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Ramesses II (The Great): Biography of Egypt’s Most Powerful Pharaoh

Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great) is the defining figure of Ancient Egypt. Ruling for 66 years during the 19th Dynasty, he built more temples and erected more statues than any other pharaoh. He is famous for the Battle of Kadesh, where he signed the world's first recorded peace treaty. While often linked to the biblical Exodus and the "Ozymandias" poem, his true legacy lies in his architectural obsession (Abu Simbel) and his mastery of state propaganda.
  • Updated: November 25, 2025

“I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert…” You likely know the poem Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It describes a broken king, forgotten by time, his mighty works reduced to dust.

But here is the catch: The poem got it wrong. Ramesses II (the Greek Ozymandias) is not forgotten. In fact, he is the most remembered king in human history. If you visit Egypt today, you cannot escape him. His face is carved into mountains. His name is chiseled onto almost every temple wall from the Delta to Nubia. He did not let his legacy crumble. He ensured it was indestructible.

The Man Who Would Be God

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Who was the man behind the stone colossus? Ramesses II ruled during the 19th Dynasty (c. 1279–1213 BC). This was the New Kingdom, the era of Egypt’s greatest imperial power. However, Ramesses was not just a king; he was a phenomenon.

  • The Longevity: He ruled for 66 years. He lived to be roughly 90 years old. In a time when the average life expectancy was 35, he seemed immortal to his people.
  • The Family: He fathered over 100 children. He outlived many of his own sons, forcing his 13th son to eventually take the throne.
  • The Propaganda: He turned a near-defeat at the Battle of Kadesh into a legendary victory, plastering the story across Egypt.

Therefore, to understand Ancient Egypt, you must understand Ramesses II. He is the archetype of the Pharaoh. In this comprehensive guide, we will move beyond the Hollywood myths. We will explore his military genius, his architectural masterpieces like Abu Simbel, and the truth about the “Pharaoh of the Exodus.”

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The Early Years & Rise

Ramses II Young King

Ramesses II was not an accidental king. He was bred for power. To understand his reign, you must look at his father, Seti I. Seti was a warrior who restored Egypt’s glory after the chaotic Amarna period. He wanted ensuring his son could hold the empire together. Therefore, Ramesses II did not have a normal childhood. He was a soldier from the start.

Born to Rule (The 19th Dynasty)

By the age of 14, Ramesses II was already appointed Prince Regent. He was not sitting in a palace learning poetry. He was on the battlefield.

  • The Training: He accompanied his father on military campaigns in Libya and Palestine.
  • The First Test: Before he even became Pharaoh, he faced a massive threat. The Sherden Sea Pirates were terrorizing the Nile Delta.

The Strategy: The young prince did not just attack. He set a trap and waited for the pirates to sail into the Nile mouth, then launched a surprise naval assault. He captured them, impressed them into his service, and they later served as his elite bodyguards. This early victory proved that Ramesses II was a tactical genius long before he wore the crown.

The Coronation and the New Capital

When Seti I died, Ramesses II took the throne. He was in his early twenties. Immediately, he made a bold move. He moved the capital city. Most kings ruled from Thebes (in the south) or Memphis. However, Ramesses II built a massive new metropolis in the eastern Delta.

  • The Name: He called it Pi-Ramesses (“The House of Ramesses”).
  • The Logic: This was not vanity. It was strategy. The location was closer to the Syrian border, allowing him to launch military campaigns against the Hittites much faster.

Pi-Ramesses became a dazzling city of factories, temples, and military barracks. It was the staging ground for the most famous battle of the ancient world.

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The Warrior King (The Battle of Kadesh)

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Ramesses II wanted glory. In the fifth year of his reign (1274 BC), he marched north to get it. His target was the city of Kadesh (in modern-day Syria). However, he was not just fighting a rebel city. He was facing the Hittite Empire. Egypt and Hatti were the two superpowers of the Bronze Age. They had been locked in a cold war for decades. Ramesses II decided to turn it hot.

The Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC)

This is the most famous battle in Ancient Egyptian history. It is also the first battle in history where we have detailed records of tactics and troop formations. Ramesses II brought 20,000 men, divided into four divisions named after gods: Amun, Ra, Ptah, and Seth.

1. The Trap

As Ramesses II approached Kadesh, two Bedouin nomads came to his camp. They claimed the Hittite army was far away, terrified of the Pharaoh. Ramesses II believed them. This was a fatal mistake. The nomads were Hittite spies. In reality, the Hittite King Muwatalli II was hiding behind the city of Kadesh with 3,500 heavy chariots—three times the size of the Egyptian force.

2. The Ambush

Thinking he was safe, Ramesses II raced ahead with only the Amun division. He set up camp and relaxed. Suddenly, the Hittite chariots struck. They crossed the Orontes River and smashed into the Egyptian “Ra” division, which was still marching. The division was wiped out. The Hittites then turned toward the Pharaoh’s camp. Ramesses II was cut off from his reinforcements. He was surrounded.

3. The Counter-Attack

This is where history meets propaganda. According to his own inscriptions, Ramesses II fought alone. He claims he prayed to the god Amun, charged the enemy line, and slaughtered them single-handedly.

The Reality: While Ramesses II fought bravely, he was saved by timing. An elite support force known as the Ne’arin arrived from the coast just as the Hittites were looting the Egyptian camp. They surprised the Hittites, driving them back into the river.

The First Peace Treaty in History

The battle ended in a bloody stalemate. Ramesses II could not take the city. The Hittites could not destroy the Egyptian army. Ramesses returned to Egypt and declared a massive victory. He carved scenes of the battle onto the walls of the Ramesseum, Karnak, and Luxor.

However, the conflict dragged on for another 15 years. Finally, in the 21st year of his reign, Ramesses II made a decision that changed history. He signed a peace pact with the new Hittite King, Hattusili III.

  • The Terms: It was a “Silver Treaty.” It promised mutual non-aggression, a defensive alliance, and the extradition of fugitives.
  • The Legacy: This is the oldest recorded peace treaty in human history.

Why does this matter? It proves Ramesses II was not just a warmonger. He was a statesman. Today, a copy of this treaty hangs in the United Nations headquarters in New York as a symbol of diplomacy.

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The Master Builder

The Master Builder

Ramesses II understood a simple truth: armies die, but stone lasts forever. Consequently, he launched the most ambitious building program since the Pyramid Age. He did not just build new temples; he expanded almost every existing shrine in Egypt. From the Delta to Nubia, he made sure his face was the only thing people saw.

Abu Simbel: The Temple of Intimidation

His masterpiece is Abu Simbel. Located deep in the south (Nubia), this was not just a place of worship. It was a political statement.

  • The Design: He carved two massive temples directly into the mountainside. The Great Temple features four seated statues of Ramesses II, each 66 feet (20 meters) tall.
  • The Message: He placed them at the southern border to terrify any Nubian enemies thinking of invading Egypt.

The Solar Miracle The engineering is flawless. The temple is oriented so that twice a year (on February 22 and October 22), the rising sun shines through the entrance.

  1. The light travels 200 feet into the mountain.
  2. It illuminates the statues of Ramesses and the sun gods in the inner sanctuary.
  3. Crucially, the statue of Ptah (the god of darkness) remains in the shadows.

This alignment still works today (though shifted by a day due to the temple’s relocation in the 1960s).

The Ramesseum: The “Ozymandias” Site

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On the west bank of Thebes, Ramesses II built his “House of Millions of Years.” We call it the Ramesseum. This was his mortuary temple, designed to keep his spirit alive forever. It was massive, containing a library, storehouses, and a school for scribes. The Fallen Colossus In the courtyard stood a statue of the king weighing over 1,000 tons.

  • The Fall: An earthquake eventually toppled it.
  • The Poem: Centuries later, the British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley read a description of this shattered giant. It inspired the famous line: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone…”

Today, the Ramesseum is a ruin, but its sheer scale proves the ego of the man who built it.

Usurping the Past: The Great Recycler

How did Ramesses II build so much, so fast? He cheated. To ensure he had the most statues of any pharaoh, Ramesses II ordered his artisans to find existing statues of previous kings.

  • The Method: They would chisel out the old names. Then, they would carve Ramesses’s cartouche over them.
  • The Defense: To prevent future kings from doing the same to him, Ramesses ordered his own hieroglyphs to be carved incredibly deep. You cannot erase his name without destroying the stone.

This was not vandalism to him. It was efficiency. He believed he was the embodiment of all kings who came before him.

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The Family Man

The Family Man; King Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari

Ramesses II did nothing in moderation. This included his family. In Ancient Egypt, having a large family was a sign of virility and divine favor. By that standard, Ramesses II was the most favored man who ever lived. He did not just have heirs. He had a dynasty of his own blood.

Queen Nefertari: The Great Royal Wife

Among his many wives, one stood above the rest. Her name was Nefertari (“The Beautiful Companion”).

  • The Bond: She was not just a political match; she was his equal. Inscriptions describe her with phrases like “The one for whom the sun shines.”
  • The Honor: At Abu Simbel, Ramesses did something unprecedented. He built a second temple dedicated entirely to her and the goddess Hathor. Even more shockingly, he carved her statues the same size as his own—a level of respect almost no other queen received.
  • The Tomb: Her tomb (QV66) in the Valley of the Queens is the “Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt.” The paintings are flawless. The colors remain so vibrant that the paint looks wet even today.

The Army of Children

Ramesses II fathered over 100 children (approx. 50 sons and 50 daughters). Managing this brood was a full-time job. He didn’t hide them in the palace; he put them to work.

  1. Amun-her-khepeshef (The Firstborn): He was the Crown Prince and a general in the army. He fought alongside his father at Kadesh but died before he could take the throne.
  2. Khaemweset (The Magician/Archaeologist): This is the most fascinating son. He did not care for war. Instead, he became the High Priest of Ptah. He spent his life restoring the pyramids of the Old Kingdom (which were already 1,000 years old). He is considered the “First Archaeologist” in history.
  3. Merneptah (The Successor): Because Ramesses II lived so long, he outlived his first 12 sons. Finally, his 13th son, Merneptah, took the throne. Merneptah was already an old man (in his 60s) when he started his reign.

This immense lineage meant that for centuries, almost every noble in Egypt could trace their blood back to Ramesses the Great.

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The Controversies & Legacy

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Ramesses II has been dead for 3,000 years, but he still generates headlines. His legacy is tied to two major debates: one biblical and one biological.

Is He the Pharaoh of the Exodus?

If you watch The Ten Commandments or The Prince of Egypt, Ramesses II is always the villain. He is widely believed to be the Pharaoh who clashed with Moses.

  • The Evidence: The Bible mentions the Israelites were forced to build the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses (Exodus 1:11). This matches the real city of Pi-Ramesses built by Ramesses II.
  • The Problem: There is no archaeological evidence in Egypt—no pottery, no inscriptions, no papyrus—that mentions the Exodus or a massive loss of a slave workforce during his reign.
  • The Verdict: Historians remain divided. While he fits the timeline and the “Great Builder” archetype, concrete proof is missing. However, this connection has made him the most famous pharaoh in the Western world.

The Mummy’s Journey (and Passport)

King Ramses II mummy

In 1881, researchers made a stunning discovery. They found a hidden tomb (DB320) in the cliffs above Thebes. Inside were the mummies of over 50 kings, including Ramesses II. Priests had moved them there to protect them from robbers.

The Face of the King His mummy is one of the best-preserved ever found. You can still see his high cheekbones, his hooked nose, and his hair (which was dyed red with henna in his old age).

The Paris Trip In 1974, Egyptologists noticed the mummy was deteriorating due to a fungal infection. They decided to fly him to Paris for radiation treatment.

  • The Law: French law required anyone entering the country—living or dead—to have a passport.
  • The Solution: The Egyptian government issued an official passport to Ramesses II.
  • The Occupation: Under “Occupation,” it famously listed: “King (Deceased).”

When he arrived in France, he was greeted with full military honors reserved for a visiting head of state. Even in death, Ramesses II commanded the respect of a king.

The True Ozymandias

Ramesses II spent 66 years preparing for the afterlife. He built temples to ensure his name would never be forgotten. Ramesses II fathered a dynasty to ensure his bloodline survived. He carved his face into granite so deep that wind and sand could not erase it.

Did he succeed? The poet Shelley wrote that his works were “trunkless legs of stone” in a barren desert. Shelley was wrong. Today, millions of tourists fly to Egypt specifically to stand in the shadow of Abu Simbel. His peace treaty hangs in the United Nations. His face is the most recognized royal portrait on Earth.

Ramesses II did not just want to be a king. He wanted to be a god. Looking at his legacy 3,000 years later, it is hard to argue that he failed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are quick answers to the most common questions about Ramesses II.

Was Ramesses II the Pharaoh of the Exodus?

It is popularly believed he was the Pharaoh of the Exodus due to the biblical reference to the city of Raamses. However, there is no direct archaeological evidence in Egyptian records to confirm this event occurred during his reign.

How many children did Ramesses II have?

Ramesses II fathered over 100 children. Historical records estimate he had roughly 50 sons and 50 daughters. His 13th son, Merneptah, eventually succeeded him.

What is Ramesses II most famous for?

He is famous for three things:

  1. Ruling for 66 years (the second-longest reign in Egyptian history).
  2. Building massive monuments like Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum.
  3. The Battle of Kadesh and signing the first recorded peace treaty in history.

Where is the mummy of Ramesses II now?

After being discovered in the Royal Cache (DB320) in 1881, his mummy was moved to Cairo. Today, it rests in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in the Royal Mummies Hall.

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