Online Encyclopedia Search Tool

Your Online Encyclopedia

 

Online Encylopedia and Dictionary Research Site

Online Encyclopedia Free Search Online Encyclopedia Search    Online Encyclopedia Browse    welcome to our free dictionary for your research of every kind

Online Encyclopedia



Ramesses II

(Redirected from Ramses II)
Ramesses II, Abu Simbel
Enlarge
Ramesses II, Abu Simbel


Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the Great and alternatively anglicised 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. 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. His children include Bintah (Bintanath) (princess and her father's wife), Setakht (Sethnakhte), the Pharaoh Merneptah (who succeeded him), and prince Kha'emweset .

Mummy of Ramesses II
Enlarge
Mummy of Ramesses II

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 Qadesh 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.

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 al-Bahari 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.

See also: Abu Simbel, Ramesseum, Ozymandias

Further reading

  • Kenneth A. Kitchen, Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt, (Warminster: Aris & Philips, 1982; ISBN 0856682152) is the most popular English language treatment of the life of Ramesses II at a semi-popular level
  • T. G. H. James, Ramesses II (New York: Friedman/Fairfax, 2002) is 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

The life of Ramesses II has also inspired a large number of historical novels, including the five volume series, Ramses, by the French writer, Christian Jacq. Translated editions are available for non-French readers. Each volume encompasses one aspect of Ramses' 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 Ramses and his family http://www.touregypt.net/19dyn03.htm
  • A short study of his prosperous reign http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/2815/ramses.html (on GeoCities; JavaScript pop-up ad)


Preceded by:
Seti I
Pharaoh of Egypt
Nineteenth Dynasty
Succeeded by:
Merneptah


Last updated: 02-05-2005 02:29:13
Last updated: 02-27-2005 04:48:15