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... on in Abu Simbel. These men were linked to Rameses by blood or through marriage and lived in princely fashion enjoying all the comforts of royalty. Picking this way strengthened and served the new dynasty well but did after awhile cause problems within.
Rameses right to rule was granted, in the ancient Egyptians minds, by the gods. The gods Maat, who personified or represented truth, justice and cosmic harmony along with He, who signified divine creative force, were the main gods who showed the way kings would rule. It was the pharaohs first duty to keep in communication with the gods as a way to safeguard his peoples way of life and the continued prosperity of Egypt. This was accomplished through religious rituals performed by the pharaoh. The next couple of years went by fast and Rameses spent his time ruling the country.
Sometime during year two of his reign (1278 BC) he decided to change his phenomena to Usermaatre Setepenre, meaning Strong in Right is Ra, Chosen by Ra, Rameses Meryamen. He spent a lot of time keeping up with the buildings and monuments he was having done, taking credit for all the ideas and designs, this is known because of all the inscriptions found. Rameses II was very interested in these building projects and it was important to him that they continue, but building takes money and their money was gold. It seems that Egypt had plenty based on what has been found written. The mining for gold is something only the Pharaoh could order to be done. Gold was usually found in veins running through quartz.
They built fires in the mines which heated up the quartz making it crack, the large chunks were then taken out of the mines and ground into dust. The dust was mixed with water and the heavier gold sank and the quartz flowed away. Word reached Rameses II that there was a rich source of gold in Nubia, but it was a very difficult place to work. There was no water and half the slaves that had been sent there in the past died before they ever even got there. Rameses contacted the Viceroy of Nubia and began a huge well campaign even though he was told they had never had luck in the past.
In Rameses IIs arrogance he told them that he would open up a well and water would be found so construction began. A few months later the viceroy sent a letter back saying Everything has happened just as your majesty said with his own mouth. Water appeared in the well at twelve cubits Never has anything like it happened before. The chief of Akuyati rejoiced immensely. Those who were far off marveled and came to see the well created by the Ruler. The well was named The well of Rameses II, Valiant in Deeds.
In 1275 B. C. the forth year of his reign Rameses decided he was going to take back the lands lost during a battle he went on with his father, the region of Kadesh. Kadesh was an area that up until 100 years ago had always been under Egyptian rule. While he wanted this land back because of the earlier loss, he also looked on this as a way to put more money in the Egyptian treasury.
Rameses took his armies and overwhelmed the area of Amurru. The prince there, Benteshia, was by agreement under the rule of the Hittite Empire. Even though this was the case he was know match for Rameses armies and quickly agreed to change sides. Prince Benteshia was no match for Rameses and also promised taxes to Egypt, but he still feared Muwatallis, the ruler of the Hittite Empire and was afraid of would happen when he found out. Benteshia sent in secret a letter to Muwatallis telling him that he had joined the Egyptians but had no choice. The letter showed the Hittites that Rameses was serious in his pursuit to regain control over the northern territory and would have to be dealt with.
All the while Rameses and his men were home celebrating their victory. Within a year (1274 B. C. ) Muwatallis assembled a massive army containing some 2, 500 chariots and 37, 000 men. Hearing of this Rameses gathered his own army of 20, 000 men and chariots and placed them in to divisions of 5, 000 men each, (Ra, Amen, Seth and Ptah) sailed up the coast and started there march inland. After a month they reached Kumidi. As Rameses division march north they found two Bedouin tribesman hiding in the forest of Law.
These men said they were deserters of the Hittite army and wanted to serve Rameses. They told him that their army was to scared to come any further south and were 120 miles north. This information meant that Kadesh would be easily taken and Rameses continued the short distance to Kadesh and made camp. Shortly after making camp two spies were discovered, who, after probably being tortured revealed that the earlier information as to the whereabouts of the Hittites was a lie and that they were just on the other side of Kadesh and ready to fight. This news upset Rameses greatly and he summoned all his officers to tell them the news wondering why his own officers did not know this. With the new information, Rameses ordered that the royal family members who had come with him be moved to safety.
All the time they were being watched by Muwatallis and his army concealed on the opposite bank of the river. During Rameses hasty preparations to move his family the Hittites attacked the Ra division of the Egyptian army, who was taken completely by surprise. In their panic the forgot all their military training and rather than fighting they ran back toward Rameses camp, leading the Hittites all the way. The Amen division, traveling immediately with Rameses, seeing their own soldiers running toward them, followed by a thick cloud of dust panicked too.
Rameses witnessing all this did not run but mounted his chariot and entered the battle trying to rally his men. He was able to stay alive and fight off the Hittites until one of his divisions who had sailed up the coast appeared behind the Hittite army. Now Hittites found themselves between Rameses and the arriving Egyptian troops, this came as a surprise and seems their intelligence was no better than the Egyptians. Rameses and the arriving troops were able to drive the Hittites from the camp, the Hittites turned and fled back toward the river wondering if anymore Egyptian troops coming from behind. Muwatallis, who had remained in the camp, hearing the sounds of war, felt the Egyptians were being beaten, as he approached the site he witnessed his men being driven back across the river. The Ptah and Seth divisions finally arrived and the scattered Amen and Ra divisions made it back to camp under the cover of darkness.
Once Rameses II had gathered all his forces together he addressed his gods in front of the troops: Did I not build for you many huge monuments, and have I not filled your temples with prisoners? It is for you that I have gathered theses lands to nourish your holy offerings and that tens of thousands of oxen were brought to you... this must have moved his troops because they were ready to fight the next morning. On the Egyptian side the Ra and Amen suffered losses, while the Ptah and Seth divisions remained in tact. The Hittites still had their 30, 000 troops, but lost most of their chariots along with leadership and several of Muwatallis family. Now the two largest armies ever assembled faced each other from opposites side of the Orontes River.
Neither army was used to this type of war, the Egyptians had always counted on superior numbers and overwhelming their enemy, the Hittites ambushed their enemies. The Egyptian army attacked, without chariots the Hittites were unable to repel the Egyptians, but with their superior numbers they were able to hold their ground. Both armies were engaged in a battle they could not win so the Egyptians finally withdrew. Just as Muwatallis had done with Seti I he sent a letter of peace to Rameses saying Peace is better than fighting. Give us breath! Rameses gathered his officers, read the letter and returned to Egypt to celebrate their victory.
There was no victory, Kadesh was not conquered or taken, and Amurru went back under Hittite control. In 1273 B. C. Rameses started rebuilding his army at home, Syria and Canaan saw this as a sign of weakness and stopped paying taxes or taking Egyptian orders. In 1272 B. C.
Rameses and his son Amenhirkhopshef took armies north one to Gaza to fight off marauders and meeting in Canaan to regain control of that region. Over the next eight years Rameses turned his focus to the building of statues and monuments depicting scenes from battles from enemies to the north and south. Two of his most impressive palaces are the palace of Akhenaten at El Many at Western Thebes and the palace of Mereptah at Memphis. He also had many massive statues showing the king as a god going up all over the kingdom to instill both obedience and fear. Trouble to the northwest prompted Rameses to build great fortresses stretching from Memphis up along the western edge of the Delta to the sea and west to the coast of Libya.
The farthest being some 300 kilometers west of Alexandria, this fortress was one weeks march from the edge of the western desert. The walls were square and 150 meters long, 5 meters wide and 10 meters high with one entrance on the north side protected by towers. The other fortresses on the Mediterranean were believed to be similar in size. After many years, friendship finally grew between the Egyptians and the Hittites. 1246 B. C.
marked the end of the wars of Rameses II when the new emperor Hattusil offered to send his daughter to marry him, and for the rest of his reign Egypt was at peace with her neighbors. Rameses seems to have been pretty active up in to sixties but by now he outlived all of his friends and many of his wives and children. His later years were probably pretty lonely. After celebrating his fourteenth jubilee when he was eighty-nine or ninety years old in 1213 B.
C. , he died in his palace at Piramesse in Memphis. Rameses II is most likely the pharaoh talked about in the Book of Exodus in the bible. His mummy is preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Work Cities Rameses II Hawaii, Zahi Valley of the Golden Mummies. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2000) Menu, Bernadette Ramesses II Greatest of the Pharaohs (New York: Harry N.
Abrams, Inc. 1999) Thomas, Susanna Rameses II Pharaoh of the New Kingdom (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 2003) Wallenfels, Ronald and Season, Jack M. The Ancient Near East (New York, Detroit, San Francisco, London, Boston, Woodbridge CT. : Charles Scribner's Sons, The Gale Group 2000) World Book Encyclopedia Volume R (Chicago: Scott Fetzer Company 2003) McMahan, Ian Secrets of The Pharaohs (New York: Avon Books, Inc. 1998) Button, Margaret The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (New York: Facts of File, Inc. 1991) Johnson, Paul The Civilization of Ancient Egypt (New York: Harper Collins Publishers 1978, 1998 and 1999) Than, Olivier Ramses II and Egypt (New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. 1995)
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Research essay sample on York Harry N Abrams Ancient Egypt
