Ramessess the Great

Azi

Ramesses II (Ramesses II, approximately February 21, 1303 BC - July or August 1213 BC) was a pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (reigning from approximately May 31, 1279 BC to July or August 1213 BC). His reign marked the last period of prosperity for the New Kingdom of Egypt. He was the son of Pharaoh Seti I.
Ramesses II conducted a series of expeditions to restore Egyptian rule over Palestine. His interests in Syria clashed with those of the Hittite Empire, another powerful empire of his time. The two sides engaged in a famous battle known as the Battle of Kadesh in 1299 BC. In 1283 BC, Egypt and the Hittite Kingdom signed a peace treaty.

Around 1258 BC, the king of the Hittite Kingdom passed away, and the new king, Hattusili III, succeeded him. The two nations concluded a peace treaty and formed a military alliance. The Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty can be considered the first famous international agreement in history, with both the Egyptian and Hittite texts preserved and discovered by modern archaeologists
Ramesses II was born around February 21, 1303 BC. His father, Seti I, married Tuya, the daughter of a valiant general, as his queen. They had four children together, two sons and two daughters. However, their eldest son died at a young age, which paved the way for Ramesses to ascend the throne smoothly. He began his education at the "pharaoh school" at a young age, joined the military at the age of ten, and participated in battles alongside his father at the age of fifteen, ensuring he would become a wise and courageous king.

Ramesses II quickly learned many things, especially the two essential skills for a king: conquering enemies through military means and building palaces. He achieved success in both warfare and construction. Today, no land in Egypt remains untouched by his presence.

When his father passed away, Ramesses II was about 25 years old, but he already possessed sufficient ambition and a strong sense of self. He aimed to surpass all his predecessors with his grand achievements.

"Propaganda was his best weapon, playing a crucial role in promoting his kingdom and mission," narrated Edda Bresciani, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Pisa in Italy. "Numerous statues and inscriptions told the people about this king's feats and courage, making his image enduring throughout the ages and still able to withstand the test of time."

Ramesses II died in Pi-Ramesses in 1213 BC. After 70 days, his mummified body was buried with the greatest honors befitting a great pharaoh. His son, Merneptah, the heir to the throne, led a vast fleet of ships along the Nile to transport his father's body to Thebes. Along the way, the subjects mourned and paid tribute to the great pharaoh who had brought them prosperity. After the fleet reached Thebes, the funeral procession headed towards the tomb carved in the Valley of the Kings. Inside the royal tomb, apart from Ramesses II's coffin, there were endless treasures to ensure that Ramesses II could live a luxurious life in the afterlife. Finally, the tomb's door was sealed to allow the pharaoh to rest in peace. However, contrary to expectations, decades later, the treasures buried in the tomb were plundered, and Ramesses' mummy was never left in peace. The Egyptian priests responsible for guarding the tomb had to move the pharaoh's mummy multiple times to prevent robbers from unwrapping the mummy and stealing the gold ornaments hidden inside. Around 1000 BC, Ramesses' and several other pharaohs' mummies were hidden in the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari, near Thebes. In 1881, they were discovered by the French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero and eventually placed in the Egyptian National Museum.

A bustling palace, colorful houses, and more than ten temples—all these were built to showcase the greatness of one individual.

Visitors to Pi-Ramesses would marvel at the extraordinary beauty of the capital. The palaces, houses, and Ramesses II's own royal palace were adorned with vibrant colors, and historical records described it as a place filled with "beautiful balconies and halls paved with lapis lazuli and turquoise." There was a temple at every important location in the city: the Uto Temple dedicated to the patron god of Buto, the ancient capital of the north, in the north; the Astarte Temple dedicated to the Asian goddess Astarte in the east; the Seth Temple in the south; and the Amun Temple in the west. The city had military barracks, residential areas for officials, and halls used for the pharaoh's coronation ceremonies. The busy port, with ships constantly coming and going, loaded with various goods, made Pi-Ramesses a major commercial center of the kingdom. However, all this prosperity has now vanished. Thanks to the artifacts unearthed in Avaris, the capital that existed before Pi-Ramesses, people today can determine the exact location of this city.

For more than two thousand years, this place was an active "construction site," where multiple pharaohs carried out extensive building projects in the name of the god Amun. Naturally, Ramesses would not miss such an important religious center.
After that, the 75-year-old Ramesses II appointed Prince Khaemwaset as crown prince. He was the brother of Prince Ramesses and was born during the reign of his grandfather Seti I. He was a renowned prince who made significant contributions to the cultural development of Egypt. He was hailed as Egypt's first antiquarian. During the time when his brother Ramesses was crown prince, Khaemwaset dedicated himself to exploration, restoring ancient temples, participating in his father's Sed Festival celebrations, restoring and organizing ancient sculptures, etc. This prince with a strong cultural aura was appointed heir to the throne in the 50th year of his father's reign. However, he died five years later.
Ramesses II's longevity began to become a curse. After Khaemwaset's death, Merneptah was appointed crown prince. Merneptah was also the son of Ramesses' second queen. He finally outlived his father and ruled Egypt for nearly ten years. Merneptah was already almost seventy when he ascended the throne. His mummy is preserved in the Egyptian Museum. During Merneptah's reign, Egypt's military was in disarray. The priestly class of Amun was devouring the royal power, and the Nubians, who had been subdued for hundreds of years in the south, were also beginning to stir. In the fifth year of his reign, the Sea Peoples launched an attack on the Near East countries. The ancient Egyptians did not know where they came from, so they simply called them the Sea Peoples because they came by ships through the turbulent waves of the Mediterranean, destroying everything in their path. This aged pharaoh once led the resistance against the Sea Peoples. Merneptah's mummy bears the marks of the hardships of those difficult years. He suffered from arthritis and arteriosclerosis, and his head was bald. The successor to this pharaoh of a prosperous era had no choice but to walk on a path of increasing decline. After Merneptah's death, the Egyptian dynasty completely fell into chaos and decline. Historical records mention the struggle between his son Seti II and the usurping nobles.

Decades later, the continuous attacks of the Sea Peoples accelerated the downfall of the once powerful Hittite Empire. With the end of the Egyptian-Hittite alliance established during the reign of Ramesses II, the isolated Egyptian dynasty had to resist internal and external threats alone. With the death of Ramesses III, the last great pharaoh of Egypt, the New Kingdom period came to an end.
Both sides suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kadesh and were unable to continue fighting. Moreover, both sides had other problems: the threat of Assyria to both the Hittites and Egypt, as well as internal difficulties in both countries. Therefore, the Battle of Kadesh actually marked the end of the rivalry between Egypt and the Hittites for hegemony.