Phharaoh's Life, Death And Legacy Of Ramses II In The Ancient World

Ancient Egypt had its fair share of mighty rulers, but few were as powerful as Ramses II. In this lesson, we 're going to explore this pharaoh 's life, death, and legacy and see how he impacted the ancient world.

Ramses II

Ramses II lived from roughly 1300 to 1213 BCE. He was pharaoh, or king of Egypt, from 1279 BCE until his death. He was the third pharaoh of Egypt 's 19th dynasty. That 's cool, but these dry factoids don 't quite capture the true essence of Ramses II. So, let 's ask the ancient Egyptians what they though of him. Back in the 13th century BCE, this ancient ruler was actually known as Userma 'atre,setepenre, which roughly translates to ' 'Keeper of Harmony and Balance, Strong in Right, Elect of Ra '~`. As far as royal titles
The Hittites, based in what is now Turkey, had recently expanded their own empire and conquered Egyptian outposts along the Mediterranean. Seti I had fought for years to re-establish control, and now Ramses II would take that mantle.

Soon after his reign began, Ramses secured an important victory against naval allies of the Hittites around the Nile Delta. He then managed to conquer Hittite-controlled Canaan (today Israel through Syria). Finally, Ramses II was ready to attack the Hittites head on, which he did at the Battle of Kadesh around 1274 BCE. According to the accounts that Ramses later commissioned, the Hittites broke the Egyptian line and nearly destroyed the Egyptian army before Ramses himself called upon the Egyptian god Amun for help. Ramses then rallied the troops and pushed back the Hittites.

While Ramses II claimed victory in this battle, it was realistically a draw (which was still a major accomplishment against the Hittite Empire). The impact of the battle, however, was actually a major victory for Egypt because Ramses II got the Hittite king to abandon claims to Egyptian territories. Historians would later recognize the truce between Ramses II and the Hittites as the world 's first peace
Despite popular belief, there 's no archeological evidence of a large Hebrew slave army which was used by Ramses II and which later escaped him by crossing the Red Sea. In fact, even Hebrew scholars disagree on which pharaoh is referenced in the book of Exodus. The assumption that it was Ramses II largely comes from Hollywood 's interpretation of this event.

Personal Life

Another aspect of Ramses II 's second reign that has been remained part of his legacy is his relationships. By some accounts, Ramses had up to 200 wives or concubines, fathering over 100 children. His favorite wife, however, was his first: Nefertari. Nefertari died early in their marriage, and Ramses had a massive funerary complex built for her. The tomb paintings throughout this complex are considered amongst the highest achievements in all of ancient Egyptian art.

Wall painting of Nefertari