Pictures included: Ramses II, the most prominent kings of the Pharaohs and the Nineteenth Dynasty.

- Ramses II

On: November 08, 2015

Ramses II was born in 1303 BC and ruled Egypt for 67 years (from 1279 BC until 1212 BC). He ascended to power in his early 20s. It was believed that Ramses II lived until the age of 99; however, it’s most likely that he died in his early 90s.

Some believe that he is the Pharaoh of the Exodus, the one responsible for the enslavement of the Israelites. If he was to ascend the throne in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists believe, that would date 31 st

May, 1279 BC, according to the ancient Egyptian calendar that would be the third of Shimu, day 27.

His life

Ramses II was the son of King Seti I and Queen Tuya. The most significant of his consorts is his beloved Queen Nefertari. Among his numerous other wives are Isetnofret, Maathorneferure and Princess Hatti. The number of his sons and daughters reached about 90. Examples for his daughters: Bintanath, Meritamen. Examples for his sons: Prince Mernptah who succeeded him as

Egypt’s King. Also there’s prince Khaemweset who restored the fine works and monuments of his ancestors.

At a very young age, Ramses II showed signs of bravery. At the age of 9, he used to play with his pet lion. As a celebration of his 9 th

birthday, his father Seti I made him wear the royal crown and from that day on, his father started teaching him how a King and a Leader should act to become popular among their people.

His names

Ramses II carried many names and titles as did most Egyptian Kings. His most two significant names carried the meaning of “Ra, the Golden Falcon”, “The Soul of Ra, Amun’s beloved one”

His military life

Ramses II carried on several military campaigns that were headed north to the Levant. He led the Egyptian army during the Second Kadesh Battle that took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire and the Hittite Empire under the leadership of Muwatalli II. The battle took place in Ramses II’s fourth year of reign (1274 BC). Over the course of years, neither party could defeat the other which led to concluding a peace treaty with Hatossells III in Ramses II’s 21 st

year of reign. It is considered to be the first peace treaty in history.

He also led several military campaigns towards the south of the First Cataract and towards Nubia. He built a lot of fascinating temples and statues. The number of statues left behind him is considered to be the largest ever left by any other Pharaoh. Ramses II had, in fact, assigned the artists of Deir el-Medina numerous tasks.

His monuments:

During his reign ,he built a large number of buildings more than any other Egyptian king , he started by completing the temple, which his father started in Abydos then built a small temple for his memory next to the temple of his father, but it was destroyed and left only in ruins, in Karnak he completed the construction of the temple, which grandfather of Ramses II has begun and stayed in Tebah,” Ramesseum” ( the scholars of nineteenth century called this funerary temple and the name Ramesseum is related to Ramses II), a huge funerary temple built by Ramses for Amun and for himself as well and there is a huge head taken from the temple and was transferred to the British Museum.

Ramses also established a wonderful masterpiece temple of Abu Simbel ” the Great Temple” for him which was carved in the rock and four huge sitting statues of RamsesII guarded the entrance of the temple , and the height of each statue is about 20 meters, the small temple which also was carved into the rock to his wife Nefertari and was devoted to the worship of the goddess Hathor, the goddess of love which was depicting as a head of a cow, and there are 6 huge standing statues in the façade of the temple ,4 for Ramses II and 2 for Queen Nefertari as the height of each statue is about 10 meters, and there are other statues of him in Memphis, Luxor and Karnak Temple.

The existence of all these monuments that belong to him in the south refutes the claim that the capital of Egypt in his reign was in the Delta in the city (pre Ramas) because all of his monuments and great temples are at the south of Egypt where the capital was as it is Tebah .

Ramses II built many obelisks like the one which still displays in Luxor Temple, and the other obelisk currently displays in France Concorde Square in Paris, it was transferred by the French engineer named as Lepas.

His death:

King Ramses II was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in the cemetery kv7, but the mummy was transferred to the cache of mummies at Deir el-Bahari, where it was discovered in 1881 by Gaston Maspero and transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. After five years, the height of Ramses was 170 cm besides medical examinations on the mummy showed the effects of red or tinged hair, and is believed to have suffered from severe rheumatism in the joints in recent years-old, and also suffered from a disease of the gums.

The Transferring of Ramses statue:

The statue of Ramses II was transferred from the square which was on his name until now “Ramses Square” in the center of Cairo to the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which is located in Cairo – Alexandria Desert Road on August 25, 2006, in order to protect the statue from the environmental pollution caused by the movement of trains and cars .The statue access to the Grand Museum represents a kind of dedication to start working in the museum, Ramses statue was penetrated while being transported in the streets of Cairo and Giza process due to the hospitality of the citizens who were keen to see the great king during his transferring process as they were greeting the magnificent king .

King’s journey to its new headquarters lasted for 30 km with an average 5 kilometers per hour. The estimated trip cost about six million Egyptian pound after some studies were made to determine the best way to transfer the statue whether to be in horizontal level or axial one , and they were settled on the transfer of the statue by axial way which proved to be successful where this method has made the statue was carried on its center of gravity, the experience was to simulate the transport process using a concrete block which was weighing 83 tons in order to ensure the safety while transferring the statue.

The phenomenon of the sun falls perpendicularly on King Ramses II statue:

Phenomenon of the sun which is falling perpendicularly on the King Pharaoh Ramses II statue inside the temple of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt, is an event attracts foreign tourists and thousands of Egyptians every year, where the sun passes over the king’s face twice every year on two occasions, his birthday and his coronation. The area which was known as ” sanctuary “in the temple “,the sun takes 60 m to lighten the face of the three statues from the right to the left , Ra Hor akhty ( is shown in the form of a man with a falcon head, a form of the various forms of the sun god in ancient Egypt ), and Ramses II (who ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC) and Amon Ra ( the sun god of the ancient Egyptians) and the statue of the god Ptah (the symbol of the underworld in ancient Egyptian), which does not shine.

Prepared by: Mohamed Abdel Salam

Phenomenon of the sun which is falling perpendicularly on the King Pharaoh Ramses II statue inside the temple of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt, is an event attracts foreign tourists and thousands of Egyptians every year, where the sun passes over the king’s face twice every year on two occasions, his birthday and his coronation. The area which was known as ” sanctuary “in the temple “,the sun takes 60 m to lighten the face of the three statues from the right to the left , Ra Hor akhty ( is shown in the form of a man with a falcon head, a form of the various forms of the sun god in ancient Egypt ), and Ramses II (who ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC) and Amon Ra ( the sun god of the ancient Egyptians) and the statue of the god Ptah (the symbol of the underworld in ancient Egyptian), which does not shine.

King’s journey to its new headquarters lasted for 30 km with an average 5 kilometers per hour. The estimated trip cost about six million Egyptian pound after some studies were made to determine the best way to transfer the statue whether to be in horizontal level or axial one , and they were settled on the transfer of the statue by axial way which proved to be successful where this method has made the statue was carried on its center of gravity, the experience was to simulate the transport process using a concrete block which was weighing 83 tons in order to ensure the safety while transferring the statue.

The statue of Ramses II was transferred from the square which was on his name until now “Ramses Square” in the center of Cairo to the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which is located in Cairo – Alexandria Desert Road on August 25, 2006, in order to protect the statue from the environmental pollution caused by the movement of trains and cars .The statue access to the Grand Museum represents a kind of dedication to start working in the museum, Ramses statue was penetrated while being transported in the streets of Cairo and Giza process due to the hospitality of the citizens who were keen to see the great king during his transferring process as they were greeting the magnificent king .

King Ramses II was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in the cemetery kv7, but the mummy was transferred to the cache of mummies at Deir el-Bahari, where it was discovered in 1881 by Gaston Maspero and transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. After five years, the height of Ramses was 170 cm besides medical examinations on the mummy showed the effects of red or tinged hair, and is believed to have suffered from severe rheumatism in the joints in recent years-old, and also suffered from a disease of the gums.

Ramses II carried on several military campaigns that were headed north to the Levant. He led the Egyptian army during the Second Kadesh Battle that took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire and the Hittite Empire under the leadership of Muwatalli II. The battle took place in Ramses II’s fourth year of reign (1274 BC). Over the course of years, neither party could defeat the other which led to concluding a peace treaty with Hatossells III in Ramses II’s 21 st year of reign. It is considered to be the first peace treaty in history.

Ramses II carried many names and titles as did most Egyptian Kings. His most two significant names carried the meaning of “Ra, the Golden Falcon”, “The Soul of Ra, Amun’s beloved one”

At a very young age, Ramses II showed signs of bravery. At the age of 9, he used to play with his pet lion. As a celebration of his 9 th birthday, his father Seti I made him wear the royal crown and from that day on, his father started teaching him how a King and a Leader should act to become popular among their people.

Egypt’s King. Also there’s prince Khaemweset who restored the fine works and monuments of his ancestors.

He also led several military campaigns towards the south of the First Cataract and towards Nubia. He built a lot of fascinating temples and statues. The number of statues left behind him is considered to be the largest ever left by any other Pharaoh. Ramses II had, in fact, assigned the artists of Deir el-Medina numerous tasks.

During his reign ,he built a large number of buildings more than any other Egyptian king , he started by completing the temple, which his father started in Abydos then built a small temple for his memory next to the temple of his father, but it was destroyed and left only in ruins, in Karnak he completed the construction of the temple, which grandfather of Ramses II has begun and stayed in Tebah,” Ramesseum” ( the scholars of nineteenth century called this funerary temple and the name Ramesseum is related to Ramses II), a huge funerary temple built by Ramses for Amun and for himself as well and there is a huge head taken from the temple and was transferred to the British Museum.

Some believe that he is the Pharaoh of the Exodus, the one responsible for the enslavement of the Israelites. If he was to ascend the throne in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists believe, that would date 31 st May, 1279 BC, according to the ancient Egyptian calendar that would be the third of Shimu, day 27.