Ramesses II
Son of Seti I and one of the last pharoah's of the New Kingdom's 19th Dynasty, Ramesses II is one of the most widely recognized Egyptian rulers of all time, next to Tutankhamun. It is believed Ramesses II was born around 1300 BC and trained for his reign from an early age by being named as co-ruler of Egypt with his father when he came of the proper age. Eventually, Ramesses II came to rule Egypt on his own around the year 1279 BC
Traditionally, the transition period from one pharaoh to another gave neighboring empires the opportunity to rise against Egypt in the hopes of catching the great nation unprepared and focused on other matters. Ramesses II's ascension to the Egyptian throne was no exception.
In the 4th year of his reign, Ramesses II set out with his armies to ward off the attacks of the Hittites. Unfortunately, the show of force he planned to exhibit was not to be and the ensuing conflict lasted nearly 20 years.
In one significant battle for the city of Qadesh, Ramesses II found his forces divided and on the run from the powerful Hittites. As the story goes, Ramesses II and his few personal bodyguards fought their way free from over 2500 Hittites. Ramesses supposedly escaped and re-grouped his forces to continue the fight.
In spite of this escape, the episode highlighted for Ramesses the fruitlessness of war with the Hittites. Ramesses II and the prince of the Hittites soon settled their differences in a peace agreement. Not only did they agree to mutual non-aggression, but they also agreed to help defend each other's borders against the threat of common enemies.
Ramesses' unsuccessful military campaigns apparently convinced the monarch he was more of a lover than a fighter. Ramesses spent the rest of his life building, in one form or another. Experts estimate Ramesses had over three dozen wives who gave him over 100 sons and more than 50 daughters. Many of Ramesses II's wives were close relatives and there are indications he may even have married some of his daughters. This phenomenon, which we now consider to be the highly taboo concept called "incest", was common practice in Egypt and throughout other parts of the world during this time.
Ramesses II not only concentrated on building a large family, but on building a name for himself as a living deity. Since he could not create a persona for himself worthy of deification through military actions, he created this desired public persona by building temples, adding to old structures and inscribing his name on almost every available inch of stone in Egypt. Ramesses II added to the temple of Amenhotep III, finished the construction of the great hall of columns at Karnak and created the Great Temple and the Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel.
