King Ramses ii History - Ramses ii Facts - Egypt History

Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great (1303–ca 1213 B.C.) is one of the greatest Pharaohs ever ruled Egypt, he was the third king of the 19th dynasty (1292–1190 BCE) of ancient Egypt, his reign (1279–13 BCE) was the second longest in the ancient Egyptian history.

Not only his wars with the Libyans and Hittites that make him one of the most memorable kings till now, but he is also known for his extensive building programs all over Egypt and for the many colossal statues of him found all over the country.

His celebrated building achievements, including the marvels at Karnak and Abu Simbel, showcase his vision of a great nation and of himself as the “ruler of rulers.”. That's why he has long been regarded by Egyptians as Ramses the Great, he ruled Egypt for 66 years, and his reign considered to be the height of Egypt’s power and Greatness.

Ramses II Family

King Ramses II was the son of Pharaoh Seti I and Queen Tuya, and had a large number of children: about 50 sons, and 40 to 53 daughters, and he had eight royal wives like Nefertari, Istnofret, Bint-Anath, Aerytamun, Nebettawy, Henutmire, Maathomeferure and the last one whose not really famous like the other wives, the Hittite princess.

King Ramses II Achievements

There is no doubt that king Ramses II is one of the most unique pharaohs ever ruled Egypt, and king with such a history must have great achievements and here are some of them.

The Battle of Kadesh

In the fifth year of King Ramses reign, the young Pharaoh marched from his city of Per-Ramesses also known as ("House of Ramesses") toward Syria to secure Kadesh city that was a very important spot on the trade routes.
And when the Hittite king Muwatalli II (1295-1272 BCE) was making regular forays into Egyptian lands for some time and he had become more of a threat than a nuisance to Pharaoh Ramesses II.

Ramses II led the Egyptian army to recapture Kadesh, but he was triked by the spies who mad him believe that the Hittites were far from the Egyptian camp when they were really close and attacked the Egyptians, Ramses II was about to lose but reinforcements arrived just in the nick of time. The Egyptian army won that battle but did not win the war.

Abu Simbel Temples

The most stunning buildings in all Egypt were built by King Ramses II in order to immortalize his memory for the next generations and all of them are stunning, especially the Temple of Abu Simbel that he built to celebrate his victory in the battle of Kadesh.
It's one of the world's most mesmerizing artifacts and Egypt's second most visited touristic site after the Pyramids of Giza.
This temple is very unique as one of the most remarkable and strange events happens there every 22 February and October that we call it "The Sun Festival" when the temple remains in dark the whole year and the sun illuminate it only in that special days that believed to be Ramses II birthday and the day he stood in the throne of Egypt.

Ramses II Death

King Ramses II died in 1213 BC, and his mummified body was originally buried in the tomb KV7 in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, but the ancient Egyptian priests to moved his body to a safer resting place because of the grave robbers, and because of those priests the mummy of King Ramses II was good till 1881 when the archaeologists discovered the mummy of Ramesses II, along with more than 50 other kings and nobles were discovered in a secret royal cache at Dier el-Bahri.