Ramesses II

Ramesses II
Ramesses the Great, Ozymandias
The Younger Memnon (c. 1250 BC), a statue depicting Ramesses II, from the Ramesseum in Thebes. Currently on display at the British Museum in London.
Pharaoh
Reign	1279–1213 BC
Predecessor	Seti I
Successor	Merneptah
Royal titulary Horus name Ka nakht, Mery maat[1] The strong bull, beloved of right (truth)[2] Nebty name Mek kemet, waf khasut[1] Protector of Egypt who curbs foreign lands[2] Golden Horus User renput, aa nakhtu[1] Rich in years – great in victories[2] Prenomen  (Praenomen) User maat Re, setep en Re[1] The justice of Rê is powerful – chosen of Rê[3] Nomen Ra mes su, mery Amun[1] Rê is the one who bore him, beloved of Amun[3]
Consort	Nefertari, Isetnofret, Maathorneferure, Meritamen, Bintanath, Nebettawy, Henutmire
Children	88–103 (List of children of Ramesses II)
Father	Seti I
Mother	Tuya
Born	c. 1303 BC
Died	c. 1213 BC (aged 90–91)
Burial	KV7
Monuments	Abu Simbel, Abydos,[4] Ramesseum, Luxor,[5] Karnak[5]
Dynasty	19th Dynasty

Ramesses II^[a] (/ˈræməsiːz, ˈræmsiːz, ˈræmziːz/; Ancient Egyptian: rꜥ-ms-sw, Rīꜥa-masē-sə,^[b] Ancient Egyptian pronunciation: [ɾiːʕamaˈseːsə]; c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC),^[7] commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, he is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, which itself was the most powerful period of ancient Egypt.^[8] He is also widely considered one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior pharaohs, conducting no fewer than 15 military campaigns, all resulting in victories, excluding the Battle of Kadesh, generally considered a stalemate.^[9]

In ancient Greek sources, he is called Ozymandias,^[c][10] derived from the first part of his Egyptian-language regnal name: Usermaatre Setepenre.^[d][11] Ramesses was also referred to as the "Great Ancestor" by successor pharaohs and the Egyptian people.

For the early part of his reign, he focused on building cities, temples, and monuments. After establishing the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta, he designated it as Egypt's new capital and used it as the main staging point for his campaigns in Syria. Ramesses led several military expeditions into the Levant, where he reasserted Egyptian control over Canaan and Phoenicia; he also led a number of expeditions into Nubia, all commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein. He celebrated an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals—more than any other pharaoh.^[12]

Estimates of his age at death vary, although 90 or 91 is considered to be the most likely figure.^[13][14] Upon his death, he was buried in a tomb (KV7) in the Valley of the Kings;^[15] his body was later moved to the Royal Cache, where it was discovered by archaeologists in 1881. Ramesses' mummy is now on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, located in the city of Cairo.^[16]

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