Ramses Essay, Research Paper

Ramses the Great

In the Egyptian pyramids of Giza, Ramses the Great ruled as the greatest pharaoh of all times. Ramses the Great, also known as Ramses II, was born in 1304 B.C., and was given the name the Justice of Ray is Powerful. He had the knowledge of the kingdom, and became the focus of the court at an early age. Ramses and his father, Seti I, spent most of their time together, and at age ten, Ramses became heir to the thrown. He took the thrown in the year of 1292 B.C, between the ages of 22 or 32. The pharaoh lived over all other people in the kingdom. Ramses II reigned in the 19th dynasty. Ramses was thought of an incredible pharaoh, and was a great war leader to the Egyptians. He was one of the best known kings in Egyptian history.

When Ramses became pharaoh, he got many riches. For example, Ramses had as many women as his heart desired. The women did everything for Ramses, which includes dancing for him. Ramses II was the most powerful king in all of ancient Egypt, and his Queens were his greatest supporters. Ramses II had many main wives ( six to eight) as well as many secondary wives. With these wives he had over one-hundred children. Thirty of the children were thought to be daughters. Ramses married his first wife Nefertari in 1267 B.C., even before he took the throne. She was his first and greatest love.

Ramses appointed Nefertari, after his father’s death, as the “Great Royal Wife” and the “Mistress of Upper and Lower Nile”. She had born his first son. Ramses went as far as to construct an enormous statue of his beloved wife next to his statue in Abu Simbel. Unfortunately, Nefertari died when Ramses was only 48 years old. He then married one of their daughters, Meryt-Amun and then continued to marry other wives including a Babylonian princess, a Syrian princess, a Hittite princess, one of his sisters, and several daughters.

When Ramses II first became pharaoh he crusaded along the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea taking back all of Egypt’s land. As his father did, he fought with the Hittite too. When he went into war with the Hittite, in 1275 B.C., he had an army of about twenty- thousand men camped in Kadesh, Syria, planning a surprise attack. When he was waiting for his men to get ready he found himself with few men, and surrounded by Hittite warriors, luckily he escapade with his life. After that battle he said “I was all alone, none of my men who had fled came back to help me, they left me for dead.”

Later, Ramses II had scenes from the battle carved on temple was all over Egypt. According to the carvings, Ramses prayed to Amon, the chief Egyptian god, to save him. He said, “My soldiers and charioteers have forsaken me, but I call and find that Amon is worth more to me than millions of foot soldiers and hundreds of thousands of chariots.” After that, the carvings show that he rallied his forces and had victory over the Hittites. Furthermore, Ramses II raised many monuments to commemorate all of his victories.

Despite their battle, in 1284 B.C., Ramses and the Hittites signed a treaty that set the borders of two empires, which ended the costly struggle between them. Many historians believe that Ramses the Great is the pharaoh that is written about in the Bible. The story that they think Ramses might be in, is the one where Moses told the pharaoh to let his people go. Other people also think that when Ramses died, he became a god. Ramses spent most of his 67-year reign reviving the empire and fighting the Hittites of Asia Minor. Ramses was 92 years old when he died, and was mummified and put into a temple. The process of mummification took about 70 days. Three of the four gods are carved in the side of a large temple, and are said to guard Ramses. The fourth god was the god of the underground, so he remains in eternal darkness underground, on the inside of the temple.

Many buildings were made for Ramses II. He spent most of his life building projects. His father, Set I, once started to build a building, but never completed it, Ramses II came along and tried to finish it, but could not complete building it. Ramseseum was built on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes in upper Egypt. He completed the great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. He built seven major temples in Nubia, he also constructed more than six other temples in Nubia. Ramses II completed a temple that his father started, which featured over seventy priceless treasures, each all over three thousand years old. His name is found all over Egypt on all the buildings that he had made. He had faces on existing statues re-carved to match his own face.

The tombs that he built were cut into cliffs and consisted of a long corridor with several halls ending in a burial chamber. Ramses II also had several monuments built, one was called “The Abu-Simbel” ,which is one hundred and eighty five feet in length and ninety feet high, portrays eight of his children and one of his wives the other represented his thirtieth year at the throne of Egypt. The Abu-Simbel was his best piece of work. Several statues honoring Ramses II were built to look just like him ,they were each seventy feet high. The “Hall of Columns” of Kanark is the largest room in the world

Ramses II was a good king that people worshipped. Most of the Ramses II children died before him. All of Ramses accomplishments were accomplished. The bad things that happened to Ramses cost him a lot. Ramses II wished that he did all of his accomplishments with his father.