Ramses Ii

Ramses II Imagine Egypt, in its prime. During the 19th Dynasty, where chariots might be racing through the streets, constructions of our modern day wonders were in progress, and merchants and artisans were in the busy market place selling their ware. Pharaohs ruled the land, and were seen as gods. During this famous time period, Ramses the second was the third ruler, 1279 - 1212 B.C. He was to be said to be the pharaoh in Exodus. Ramses was born to Queen Tuy and Seti I. He gained the throne at age 20 then continued to rule for 67 years. Making him the second longest pharaoh in history. Like many significant figures in history, Ramses had many wives. But his main wife was Nefertari. It was said that with all of his wives he had over one hundred children in his lifetime. Pharaohs were also the top generals of their armies. And his main opponents, or enemies were the Hittites and Asia Minor. Ramses tried to push his armies into Africa and Western Asia. During his fifth year as ruler, he started a campaign called the Battle Of Kedesh. He struggled to keep hold of present day Syria but ended up losing it to the Hittites. He ended up pulling out of Kedesh (Present day Syria) and once again the land was in the hands of the Hittite. Later on, a treaty was signed, and Ramses married the daughter of the Hittite King. While he was in power he attacked many enemies, such as the Libyans and the Nubians. He also attacked Syria about a half dozen times. Even though he was a well known military figure he also lived in a life of wealth. And had a large interest in architecture. With his love of construction and architecture, and military might, he erected more monuments, temples and marvels than any other pharaoh. We owe most of our Egyptian world wonders to the success of his life as a ruler. His most impressive monument wasn’t a pyramid or sphinx. It was his face carved out of sandstone in a cliff that faced east, in ancient Nubia. Although Abu Simbel is his most