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Why Ramses 2 loved war. Ramses II. Family of Ramesses II. Accession to the throne

The revival of the military power of the country, victories in bloody battles, the erection of majestic architectural monuments ... These events mark the era of the Ramessides, which is considered the brightest page in Her chronological framework- XIII-XI centuries. BC e. During this era, 18 pharaohs were replaced on the Egyptian throne. The most powerful ruler was Ramses the Great. He made a significant contribution to the history of the state.

Ancestors of the great pharaoh

The era of the Ramesses begins with the accession to the Egyptian throne of Ramses I. This event took place around 1292 BC. e. Pharaoh did not leave a bright trace in history. This is due to the fact that the period of his reign was very short. Power in the hands of the pharaoh was only a few years.

Around 1290 BC. e. the son of Ramesses I, Seti I, entered the Egyptian throne. His coming to power marked the beginning of the period of the country's revival after a temporary decline. Pharaoh managed to create the preconditions for the future prosperity of the state. Seti I ruled Egypt for about 11 years. Around 1279 BC. e. power passed into the hands of Ramses II. He was the son of Seti I.

New ruler

Ramses, whose biography contains many interesting facts, at the time of accession to the throne was very young. It is impossible to name the specific individual qualities that he possessed. In Egypt, all pharaohs were considered messengers of the gods, so in all sources they, like Ramses II, were described according to standard sample. However, the deeds of the new ruler testify that he was an ambitious, strong and determined person.

Pharaoh Ramses II, having ascended the throne, immediately ordered his subjects to cover up the names of their predecessors on the monuments. The ruler wanted the Egyptian people to remember only him. Ramses II also ordered everyone to call themselves the chosen one of Amon, the benefactor of the Egyptian state and an invincible hero.

First trip to Asia

The main enemies of Egypt were the Hittites. For several decades, the pharaohs waged a stubborn struggle with this people who lived in Ramses II, having ascended the throne, he continued the work of his predecessors. In the 4th year of his reign, the young pharaoh decided to fight the Hittites.

The first trip was successful. The Egyptians defeated the opponents and captured the city of Berit. The Egyptian pharaoh did not want to stop there. Ramses II decided to make a second campaign against the Hittites in a year and put an end to old enemies once and for all.

Trap for the pharaoh

Ramses the Great made his second campaign in Asia in the 5th year of his reign. Having gathered a twenty thousandth army, the young pharaoh advanced from Memphis. The main goal of the campaign was to capture Kadesh, which was at that time the main city of the Hittites, and annex other enemy possessions to Egypt.

Ramses II is a legendary man. The reign of the pharaoh lasted over 60 years. During these years, he did a lot for the prosperity and strengthening of the power of the Egyptian state. No subsequent ruler could surpass Pharaoh Ramses II.

Ramesses II the Great The pharaoh of ancient Egypt, who ruled from about 1279-1212 BC. e., from the 19th dynasty. Son of Seti I and Queen Tuya. One of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt. He was mainly given the honorary title of A-nakhtu, that is, "Winner". Monuments and papyri often call him the popular nickname Sesu or Sessu. This is undoubtedly the same name that is mentioned in the tradition of Manetho in this way: "Setosis, which is also called Ramesses." Among the Greeks, this name turned into Sesostris, the hero and world conqueror of legendary tales. The number of his monuments varying degrees safety in Egypt and Nubia is extremely high.

Accession to the throne

Ramesses II ascended the throne on the 27th day of the third month of the Shemu season (i.e. Drought). The young king was at that time about twenty years old. Despite the huge number of monuments and documents bearing the name of Ramses II, the history of his more than 66-year reign is covered rather unevenly in the sources. Dated documents exist for each year of his reign, but they are extremely heterogeneous: from religious monuments to honey pots from Deir el-Medina.

Victory over the Nubians and Libyans

The change of pharaohs could, as in former times, inspire the hopes of successful uprisings among the oppressed peoples. From the first months of the reign of Ramesses, the image of the bringing of the Canaanite captives to the pharaoh has been preserved, but it is somewhat arbitrary. But the uprising in Nubia was, apparently, so significant that it took the personal presence of the pharaoh to suppress it. The country was pacified. During this campaign, only in one sparsely populated region of Irem, 7 thousand people were captured. The governor of Ramesses in Nubia was able to deliver him a rich tribute in the first months of his reign, and was made happy for this with awards and royal goodwill. It is possible that at the very beginning of his reign, Ramesses also had to deal with the Libyans. In any case, an image of his triumph over his western neighbor has been preserved, referring to the first months of his reign.

Defeat of the Sherdans

Not later than the 2nd year of his reign, Ramesses defeated the Sherdans - representatives of one of the "peoples of the sea" (it is believed that they subsequently settled the island of Sardinia). Egyptian inscriptions speak of enemy ships and their defeat during sleep. From this we can conclude that the case took place at sea or on one of the Nile branches and that the warlike Sherdans were taken by surprise by the Egyptians. The captured Sherdans were included in the ranks of the Egyptian army. They seemed to feel quite well in the service of the pharaoh, since later images show them fighting in Syria and Palestine in the front ranks of the warriors of Ramesses.

Successes in domestic affairs

Certain successes have been achieved in domestic affairs. In the autumn of the 1st year of his reign, in the vacant place of the first priest of Amon, Ramesses appointed the faithful Nebunenef (Nib-unanaf), who previously held the post of the first priest of the Tini god Onuris (An-Khara). In the 3rd year of the reign of Ramesses, only at a depth of 6 meters, water was finally found in the gold mines in Wadi Alaki, which significantly increased gold production there.

War with the Hittites

First campaign

Having thus strengthened the state, Ramesses began to prepare for a big war with the Hittites. Since Ramesses referred to the "second expedition" as the campaign that ended with the Battle of Kadesh in the 5th year of his reign, it can be assumed that the stele erected in the 4th year at Nahr el-Kelb, north of Beirut, is a reminder of the first campaign . Despite the fact that almost the entire text has been lost, the image of Ra-Horakhti stretching out his hand to the king leading the captive, allows us to talk about some kind of military event. Apparently, in the 4th year of his reign, Ramesses undertook his first campaign in Asia Minor, aimed at subjugating the sea coast of Palestine and Phenicia, as a necessary prerequisite for further successful struggle against the Hittites. During this campaign, Ramesses took the city of Berit and reached the Eleutheros River (El-Kebira, "Dog's River"), where he set up his memorial stele. The fact that Nahr el-Kelb is located on the territory occupied by the Amurru tribes probably indicates the subordination of the Amurru king Bentechin to the Egyptian authorities. This happened, first of all, due to the intensification of the Hittite raids, while the Egyptian presence guaranteed at least some calmness. It was this event that became the reason for declaring war between Ramesses II and the Hittite king Muwatalli: this is quite clear from the text of the treaty signed by Shaushkamuya, the son of Benteshin and Tudhaliya, the son of Muwatalli.

Battle of Kadesh

Egyptian army

In the spring of the 5th year of his reign, Ramesses, having gathered more than 20,000 troops, set out from the border fortress of Chilu on the second campaign. After 29 days, counting from the day of the departure from Chilu, four military units of the Egyptians, named after Amon, Ra, Ptah and Seth, each of which had about 5 thousand soldiers, camped at a distance of one march from Kadesh. One of the formations, called in Canaanite "well done" (non-arim), and composed by the pharaoh, apparently from the best warriors, was sent along the sea coast even earlier, for subsequent reunion with the main forces at Kadesh. The next day, in the morning, an army of thousands of Egyptians began crossing the Orontes at Shabtun (later known to the Jews as Ribla). Misled by Hittite scouts sent to the Egyptian camp, who assured that the Hittites had retreated far to the north, to Aleppo, Ramesses with one detachment of "Amon" that had already crossed, without waiting for the crossing of the rest of the army, moved to Kadesh.

Hittite army

In the north, on a small headland at the confluence of the Orontes with its left tributary, battlements and towers of Kadesh were piled up. And in the plain beyond the river, to the northeast of the fortress, hidden by the city, the whole army stood in full combat readiness. Hittite kingdom and his allies. According to Egyptian sources, the Hittite army consisted of 3,500 chariots with three warriors each and 17,000 infantry. The total number of soldiers was approximately 28 thousand. But the Hittite army was extremely mixed and largely mercenary. In addition to the Hittite warriors, almost all the Anatolian and Syrian kingdoms were represented in it: Artsava, Lucca, Kizzuvatna, Aravanna, Euphrates Syria, Karchemish, Halab, Ugarit, Nukhashshe, Kadesh, nomadic tribes and so on. Each of these multi-tribal allies appeared under the command of their rulers and, consequently, it was extremely difficult for Muwatalli to manage all this crowd. King Hatti Muwatalli had every reason to avoid fighting the Egyptians in open battle. It was difficult to count on such hordes to defeat the Egyptian army in open battle, united, well-trained and guided by a single will. The ensuing sixteen-year struggle showed that Hatti's troops avoided battles in the open field and holed up more in Syrian fortresses. In any case, none of the countless monuments of Ramesses II shows a single major battle with the kingdom of Hatti outside the city walls after the battle of Kadesh. But the battle of Kadesh itself proves that the Hittites relied more on deceit and surprise attacks than on their military strength.

Battle

Having crossed the Orontes, the “Ra” unit did not wait for the parts of “Ptah” and “Set”, which had not yet even approached the ford, and went north to meet with the pharaoh. Meanwhile, south of Kadesh, out of sight of the Egyptians, the bulk of the enemy's chariot troops concentrated. The crossing of his chariots across the Orontes, obviously, was carried out in advance and passed unnoticed by the Egyptians. The “Ra” unit in marching order, not ready for battle, was attacked by enemy chariots, and was dispersed with lightning speed, and the chariots fell on the “Amon” unit, which was engaged in setting up the camp. Part of the Egyptian soldiers fled, and part, along with the pharaoh, was surrounded. The Egyptians suffered huge losses. Ramesses managed to rally his guard around him and take up a circular defense. Ramesses was saved from inevitable defeat only by the fact that the Hittite infantry could not cross rough waters Orontes did not come to the aid of her chariots. A happy accident - the unexpected appearance on the battlefield of another detachment of the Egyptians, the same one that was walking along the seashore, somewhat straightened out the situation, and the Egyptians were able to hold out until the evening, when the Ptah detachment approached Kadesh. The Hittites were forced to retreat behind the Orontes, receiving, in turn, damage while crossing the river. In this battle, two brothers of the Hittite king Muwatalli, several military leaders and many other notable Hittites and their allies died. The next day, in the morning, Ramesses again attacked the Hittite army, but it was not possible to break the enemy in this battle either. In any case, no source says that the pharaoh took possession of Kadesh. The bloodless opponents were clearly unable to defeat each other. The Hittite king Muwatalli offered the pharaoh a truce, which gave Ramesses the opportunity to honorably retreat and return safely to Egypt. The Hittite king successfully continued his actions in order to subjugate Amurra and, as a result, removed the ruler Benteshin. The Hittites even moved further south and captured the country of Ube (i.e., the oasis of Damascus), formerly belonging to Egypt.

Sources for the Battle of Kadesh

The Battle of Kadesh greatly impressed Ramesses II, who ordered the story of this event and grandiose panoramic "illustrations" to be reproduced on the walls of many temple complexes, including those in Abydos, Karnak, Luxor, Ramesseum and Abu Simbel. The main sources of what happened are three different texts: a long detailed story with included lyrical digressions - the so-called "Pentaur's Poem"; a short story dedicated to the events of the battle itself - "Report" and comments on relief compositions. Several Hittite documents also mention the Battle of Kadesh.

Capture of Dapur

Sources concerning further progress wars with the Hittites are very scarce, and the order of events is not entirely reliable. The wars in Asia that Ramesses II waged after the 5th year of his reign were caused, first of all, by the new strengthening of the Hittite kingdom, the hostility of the Syrian north and the loss of Amurru. In the 8th year of his reign, Ramesses again invaded Asia Minor. The result of this campaign was the capture of Dapur. With the assistance of his sons, Ramesses besieged and took this strategically important fortress. The capture of Dapur, depicted on the walls of the Ramesseum, Ramesses considered one of his most glorious deeds. He gave this feat second place after the "victory" at Kadesh. Dapur, located according to the Egyptian texts “in the country of Amur, in the region of the city of Tunip”, probably by this time had already entered the Hittite Empire, since some sources mention its location at the same time “in the country of Hatti”. As usual, the attack was preceded by a battle on the plain under the fortress, and soon she herself was taken, and a representative of the king of Hatti came out to Ramses, leading a calf intended as a gift to the pharaoh, accompanied by women carrying vessels and baskets of bread.

Defeat of Syria and Phoenicia

By the time of Ramesses II, the military art of the Egyptians had stepped far ahead compared to the time of the slow methods of Thutmose III, who founded the "Egyptian world power" two centuries earlier. He preferred to starve the fortified cities and often, not having achieved his goal, in impotent rage devastated the surrounding gardens and fields. On the contrary, the wars of Ramesses II turned into a continuous assault on large and small fortresses. With the difficult situation in which the Egyptians found themselves in Syria-Palestine, the pharaoh could not waste time on a long siege. A list of cities "captured by His Majesty" in Asia is preserved on the wall of the Ramesseum. Many toponyms are poorly preserved, some are still not localized. In the country of Kede, possibly located on the outskirts of Anatolia, a fortified city with a magnificent princely palace was taken. Apparently, at the same time, Akka on the Phoenician coast, Yenoam on the border with southern Lebanon, and other northern Palestinian cities were taken and plundered, are also mentioned in the Ramesseum list. Although none of the documents speak of the capture of Kadesh, but in view of the fact that Ramses made conquests far north of this city, the latter was undoubtedly captured by the Egyptians. Ramesses also took the city of Tunip, where he erected his own statue. But when Ramesses returned to Egypt, the Hittites again occupied Tunip, and in the 10th year of his reign, Ramesses was again forced to take this city. Moreover, during this, some incident happened to him again; Ramesses, for some reason, even had to fight without armor, but information about this feat, unfortunately, is too fragmentary to accurately form an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat happened to him. This event is mentioned in the text of a stele in the Nahr el-Kelb valley.

Continuation of hostilities

Apparently, during the struggle of Ramesses in Syria or somewhat later, there were some unrest in Palestine. An undated scene at Karnak depicts the subjugation of the city of Ascalon. In the 18th year, Ramses conducted military operations in the area of the city of Beit Shean. Between the 11th and 20th years of his reign, Ramesses was busy consolidating Egyptian rule in Palestine. Undated military campaigns are depicted on the walls of Luxor, Karnak and Abydos. Among the reliefs of Luxor, a military campaign in the region of Moab is mentioned; it is also known that Ramesses fought with the Shasu tribes in the south Dead Sea in the area of Seir, later renamed Edom. To the east of the Lake of Gennesaret, Ramesses erected a slab to commemorate his visit to the area. The Ramesseum List mentions Beth Anat, Kanach, and Merom, cities that, by biblical tradition, are located in Galilee. The inscriptions of Ramesses claim that he conquered Naharin (the Euphrates regions), Lower Rechen (Northern Syria), Arvad, Keftiu (Cyprus Island), Katna. However, despite the large number of victories, the “world” power of Thutmose III was not fully restored: in all endeavors, the kingdom of Hatti interfered with Ramses, being the support of the petty princes of Syria-Palestine. Ultimately, Northern Syria and even the kingdom of Amurru remained under the kingdom of Hatti. Only in the coastal strip, according to Egyptian sources, did the pharaoh's possessions reach at least as far as Simira.

Peace treaty between Egypt and the Hittites

At the beginning of the winter of the 21st year of the reign of Ramesses II, the ambassador of Hattusili, accompanied by an Egyptian translator, arrived in the capital of the pharaoh Per-Ramses and handed the Egyptian king on behalf of his sovereign a silver tablet with a cuneiform text of the treaty, certified by seals depicting the king and queen of Hatti in the arms of their deities. The agreement was translated into Egyptian language and subsequently immortalized on the walls of Karnak and the Ramesseum. The text of the treaty, which the pharaoh sent to Hattusili in exchange for his tablet, was also in cuneiform, drawn up in the then international Akkadian language. Its fragments are preserved in the archives of Bogazkoy. Basically, the agreement was aimed at ensuring the mutual inviolability of possessions and providing assistance, infantry and chariots, in the event of an attack on one of the contracting parties or an uprising of subjects. Both sides pledged to hand over the defectors. It was the first diplomatically formalized treaty in world history that has survived to this day.

Whether due to the signing of this treaty or due to poor health, the period of active military campaigns of Ramesses II came to an end. The time of active diplomatic correspondence between the two countries began. Messages from Ramesses II, his family and the vizier Paser, addressed to King Hattusili III and his wife Puduhepa, were found in the archives of Bogazkey. Egyptian doctors were often sent to the Hittite court.

Marriage of Ramesses to Hittite Princesses

The consequence of the treaty, thirteen years after its signing, in the 34th year of the reign Egyptian pharaoh, was the marriage of Ramesses II and the eldest daughter of Hattusili, who adopted the Egyptian name Maathornefrura. Maatnefrura (Ma-nafru-Ria, "Seeing the beauty of the Sun", that is, the pharaoh). The princess became not one of the minor wives of the king, as was usually the case with foreign women at the Egyptian court, but the “great” wife of the pharaoh. The meeting of the future queen was arranged very solemnly. The princess was accompanied by her father's warriors. A lot of silver, gold and copper were carried in front of her, slaves and horses stretched "endlessly", whole herds of bulls, goats and sheep moved. From the Egyptian side, the princess was accompanied by the "royal son of Kush." The daughter of the king Hatti "was brought to his majesty, and she fell in love with his majesty." On the reliefs of the stele in Abu Simbel, which tells about this event, Hattusili III is depicted accompanying his daughter to Egypt; indeed, a letter from Ramesses II was found in the archives of Bogazkey with an offer to visit Egypt for his father-in-law, but whether such a trip was made is not known for certain. The second daughter of Hattusilis III also became the wife of Ramesses. Exact date this marriage is unknown, but it happened already shortly before the death of the Hittite king, approximately in the 42nd year of the reign of Ramesses II.

Expansion of world trade

Peace between Egypt and Asia has been established for more than a century, which caused an "explosion" of trade activity in the region. For many cities, such as, for example, Ugarit, this era was a time of unprecedented growth and strengthening of economic well-being. Since that time, relations between Egypt and Asia have undergone qualitative changes. If earlier the participants of the Egyptian military campaigns with booty returned to the banks of the Nile, now some of them remained to live in many Syrian-Palestinian cities. In any case, such a population was recorded under Ramesses III (XX dynasty).

Construction activity

Founding of Per Ramesses

Wadi Tumilat, along which, probably, the Nile canal passed east to the Bitter Lakes, constituting natural way communication between Egypt and Asia, was also the object of careful care on the part of Ramesses. Pharaoh built on it, halfway to the Isthmus of Suez, a "storage yard" by Pete or "House of Atum". At the western end of Wadi Tumilat, he continued the construction of the city founded by his father, known as Tel el Yehudiyeh, and located just north of Heliopolis. Ramesses built temples in Memphis, of which only meager remnants have survived; buildings in Heliopolis, of which nothing remains at all. Ramesses also built in Abydos, where he completed the magnificent temple of his father, but he was not honored with this and erected his own mortuary temple not far from the temple of Seti. Ramesses ordered another memorial temple to be built in Thebes. This temple (the so-called Ramesseum), built by the architect Penra, was surrounded brick wall, inside which there were pantries, outbuildings and dwellings for an entire army of priests and servants. Granite monolithic statue in front of the Ramesseum pylons, although it was somewhat lower than in Per-Ramesses, but weighed 1000 tons. Ramesses expanded the Luxor Temple, adding a vast courtyard and pylons there. He also completed the colossal Hypostyle Hall of the Temple of Karnak, the largest building in size, both ancient and modern. This hall covered an area of 5000 sq. m. The twelve columns on the sides of the middle aisle of the Hypostyle Hall were 21 m high, and together with the tops (architraves) and crossbeams resting on them - 24 m. At the top of such a column, 100 people could accommodate. The remaining 126 columns, arranged in 7 rows on each side of the middle aisle, had a height of 13 m.

In Nubia, in Abu Simbel, a huge cave temple. The entrance to this temple, carved in the form of a pylon, was decorated with 4 twenty-meter statues of Ramesses, embodying the idea of glorifying the power of the pharaoh. A cave temple dedicated to his wife, Queen Nefertari (Naft-era) was carved nearby.

However, during the construction, Ramesses destroyed the ancient monuments of the country. Thus, the buildings of King Teti (VI Dynasty) served as material for the temple of Ramses in Memphis. He plundered the pyramid of Senusret II at El Lahun, destroyed the paved area around it and smashed to pieces the magnificent buildings that stood in this area in order to obtain material for his own temple in Heracleopolis. In the Delta he used the monuments of the Middle Kingdom with equal arrogance. In order to obtain the necessary space for the expansion of the Luxor Temple, Ramesses dug down the exquisite granite chapel of Thutmose III and used the materials obtained in this way.

Wars and huge funds spent on the construction and maintenance of temples ruined the working people, enriching the nobility and priests. The poor became enslaved, the middle strata gradually lost their economic independence. Ramesses had to resort to the help of mercenaries, which weakened the military potential of the country.

Wives of Ramesses

The large family of Ramesses II is well known. Besides countless harem concubines are known his four legal spouses, at least 1 11 sons and 67 daughters.

The first legal wife of the young Ramesses II was the famous beauty Nefertari, who was considered a queen, as evidenced by the inscription in the tomb of the priest Amon Nebunenef, already in the 1st year of her husband's independent reign. Surprisingly, almost nothing is known about the origin of the queen.

In addition, the monuments of Ramesses II are recorded in Edfu, Armant, Akhmim, Heliopolis, Bubastis, Athribis, Herakleopolis. Under Ramesses II, part of the temple of the goddess Hathor was built at Serabit el-Khadim in Sinai. In general, Ramesses II built many statues and temples in his honor in various parts of Egypt. The largest to date are two 20-meter statues of a seated Ramesses II in Abu Simbel in the south of the country.

The “marriage stelae” of Ramesses II that have come down to our time testify not only to the strengthening of good relations between the powers, two marriages of Ramesses II and Hittite princesses, one of which occupied a very high place at the court and received the Egyptian name Maathornefrura.

The first main wife of Ramesses II was the famous beauty Nefertari Merenmut, to whom the small temple in Abu Simbel was dedicated; after the premature death of the queen, buried in a tomb of unique beauty in the Valley of the Queens (QV66), her eldest daughter, Princess Meritamon, took her place. Among the other wives of the king, the most famous are queens Isitnofret I, her daughter Bent-Anat, as well as queens Nebettawi and Khenutmir. Ramesses II himself had at least seven wives and dozens of concubines, from whom he had 40 daughters and 45 sons.

In the northeast of the Nile Delta, where his family came from, Ramesses II founded Seti I on the site of the old palace of his father. new capital- Per-Ramses (modern Kantir and Tell ed-Daba). This city remained the main residence of the kings of the XIX-XX dynasties. Nevertheless, the religious capital of the country remained in Thebes, and royal burials were still carved in the rocks of the Valley of the Kings. The tomb of Ramesses II (KV7) was not completed and is currently in extremely poor condition due to the damaging effects of groundwater and rainstorms; superbly preserved, the royal mummy was discovered in 1881 among other royal bodies in the cache of Deir el-Bahri 320. In September 1975, the mummy of Ramesses II was subjected to a unique general conservation process at the Institute of Man in Paris.

In the reign of Ramesses II, the cults of Amun, Ra, Ptah and Set enjoyed special reverence; however, at this time in religious life The Asian influence is becoming more and more noticeable in the country, expressed in the inclusion in the Egyptian pantheon of foreign deities associated with war or the sea element hostile to the Egyptians.

AT last years reign of Ramesses II was deified as " Great Soul of Ra-Khorakhte”, thus declaring himself the incarnation of the solar god on earth. Ramesses II died in the 67th year of his reign and survived twelve of his sons, among whom two were the commander Amenherkhepeshef and Khaemuas, High priest the god Ptah in Memphis, for a particularly long time bore the title of heir to the throne. The Egyptian throne was inherited by the thirteenth son of the king - Merneptah, the son of Queen Isitnofret I, by this time - a middle-aged man. He was the first of several successors of Ramesses II, whose brief reigns ended the 19th dynasty.

Millennia after the reign of Ramesses II, his cult flourished in Memphis and Abydos.. The legacy of the image of the king and his sons in ancient Egyptian and ancient tales and legends has become very indicative. In Thebes around 300 BC. e. The priests of the god Khonsu, in order to maintain the authority of their temple, even erected a massive stele in the sanctuary of the god, the text of which, telling about the journey of the healing statue of the god Khonsu to the country of Bakhtan, was inspired by the Asian campaigns of Ramses II and his wedding with the Hittite princesses.

The text of the treaty of Ramses II with the Hittite king Hattusili III carved on stone (this is the oldest peace treaty preserved in history) is on display in the lobby of the New York headquarters of the UN.

In September 2008, during excavations in the Ain Shams area in eastern Cairo, a group of Egyptian archaeologists discovered the ruins of the temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II, and fragments of a giant statue of Ramesses II were also found in the area.

Ramses II the Great, also known as Ramses or Rameses, is one of the most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt, who left behind many architectural and religious monuments on the territory of modern Egypt and Sudan. Fans of epic Hollywood paintings know this great ruler of antiquity from the film by Ridley Scott: Exodus: Gods and Kings. In the picture, before the viewer's eye, biblical scenes familiar from childhood appear: the prophet receiving the Tablets of the Covenant, the story of the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian captivity and the long-term walking of the "God's chosen people" in the desert. Pharaoh, from the wrath of which Moses saves himself and his flock, is called Ramses II. Kids are familiar with the cartoon "Prince of Egypt", teenage gamers - popular game"Civilization" by Sid Meier. Tourists who have been to the "Land of the Pyramids" must have seen the image of the "victorious king" on the back of the 50-piastre banknote. And on the reverse of the one-pound bill, the temple of the pharaoh at Abu Simbel is depicted.

Youth

The third ruler of the XIX Dynasty of the New Kingdom lived for about 90 years, of which he kept 66 years under his rule (years of life: 1303-1213 BC, reign: from 1279 BC to death). A huge number of documents and monuments associated with the name of Ramesses have survived, but all known images and statues represent a young man or a young man.

The son of Seti I and Queen Tuya became Prince Regent at the age of fourteen, and ascended the throne when he was about twenty years old. The first years of the reign of the monarch were not marked by great victories, but brought to us a number of accomplishments of the young ruler. It is known about the punitive expedition to suppress the rebellion in Nubia, the possible hostilities in Canaan and Libya, and the defeat of the Sherdans. Apparently, the Sherdans did not shy away from piracy and decided to raid the fertile Nile Delta, but were partially destroyed by the young pharaoh, and partly joined the ranks of the pharaoh's troops. Judging by later images, the recruits turned out to be quite good soldiers and performed well in the Syrian and Palestinian campaigns.

At the peak of military glory

Ramses launched a stormy construction activity, which resulted in many, to this day attracting the attention of numerous tourists from all over the world. The rock temples of the “sacred mountain”, the city of Per-Ramesses, religious buildings in Memphis and Thebes belong to his era. However, the great pharaoh was characterized not only by creation. Erecting monuments to his reign from stone, Ramses II did not see anything shameful in the destruction and looting of more ancient buildings. The buildings of Thutmose III and Teti, the ruler of the VI dynasty, went to the building materials of Ramesses' own temples. Under him, many statues and temples of the era of the Middle Kingdom were robbed and destroyed. And the genius of the destruction of the monarch was fully manifested in the wars with the Hittite kingdom and especially in the Battle of Kadesh.

The wars with the Hittites brought the king, whose mummy adorns today, the honorary title of A-Nakhtu, which means "Victor", although the results of these wars were rather ambiguous. Ramses II continued the work of his father, returning the former influence of Egypt to Canaan and Syria. Before becoming A-Nakhtu, the young ruler fought a number of small battles, and in the fifth year of his reign he firmly set out to defeat the Hittites. Preparations for the second Syrian campaign went quite seriously. Many weapons were made, light chariots were prepared, distinguished by good maneuverability.

Ramses' army reached the village of Kadesh a month after crossing the border. Here, in the region of the current Lebanese-Syrian border, presumably in 1274 BC. e. the earliest well-documented battle took place. Almost everything is known to historians about the Battle of Kadesh: the slightest tactical moves, overall strategy opposing armies, armament and number of parties, stages of the battle and its results.

The epic battle began unsuccessfully for the Egyptian side. The Hittite chariots hit the side of the formation of Amun-Ra (in the Egyptian army of that period, the regiments bore the names of the gods), which was approaching their camp. The column was completely destroyed, and many soldiers, including the children of the pharaoh himself, were killed. The few surviving warriors sowed panic in the base camp, but the confusion did not last long. Ramses waited for reinforcements and, taking advantage of the confusion of the Hittites, who began to rob the base camp of the Egyptians, hit the enemy with all the remaining forces.

As a result of the Battle of Kadesh, both sides were heavily drained of blood and by the evening of the same day they agreed on a truce. Returning to their peoples, each of the rulers attributed the victory to himself. Muwatalli II, the ruler of the Hittite kingdom, managed to defend his capital. The pharaoh managed to deliver a powerful blow to the enemy, despite the qualitative and quantitative superiority of the enemy and bad start battles.

Other achievements of the pharaoh

Many acts of Ramses II remained in history. Under him, the building, begun by Ramses I and Seti I, was completed. He also contributed to, where a spacious courtyard with pylons was built under A-Nakhtu. Hundreds of stone monuments were left behind by one of the greatest rulers of Ancient Egypt. Ramesses II found water in the gold mines of Wadi Alaki, which allowed more gold to be mined, and did much to develop trade. He captured many cities in Asia, defeating the garrisons impregnable fortresses swift blows of a powerful army.

The era of the reign of Ramses the Great was remembered by contemporaries and descendants for the economic prosperity of the country, the rapid development of science, literature and arts, and the strengthening of the borders of the state. Speaking about the legacy of the pharaoh, whose resting place was the tomb of KV7, it is enough to recall that nine subsequent monarchs of Egypt called themselves "Ramses". This says a lot about the place that history has determined for the victorious king.

EGYPT

Ramesses II the Great - the pharaoh of ancient Egypt, who ruled approximately in 1289 - 1222. BC e., from the 19th dynasty. Son of Seti I.

The head of the statue of Ramesses II in the Luxor Temple. Egypt

One of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt. He was mainly given the honorary title of A-nakhtu, that is, "Winner". Monuments and papyri often call him the popular nickname Sesu or Sessu. This is undoubtedly the same name that is mentioned in the tradition of Manetho in this way: "Setosis, which is also called Ramesses." Among the Greeks, this name turned into Sesostris, the hero and world conqueror of legendary tales. The number of his monuments of various degrees of preservation in Egypt and Nubia is extremely large.

Ramses II as a child

Accession to the throne

Ramses II

Victory over the Nubians and Libyans

Defeat of the Sherdans

Successes in domestic affairs

War with the Hittites

First campaign

A secret messenger delivered to the Hittite king Muwatallah a letter from a Hittite agent operating in Egypt. The report said that the young pharaoh Ramses II was preparing his army for a campaign against the Hittites. This message was a surprise: Ramses has only five years on the throne. At the royal council, Muwatalli outlined his plan: to lure the army of Ramses into a trap and defeat the Egyptians. Mobilizing the country, Muwatatally ordered his citizens and allies to gather troops and move them to the assembly point, to the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River. From a military point of view, Kadesh was convenient: located on a hill, it dominated the river valley. It was possible to observe the movement of the enemy from a distance unnoticed. Trade routes and strategic roads crossed there, from here the paths went to northern Syria and to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Battle of Kadesh

Egyptian army

Hittite army

The following tribes allied to the Hittites are named in the list of Ramses II:

pedasians - inhabitants of Mysia of Troy (south of Troy); dardani; people of southwestern Anatolia; people from Caria; people from Lycia; people from the country of Artsava in southwestern Anatolia.

In the north, on a small headland at the confluence of the Orontes with its left tributary, battlements and towers of Kadesh were piled up. And in the trans-river plain, to the north-east of the fortress, hidden by the city, the entire army of the Hittite kingdom and its allies stood in full combat readiness. According to Egyptian sources, the Hittite army consisted of 3,500 chariots with three warriors each and 17,000 infantry. The total number of soldiers was approximately 28 thousand. But the Hittite army was extremely mixed and largely mercenary. In addition to the Hittite warriors, almost all the Anatolian and Syrian kingdoms were represented in it: Artsava, Lucca, Kizzuvatna, Aravanna, Euphrates Syria, Karchemish, Halab, Ugarit, Nukhashshe, Kadesh, nomadic tribes and so on. Each of these multi-tribal allies appeared under the command of their rulers and, consequently, it was extremely difficult for Muwatalli to manage all this crowd. King Hatti Muwatalli had every reason to avoid fighting the Egyptians in open battle. It was difficult to count on such hordes to defeat the Egyptian army in open battle, united, well-trained and guided by a single will. The ensuing sixteen-year struggle showed that Hatti's troops avoided battles in the open field and holed up more in Syrian fortresses. In any case, none of the innumerable monuments of Ramesses II shows a single major battle with the kingdom of Hatti outside the city walls after the battle of Kadesh. But the battle of Kadesh itself proves that the Hittites relied more on deceit and surprise attacks than on their military strength.

Battle

The final stage of the Battle of Kadesh. The defeated Hittite chariot army is trying to cross the stormy waters of the Orontes. The Hittite foot soldiers, who did not participate in the battle, rush to the rescue of their drowning comrades-in-arms. The warriors of King Aleppo are trying to revive their drowned ruler by turning him upside down and shaking the water out of him. Relief on the wall of the Ramesseum

Having crossed the Orontes, the “Ra” unit did not wait for the parts of “Ptah” and “Set”, which had not yet even approached the ford, and went north to meet with the pharaoh. Meanwhile, south of Kadesh, out of sight of the Egyptians, the bulk of the enemy's chariot troops concentrated. The crossing of his chariots across the Orontes, obviously, was carried out in advance and passed unnoticed by the Egyptians. The “Ra” unit in marching order, not ready for battle, was attacked by enemy chariots, and was dispersed with lightning speed, and the chariots fell on the “Amon” unit, which was engaged in setting up the camp. Part of the Egyptian soldiers fled, and part, along with the pharaoh, was surrounded. The Egyptians suffered huge losses. Ramesses managed to rally his guard around him and take up a circular defense. Only the fact that the Hittite infantry could not cross the stormy waters of the Orontes and did not come to the aid of their chariots contributed to the salvation of Ramesses from inevitable defeat. A happy accident - the unexpected appearance on the battlefield of another detachment of the Egyptians, the same one that was walking along the seashore, somewhat straightened out the situation, and the Egyptians were able to hold out until the evening, when the Ptah detachment approached Kadesh. The Hittites were forced to retreat behind the Orontes, receiving, in turn, damage while crossing the river. In this battle, two brothers of the Hittite king Muwatalli, several military leaders and many other notable Hittites and their allies died. The next day, in the morning, Ramesses again attacked the Hittite army, but it was not possible to break the enemy in this battle either. In any case, no source says that the pharaoh took possession of Kadesh. The bloodless opponents were clearly unable to defeat each other. The Hittite king Muwatalli offered the pharaoh a truce, which gave Ramesses the opportunity to honorably retreat and return safely to Egypt.

The Hittite king successfully continued his actions in order to subjugate Amurra and, as a result, removed the ruler Benteshin. The Hittites even moved further south and captured the country of Ube (that is, the oasis of Damascus), formerly belonging to Egypt.

The war dragged on. For ten years there were battles on the plains of Syria and Palestine. When King Muwatalli died, he was replaced by his brother, Hattusili III. At that time, the Hittite kingdom was in a difficult situation: mountain tribes attacked from the north, Assyria started a war from the east.

Sources for the Battle of Kadesh

The Battle of Kadesh greatly impressed Ramesses II, who ordered the story of this event and grandiose panoramic "illustrations" to be reproduced on the walls of many temple complexes, including those in Abydos, Karnak, Luxor, Ramesseum and Abu Simbel. The main sources that tell about what happened are three different texts: a long detailed story with included lyrical digressions - the so-called "Pentaur's Poem"; a short story dedicated to the events of the battle itself - "Report" and comments on relief compositions. Several Hittite documents also mention the Battle of Kadesh.

Capture of Dapur

Capture of Dapur. Relief on the wall of the Ramesseum

Sources regarding the further course of the war with the Hittites are very scarce, and the order of events is not entirely reliable. The wars in Asia that Ramesses II waged after the 5th year of his reign were caused, first of all, by the new strengthening of the Hittite kingdom, the hostility of the Syrian north and the loss of Amurru. In the 8th year of his reign, Ramesses again invaded Asia Minor. The result of this campaign was the capture of Dapur. With the assistance of his sons, Ramesses besieged and took this strategically important fortress. The capture of Dapur, depicted on the walls of the Ramesseum, Ramesses considered one of his most glorious deeds. He gave this feat second place after the "victory" at Kadesh. Dapur, located according to the Egyptian texts “in the country of Amur, in the region of the city of Tunip”, probably by this time had already entered the Hittite Empire, since some sources mention its location at the same time “in the country of Hatti”. As usual, the attack was preceded by a battle on the plain under the fortress, and soon she herself was taken, and a representative of the king of Hatti came out to Ramses, leading a calf intended as a gift to the pharaoh, accompanied by women carrying vessels and baskets of bread.

Defeat of Syria and Phoenicia

By the time of Ramesses II, the military art of the Egyptians had stepped far ahead compared to the time of the slow methods of Thutmose III, who founded the "Egyptian world power" two centuries earlier. He preferred to starve the fortified cities and often, not having achieved his goal, in impotent rage devastated the surrounding gardens and fields. On the contrary, the wars of Ramesses II turned into a continuous assault on large and small fortresses. With the difficult situation in which the Egyptians found themselves in Syria-Palestine, the pharaoh could not waste time on a long siege. A list of cities "captured by His Majesty" in Asia is preserved on the wall of the Ramesseum. Many toponyms are poorly preserved, some are still not localized. In the country of Kede, possibly located on the outskirts of Anatolia, a fortified city with a magnificent princely palace was taken. Apparently, at the same time, Akko on the Phoenician coast, Yenoam on the border with southern Lebanon, and other northern Palestinian cities were taken and plundered, are also mentioned in the Ramesseum list. Although none of the documents speak of the capture of Kadesh, but in view of the fact that Ramses made conquests far north of this city, the latter was undoubtedly captured by the Egyptians. Ramesses also took the city of Tunip, where he erected his own statue. But when Ramesses returned to Egypt, the Hittites again occupied Tunip, and in the 10th year of his reign, Ramesses was again forced to take this city. Moreover, during this, some incident happened to him again; Ramesses, for some reason, even had to fight without armor, but information about this feat, unfortunately, is too fragmentary to accurately form an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat happened to him. This event is mentioned in the text of a stele in the Nahr el-Kelb valley.

Continuation of hostilities

Apparently, during the struggle of Ramesses in Syria or somewhat later, there were some unrest in Palestine. An undated scene at Karnak depicts the subjugation of the city of Ascalon. In the 18th year, Ramses conducted military operations in the area of the city of Beit Shean. Between the 11th and 20th years of his reign, Ramesses was busy consolidating Egyptian rule in Palestine. Undated military campaigns are depicted on the walls of Luxor, Karnak and Abydos. Among the reliefs of Luxor, a military campaign in the region of Moab is mentioned; it is also known that Ramesses fought with the Shasu tribes in the south of the Dead Sea in the region of Seir, later renamed Edom. To the east of the Lake of Gennesaret, Ramesses erected a slab to commemorate his visit to the area. The Ramesseum List mentions Beth Anat, Kanach, and Merom, cities that, by biblical tradition, are located in Galilee. The inscriptions of Ramesses claim that he conquered Naharin (the Euphrates regions), Lower Rechen (Northern Syria), Arvad, Keftiu (Cyprus Island), Katna. However, despite the large number of victories, the “world” power of Thutmose III was not fully restored: in all endeavors, the kingdom of Hatti interfered with Ramses, being the support of the petty princes of Syria-Palestine. Ultimately, Northern Syria and even the kingdom of Amurru remained under the kingdom of Hatti. Only in the coastal strip, according to Egyptian sources, did the pharaoh's possessions reach at least as far as Simira.

Peace treaty between Egypt and the Hittites

With the death of Muwatalli, which probably took place in the 10th year of the reign of Ramesses II, the climate of relations between Egypt and Hatti became noticeably warmer. The son of Muwatalli, Urhi-Teshub, inherited the throne under the name of Mursili III, but was soon replaced by his uncle Hattusili III, who made peace with Egypt. It may be that the formation of a strong Assyrian state and the fears associated with it gradually contributed to the reconciliation of rivals.
At the beginning of the winter of the 21st year of the reign of Ramesses II, the ambassador of Hattusili, accompanied by an Egyptian translator, arrived in the capital of the pharaoh Per-Ramses and handed the Egyptian king on behalf of his sovereign a silver tablet with a cuneiform text of the treaty, certified by seals depicting the king and queen of Hatti in the arms of their deities. The treaty was translated into Egyptian and subsequently immortalized on the walls of Karnak and the Ramesseum. The text of the treaty, which the pharaoh sent to Hattusili in exchange for his tablet, was also in cuneiform, drawn up in the then international Akkadian language. Its fragments are preserved in the archives of Bogazkoy. Basically, the agreement was aimed at ensuring the mutual inviolability of possessions and providing assistance, infantry and chariots, in the event of an attack on one of the contracting parties or an uprising of subjects. Both sides pledged to hand over the defectors. It was the first diplomatically formalized treaty in world history that has survived to this day.
Whether due to the signing of this treaty or due to poor health, the period of active military campaigns of Ramesses II came to an end. The time of active diplomatic correspondence between the two countries began. Messages from Ramesses II, his family and the vizier Paser, addressed to King Hattusili III and his wife Puduhepa, were found in the archives of Bogazkey. Egyptian doctors were often sent to the Hittite court.

Marriage of Ramesses to Hittite Princesses

The consequence of the agreement, thirteen years after its signing, in the 34th year of the reign of the Egyptian pharaoh, was the marriage of Ramesses II and the eldest daughter of Hattusili, who took the Egyptian name Maathornefrura. Maatnefrura (Ma-nafru-Ria, "Seeing the beauty of the Sun", that is, the pharaoh). The princess became not one of the minor wives of the king, as was usually the case with foreign women at the Egyptian court, but the “great” wife of the pharaoh. The meeting of the future queen was arranged very solemnly. The princess was accompanied by her father's warriors. A lot of silver, gold and copper were carried in front of her, slaves and horses stretched "endlessly", whole herds of bulls, goats and sheep moved. From the Egyptian side, the princess was accompanied by the "royal son of Kush." The daughter of the king Hatti "was brought to his majesty, and she fell in love with his majesty." On the reliefs of the stele in Abu Simbel, which tells about this event, Hattusili III is depicted accompanying his daughter to Egypt; indeed, a letter from Ramesses II was found in the archives of Bogazkey with an offer to visit Egypt for his father-in-law, but whether such a trip was made is not known for certain. The second daughter of Hattusilis III also became the wife of Ramesses. The exact date of this marriage is unknown, but it happened already shortly before the death of the Hittite king, approximately in the 42nd year of the reign of Ramesses II.

Expansion of world trade

Construction activity

Founding of Per Ramesses

Ramesses is characterized by an extremely wide construction activity. The war with the Hittites prompted Ramesses to move his residence to the northeastern part of the Delta, possibly on the site of the former capital of the Hyksos, Avaris, the city of Per-Ramses was built (the full name is Pi-Ria-mase-sa-Mai-Amana, "House of Ramses, beloved by Amun). Per Ramses grew into a large and prosperous city, with a magnificent temple. Above the huge pylons of this temple towered a monolithic colossus of Ramses made of granite, more than 27 m high and weighing 900 tons. This colossus was visible for many kilometers from the flat plain surrounding the Delta.
Wadi Tumilat, through which the Nile Canal, which constituted the natural route of communication between Egypt and Asia, probably already passed east to the Bitter Lakes, was also the object of careful care on the part of Ramesses. Pharaoh built on it, halfway to the Isthmus of Suez, a "storage yard" by Pete or "House of Atum". At the western end of Wadi Tumilat, he continued the construction of the city founded by his father, known as Tel el Yehudiyeh, and located just north of Heliopolis. Ramesses built temples in Memphis, of which only meager remnants have survived; buildings in Heliopolis, of which nothing remains at all. Ramesses also built in Abydos, where he completed the magnificent temple of his father, but was not satisfied with this and erected his own mortuary temple not far from the temple of Seti. Ramesses ordered another memorial temple to be built in Thebes. This temple (the so-called Ramesseum), built by the architect Penra, was surrounded by a brick wall, inside which there were storerooms, outbuildings and dwellings for an entire army of priests and servants. Granite monolithic statue in front of the Ramesseum pylons, although it was somewhat lower than in Per-Ramesses, but weighed 1000 tons. Ramesses expanded the Luxor Temple, adding a vast courtyard and pylons there. He also completed the colossal Hypostyle Hall of the Temple of Karnak, the largest building in size, both ancient and modern. This hall covered an area of 5000 sq. m. Twelve columns on the sides of the middle aisle of the Hypostyle Hall were 21 m high, and together with the tops (architraves) and crossbars resting on them - 24 m. At the top of such a column, 100 people could accommodate. The remaining 126 columns, arranged in 7 rows on each side of the middle aisle, had a height of 13 m.
In Nubia, in Abu Simbel, a huge cave temple was carved into a sheer rock. The entrance to this temple, carved in the form of a pylon, was decorated with 4 twenty-meter statues of Ramesses, embodying the idea of glorifying the power of the pharaoh. A cave temple dedicated to his wife, Queen Nefertari (Naft-era) was carved nearby.
However, during the construction, Ramesses destroyed the ancient monuments of the country. Thus, the buildings of King Teti (VI Dynasty) served as material for the temple of Ramses in Memphis. He plundered the pyramid of Senusret II at El Lahun, destroyed the paved area around it and smashed to pieces the magnificent buildings that stood in this area in order to obtain material for his own temple in Heracleopolis. In the Delta he used the monuments of the Middle Kingdom with equal arrogance. In order to obtain the necessary space for the expansion of the Luxor Temple, Ramesses dug down the exquisite granite chapel of Thutmose III and used the materials obtained in this way.
Wars and huge funds spent on the construction and maintenance of temples ruined the working people, enriching the nobility and priests. The poor became enslaved, the middle strata gradually lost their economic independence. Ramesses had to resort to the help of mercenaries, which weakened the military potential of the country.

Wives of Ramesses

The large family of Ramesses II is well known. In addition to the countless concubines of the harem, four of his legal spouses are known, at least 111 sons and 67 daughters.
The first legal wife of the young Ramesses II was the famous beauty Nefertari, who was considered a queen, as evidenced by the inscription in the tomb of the priest Amon Nebunenef, already in the 1st year of her husband's independent reign. Surprisingly, almost nothing is known about the origin of the queen.

Statue of Ramesses II. Turin Museum.

During his long reign, rightfully considered one of the eras of the highest flowering of Egyptian civilization, a huge number of temple complexes and monumental works of art were created, including the unique rock temples of Nubia - in Abu Simbel, Wadi es-Sebua, western Amar, Bet el-Wali, Derre, Gerf Hussein, Anibe, Kaveh, Buhene and Gebel Barkale. Even more striking in its scope is the construction program of the king in Egypt itself: several temples and the famous colossi in Memphis; the courtyard and colossal first pylon of the temple at Luxor, adorned with royal colossi and obelisks; Ramesseum - a mortuary complex on the west bank of the Nile in Thebes; temple in Abydos, completion of construction and decoration of the grandiose hypostyle hall of the temple of Amun-Ra in Karnak. In addition, the monuments of Ramesses II are recorded in Edfu, Armant, Akhmim, Heliopolis, Bubastis, Athribis, Herakleopolis. Under Ramesses II, part of the temple of the goddess Hathor was built at Serabit el-Khadim in Sinai. In general, Ramesses II built many statues and temples in his honor in various parts of Egypt. The largest to date are two 20-meter statues of a seated Ramesses II in Abu Simbel in the south of the country.
The “marriage stelae” of Ramesses II that have come down to our time testify not only to the strengthening of good relations between the powers, two marriages of Ramesses II and Hittite princesses, one of which occupied a very high place at the court and received the Egyptian name Maathornefrura.
The first main wife of Ramesses II was the famous beauty Nefertari Merenmut, to whom the small temple in Abu Simbel was dedicated; after the premature death of the queen, buried in a uniquely beautiful tomb in the Valley of the Queens (QV66), her eldest daughter, Princess Meritamon, took her place. Among the other wives of the king, the most famous are queens Isitnofret I, her daughter Bent-Anat, as well as queens Nebettawi and Khenutmir. Ramesses II himself had at least seven wives and dozens of concubines, from whom he had 40 daughters and 45 sons.
In the northeast of the Nile Delta, where his family came from, Ramesses II founded a new capital, Per-Ramses (modern Kantir and Tell ed-Daba), on the site of the old palace of his father Seti I. This city remained the main residence of the kings of the XIX-XX dynasties. Nevertheless, the religious capital of the country remained in Thebes, and royal burials were still carved in the rocks of the Valley of the Kings. The tomb of Ramesses II (KV7) was not completed and is currently in extremely poor condition due to the damaging effects of groundwater and rainstorms; his mummy remained there for an extremely short time due to ancient grave robbers.
In the reign of Ramesses II, the cults of Amun, Ra, Ptah and Set enjoyed special reverence; however, it was precisely at this time that Asian influence became more and more noticeable in the religious life of the country, expressed in the inclusion in the Egyptian pantheon of foreign deities associated with war or the sea element hostile to the Egyptians.
In the last years of his reign, Ramesses II was deified as the "Great Soul of Ra-Horakhte", thus declaring himself the incarnation of the sun god on earth. Ramesses II died in the 67th year of his reign and survived twelve of his sons, among whom two - the commander Amenherkhepeshef and Khaemuas, the high priest of the god Ptah in Memphis, bore the title of heir to the throne for a particularly long time. The Egyptian throne was inherited by the thirteenth son of the king - Merneptah, the son of Queen Isitnofret I, by this time - a middle-aged man. He was the first of several successors of Ramesses II, whose brief reigns ended the 19th dynasty.

Millennia after the reign of Ramesses II, his cult flourished in Memphis and Abydos. The legacy of the image of the king and his sons in ancient Egyptian and ancient tales and legends has become very indicative. In Thebes around 300 BC. e. The priests of the god Khonsu, in order to maintain the authority of their temple, even erected a massive stele in the sanctuary of the god, the text of which, telling about the journey of the healing statue of the god Khonsu to the country of Bakhtan, was inspired by the Asian campaigns of Ramses II and his wedding with the Hittite princesses.
The text of the treaty of Ramses II with the Hittite king Hattusili III carved on stone (this is the oldest peace treaty preserved in history) is on display in the lobby of the New York headquarters of the UN.

Daughter of Ramesses II - Bentanat or Bent Anat

Children

From Nefertari: Sons: Amenherkhepeshef, Paracherunemef, Merira, Meriatum. Daughters: Meritamon, Khenuttawi. From Isitnofret: Sons: Ramses, Khaemwas, Merneptah. Daughters: Bentanat.
When counting, it turns out that of the 16 eldest sons of Ramses II, seven were born to Nefertari and Isitnofret, while the mothers of the remaining nine sons are unknown. Of the nine senior princesses, only three were the daughters of the two main wives, while the remaining six, and then all subsequent children of the king, were born to unknown ladies of the harem.

Plan of Osirion at Abydos

posthumous fate

The body of Ramses in ancient times was buried by the priests five times (four were reburied) - because of grave robbers. First, he was transferred from his own tomb to the tomb of his father Seti the First. She was robbed. Then the mummy was reburied in the tomb of Queen Imhapi. She was also robbed. Then they transferred to the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep the First.

Statues of Ramses II, Ptah and Sekhmet. Egyptian Museum

Finally, in the end, the mummy of Ramses with the mummies of other robbed pharaohs (Thutmose III, Ramses III) was hidden by the priests in the rocky cache of Herihor in modern Deir el-Bahri.
In the second half of the 19th century, this cache was discovered by an Arab family of grave robbers, led by Sheikh Abd al-Rasul, who gradually sold valuables from there to European tourists. This attracted the attention of the Egyptian authorities. The Egyptian Antiquities Service conducted a whole special operation to identify the source of income, and as a result, the sheikh was forced to reveal the location of the underground rock cache Deir el-Bahri 320, built by order of King Herihor in the 11th century BC.
As a result, the well-preserved mummy of the pharaoh was discovered there in 1881 among other robbed royal bodies and became available to science.
In September 1975, the mummy of Ramesses II was subjected to a unique process of general conservation at the Institute of Man in Paris.
In September 2008, during excavations in the Ain Shams area in eastern Cairo, a group of Egyptian archaeologists discovered the ruins of the temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II, and fragments of a giant statue of Ramesses II were also found in the area.

Ramses II was one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt who ruled during the 19th dynasty. He was proclaimed "Ramses the Great" for the successful and long rule of the state. His reign covers a period of more than 90 years. His achievements surpassed in scale all the results of previous generations and those who inherited power.

Pharaoh of ancient Egypt Ramses II

He became famous in the history of ancient Egypt as a great warrior, builder, family man and deeply religious person. In all things he succeeded. Pharaoh Ramses II became famous thanks to the inscriptions on the walls of massive temples that have survived to this day. Their walls are engraved with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs that tell about life and political events this time.

Most recently, the pharaoh's mummy was discovered, as a result of the study of which scientists were able to find out more information about the period from 1279 BC. until 1213 BC

They gave us an idea of the king, state structure and his military merit.

The architectural monuments of ancient Egypt, erected at the direction of Ramses II, testify to the greatness of this man and his ability to withstand economic instability and territorial disputes.

In addition to his royal regalia, it can be added that he was the father of more than 100 children and had about 300 wives. He outlived 12 of his sons, countless wives and grandchildren.

In modern literature, which tells about the history of existence ancient civilization, the pharaoh's name is referred to as Ramses or Ramesses. He is the only pharaoh who key place in the biblical parable of Moses. This fact gives special importance to his historical figure.

Family of Ramses II

Ramses II's father, Seti I, handed over power to him when the young man was only 14 years old. After the death of the pharaoh, the great ruler began to rule as the pharaoh of ancient Egypt.

It is believed that the reign of Ramses II begins in 1279 BC. and ends 1213 BC. and is a total of 66 years.

During his reign, 14 sed-festivals were held in honor of the pharaoh, each of which marked the end of a 30-year reign, and then every 3 years. They were held with the aim of further successful rule and were supposed to give strength and rejuvenate the pharaoh.

Queen Tuya was the wife of Seti I and the mother of Ramses the Great. The main wife of the pharaoh was Nefertari. Isetnofret and Maatornefere followed her. After the death of the king, his thirteen-year-old son Merenptah succeeded him. The reign lasted approximately ten years.

Mummy of Ramses II

Thanks to the recent discovery of the mummified remains of Ramses II in Egyptology, scattered information about the life of this pharaoh of ancient Egypt was brought together. So, when analyzing DNA, scientists found out that he had red hair. Since this hair color was not characteristic of the ancient Egyptians of that time, it can be assumed that it differed significantly in appearance from their compatriots.

According to the religious ideas of that time, it was believed that this shade indicated the followers of the sun cult of Set. As for other characteristics of the mummy of Ramses II, studies have shown that he had a "hook" nose, he was distinguished by a heavy lower jaw. It was also determined that he suffered from arthritis.

Hieroglyphic inscriptions on the linen covering the pharaoh's mummy contain detailed information about how the priests defended the tomb of the king from marauders. Records indicate that Ramses II was originally buried in tomb KV7 in the Valley of the Kings. But then his mummy was replaced and moved to a room next to the tomb of Queen Inhapi. Then the body was sent to the grave of the chief priest Pinujem II. Today, the mummy of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt is kept in National Museum in Cairo.

One of the most beautiful architectural monuments in Egypt, created by the Pharaoh of Egypt Ramses II, was dedicated to Queen Nefertari.

It is known that after his death at least ten pharaohs took his name and continued the dynastic line. The most famous of them was Ramses III.

Video Ancient Egypt Pharaoh Ramses II