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Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt > Ramesses II

Ramesses II the Great

Nefertari, Ramesses II's first Chief King's Wife. The Younger Memnon part of a colossal statue of Ramesses from the Ramasseum, now in the British Museum. Pharaoh Ramesses II of Egypt in Abu Simbel, one of four external seated statues of Ramesses II.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses *Ri?misisu; also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re) was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest and most powerful pharaoh. Ancient Greek writers such as Herodotus attributed his accomplishments to the semi-mythical Senusret. He is traditionally believed to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.

He was born around 1303 BC and at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father Seti I. He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to Manetho. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became king in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27. Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign, more than any other pharaoh. On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings; his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.

As king, Ramesses II led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein.

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set.

While Ramesses II was certainly not a typical Egyptian pharaoh, far various reasons we know a great deal about him, and exploring his life in detail should provide readers with a better understanding of all the rulers of ancient Egypt.

In his book, "Chronicle of the Pharaohs" by Peter A. Clayton, he sums up Ramesses II very nicely, stating that:

"During his long reign of 67 years, everything was done on a grand scale. No other pharaoh constructed so many temples or erected so many colossal statues and obelisks. No other pharaoh sired so many children. Ramesses' 'victory' over the Hittities at Kadesh was celebrated in one of the most repeated Egyptian texts ever put on record. By the time he died, aged more than 90, he had set his stamp indelibly on the face of Egypt."

Ramesses II's father was Seti (Sethos) I and his mother was Tuya. Tuya was not one of Seti I's major wives, and therefore Ramesses II was probably not given the training of a king from an early age (or as Ramesses II states, "from the egg"). However, he did serve as a co-regent with his father prior to Seti I's death.

We believe that Ramesses II had as many as fifty sons and fifty daughters, though only a few of them are known to us. His chief, and most likely favorite wife was Nefertari, though he obviously had many others. We believe he was succeeded by a son named Merneptah who was an old man himself by the time he ascended the throne.

It is difficult to tell from most of Ramesses II's statues and depictions on monuments exactly what he looked like physically. This is because the ancient Egyptian artists were not always intend on portraying the king in a totally realistic manner. The king probably never set for specific statues. Rather, they were based upon approved models.

Hence, the official image of Ramesses II promoted by the royal artists is not unlike the ageless portraits we find of the British monarch on stamps or American presidents on currency. His images depict him as a traditional king: tall, dignified, physically perfect and forever young, which prompted one modern scholar to comment that:

"Now Ramesses the Great, if he was as much like his portraits as his portraits are like each other, must have been one of the most handsomest men, not only of his day, but of all history."

His many statues and reliefs show his physical characteristics to include a prominent nose set in a rounded face with high cheek bones, wide, arched eyebrows, slightly bulging, almond-shaped eyes, fleshy lips and a small, square chin. He is often portrayed with a regal smile.

Of course, we have a better idea of his looks as an old man from his mummy, which has a very prominent, long, thin, hooked nose set in a long, narrow, oval face with a strong jaw. He was large for an ancient Egyptian, standing some five foot seven inches (1.333 meters) tall, and it has been suggested that he shows many Asiatic traits, which might also be recognizable in the mummies of Seti I and Merenptah.

Interestingly, the mummy's gray hair had been died red, and indeed, modern technology has proven that in his youth he was a red head, which was also not a common trait of ancient Egyptians.

Due to a fortunate combination of circumstances, including optimal Nile floods resulting in good harvests, international stability, a large family and of course, the extraordinary longevity which caused Ramesses to outlive not only his contemporaries, but many of his children and grandchildren, Egypt enjoyed a continuity of government that was the envy of the ancient world. Whether by luck, or good kingship, Egypt flourished under Ramesses II and her people were grateful.

Within his lifetime, Ramesses II was venerated as a god, particularly in Nubia. This cult following continued to flourish, even after the end of Egypt's pharaonic period. Unlike many Egyptian kings, who always sought to have their name remembered and repeated so that their soul could live on, the Egyptians continued to make pilgrimages to Abydos, Memphis, Tanis and Abu Simbel in order to make offerings to Ramesses the deity for centuries after his death. During the Graeco-Roman period, in order to elevate the status of a god named Khons, the priests literally rewrote their mythology to allow Ramesses II a starring role alongside the deity.

Ramesses II's reputation resulted in an amazing following, and even a period of Egyptian history we often refer to as the Ramesside period. During the 20th Dynasty, though not descendents, all but one of the kings took the name Ramesses in their efforts to emulate him. Unfortunately, only one of the kings, Ramesses III, would come anywhere close to Ramesses II's achievements, and in the end, this much weakened era would spell the end of the New Kingdom. Later still, the weak dynasty of Tanite kings who only had a tenuous grip on Upper Egypt also attempted to recapture some of the lost brilliance of Egypt's golden age by choosing to use Ramesses II's throne name, Usermaatre, as their own.

Hence, Ramesses II's name lived on. In 1822, when we first began to decipher the ancient Egyptian language, many new pharaohs became known to us, and later, as new tombs were discovered, along with other documents, we began to piece together a long line of rulers. Only then did we know the names of Egyptian kings and queens such as Hatshepsut, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. However, Ramesses II was never in need of rediscovery, for his name, perhaps corrupted somewhat, was not forgotten.

Even in our modern world, he has also been remembered, though often not very realistically. He was the handsome, courageous and good hearted king of Christian Jacq's Egyptian novels, and a more lonely, complicated man in Anne Rice's "The Mummy". On the silver screen, he was introduced in the 1909 film, "Mummy of the King Ramses, and in 1923, became the great pharaoh of Cecil B DeMille's silent screen epic, "The Ten Commandments". Afterwards, Yul Brynner would become Ramesses in DeMille's more famous 1956 movie by the same name, and just recently, he was not very accurately portrayed in the DreamWorks animated interpretation of the Exodus called the "Prince of Egypt".

The great king was given the birth name of his grandfather, Re-mise, or Ramesses I (meryamun), which means, "Re has Fashioned Him, Beloved of Amun". We often find his birth name spelled as Ramses. His throne name was Usermaatre Setepenre, meaning, "The Justice of Re is Powerful, Chosen of Re".

We may find many variations of his name throughout classical history. Ramesses fame was not limited to Egypt, for he was known throughout the ancient classical world, due perhaps to a highly efficient royal propaganda machine. From the Christian bible we hear of both Ramesses, as well as his capital city of Pi-Ramesses. Manetho, a famous ancient Egyptian historian, included Ramesses II in his Egyptian chronology as Ramesses Miamun, or Rapsakes. The Greek historian, Herodotus, refers to him as King Rhampsinitus. Writing in 60 BC, Diodorus Siculus, who was especially impressed by the monument we today call the Ramesseum, the mortuary temple of Ramesses II on the West Bank at Thebes, knew him as Ozymandias, which is an obvious corruption of the king's pre-noimen, Usermaatre. Pliny and Tacitus would later write about him, calling him King Rhamsesis or Rhamses, and two thousand years later, in 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley published Ozymandias, a poem giving his impression of the once mighty Ramesses:

In fact, prior to our modern discipline of Egyptology, the Pharaoh Ramesses II became legendary becoming a fabled king not unlike England's (Celtic) King Arthur. Like that king, an ill defined combination of real kings grew about his person, combining perhaps the deeds of the 12th Dynasty Kings Senusret I and III with those of Ramesses II under the general umbrella of Sesothes.

Yet, it was not until after Jean Francois Champollion decoded the Hieroglyphics of the Rosetta Stone that the immensity of Ramesses II's monumental building works could be appreciated by modern observers. Now, the real king became famous all over again, and not only among Egyptologists, though they certainly began to study Ramesses the Great with a new fervor. Because of the number of his monuments, he seems to have constantly been in the news, as discovery after discovery turned up bearing his name.

Early on, he received considerable bad press from scholars. For example, Bansen regarded him as:

"...an unbridled despot, who took advantage of a reign of almost unparalleled length, and of the acquisitions of his father and ancestors, in order to torment his own subjects and strangers to the utmost of his power."

Even in 1959, William C. Hayes said that he was:

"a brash young man...not overburdened with intelligence and singularly lacking in taste... [yet with] tremendous energy and personal magnetism."

Others only gave him slightly better marks. Miss Amelia B. Edwards, in her travel guide, "A Thousand Miles up the Nile", that:

"...it is safe to conclude that he was neither better nor worse than the general run of Oriental despots - that he was ruthless in war, prodigal in peace, rapacious in booty, and unsparing in the exercise of almost boundless power. Such pride and such despotism were, however, in strict accordance with immemorial precedent, and with the temper of the age in which he lived."

Essentially, Kenneth Kitchen, a more modern observer, seems to back Edwards comments, saying that:

"The deeds and attitudes of a Ramesses II cannot just be crudely measured-off against our own supposed social values, as simply boastful or megalomania; they must be compared with what were the norms and ideas in his culture, not ours."

Modern thought on Ramesses undulates from scholar to scholar, and depending on what role is discussed. However, somewhat of a consensus among Egyptologists seems to be that Ramesses II simply did what Egyptian pharaohs were suppose to do, though he had a longer period of time than average to do so. Essentially, Ramesses II is believed to have been a very traditional king in many respects, who followed in the footsteps of his predecessors.

Ideally, an Egyptian pharaoh was simply a link in a long chain of custodians who's ill defined but well understood role passed from king to king. He was the mortal link with the gods upon who's shoulders rested the responsibility of maintaining Ma'at in Egypt, and to some extent throughout the known world. Ma'at might be defined as "truth", but might be better explained as a continuity of "rightness" which could insure that things would continue to function normally. If Ma'at were in balance, there would be reasonable Nile inundations (floods) which would nourish the soil and produce good harvests, victory in battle and there would not be illness in the land. Ma'at was mostly obtained by pleasing the gods, which involved supporting their cults as well as following a righteous path. And among other requirements such as making offerings, participating in festivals and protecting the sacred land of Egypt, pleasing the gods often involved building temples and supporting their priesthood.

Of course, there would be little need for a king to actually promote himself in order to fulfill these duties. Yet, despite the belief by the ancient Egyptians that the King was at least semi-divine, they were, as we now know, all too human. Almost every Egyptian pharaoh seems to have felt a need to prove himself to his people (as well as to the gods). In fact, they wanted to prove themselves superior to their predecessors, and yet, at the same time, many of these kings actually suffered considerable self doubt, particularly when they were not born to a long dynasty of kings and also not to a "Great Wife" of the king, as was the case with Ramesses II.

Therefore, they exerted considerable efforts to build monuments and grand statues in order to re-enforce their role as a living god, as well as to defeat the enemies of Egypt in battle and in each case, they ensured that their name and titles were celebrated in connection with these deeds. Furthermore, they often exaggerated every possible deed, even to the point of fabricating war victories and usurping the monuments and statues of their predecessors.

Ramesses II was not the first, nor the last to follow such practices. He was certainly an avid builder, erecting temples and statues from one end of the Nile Valley to the other. And even when he may have failed in war, he nevertheless made it a victory by inscribing it as such on his monuments.

So in reality, regardless of our modern misgivings about Ramesses II, as a king of Egypt's New Kingdom, Ramesses fulfilled his functions, as he was basically expected to, and in return, Ma'at seems, at least to his ancient Egyptian subjects, to have been fulfilled, for the country experienced a long period of prosperity during his equally long reign.

Before Ramesses II was a great king, he had a family and throughout his reign, his growing family would serve to strengthen his rule of Egypt. In fact, of all the rulers in Egypt, Ramesses II may have had one of the largest of all families, consisting of many wives, and as many as fifty sons and fifty daughters of his principal consorts. However, it is likely that his extended family was even much larger than this. He may have certainly sired children who he never even became aware of, by legitimate consorts.

The Reign of Ramesses II was during a period of heightened status for royal women. After the rule of Queen Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III who was more or less usurped by his stepmother, seems to have reduced the importance of women for obvious reasons during the early part of the 18th Dynasty. But by the end of that period, and particularly during the beginning of the 19th Dynasty, the royal women were once again evident to the public eye, though perhaps not as politically ambitious as some of their predecessors.

The first woman Ramesses was involved with was, of course, his mother. Like all good Egyptians, both ancient and modern, he appears to have loved her and treated her with respect. She had really been a commoner at birth, the daughter of the Lieutenant of Chariotry, Raia. Her name was Tuya, or Mut-Tuya, and as so often happens in ancient Egypt, she outlived Ramesses II's real father, Seti I, by many years.

Luckily, in Egypt there was a place for both a new queen, as well as the king's mother. Upon the death of Seti I, Nefertari, Ramesses II's chief wife, took on the duties of the queen, while Tuya immediately shed those responsibilities for the influential role of King's Mother. During this period, the function of King's Mother seems to have been accorded a political role, functioning as her son's advisor. In fact, it may have even fallen on her shoulders to protect the king's interest at home while he was away on foreign campaigns.

In fact, our best recordings of Tuya's life were provided from the period after her husband's death. We know that she was important enough politically to have corresponded with the Hittite court. We find her image in important monuments, such as the facade of her Abu Simbel temple where she appears on the same scale as the other royal women and sons standing beside the second and fourth colossi. She was also featured in the Ramesseum where she sat in colossal form beside her much larger son in the first courtyard, and along with Nefertari, she shakes her sistrum on the walls of the hypostyle hall.

Her promotion by Ramesses II probably went beyond love, however. A king could gain status from that of his mother, and in fact he set out to rewrite the story of his own miraculous birth so as to provide himself with a divine father. Ramesses had actually been born to his common mother prior to his father ascending the throne. However, Ramesses, always a self promoter, which was not an unusual trait in Egyptian pharaohs, had inscribed a new tale of his birth where he was not only the son of Seti I, but of Amun, the high god himself. To many of those who study ancient Egyptian history, this is of course nothing new, but indeed, he was only the third New Kingdom pharaoh to make such a claim.

However, though mothers often outlived their sons in ancient Egypt, because of Ramesses II's extremely long life, Tuya did not. She appears to have died soon after his 22nd year as ruler of Egypt, and was interred in an impressive tomb in the Valley of the Queens (QV80).

Even today, it is rare for a ruler, or president of any country to be unmarried. Likewise, in ancient Egypt it would have probably been blasphemous, violating Ma'at, the ancient Egyptian concept of balance and order. Practically, the pharaoh needed an heir from a legitimate queen, and in almost all cases, she fulfilled many other responsibilities to the people of Egypt.

In reality, the king of Egypt produced families on a number of different levels, according to the placement of his wives. The royal harem, an institution in ancient Egypt which appears to have had no counterpart in the private sector of those times, was not only the home of those most favored wives of the king, but also provided a patronage for the loose and unattached women of the court, including unmarried and widowed sisters, daughters and other family members of the king, foreign brides, high born Egyptian women, and numerous concubines of relatively humble birth who might also include the servants and attendants of the higher ranking ladies. It is likely that many of these ladies of Ramesses II's harem never even meet their king, let alone bore his child, but from year to year their would of course be a nursery resounding with the gurgles, yelps and whimpers of each year's crop of bouncing royal babies. Only those children of the king's primary wives, and of a few of his favored secondary consorts, would ever have the opportunity to become king, or for that matter, the opportunity for us to know of them.

The wife of an Egyptian pharaoh is often referred to by Egyptologists as a consort. This is probably due to the fact that in some people's minds, the Egyptian queen was not a wife because of the lack of a specific religious celebration of marriage. There appears to have been marriage contracts, but little in the way of our modern concept of a marriage ceremony. Also, to many of us today, the concept of having perhaps hundreds of "wives" negates the institution of holy matrimony. However, some astute queens probably welcomed this "sexual variety" for their husbands, for it may have relieved them from the frequent pregnancies that so often led to death in females of these times. Nevertheless, and regardless of our views, the "Chief King's Wife" was the closest counterpart of our modern concept of a wife.

The principal wives of Kings were almost always of royal blood and were often either the full or half sister of the king. These incestuous marriages, which we find few if any examples of in the general population, had several practical benefits to the crown ruler. They kept outsiders at arms length from the royal family, and produced at least a limited number of royal children eligible to inherit the thrown. Furthermore, they also ensured that a suitably trained princess would be placed in the most important role available to an Egyptian woman: that of queen. In fact, while the king could marry a commoner, or for that matter, whoever he wished, royal females could not marry below their royal status, and therefore the field of potential bridegrooms beyond their brother (or sometimes father) was extremely limited. Egyptian princesses were even denied marriage to foreign royalty, who might later claim some justification to the thrown of Egypt.

We are not sure of the parentage of Ramesses II's first principal wife (Chief King's Wife), Nefertari, though she had to have probably been of royal blood (though almost certainly not of the immediate royal family). It has been suggested that she may have been a daughter or at least related to King Ay (granddaughter, niece or great-niece), one of the last rulers of the 18th Dynasty. Ramesses II was the first ruler of the 19th Dynasty who, at the time he chose his principal queen, was already destined to rule Egypt. Other major wives included Istnofret (Iset-Nofret), Bent'anta (Bintanath), Merit-Amun (Meritamen), Nebttaui, Hentmire, Maathomeferure and perhaps, others. Several of these queens, such as Merit-Amun, were also his daughters.

These queens would have been the top tier in his harem, and some would have remained by his side much of the time (though during different periods of his rule). While the king would have maintained harems all along the Nile Valley in regional locations, with many women who he hardly knew, or knew not at all, these queens would have probably resided near their husband in the main palace harem.

Undoubtedly, Nefertari held some power over Ramesses II. It was probably love, but we cannot say for certain. Certainly, Miss Emelia Edwards though, upon visiting her temple at Abu Simbel, that Ramesses II loved her. She states:

"On every pillar, in every act of worship pictured on the walls, even in the sanctuary, we find the names of Ramesses and Nefertari 'coupled and inseparable'...We see, at all events, that Ramesses and Nefertari desired to leave behind them an imperishable record of the affection which united them on earth, and which they hoped would unit them in Amenti. What more do we need to know? We see the Queen was fair, that the King was in his prime. We divine the rest; and the poetry of the place at all events is ours. Even in these barren solitude's there is wafted to us a breath from the shores of old romance. We feel that love once passed this way, and that the ground is still hallowed where he trod."

There could be only one "Chief King's Wife" at any one time, and Nefertari held that designation from the beginning. What we do know is that Ramesses II lavished upon her at least several important monuments, including the small temple at Abu Simbel and her wonderful tomb in the Valley of the Queens.

Yet the many monuments that Ramesses II lavished upon Nefertari cannot simply be attributed to love. There is no question that a revered, respected and occasionally worshipped wife brought nothing but glory to her husband and so these monuments were also meant to honor their builder as well. In fact, within Nefertari's temple at Abu Simbel, it is not she, but rather the image of Ramesses II himself that adorns the inner walls of the sanctuary.

From the very beginning of her husband's reign, Nefertari appears as a dutiful wife, supporting Ramesses on all appropriate ceremonial occasions. She received the two titles, Mistress of the South and North, and Lady of the Two Lands, which parallel Ramesses II's titles.

However, her duties extended considerably beyond that of simply supporting her husband from the rear ranks. She may have frequently filled in for her husband in certain ceremonies, often taking the male role and accompanied by one of her daughters as a "feminine side", so that Ma'at would be balanced.

Regrettably, while we may find any number of monuments, statues and decorations depicting Nefertari, we know precious little about her actual life. We do know that she was not the only one of his queens to be honored in an age when Egyptian kings did not always give outward recognition to their women. We find Nefertari missing from the jubilee celebrations of Ramesses II's 30th year in office, which may tentatively suggest that she died prior to this. She was buried in her wonderful tomb in the Valley of the Queens, but almost immediately, a new Chief King's Wife would have been selected.

However, Ramesses II's later wives are as mysterious to us as Nefertari, though he continued to build some monuments to them. It may have been Iset-Nofret who assumed the role of Chief King's Wife upon the death of Nefertari. However, she was completely contemporary to Nefertari, having probably married Ramesses II at the same time, and there is little evidence that can prove that she outlived Nefertari. Most of the artifacts and monuments depicting her seem to have actually been created by her famous priest son, Khaemwaset. One such monument was a stelae erected at the temple of Horemheb at Gebel Silsila sometimes between year 33 and 34 of Ramesses II's rule. Here, Iset-Nofret holds an ankh sign, the symbol of life, while her daughter Bintanath holds a papyrus. While this evidence is certainly limited, it would seem that by this time she had probably died. Of course, her most notable act was to give birth before her death to Ramesses II's thirteenth son, Merenptah, would would be the oldest of his children to outlive him, and thus take control of Egypt.

We really do not know for certain who became the Chief King's Wife after Nefertari, but it may well have been one of his daughters. The most suitable wife for a king of Egypt was the Meritamen, one of Ramesses II's favorite daughters, and later his wife daughter of a king of Egypt, and Ramesses II was a stickler for tradition. He ended up marrying no less than four of his daughters (that we know of). They were Bintanath, Meritamen, Nebettawi and the relatively unknown Hentmire. In defence of these incestuous relationships of Ramesses II to our modern eyes, this was an ancient pharaonic custom among kings well established long before Ramesses II's lifetime.

Daughters of the King of Egypt had few possibilities of marriage. They were not allowed to marry below their position, or even to non-Egyptian royalty. Their only opportunities for marriage seems to have been either princes or the King himself, and in fact many princesses lived out their lives without a mate. Hence, since father-daughter incest is taboo in our modern, western societies, we would like to think of such a marriage as being purely symbolic, but this was clearly not the case. We know, for example, that Bintanath, the first daughter he married, bore him at least one child, and we have examples of other kings producing children by their daughters.

The dynamics these incestuous relationships are largely unknown. In some situations, the father, in this case Ramesses II, married a daughter it would seem as a replacement after the death of her mother. However, at other times the mother and daughter were married to the king at the same time. However, there is no simple indication that when the daughter married the king, she superceded her mother. In many cases, the mothers and daughters appear to act together. In fact, the daughters at times seem to act as deputy consorts, filling in for their older mothers whenever required. Some Egyptologists believe that the daughters provided a well earned for their mothers at an age when the older queen was past the child bearing age. However, it may have been that the mother could then fulfill the valuable and stately role of King's Mother. However, this was certainly not always the case.

Regardless, the daughters could assume significant status as queens. In the stela of Hekanakht at Abu Simbel, we find depicted a still living Nefertari sitting by as her daughter and much beloved offspring of Ramesses II, takes over her role as queen. While we have no positive evidence as confirmation, it may have been she who assumed the role of Great King's Wife after the death of her mother, though it is equally likely that Iset-Nofret took up that position. However, Iset Nofret would have soon died, and there seems to have been few choice for Great King's Wife afterwards, and for some years.

But by Year 35 of Ramesses II's reign, having been twice widow and with three of his daughters serving as queen, he could not resist the daughter of the Hittite king who was offered to him, along with a larger dowry. The arrangements for this marriage seem to have been considerably complex, taking some time in the making. However, eventually the Hittite princess Ramesses II and his new foreign born queen, Maathorneferure was received at Pi-Ramesses, Ramesses II's new capital, and accordingly was "beautiful in the heart of his majesty, and he loved her more than anything". Her Egyptian name was Maathorneferure, meaning the "One who sees Horus, the Visible Splendor of Re", and she was immediately promoted to the role of "principal wife", which was an unusual honor for a foreign born queen.

However, by this time in Ramesses II's life, the position of :"Chief King's Wife" seems to have deteriorated to some extent. Certainly Maathorneferure soon started to appear on royal monuments as the Egyptian queen, but this seems to have been somewhat of an illusion. Perhaps she, being a foreign born princess, would have been completely ignorant of Egypt's ceremonial and ritual celebrations, for it was Bintanath and her half-sisters, first Meritamen and then Nebettawi, who continued to function as principal wives.

We know that Maathorneferure lived for some time at Pi-Ramesse, and we even know that she bore at least one child, a daughter, by Ramesses II. However, she soon disappeared from the royal records. Perhaps the most logical explanation is simply that she died young. This seems to have created no ill will between the Hittite and Egyptian royal courts for some ten years later, Hattusilis, the Hittite king, apparently agreed to supply Ramesses II with a second princes. The Egyptians recorded this event, saying:

"The Great Ruler of Hatti, sent the rich and massive spoils of Hatti...to the King of South and North Egypt, Usermaatre Setepenre (Ramesses II), Son of Re Ramesses II, and likewise many droves of horses, many herds of cattle, many flocks of goats, and many droves of game, before his other daughter whom he sent to the King of South and North Egypt on what was the second such occasion."

The second bride is unknown to us, as well as her fate, but she would have probably been the last of Ramesses II's inner circle of consorts and ladies.

How the early, predynastic leadership of Egypt was developed is certainly debatable. However, many Egyptologists believe that the early chieftains gradually gained a sphere of influence because they knew how to harness the Nile River, and the fertility of the Nile Valley. Rather than being warier kings, they knew how to lead others in feeding their people.

Throughout Egypt's pharaonic history, the King of Egypt was thought to intercede with the gods to assure fertile Nile floods, and hence, food to feed the masses. This was one of the reasons that great temples were built, and the priesthood furnished with wealth. When the Nile floods came up short, the king could also be blamed as well. But fertility stretched beyond Egypt's crops. At a time when the world's human population was small, and death at birth or early infancy was considerable, human fertility was also important, and it was most important for the Pharaoh, who needed to produce an heir to the throne of Egypt. We believe that fully one third of all children did not live to reach their fifteenth year.

Producing a crown prince was not always easy, even though the pharaohs often had numerous wives. The ladies of his harem who were expected to produce a future heir were often close family members, including even full sisters at times. Hence, a pharaoh who, even with the "assistance" of a number of queens, prodigiously produced children, including a number of males, might be considerably proud of such a feat. Indeed, Ramesses II of Egypt's 19th Dynasty was such a pharaoh, and because of his long life, this was very lucky, because twelve of his oldest sons would die before their father.

In fact, because Ramesses II featured so many of his children in depictions and statuary, and the fact that we have considerable documentary evidence from this period, we learn much about the treatment and importance of royal children, at least during this period, some of which might seem surprising to us.

For example, Ramesses II provided us with a number of processions of both sons and daughters (sometimes together), depicted on the walls of his monuments at such locations as Thebes (The Temple of Luxor and the Ramesseum) and Abu Simbel. While Ramesses II may have had any number of other children by very minor consorts, those of his principal wives (see also, his women) are ordered apparently by age, only, without regard to the importance of their mothers, with most probably even the children of minor wives following those of Nefertari and Iset-Nofret (his two principal wives). Indeed, the order of this list appears to have probably been the same as the line of succession (for the sons) so that those of Iset-Nofret bearing the same opportunities (given their birth order) as that of Nefertari, Ramesses II's actual chief wife. Of course, it would eventually be Merenptah, a son of Iset-Nofret, who would inherit the throne of Egypt.

Perhaps even more interest, given this information, is Iset-Nofret's apparent lack of real importance to Ramesses II. Her image is infrequently depicted, and when it is, seems to have been the work of her famous son, Khaemwese rather than Ramesses II. Yet we find images and references to her daughter, particularly that of Bent'anta (Bintanath, Bint-Anath, Bintanat) who later became the first of Ramesses II's daughters that he married, which predate those of her mother. In many cases, the princesses of consorts were given more importance then their mothers. In any event, it is very notable that even the sons and daughters of relatively minor consorts were given considerably more attention then their mothers, even though they might have never stood a chance of becoming king.

How Ramesses II interacted with his children is relatively unknown to us. Some children of the minor queens perhaps saw little of the royal court. They may have even been portrayed in the processions simply to enhance their father's reputation, but it would appear that some thought was given to these children, perhaps especially to those who showed talent. For example, we are told of Prince Simontu, who was Ramesses II's 23 son and who served as an able administrator of the royal vineyard at Memphis. Others, such as Prince Ramesses-Meriamen-Nebweben (son number 46) may have been virtually ignored. He seems to have died during his thirties while still living in one of the harem palaces.

However, the sons of the principal queens, particularly those who were the oldest and therefore had a chance to become king, must have received considerably more attention. Perhaps most of these sons accompanied Ramesses II on military expeditions at one time or another, and several of them ended up acquiring a talent of martial leadership, becoming generals. These included his eldest son, Amenhirkhepeshef, who became General-in-Chief, and Prehirwenemef, his third son who was given the titles, "First Brave of the Army" and later "First Charioteer of His Majesty". Most of the sons were probably give the opportunity to prove themselves in battle, but some appear to have not taken to this way of life, such as Khaemwaset, his forth son. His talents seem to have been of a more intellectual nature, so he was allowed, as others, and even encouraged, to purse a career as a priest. In this, he excelled becoming famous as a sage and as the creator of the Serapaeum at Saqqara. Merenptah, the 13th son of Ramesses II who would be lucky enough to eventually outlived his older brothers and become king, was initially responsible for administration of the Delta region as far south as Memphis. While he may not have been recognized officially as a co-regent of his father, he was probably responsible for the kingdoms stewardship during the final twelve years of his father's long life.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Ramesses II's daughters is what became of the minor princesses. We know what became of the most senior of his daughters who lived past the age of puberty. They were wed to their father, a situation which seems not so unpleasant to them as it would of course be today. However, we know little about most of the other, more minor daughters. Some were no doubt lucky enough to have married brothers, who would accept them, for while a minor prince might marry most anyone, the choice for princesses were usually limited to those of their own royal status. Those that did not marry, as well as some who did, no doubt served the temples and gods in some capacity. Some may have even become minor wives of Ramesses II, though mostly as invisible to us as their mother's might have been.

The question that many would ask, is how did the royal family of Egypt compare to our own modern families, or for that matter, even modern royal families. Was there intimacy, and intimate moments? Could we find touching scenes of family life, and was there great love between husband, wife and the kids?

Regrettably, we may never know the answers to these questions, but we might take a stab at a few responses.

For the typical child of the king's harem, and particularly for those of minor kings, intimacy was certainly shared mostly between mother and child. This was probably even true for the youngest children of Ramesses II's principal queens, though at times it is possible that father, mother and their children came together as a family unit. While we find few such depictions during the reign of Ramesses II there are those, for example, during the reign of Akhenaten that do seem to reveal considerable family intimacy, and others from many period that depict ordinary Egyptians displaying great affection for their wives and children. Yet Ramesses II was a hands-on king who spent considerable time during the early period of his reign either traveling back and forth along the Nile, or sometimes away on military campaigns, so he must have had little enough time to form the bonds of fatherhood.

However, we might assume, considering that Ramesses II began his family with both Nefertari and Iset-Nofret prior to his ascending the throne, when his offsprings were few, that we might have witnesses some moments similar to those depicted between Akhenaten, his wife and children. But it is also probable, that as time wore on and the harem swelled, and the eldest of Ramesses II's children passed on before him, that intimacy and deep love might become rare pleasures of this king, his feelings made numb more and more by the memories of earlier losses. In addition, favorites had to be closely controlled, for it probably would have done to show undue emotion to a more joyful younger son at the expense of an Arab parent.

Yet, for those first few, there are certainly allusions to Ramesses II's adoration. Of course, for Nefertari, his first "Chief King's Wife", there is the temple at Abu Simbel and the wonderful tomb in the Valley of the Queens, and there were also apparently separate tombs for several of his daughters who became his queens. We also find, built for at least his elder sons, if not for many more of his children, probably the largest tomb ever excavated in Egypt in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes).

Yet all of this is relevant, and not at all complete proof of Ramesses II's affection for his wives and children, because in the big scheme of things, certain aspects all of these efforts may have simply promoted the kingship, as well as the deification, of Ramesses II himself. Keep in mind, for example, that while the small temple at Abu Simbel may have been built to honor Nefertari, and her images in monumental form may be found on its facade, it is Ramesses II himself that occupies the walls within.

Were we to take the depictions and reliefs of Ramesses II, Seti I, there successors and their predecessors at face value, it might lead us to sometimes believe that their contact with neighbors was always on the field of battle. Many of these reliefs on the exterior of temple walls portray war as both thrilling and glamorous, having also religious undertones. On these walls we are, repeatedly, almost like the high budget advertisements of our modern society, treated to scenes of the king vanquishing the enemy and thus fulfilling his duty to defeat the forces of chaos and preserve ma'at. Again and again, we see the brave pharaoh driving his chariot behind fiery steeds as he fearlessly leads his nervous troops into the fray. He stands single handedly sometimes in his two man chariot alone, firing arrows as he charges ahead, or at other times, beats his cringing enemies to death with a club.

The message is clear. Pharaoh triumphant sacrifices his enemies to the greater glory of Egypt and her gods. The Defeated enemy invariably adopts an attitude of total submission, for he knows that it would be futile to struggle against his fate. These enemies very often included the Nubians to the south of Egypt, the Libyans to Egypt's west and the Asiatics to the east. They appear again and again to suffer at the hands of pharaohs, as depicted on temple walls, even when they were not a threat.

No one was better at this propaganda than Ramesses the Great, who always won his wars and always forced his enemies to grovel at his feet. For example, even though many scholars believe he lost ground with the Battle of Kadesh, he nevertheless had no fewer than ten inscriptions, a longer "poem" and a shorter "bulletin" carved on the walls of five temples, along with accompanying reliefs. These, of course, all depicted Ramesses II victorious, but few of these accounts conform to our modern standards of historic reporting. In fact, some battles depicted by later pharaohs, were actually campaigns of earlier kings whom the current pharaoh wished to emulate, while others depicted kings such as Amenhotep III and his son, Akhenaten smiting enemies when in fact they probably never personally participated in military actions at all.

An examination of Ramesses II's campaigns, as depicted on the walls of his various temples, seems to show that his military leadership was not overly impressive, if stripped of their hyperbole. If the Battle of Kadesh, his most documented campaign, is any indication, he was almost certainly an unimaginative strategist who was better as a front line warrior than as a military leader. We must give him credit for his personal involvement in a number of campaigns, as well as his good intentions, and he did expand Egypt's territory, even in southern Syria. Because of the peace treaty with the Hittites, he was also able to use these possessions to increase the wealth of Egypt.

Just as the Egyptian temple walls were a fortress against the chaos of the secular world protecting the peace, or ma'at within, so too were Egypt's borders. The Two Lands (Egypt) might also be viewed in a certain way as a temple to the Egyptian gods, for pharaoh ruled the world. He had an religious duty to protect its borders from the corrupt and vile foreigners. So from a fairly early age, Ramesses, as the future pharaoh, was trained in the art of warfare. We know that he probably accompanied his father, Seti I on some of his campaigns, and as he grew older, was placed in charge of various military actions.

In fact, when Egypt's ships and northernmost towns suddenly found themselves under serious threat by pirates (Sherden), it was Ramesses II, while still co-regent in one of his earliest actions as a commander, who was placed in charge of their elimination. Posting soldiers and ships at strategic points along the coast, Ramesses II waited patiently until the Sherden appeared. He surprised and captured them, inducting many of their survivors into the Egyptian army. While the Battle of Kadesh often dominates the scholarly view of Ramesses II's military prowess, he nevertheless did enjoy more than a few outright victories over the enemies of Egypt.

Ramesses II must be applauded for his protection of Egypt proper's borders. After all, this was one of pharaoh's prime directives. Not long after he neutralized the threat posed by Sherden pirates, he established a defensive line along Egypt's northwestern frontier. Archaeologists have identified at least three of these forts to the west of the modern city of Alexandria, and another two in the western Delta at Tell Abqa'in and Kom el-Hisn. These were probably only a part of an extensive chain of forts protecting Egypt's northwestern regions.

While not a new innovation, these forts which were often built near water holes in order to deny access to Libyans infiltrating the prosperous Delta, probably became very useful when, during the reigns of several of his successors (Merenptah and Ramesses III), Libyans attempted a larger scale invasion into the region.

Yet, Ramesses II's military aspirations were to the east, and for good reason. Since Nubia was virtually a province of Egypt during his reign, and there was little to be gained to Egypt's west, imperial gains could really only be realized in southern Syria. During the Old and Middle Kingdoms there were occasional campaigns against specific fortified Canaanite towns, but Egypt's real involvement with the region was in trade. In fact, so important was this trade to the Canaanites, that after the collapse of Egypt's Old Kingdom, the Canaanite economy failed as well. However, it was not until the New Kingdom, following Ahmose's expulsion of the Hyksos, that Egypt's military attention became focused on southern Syria. By the time of Thutmose III, Egypt would see its greatest expansion into southern Syria. However, Egypt never seems to have been very committed to this expansion, or perhaps more correctly, their strategy for holding the region was faulty. There was never a sizable, permanent Egyptian military presence committed to the region. Instead, Egypt depended on the loyalty of local chiefs to oversee their interests, which soon became an undependable means of controlling the region. Egypt would be repeatedly required to mount military campaigns into southern Syria in order to hold, or as often as not, prevent the total collapse of these holdings.

This weakness in Egypt's strategic goals were never clearer than in the reign of Ramesses II's father, Seti I. He seems to have had considerable military success in the region, probably for a brief time, increasing Egypt's expansion almost to the extent of his early 18th Dynasty predecessors. This may have included most of southern Syria, as far north as Kadesh. Yet, by the time of his death, much of that territory was lost, and there is no doubt that Ramesses II sought to return it to Egyptian hands.

As early as the forth year of Ramesses II's rule, the important kingdom of Amurru was returned to Egyptian hands, but this also signaled a great battle to come, for it would ultimately result in the Battle of Kadesh, an action that Ramesses II claimed as a victory, but which most Egyptologists see, at best, as a draw between the Hittites and Egypt. It resulted in a peace treaty that, while excluding the city state of Kadesh which Ramesses II had sought to control, nevertheless allowed a measure of peace and prosperity throughout the remainder of Ramesses II's reign.