week, about 250 chariots in
two 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.[23]
Ramesses’s forces were caught in a Hittite ambush and
outnumbered at Kadesh when they counterattacked and
routed the Hittites, whose survivors abandoned their char-
iots and swam the Orontes river back to the safe city
walls.[24] Ramesses, logistically unable to sustain a long
siege, returned to Egypt.[25][26]
1.4 Third Syrian campaign
Egypt’s sphere of influence was now restricted to Canaan
while Syria fell into Hittite hands. Canaanite princes,
seemingly encouraged by the Egyptian incapacity to im-
pose their will and goaded on by the Hittites, began re-
volts 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,
1.6 Peace treaty with the Hittites
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 (the land around Damascus), reestablish-
ing Egypt’s former sphere of influence.[27]
1.5 Later campaigns in Syria
Relief from Ramesseum showing the siege of Dapur
Ramesses extended his military successes in his eighth
and ninth years. He crossed the Dog River (Nahr al-
Kalb) and pushed north into Amurru. His armies man-
aged to march as far north as Dapur,[28] 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.[29] 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
3
fighting began. Six of Ramesses’s sons, still wearing their
side locks, took part in this conquest. He took towns in
Retenu,[30] and Tunip in Naharin,[31] later recorded on the
walls of the Ramesseum.[32] This second success here was
equally as meaningless as his first, as neither power could
decisively defeat the other in battle.[33]
1.6 Peace treaty with the Hittites
Main article: Ramses–Hattusili Treaty
The deposed Hittite king, Mursili III fled to Egypt, the
Tablet of treaty between Hattusili III of Hatti and Ramesses II of
Egypt, at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum
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.[34]
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 em-
pires came dangerously close to war. Eventually, in the
twenty-first year of his reign (1258 BC), Ramesses de-
cided to conclude an agreement with the new Hittite king,
Hattusili III, at Kadesh to end the conflict. The ensu-
ing document is the earliest known peace treaty in world
history.[35]
The peace treaty was recorded in two versions, one
in Egyptian hieroglyphs, the other in Akkadian, us-
ing cuneiform script; both versions survive. Such
dual-language recording is common to many subsequent
treaties. This treaty differs from others, in that the two
4 2 RELIGIOUS IMPACT

language versions are differently worded. While the ma-

jority of text is identical, the Hittite version says the
Egyptians came suing for peace, and the Egyptian version
says the reverse.[36] The treaty was given to the Egyptians
in the form of a silver plaque, and this “pocket-book” ver-
sion was taken back to Egypt and carved into the Temple
of Karnak.
The treaty was concluded between Ramesses II and Hat-
tusili III in year 21 of Ramesses’s reign (c. 1258 BC).[37]
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 con-
trol. The harbour town of Sumur, north of Byblos, is
mentioned as the northern-most town belonging to Egypt,
suggesting it contained an Egyptian garrison.[38]
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.[39] When the King of Mira at-
tempted 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 fa-
ther, Kadashman-Turgu, had offered to fight Ramesses II,
the king of Egypt. The Hittite king encouraged the Baby-
lonian 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.
1.7 Campaigns in Nubia
Ramesses II in his war chariot charging into battle against the
Nubians
Photo of the free standing part of Gerf Hussein temple, originally
in Nubia
years, but its conquest was recalled in decoration from the
temples Ramesses II built at Beit el-Wali[40] (which was
the subject of epigraphic work by the Oriental Institute
during the Nubian salvage campaign of the 1960s),[41]
Gerf Hussein and Kalabsha in northern Nubia. On the
south wall of the Beit el-Wali temple, Ramesses II is de-
picted charging into battle against the Nubians in a war
chariot, while his two young sons, Amun-her-khepsef and
Khaemwaset, are shown behind him, also in war chari-
ots. A wall in one of Ramesses’s temples says he had to
fight one battle with the Nubians without help from his
soldiers.
1.8 Campaigns in Libya
During the reign of Ramesses II, the Egyptians were ev-
idently active on a 300-kilometre (190 mi) stretch along
the Mediterranean coast, at least as far as Zawiyet Umm
el-Rakham.[42] 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 under-
taking 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 defen-
sive system, in a manner similar to how he rebuilt those
to the east, the Ways of Horus across Northern Sinai.

Ramesses II also campaigned south of the first cataract

into Nubia. When Ramesses was about 22, two of his 2 Religious impact
own sons, including Amun-her-khepeshef, accompanied
him in at least one of those campaigns. By the time As a result of his long reign, being both one of the most
of Ramesses, Nubia had been a colony for two hundred prolific builders of the entire dynastic period and the

aforementioned usurpation of monuments, and his being
the strongest king since the Amarna Period, Ramesses
was the pharaoh most responsible for the attempt to erase
it from history.
2.1 Sed festival
Further information: Sed festival
After reigning for 30 years, Ramesses joined a select
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.[43] Only halfway through what would be a 66-year
reign, Ramesses had already eclipsed all but a few of
the 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 dramat-
ically 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-in-chief of Egyptian armies,
his son effectively became ruler in all but name.
3 Building activity and monuments
The Younger Memnon part of a colossal statue of Ramesses from the ravages of time. Ramesses used art as a means of pro-
the Ramesseum, now in the British Museum
5
Egypt - Statue of Ramses II, Luxor, n.d., This slide colored by
Joseph Hawkes. Goodyear. Brooklyn Museum Archives
Ramesses built extensively throughout Egypt and Nu-
bia, and his cartouches are prominently displayed even
in buildings that he did not actually construct.[44] There
are accounts of his honor hewn on stone, statues, and
the remains of palaces and temples—most notably the
Ramesseum in western Thebes and the rock temples of
Abu Simbel. He covered the land from the Delta to
Nubia with buildings in a way no monarch before him
had done.[45] He also founded a new capital city in the
Delta during his reign called Pi-Ramesses; it had previ-
ously served as a summer palace during Seti I’s reign.[46]
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 ambi-
tious building project after the pyramids, which were built
1,500 years earlier. The population was put to work on
changing the face of Egypt. In Thebes, the ancient tem-
ples were transformed, so that each one of them reflected
honour to Ramesses as a symbol of his putative divine na-
ture and power. Ramesses decided to eternalize himself
in stone, and so he ordered changes to the methods used
by his masons. The elegant but shallow reliefs of previ-
ous 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, includ-
ing 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
paganda for his victories over foreigners, which are de-
picted on numerous temple reliefs. Ramesses II erected
6 3
more colossal statues of himself than any other pharaoh, and the desert has been known as the Ramesseum since
and also usurped many existing statues by inscribing his the 19th century. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus
own cartouche on them. marveled at the gigantic temple, now no more than a few
ruins.[49]
3.1 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 Canaan 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”)[47] 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 else-
where, and the real Pi-Ramesses lies about 30 km south,
near modern Qantir.[48] The colossal feet of the statue of
Ramesses are almost all that remains above ground today;
the rest is buried in the fields.[47]
3.2 Ramesseum
Further information: Ramesseum
The temple complex built by Ramesses II between Qurna
The Younger Memnon digitally restored with its base still in the
Ramesseum
BUILDING ACTIVITY AND MONUMENTS
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 gi-
gantic 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 1,000 tonnes (980 long tons;
1,100 short tons). Scenes of the great pharaoh and his
army triumphing over the Hittite forces fleeing before
Kadesh are 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.[50]
Ramesseum courtyard
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 tem-
ple. 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.[51] 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 consec-
utive rooms, with eight columns and the tetrastyle cell.
Part of the first room, with the ceiling decorated with as-
tral scenes, and few remains of the second room are all
that is left. Vast storerooms built in mud bricks stretched
out around the temple.[50] Traces of a school for scribes
were found among the ruins.[52]
A temple of Seti I, of which nothing is now left but
3.6 Tomb KV5 7

the foundations, once stood to the right of the hypostyle

hall.[51]

3.3 Abu Simbel

Further information: Abu Simbel

In 1255 BC Ramesses and his queen Nefertari had trav-

eled into Nubia to inaugurate a new temple, the great Abu
Simbel. It is an ego cast in stone; the man who built it in-
tended not only to become Egypt’s greatest pharaoh but
also one of its gods.[53]
The great temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel was dis-
covered in 1813 by the Swiss Orientalist and traveler
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. An enormous pile of sand
almost completely covered the facade and its colossal
statues, blocking the entrance for four more years. The
Paduan explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni reached the
interior on 4 August 1817.[54]

3.4 Other Nubian monuments

As well as the 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 Tomb wall depicting Nefertari
New Kalabsha). Other temples dedicated to Ramesses
are Derr and Gerf Hussein (also relocated to New Kalab-
sha). which the ancient Egyptians called the golden hall, that
the regeneration of the deceased took place. This deco-
rative pictogram of the walls in the burial chamber drew
3.5 Tomb of Nefertari inspirations from chapters 144 and 146 of the Book of
the Dead: in the left half of the chamber, there are pas-
Further information: Tomb of Nefertari sages from chapter 144 concerning the gates and doors
The tomb of the most important of Ramesses’ consorts of the kingdom of Osiris, their guardians, and the magic
was discovered by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904.[50][54] formulas that had to be uttered by the deceased in order
[54]
Although it had been looted in ancient times, the tomb to go past the doors.
of Nefertari is extremely important, because its magnif-
icent wall painting decoration is regarded as one of the
greatest achievements of ancient Egyptian art. A flight of 3.6 Tomb KV5
steps cut out of the rock gives access to the antecham-
ber, which is decorated with paintings based on chapter Further information: KV5
17 of the Book of the Dead. This astronomical ceiling
represents the heavens and is painted in dark blue, with a In 1995, Professor Kent Weeks, head of the Theban Map-
myriad of golden five-pointed stars. The east wall of the ping Project, rediscovered Tomb KV5. It has proven to
antechamber is interrupted by a large opening flanked by be the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and orig-
representation of Osiris at left and Anubis at right; this inally contained the mummified remains of some of this
in turn leads to the side chamber, decorated with offer- king’s estimated 52 sons. Approximately 150 corridors
ing scenes, preceded by a vestibule in which the paint- and tomb chambers have been located in this tomb as
ings portray Nefertari presented to the gods, who wel- of 2006 and the tomb may contain as many as 200 cor-
come her. On the north wall of the antechamber is the ridors and chambers.[55] It is believed that at least 4 of
stairway down to the burial chamber, a vast quadrangular Ramesses’s sons including Meryatum, Sety, Amun-her-
room covering a surface area of about 90 square metres khepeshef (Ramesses’s first-born son) and “the King’s
(970 sq ft), its astronomical ceiling supported by four pil- Principal Son of His Body, the Generalissimo Ramesses,
lars entirely decorated. Originally, the queen’s red granite justified” (i.e., deceased) were buried there from inscrip-
sarcophagus lay in the middle of this chamber. According tions, ostracas or canopic jars discovered in the tomb.[56]
to religious doctrines of the time, it was in this chamber, Joyce Tyldesley writes that thus far
8 5 MUMMY
“no intact burials have been discovered and
there have been little substantial funeral de-
bris: thousands of potsherds, faience ushabti
figures, beads, amulets, fragments of Canopic
jars, of wooden coffins ... but no intact sar-
cophagi, mummies or mummy cases, suggest-
ing that much of the tomb may have been un-
used. Those burials which were made in KV5
were thoroughly looted in antiquity, leaving lit-
tle or no remains.”[56]
3.7 Colossal statue
Giant statue of Ramesses II in Memphis.
Further information: Statue of Ramesses II (Mit Rahina)
The colossal statue of Ramesses II was reconstructed and befitting a king.[64]
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
[57]
to deteriorate. The statue was originally taken from a
temple in Memphis. The new site will be located near the
future Grand Egyptian Museum.[58]
4 Death and legacy
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.[59] 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 took the name Ramesses in his hon-
our.
5 Mummy
Ramesses II was originally buried in the tomb KV7 in the
Valley of the Kings but, because of looting, priests later
transferred the body to a holding area, re-wrapped it, and
placed it inside the tomb of queen Inhapy. Seventy-two
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.[60] His mummy is today
in Cairo's Egyptian Museum.
The pharaoh’s mummy reveals an aquiline nose and
strong jaw, and stands at about 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in).[61]
His ultimate successor was his 13th son, Merneptah.
Mummy of Ramesses II
In 1974 Egyptologists visiting his tomb noticed that the
mummy’s condition was rapidly deteriorating and flew
it to Paris for examination.[62] Ramesses II was issued
an Egyptian passport that listed his occupation as “King
(deceased)".[63] The mummy was received at Le Bourget
airport, just outside Paris, with the full military honours
Maurice Bucaille led a team of French scientists in exam-
ining the mummy. According to Bucaille, he was more
interested in finding whether Ramesses II was the pharaoh
at the time of Moses and to find out how Ramesses
died.[65]
In Paris, fungus was found attacking Ramesses’s mummy
and killed. During the examination, scientific analysis re-
vealed battle wounds, old fractures, arthritis and poor cir-
culation.
Ramesses II’s arthritis is believed to have made him walk
with a hunched back for the last decades of his life.[66] A
recent study excluded ankylosing spondylitis as a possi-
ble cause.[67] 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 cer-
tainty”. Gaston Maspero, who unwrapped the mummy
of Rameses II, writes, “on the temples there are a few
sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite thick, forming
smooth, straight locks about five centimeters in length.
 9

White at the time of death, and possibly auburn dur- Ramesses was portrayed as a vengeful tyrant as well as the
ing life, they have been dyed a light red by the spices main antagonist of the film, ever scornful of his father’s
(henna) used in embalming...the moustache and beard preference for Moses over “the son of [his] body”.[73]
are thin...The hairs are white, like those of the head and The animated film The Prince of Egypt (1998) also fea-
eyebrows...the skin is of earthy brown, splotched with tured a depiction of Ramesses (voiced by Ralph Fiennes),
black...the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the portrayed as Moses’ adoptive brother, and ultimately as
face of the living king.”[68][69] the film’s villain. More recently, Joel Edgerton played
Microscopic inspection of the roots of Ramesses II’s hair Ramesses in the 2014 film Exodus: Gods and Kings.
proved that the king’s hair was originally red, which sug- The Ten Commandments: The Musical (2006) co-starred
gests that he came from a family of redheads.[70] This has Kevin Earley as Ramesses.
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, 7 See also
Seti I, means “follower of Seth.”[71]
After Ramesses’ mummy returned to Egypt it was visited • Abu Simbel
by President Anwar Sadat and his wife.
• Battle of Kadesh
• List of Pharaohs
6 In popular culture • Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt Family Tree

Ramesses is the basis for Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem • Ozymandias

"Ozymandias". Diodorus Siculus gives an inscription on
• Ramesseum
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.”[72] This is
paraphrased in Shelley’s poem. 8 References
The life of Ramesses II has inspired many fictional repre- [1] Clayton 1994, p. 146.
sentations, including the historical novels of the French
writer Christian Jacq, the Ramsès series; the graphic [2] Tyldesly 2001, p. xxiv.
novel Watchmen, in which the character of Adrian Veidt
[3] “Mortuary temple of Ramesses II at Abydos”. Retrieved
uses Ramesses II to form part of the inspiration for his
2008-10-28.
alter-ego known as 'Ozymandias’; Norman Mailer's novel
Ancient Evenings, which is largely concerned with the life [4] Anneke Bart. “Temples of Ramesses II”. Retrieved 2008-
of Ramesses II, though from the perspective of Egyptians 04-23.
living during the reign of Ramesses IX; and the Anne
[5] “Rameses”. Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Wi-
Rice book The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned (1989),
ley Publishing. 2004.
in which Ramesses was the main character.
[6] “Ramses”. Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Wi-
ley Publishing. 2004.
6.1 As the pharaoh of the Exodus [7] Putnam (1990)

In entertainment and media, 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 Grant's So Moses
Was Born, a first person account from Nebunefer, the
brother of Ramoses, which paints a picture of the life of
Ramoses from the death of Seti, replete with the power
play, intrigue, and assassination plots of the historical
record, and depicting the relationships with Bintanath,
Tuya, Nefertari, and Moses. In The Kane Chronicles
Ramesses is an ancestor of the main characters Sadie and
Carter Kane.
In film, Ramesses was played by Yul Brynner in Cecil B.
DeMille's classic The Ten Commandments (1956). Here
[8] Rice (1999), p. 165.
[9] von Beckerath (1997), pp.108 and 190
[10] Brand (2000), pp.302-305
[11] von Beckerath (1997), pp. 108 and 190.
[12] Brand (2000), pp. 302-305.
[13] O'Connor & Cline (1998), p. 16.
[14] Christian Leblanc. “Gerard”. Archived from the original
on 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
[15] Rice (1999), p. 166.
[16] (Greek Text) Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica,
1.47.4 at the Perseus Project
10
[17] “Ozymandias”. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
[18] R. Gabriel, The Great Armies of Antiquity, 6.
[19] Grimal (1992), pp. 250–253.
[20] Tyldesley (2000), pp. 53.
[21] “The Naue Type II Sword”. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
[22] Grimal (1994), pp. 253ff.
[23] Tyldesley, Ramesses, p. 68.
[24] Ancient Discoveries: Egyptian Warfare. History Channel
Program: Ancient Discoveries: Egyptian Warfare with
panel of three experts. Event occurs at 12:00 EDST,
2008-05-14. Archived from the original on April 16,
2008. Retrieved 2008-05-15. Egyptian monuments and
great works of art still astound us today. We will reveal an-
other surprising aspect of Egyptian life--their weapons of
war, and their great might on the battlefield. A common
perception of the Egyptians is of a cultured civilization,
yet there is fascinating evidence that reveals they were
also a war faring people, who developed advanced weapon
making techniques. Some of these techniques would be
used for the very first time in history and some of the bat-
tles they fought were on a truly massive scale.
[25] The Battle of Kadesh in the context of Hittite history
[26] 100 Battles, Decisive Battles that Shaped the World,
Dougherty, Martin, J., Parragon, pp. 10–11.
[27] Grimal (1992), p. 256.
[28] Kitchen (1996), p. 26.
[29] Kitchen (1979), pp. 223–224.
[30] Kitchen (1996), p. 33
[31] Kitchen (1996), p. 47.
[32] Kitchen (1996), p. 46.
[33] Kitchen (1982), p. 68.
[34] Kitchen (1982), p. 74.
[35] Grimal, op. cit., p. 256.
[36] Kitchen (1983), pp. 73–79 & 62–64.
[37] Grimal (1992), p. 257.
[38] Stieglitz (1991), p. 45.
[39] Kitchen (1982), p. 215.
[40] “Beit el-Wali”. University of Chicago. Retrieved 2008-
04-21.
[41] Ricke & Wente (1967)
[42] Geoff Edwards. “Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham”. Retrieved
2008-04-07.
[43] “Sed festival”. The Global Egyptian Museum. Retrieved
2008-04-07.
8 REFERENCES
[44] Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards. “Chapter XV: Rameses
the Great”. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
[45] Wolfhart Westendorf, Das alte Ägypten, 1969
[46] Kitchen (1982), p. 119.
[47] Kitchen (2003), p. 255.
[48] Dearman, John Andrew; Graham, Matt Patrick; Miller,
James Maxwell, eds. (2001). 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 Aca-
demic Press. “The Geography of the Exodus”, by John
Van Seters, page 265. ISBN 1-84127-257-4. Retrieved
27 February 2015.
[49] Diodorus Siculus (1814). The Historical Library of
Diodorus the Sicilian. Printed by W. MʻDowall for J.
Davis. pp. Ch.11, p.33.
[50] Skliar (2005).
[51] Guy Lecuyot. “The Ramesseum (Egypt), Recent Archae-
ological Research” (PDF). Retrieved 2008-04-10.
[52] "À l'école des Scribes” (in French). Retrieved 2008-04-
21.
[53] Kitchen (1982), pp. 64–65.
[54] Siliotti (1994).
[55] “Tomb of Ramses II sons”. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
[56] Tyldesley (2000), pp. 161–162.
[57] “Giant Ramses statue gets new home”. BBC NEWS.
2006-08-25. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
[58] Hawass, Zahi. “The removal of Ramses II Statue”. Re-
trieved 2007-03-17.
[59] “La momie de Ramsès II. Contribution scientifique à
l'égyptologie.”. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
[60] Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt: Ramesses II
[61] Tyldesley (2000) p. 14.
[62] John Ray. “Ramesses the Great”. BBC. Retrieved 2008-
05-15.
[63] “Engineering Egypt”. National Geographic. Archived
from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved July 22,
2010.
[64] Stephanie Pain. “Ramesses rides again”. New Scientist.
Retrieved 2013-12-13.
[65] “Premiere of the documentary film “Maurice and the
Pharaoh” at the GUST Kuwait”, YouTube.
[66] Bob Brier, The Encyclopedia of Mummies, Checkmark
Books, 1998, p. 153.
[67] Can. Assoc. Radiol. J. 2004 Oct;55(4):211–7, PMID
15362343.
[68] Valley of the Kings by John Romer, Castle Books, p184
8.1 Bibliography
[69] Egyptian Archaeology by Gaston Maspero, Putnam 1892,
p76-77
[70] Bob Brier, Egyptian Mummies: Unravelling the Secrets of
an Ancient Art, New York: William Morrow & Co. Inc,
1994, p. 153.
[71] Brier, Egyptian Mummies (1994), pp. 200-201.
[72] RPO Editors. “Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ozymandias”.
University of Toronto Department of English. University
of Toronto Libraries, University of Toronto Press. Re-
trieved 2006-09-18.
[73] John Ray. “Ramesses the Great”. BBC history. Retrieved
2008-05-30.
8.1 Bibliography
• Balout, L., Roubet, C. and Desroches-Noblecourt,
C. (1985). La Momie de Ramsès II: Contribution Sci-
entifique à l'Égyptologie.
• Bietak, Manfred (1995). Avaris: Capital of the Hyk-
sos - Recent Excavations. London: British Museum
Press. ISBN 0-7141-0968-1.
• 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 90-04-11770-9.
• 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 0-500-05128-3.
• Grajetzki, Wolfram (2005). Ancient Egyptian
Queens– a hieroglyphic dictionary. London: Golden
House Publications. ISBN 0-9547218-9-6.
• Grimal, Nicolas (1992). A History of Ancient Egypt.
Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-17472-9.
• Kitchen, Kenneth (1983). Pharaoh Triumphant:
The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt.
London: Aris & Phillips. ISBN 0-85668-215-2.
• Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson (2003). On the Reli-
ability of the Old Testament. Michigan: William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8028-
4960-1.
11
• Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson (1996). Ramesside In-
scriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations.
Volume 2: Ramesses II; Royal Inscriptions. Oxford:
Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-18427-9. Trans-
lations 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 Inscrip-
tions. 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 Michi-
gan Press.
• Putnam, James (1990). An introduction to
Egyptology.
• Rice, Michael (1999). Who’s Who in Ancient Egypt.
Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15448-0.
• Herbert Ricke; George R. Hughes; Edward F. Wente
(1967). The Beit el-Wali Temple of Ramesses II.
• RPO Editors. “Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ozymandias”.
University of Toronto Department of English. Uni-
versity 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). Das alte Ägypten (in
German).
• 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 Insti-
tute Publications, vol. 74 (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1954
• Drews 1995, p. 54: “Already in the 1840s Egyp-
tologists had debated the identity of the “north-
erners, coming from all lands,” who assisted the
Libyan King Meryre in his attack upon Merneptah.
Some scholars believed that Meryre’s auxiliaries
were merely his neighbors on the Libyan coast, while
12 10 EXTERNAL LINKS

others identified them as Indo-Europeans from north 10 External links

of the Caucasus. It was one of Maspero’s most il-
lustrious predecessors, Emmanuel de Rougé, who • Egypt’s Golden Empire: Ramesses II
proposed that the names reflected the lands of the
northern Mediterranean: the Lukka, Ekwesh, Tur- • Ramesses II
sha, Shekelesh, and Shardana were men from Ly-
• Usermaatresetepenre
dia, Achaea, Tyrsenia (western Italy), Sicily, and
Sardinia.” De Rougé and others regarded Meryre’s • Ramesses II Usermaatre-setepenre (about 1279–
auxiliaries-these “peoples de la mer Méditerranée"- 1213 BC)
as mercenary bands, since the Sardinians, at least,
were known to have served as mercenaries already in • Egyptian monuments: Temple of Ramesses II
the early years of Ramesses the Great. Thus the only
• Ramesses II at Find a Grave
“migration” that the Karnak Inscription seemed to
suggest was an attempted encroachment by Libyans • List of Ramesses II’s family members and state of-
upon neighboring territory.” ficials
• Newly discovered temple
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Drews 1995, p. 49.
• Full titulary of Ramesses II including variants
* Gale, N.H. 2011. ‘Source of the Lead Metal used to
make a Repair Clamp on a Nuragic Vase recently exca-
vated at Pyla-Kokkinokremos on Cyprus’. In V. Kara-
georghis and O. Kouka (eds.), On Cooking Pots, Drink-
ing Cups, Loomweights and Ethnicity in Bronze Age
Cyprus and Neighbouring Regions, Nicosia. *O'Connor
& Cline 2003, p. 112-113.

9 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 Resis-

tance: Egyptian Military Activity in the Southern Lev-
ant, 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 Fi-

nal 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 vol-
ume by the former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities
at the British Museum, filled with colour illustrations
of buildings, art, etc. related to Ramesses II
 13

11 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

11.1 Text
• Ramesses II Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramesses_II?oldid=739152874 Contributors: Deb, William Avery, Ellmist, Ktsquare,
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14 11 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

11.2 Images
• File:BM,_AES_Egyptian_Sulpture_~{}_Colossal_bust_of_Ramesses_II,_the_'Younger_Memnon'_(1250_BC)_(Room_4).jpg
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/BM%2C_AES_Egyptian_Sulpture_~{}_Colossal_bust_of_Ramesses_
II%2C_the_%27Younger_Memnon%27_%281250_BC%29_%28Room_4%29.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
• File:Colossus_of_Ramesses_II_restored.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/Colossus_of_Ramesses_II_
restored.jpg License: CC-BY-3.0 Contributors:
Own work
Original artist:
Bedoyere (talk) (Uploads)
• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Egypt-Memphis-Giant-Ramses-II.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/
Egypt-Memphis-Giant-Ramses-II.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Leoboudv
using CommonsHelper. Original artist: Barrylb at English Wikipedia
• File:Female_icon_black.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Female_icon_black.svg License: CC0 Con-
tributors: Own work Original artist: Abjiklam
• File:Gerf_Hussein.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Gerf_Hussein.jpg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O215713/photograph-gerf-hossayn/ Original artist: Francis Frith (1822 – 1898)
• File:Hiero_Ca1.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Hiero_Ca1.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Bryan Derksen
• File:Hiero_Ca2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Hiero_Ca2.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Bryan Derksen
• File:Kadesh.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Kadesh.jpg License: Attribution Contributors: Own
work Original artist: Picture taken by deror avi on July 2005.
• File:Maler_der_Grabkammer_der_Nefertari_004.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Maler_der_
Grabkammer_der_Nefertari_004.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-
ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. Original artist: Maler der Grabkammer der Nefertari
• File:RAMmummy.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/RAMmummy.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Con-
tributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Sreejithk2000 using CommonsHelper. Original artist: The original uploader was
ThutmoseIII at English Wikipedia
• File:Ramesses_II_as_child.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Ramesses_II_as_child.jpg License:
Copyrighted free use Contributors: http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/html/cairo_museum_59.html Original artist: Jon Bodsworth
• File:Ramesseum-Cour_et_Colosse.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Ramesseum-Cour_et_Colosse.
jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims). Original
artist: No machine-readable author provided. Bradipus assumed (based on copyright claims).
• File:Ramesseum_siege_of_Dapur.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Ramesseum_siege_of_Dapur.
jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims). Original
artist: No machine-readable author provided. Ignacio Icke assumed (based on copyright claims).
• File:Ramses_II_charging_Nubians.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Ramses_II_charging_Nubians.
jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Roderick Dailey
• File:Ramses_IIs_seger_över_Chetafolket_och_stormningen_av_Dapur,_Nordisk_familjebok.png Source: https:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Ramses_IIs_seger_%C3%B6ver_Chetafolket_och_stormningen_av_Dapur%2C_
Nordisk_familjebok.png License: Public domain Contributors: Nordisk familjebok (1907), vol.6, Till art. Egypten. VI [1] Original artist:
Nordisk familjebok
• File:S10.08_Luxor,_image_9925.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/S10.08_Luxor%2C_image_
9925.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Brooklyn Museum, http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/archives/image/
4517/image Original artist: William Henry Goodyear
• File:Srxtail2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Srxtail2.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
• Srxtail2.GIF Original artist: Srxtail2.GIF: Jeff Dahl
• File:The_great_Sesostris_(Rameses_II)_in_the_Battle_of_Khadesh.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
5/55/The_great_Sesostris_%28Rameses_II%29_in_the_Battle_of_Khadesh.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: The illustrated his-
tory of the world for the English people. From the earliest period to the present time, ancient-mediaeval-modern. With many original
high-class engravings Original artist: Publisher New York Ward, Lock

11.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0