The Greatest Pharaoh | Ramesses II | Ancient Egypt Documentary

During the 13th century BC, ancient Egypt was recovering from the turbulent Amarna period that had greatly weakened the empire. The most notable pharaoh during this period, Rameses II, restored Egypt to its former glory and re-established its dominance over the region. He maintained stability within the empire, preserved its borders, and built immense monuments throughout Egypt. His unprecedented 66-year-long reign and countless achievements immortalized him throughout the world as Rameses the Great. The 18th dynasty's rule of Egypt came to an end in 1292 BC with the death of pharaoh Horemheb, as he left behind no heir to the throne. Before his death, Horemheb appointed his chief vizier, Parames, to succeed him as pharaoh of Egypt, both to reward Parames' undying loyalty, and because he had a son and a grandson, which ensured a stable line of succession for the empire. On becoming pharaoh, Parames changed his name to Rameses I, which translates to established by the strength of Ra. He ruled Egypt for less than two years before dying, and was succeeded by his son, Seti I. Seti had a successful reign and was able to reclaim much of the northern lands that had been lost under the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten. He appointed his 14-year-old son, Rameses, as prince regent of the empire and provided him with a grand household and a personal harem. Seti also made the boy prince a captain in the army and brought him along on military campaigns. It was around this time that Rameses, then a teenager, married his principal wife Nefertari, who he was extremely fond of and affectionately referred to as the one for whom the sun shines. In 1279 BC, after an 11-year reign, Seti died and was succeeded by his son, who was proclaimed Rameses II. By this time, Rameses was about 24 years old and had extensive military experience. His first great achievement came in his second year on the throne, when he defeated a band of sea pirates called the Sherden, who have been theorized as having originated from Anatolia, Ionia, or Sardinia. These pirates had been plundering Egyptian vessels along the Mediterranean coast and wreaking havoc on the local population. Rameses cleverly set a trap for the Sherden by placing several cargo-laden vessels in an area off the coast. The sea pirates took the bait, which resulted in them being surrounded by a fleet of Egyptian warships. Rameses managed to overwhelm and capture the Sherden pirates in one single action. The surviving sea pirates were taken to Egypt as prisoners and forced to serve as personal bodyguards to the pharaoh for the fifth year of his reign, when he fought against the king of the Hittites, Muatali II, for control of the Syrian city of Kadesh. The pharaoh desired a victory at Kadesh to expand his empire's borders into Syria, as well as to recreate his father's triumphant arrival into the city a decade earlier. The Battle of Kadesh became the largest chariot battle ever fought in history, involving an estimated 6,000 chariots. Rameses was unsuccessful in capturing the city, but he declared victory upon returning to Egypt anyway. The pharaoh went as far as to claim that he had single-handedly saved the day and inscribed the story on temple walls all throughout Egypt. Here I stand, all alone. There is no one at my side. My warriors and chariots have deserted me. None heard my voice when I, their king, called for aid. But I find that Amun's grace is far better to me than a million fighting men and 10,000 chariots. I was ready to fight like an eager bull. Equipped with my weapons of victory, I charged their ranks, fighting like a pouncing falcon. I was like Ra when he rises at dawn. My rays burned the bodies of the rebels. I slew them without sparing any. They sprawled before my horses and lay slain in heaps of blood. Although the pharaoh's interpretation of those events bordered on fantasy, a considerable achievement did eventually result from the Battle of Kadesh in the form of the Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty. In fact, it is the earliest known peace treaty in history, as well as the only ancient treaty in which written texts from both sides have survived. The Egyptian-Hittite Treaty was successful at maintaining peace between the two great powers for the next century, until the collapse of the Hittite Empire in 1178 BC. Ramesses went on to successfully suppress a Nubian rebellion shortly afterwards and ordered the events immortalized on a temple wall in Nubia, where he is depicted courageously charging into combat on a war chariot, alone against a swarm of rebels. The number of temple buildings that a pharaoh could afford was perhaps the best indicator of the empire's prosperity at the time, and by that criteria, Ramesses II's reign is by far the most notable in Egyptian history. That, along with his early military prowess, inspired 19th century Egyptologists to dub him Ramesses the Great. Ramesses was determined to immortalize himself in stone, even if it meant usurping the statues of his predecessors by inscribing his own cartouche onto them. Worried that future pharaohs would do the same to his works, he ordered that his inscriptions be carved much deeper into stone than traditionally done, which not only made them less susceptible to future change, but also made them more resistant to erosion. Another method Ramesses used to ensure that his legacy would outlast the ravages of time was to build on a grander scale than any ruler had before him. The pharaoh had six temples constructed in Nubia, the most well-known of which are the two carved into a cliffside at Abu Simbel. The first temple is called the Great Temple and is devoted to Ramesses II himself. Its construction took about 20 years and was completed during the pharaoh's 24th year on the throne. It is considered to be the most impressive and beautiful of all the temples that he built during his reign. Four colossal statues representing the pharaoh sit in front of the temple, each wearing the double crown of upper and lower Egypt. An earthquake in 27 BC sheared the head and torso off one of the middle statues, which remain fragmented in front of its feet to this day. The second temple at Abu Simbel is called the Small Temple and is dedicated both to his great royal wife Queen Nefertari and the goddess of love Hathor. The temple's entrance lies between four enormous statues of the pharaoh and two of Nefertari dressed as Hathor. This is one of the rare instances in ancient Egyptian history in which the statue of a pharaoh and his queen are of equal size. Ramesses built another colossal statue of himself that was made of red granite at the Temple of Ptah near Memphis, but it was later discovered broken into six pieces. It was successfully restored using iron bars to stabilize it from the inside and is now located near the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. The pharaoh also built a large mortuary complex called the Ramesseum, which was devoted to the preservation of his memory as a living god. The complex was constructed in Upper Egypt, but has been heavily damaged by floods over the past three millennia due to its close proximity to the Nile River. Ramesses went on to build a new capital in the far north of the empire and called it Pyrameses, which means House of Ramesses. Pyrameses was located near the Pelusiac branch of the Nile River, and it quickly grew to become one of the largest cities in ancient Egypt, inhabited by over 300,000 people. It continued to flourish for another century after Ramesses' reign until its abandonment in 1060 BC due to the Pelusiac branch silting up, which left the city without a water source. Ramesses honored his wife Nefertari after her death with a large, lavishly decorated tomb located in the Valley of the Queens. The wall paintings within Nefertari's tomb are considered to be among some of the greatest works of art in all of ancient Egyptian history. At the age of 54, Ramesses joined an exclusive group of pharaohs who had ruled Egypt for 30 years. This occasion was celebrated with a ritual known as the Sed Festival, which was then repeated every two to three years. The festival's purpose was to rejuvenate a pharaoh's vigor and strength while they still held the throne, as well as to commemorate their accomplishments. Ramesses celebrated an unprecedented 14 Sed Festivals throughout his life, which eclipsed any amount ever celebrated by other pharaohs. Ramesses had over 200 wives and over 100 children, most of whom he outlived. Towards the end of his life, Ramesses suffered from artery hardening, dental decay, and arthritis. After a reign of 66 years, he died in 1213 BC at the age of 90 and was buried in the Valley of the Kings. He was succeeded by his then 70-year-old son, Menapta, who was in line for the throne because he had outlived all 12 of his older brothers. Ramesses' mummy was discovered in 1881 and is currently on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo. Through countless architectural endeavors and unprecedented longevity, Ramesses the Great cemented his legacy as ancient Egypt's greatest pharaoh.