Ramses the Great: The God King

Known to the people of the ancient world as Ramses II, but to the modern world he is known as Ramses the Great. Ramses II was one of many kings to rule ancient Egypt, but the only one to rule more than half a century. In 1290 BC a period known as the New Kingdom, is when Ramses II reigned. Ancient Egypt, at that time was already an established culture. More than three millennia Ramses II was an undeniable force in antiquity for sixty-seven years. The pyramids by this time were already more than one thousand years old. Ramses II ruled a culture that many strange gods by modern beliefs and an unshakable conviction in life after death.

Ramses II was not born to royalty his family was Egyptian military, his grandfather Ramses I was appointed minister to the Pharaoh Horemhed , whom had no children of his own, Ramses II was in line for the throne. The nineteenth dynasty began with the death of Horemhed in 1306 BC, where the throne was passed to Ramses I. The nineteenth dynasty was known as the golden era, the Egyptian culture as solid and prosperous as several centuries of unrest. Previous Pharaohs had not been very successful in stabilizing the Egyptian culture. After several successions of inept and unpopular kings Ramses I, during the golden era, strived to undo the damage done by previous pharaohs like Akhenaten of the 18 dynasty. Akhenaten was responsible for forcing his people to abandon the various gods that they worshiped, and replaced them with Aten, the sun god. Several pharaohs after Akhenaten tried to undo the damage caused by the institution of his belief system.

Ramses I brought stability back to the region with the help of his son Seti and the young Ramses. In 1505 BC Ramses I died and natural succession fell to his son Seti. At this time Ramses II was about nine years old and already being groomed for his duties as the future Pharaoh. At the age of ten he was appointed the commander of the Egyptian army by his father, and by the age of fourteen he was appointed prince regent. This would make sure that the people knew his authority before the time came for him to take over as king.

Egyptian subjects knew by this time that Ramses II would one day become king. To ensure the continuation a dynasty a pharaoh was bound to have as many children as possible. During the first decade of his fathers reign he had already sired ten sons and few daughters. In 1290 BC Ramses was crowned king, since there was no actual record of his birth no one knows his age.

To let his subjects know of his absolute power he commissions building project after building project. No other Pharaoh left behind as many monuments to his legacy as did Ramses II. The bigger the better was the philosophy of the ancient Egypt, and none were more impressive than the massive Abu Simbel, that hold the distinction of being the largest structure to be cut from stone, four statues of Ramses standing 66 feet. Ramses II had many statues placed over the land, so the subjects could constantly look upon he and know his power. To the subjects of ancient Egypt pharaoh was a member of the heavenly hierarchy represented on earth and was infallible.

Ramses II first military campaign and perhaps his greatest took place almost half a decade after his coronation against the neighboring Egyptians to the west, the Hittites, in year 1286 BC. The battle of Kadesh which it had come to be known was arguably the most celebrated of Ramses II campaign.

During his reign the great king had many wives and several queens he outlived most of them as well a huge number of concubines, but his most beloved queen was the legendary Nefertari. The beauty of his favorite wife and queen was known the whole kingdom over. Ramses II outlived his favorite queen and she died just over two decades in to his reign. Nefertari bore Ramses many children, but none outlived the pharaoh. During his lifetime it is believed that the king had more than ninety children. His fondness for his children and wife are evident in the statues that he built for them and his beloved queen Nefertari.

The reign of Ramses II was notably the greatest period era in pharaonic history. Succession did pass to the sons of Ramses II but none would live up to the great achievements of their father, It was truly the end of an era