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[[File: image25538.jpg|300px250px|thumbnail|left|Collosal statue of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel Temple]]
Ramesses II (ruled ca. 1290-1224 BC), commonly known today as Ramesses “the Great,” was arguably not only ancient Egypt’s greatest king to have the name Ramesses, but quite possibly the greatest king to rule the Nile Valley. Truly, Ramesses lived up to his nickname as his endeavors and achievements far surpassed those of his predecessors and continue to inspire modern scholars and amateur Egyptologists alike. During his exceptionally long rule, Ramesses II earned his nickname and profoundly influenced the history of Egypt and that of the adjoining kingdoms of the Near East. Empowered by the ancient gods Re and Seth – his name is translated into English as “He is born of Re” – the mighty pharaoh became known for being a warrior as well as a diplomat.
===Ramesses the Warrior and Diplomat===
Ramesses was born into a life of privilege during the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt’s the New Kingdom. The New Kingdom was a period when ancient Egypt was at the pinnacle of wealth and power, which was largely the result of military campaigns and colonization in Nubia and the Levant <ref> Kuhrt, Amélie. The Ancient Near East: c. 3000-330 BC. Volume 1 (London: Routledge, 2010), p. 185</ref> Ramesses was the son of King Seti I (ruled ca. 1305-1290 BC) and his chief queen Tuy, making him the crown prince of Egypt. As a young crown prince, Ramesses was expected to learn the ways of the Egyptian government and religion, but also to be a fighting pharaoh. In that regard , he truly excelled.
When Ramesses II ascended to the Egyptian throne, he inherited a large empire that included a number of Canaanite colonies in the Levant, which was an area roughly congruent with the modern -day nation-states of Israel, Lebanon, and part of Syria. The mighty Egyptian army easily ruled over the often quarrelling quarreling Canaanite city-states of the region, but had to contend with the equally powerful Hittite Empire known as Hatti for control over the northern Levant. The border dispute between the Egyptian and Hittite empires eventually came to a head during Ramesses II’s fifth year of the rule when border skirmishes turned into full-scale war.[[File: image16320.jpg|thumbnail|300px250px|left|Collosal Osiride Statues of Ramesses II at the Ramesseum]]Like all New Kingdom pharaohs, Ramesses II personally led his army north as the commander in chief of the army and head of the elite chariot corps. Not unlike modern armies, Ramesses’ army was divided into five divisions named for the most popular gods of the New Kingdom: Re, Ptah, Seth, and Amun for a total of around 20,000 men <ref> Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings. Volume 2, The New Kingdom (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976), p. 57</ref> The pharaoh led his troops out of Egypt and followed the coastline until they arrived near the northern Levantine city of Kadesh, which is about 120 miles south of the modern -day city of Aleppo.
Once the Egyptian forces came close to Kadesh, Ramesses received faulty intelligence reports that the Hittites were much further to the north than they really were. Demonstrating that confidence can quickly turn to hubris, the young pharaoh led the Amun division across the Orontes River where he was then surrounded by Hittite troops. Ramesses II was rescued when a contingent of Canaanite allies arrived, but the battle ended in a strategic defeat for the Egyptians, although the borders remained unchanged so it was a political stalemate. <ref> Kuhrt, p. 207</ref> Instead of seeing the results of the Battle of Kadesh as a failure, though, Ramesses II instead embarked on one of the earliest known propaganda campaigns in history.
In a true fashion befitting of a pharaoh who would later be known as “great,” Ramesses II had scribes record the Battle of Kadesh in inscriptions and pictorial reliefs on the walls of eight temples throughout Egypt. In the Kadesh inscriptions, not only does Ramesses II claim to have led Egypt to victory over the Hittites, but he also contended to have done so alone! In the text of the Battle of Kadesh known as the “poem,” Ramesses exclaimed:
I call to you, my father Amun,
===The Prolific Builder===
[[File: image25793.jpg|thumbnail|300px250px|left|Cartouche of Ramesses the Great above Captured Nubian Warriors at the Abu Simbel Temple]]
Any visitor to modern Egypt cannot escape the presence of Ramesses the Great. He commissioned hundreds of statues to be made in his name and usurped many more that were made in the image of previous kings. Everything that Ramesses II had created was usually on a colossal scale, which probably says as much about the king’s ego as his influence on the history of ancient Egypt. Among the most impressive monuments that Ramesses had built were the several so-called “mortuary temples” where the spirit of the dead king was worshipped as a god.
===The Many Loves of Ramesses II===
[[File: image26124.jpg|thumbnail|300px250px|left|Mortuary Temple of Queen Nefertari at Abu Simbel]]Because Ramesses II lived so long and because Egyptian kings practiced polygamy, he was able to collect a considerable number of wives and to produce a vast number of children that rivaled the number of his monuments. By the time he died, Ramesses II could count over 100 children, seven “Great Royal Wives” and scores of lesser wives and concubines as part of his royal family.Among the seven “Great Royal Wives” of Ramesses II, Nefertari was clearly his favorite. The marriage between Ramesses II and Nefertari was probably arranged while he was still the crown prince and by all accounts , the two shared a definite affinity for each other. Nefertari probably accompanied her husband to the Battle of Kadesh along with some of their children. <ref> James, T.G.H. Ramesses II (New York: Friedman/Fairfax, 2002), p. 222</ref> For his part, Ramesses showed his admiration for his chief queen by constructing a mortuary temple for her at Abu Simbel yards away from his temple. Although he clearly loved his queen, Ramesses II could not let Nefertari have top billing even in her own temple as four of the colossal statues in the façade of the temple are of him but only two are of Nefertari. When Nefertari died, Ramesses had her buried in one of the finest tombs in the Valley of Queens on the west bank of the Nile River near Thebes. <ref> James, p. 230</ref>
Despite demonstrating a definite love for Nefertari, Ramesses II took several other wives and concubines. After Nefertari died, she was replaced by Isitnofret as the “Great Royal Wife.” Isitnofret gave Ramesses the Great many children, including Merenptah (ruled ca. 1224-1204 BC), who would eventually assume the kingship of Egypt when his father finally died <ref> James, p. 254</ref> Isitnofret was also the mother of Khaemwese, who was a high-priest of Ptah and considered by many modern scholars to be the world’s first Egyptologist for his efforts to preserve the pyramids and other Old Kingdom monuments. <ref> van Dijk, Jacobus. “The Amarna Period and Later New Kingdom.” The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 302 </ref>
Ramesses the Great also married two of his daughters, Bitanata and Merytamun, which is difficult for modern sensibilities to grasp, but was an acceptable part of ancient Egyptian culture. Incestuous marriage among royal Egyptians was practiced but not especially common before Ramesses II. By marrying his two daughters, who he probably never would have seen before the marriage, Ramesses II hoped to start a tradition by which the Nineteenth Dynasty would keep the integrity of their noble blood linesbloodlines. <ref> James, p. 239</ref> Although the practice fell out of favor for quite some time, it was renewed when the Greek Ptolemies ruled Egypt from the fourth through the first centuries BC.
===The Legacy of Ramesses the Great===
The legacy that Ramesses II created through his efforts as a warrior, diplomat, monument builder, and family man influenced the course of history in ancient Egypt and the Near East and continue continues to be felt today. After his death, nine other kings took the birth name “Ramesses” with the most famous being the second king of the Twentieth Dynasty, Ramesses III (ruled ca. 1184-1152 BC). Although Ramesses III was of no direct relation to Ramesses the Great, he attempted to emulate different aspects of his namesake’s career. Like Ramesses II, Ramesses III earned the reputation as of a great warrior pharaoh and a prolific builder. In fact, Ramesses III even had a chapel built within the confines of his own mortuary temple at Medinet Habu to worship the spirit of the deceased Ramesses II.
Due to a combination of his longevity, ambition, and confidence, Ramesses II was able to influence the course of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern history in a way that few pharaohs were able to do before or after him. During his long career, Ramesses II was able to establish himself as both a warrior and peace maker peacemaker while making sure that none would forget his name through his prolific building, propaganda efforts, and family life. Because of his endeavors, Ramesses II is one of the most recognizable pharaohs today proving that he truly was “Great.”
===References===
