Who was Ramses the Great?
Ramses II - courtesy Le musée égyptien (Turin) - CC-BY
Few pharaohs, or even later rulers, were ever associated with so many events and monumental building projects as User-maat-re Setepen-re Ramessu Meryamun, known to us today as Ramses the Great, or Ramses II.
Ramses II”, reigned for almost 67 years during Egypt’s 19th dynasty during the 12th century BC. His fame truly surpassed all other Pharaohs, and Egypt had an amazing degree of prosperity during his reign.
He was born 1303 BC. At age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father Seti I. He took the throne in his early 20s and ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC for a total of 66 years and 2 months.
After he ascended the throne, Ramesses II personally led expeditions into the lands east of Egypt (the location of modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia. (today, the Sudan)
During his fifth year as king, came the famous Battle of Kadesh. It was the climatic engagement in his Syrian Campaign, against the resurgent Hittite forces of Muwatallis. The Pharaoh desperately wanted a victory at Kadesh both to expand his borders into Syria and to emulate his father Seti who took the city just a few years earlier. According to ancient depictions and texts, his chariot was flanked by two war lions which were also his personal pets. When he was enthroned, his lions flanked him. Their eventual loss must have been one of worst personal times of his reign.
He also founded a new capital in Egypt’s Delta. It was called Pi-Ramesses. The site of the city had previously served as a summer palace during Seti I’s reign.
Ramses approached fatherhood with as much energy as he did building and fighting. He had approximately 200 children. Nearly every temple shows a procession of them, sons and daughters both.
To some, Ramses the Great was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. But the Pharoah of the Exodus was supposedly lost along with all of his troops when the Red Sea closed over them. Ramses died of advanced old age and at home.
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[...] Ramses II had inscribed: “I planted many gardens, set with every (kind of) tree, all sweet and fragrant woods, the plants of Punt”. And Ramesses III describes the lake and garden in his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu, when he says, “I dug a lake before it . . . planted trees and vegetation . . . It was surrounded with gardens and arbor-areas filled with fruit and flowers . . .” [...]
[...] visitors normally approach the temple from the west on a quay built by Ramesses II. During the temple’s glory days, this quay would have connected the temple to the Nile [...]
[...] in the 14th century AD, and within the courtyard of Ramses II, a mosque was built which is still functional. It may seem strange that the mosque is located at [...]