The historical documentary series continues. This instalment charts the life of Rameses II, the longest-lived pharaoh who is widely regarded as Egypt’s greatest ruler. New discoveries have shed more light on the king’s successful reign, while Egyptologists continue to debate the nature of his character and achievements.
Rameses II has often been called ‘Rameses the Great’. Ascending to the throne in c.1279 BC, he ruled for 66 years – longer than any other pharaoh – and is credited with bringing stability and prosperity to the nation. When his mummy was excavated, Rameses was found to be a small man, crippled by arthritis in his old age. Yet in life he was clearly able to impose himself on his people. The sheer number of temples constructed by Rameses in his own honour have prompted some historians to label him an egomaniac – yet modern Egyptologists now regard him as a powerful and decisive leader.
Scholars point to Rameses’s successful defence of the kingdom from hostile powers as evidence of his strength. Archaeologists have recently uncovered some of Rameses’s forts along the old coastline of Egypt. In 2007, Dr James Hoffmeier used satellite photos to pinpoint the location of Tjaru, a huge fortress that once housed thousands of soldiers. “If you wanted to maintain the empire, this is the place from which to do it,” he says.
As a young king, Rameses narrowly survived a battle against the Hittites of Asia Minor. Historians once considered this battle to be one of Rameses’s greatest blunders, but now many take a more sympathetic view. Others cite the king’s subsequent peace treaty with the Hittites as an example of his diplomatic skill. After 50 years of war, Rameses negotiated peace in what is believed to be the earliest treaty of its kind. “When you read the treaty, it actually comes across as a very modern-sounding document,” says Dr Peter Brand. “It has a mutual non-aggression pact and also a mutual defence treaty.”
Rameses’s glory is most visible in the vast building projects he undertook. “Pharaohs seem to have had a kind of competition going on – each one trying to outdo his predecessor by building bigger and better,” says Dr Salima Ikram. The period of prosperity ushered in by Rameses’s campaigns meant that he was able to fund a variety of projects, including the great hall at Karnak. “This place should have been the eighth wonder of the ancient world,” says Brand. The complex boasted 134 columns, each one 50ft high. For decades it has remained a mystery how the Egyptians built such a structure without cranes. Now, using computer graphics, Dr Brand outlines his theory on how such a feat was possible.
Perhaps Rameses’s greatest achievement is the world-famous temple at Abu Simbel, with its entrance flanked by four 65ft-high statues of the pharaoh himself. More than any other pharaoh, Rameses explicitly depicts himself as a living god. But rather than being a sign of his megalomania, historians hold that Rameses’s godlike self-image was a consequence of his growing empire. As a man, Rameses could not be in more than one place at one time – but as a god, he could be everywhere. “He could not do all of the things in detail that earlier pharaohs had done,” says Dr Kent Weeks. “He was at a higher level as the principle intermediary between man and every god in Ancient Egypt.”
No less impressive is the exquisite tomb that Rameses built for his beloved first wife, Nefetari, and the burial chamber that he prepared for himself. After his death at the remarkable age of 90, Rameses’s life became a blueprint for all the pharaohs that followed – yet few of them could match his accomplishments.
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