Ramesses II, often called Ramesses the Great, was a pharaoh of Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty whose sixty six year reign is among the longest and best documented of the New Kingdom. He fought the Hittite empire to a standstill at the Battle of Kadesh around 1274 BCE, an engagement he had recorded on temple walls as a personal triumph even though the campaign itself ended inconclusively, and the peace treaty he later concluded with the Hittite king Hattusili III, preserved in both Egyptian and Hittite versions, is the oldest surviving international peace treaty. He undertook one of the most extensive building programmes of any pharaoh, including the rock temples of Abu Simbel and the hypostyle hall at Karnak, and fathered a large number of children through several principal wives, most famously Nefertari. Modern chronology places his death around 1213 BCE, after which he was succeeded by his thirteenth son, Merneptah, most of his older sons having predeceased him.
Facts
RolePharaoh of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty (reigned circa 1279 to 1213 BCE). 2 BirthplaceAvaris, in the Eastern Nile Delta 1 Some older sources state Thebes; the Egyptological consensus today favors Avaris, in his family's home region of the eastern Delta. Death PlacePi-Ramesses, in the Eastern Nile Delta (his capital and principal residence) 1 He was later interred in tomb KV7 in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes; that is where he was buried, not where he died. Disputed
Birth YearEgyptian New Kingdom chronology is reconstructed from king lists and astronomical references rather than a continuous calendar; regnal dates are conventionally cited to within a decade. Death YearSee birth-year note on New Kingdom chronology. Role
Role (category) Connections
In Era
Ruled
Source The Cambridge Ancient History
Sources
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaRamesses II
Pharaoh of Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC.
Ramesses II: Battle of Kadesh
The Battle of Kadesh in his fifth regnal year was the climactic engagement in a campaign that Ramesses fought in Syria, against the resurgent Hittite forces of Muwatalli II.
Ramesses II: Gender
He fought the Hittite empire to a standstill at the Battle of Kadesh around 1274 BCE, an engagement he had recorded on temple walls as a personal triumph even though the campaign itself ended inconclusively, and the peace treaty he later concluded with the Hittite king Hattusili III, preserved in both Egyptian and Hittite versions, is the oldest surviving international peace treaty.
View the Source 2. The Cambridge Ancient History
Cambridge University PressRuled: Ancient Egypt
Wikidata: Ramesses II
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