Ramses II the Great is an Egyptian pharaoh from the 19th dynasty who ruled from about 1279-1213 BC. e.
Ramses went down in history with the nickname the Great, and not without reason. He himself was aware of his importance. “One against a thousand chariots” - this is how he saw his participation in the legendary battle of Kadesh.
He was the ruler of Ancient Egypt during the highest - and last - flourishing of this state, during the period of the so-called New Kingdom, which is limited to the 16th – 11th centuries BC. e. This pharaoh was in power for 66 years - which sets him apart from other rulers of the ancient world. Under him one of the most famous battles took place, and probably the most important treaty of antiquity was concluded. After the death of the pharaoh, his cult persisted for several centuries.
Rarely numerous, to this day, not exactly counted sources tell about this ruler, while he personally took care of this. First, there are inscriptions on the walls of temples and tombs. Secondly, documents from the archive found on the site of the ancient capital of the Hittite state - Hattushash (the village of Bogazkei in the territory of modern Turkey) have come down to our days. It contained 15,000 texts of various genres, including literary works, business documents, and correspondence.
Excavations of this famous archive began in 1906–1912 by the German archaeologist G. Winkler, who was interested primarily in the history of Mesopotamia. But the archive also found traces of Egypt. The documents were written mainly in the Akkadian language, international for the Ancient East.
The historiography dedicated to the reign of Ramses II is enormous. In German science, she makes up entire libraries. There is also available literature in Russian. First of all - the works of the remarkable pre-revolutionary Egyptologist B. Turaev. In his "History of the Ancient East" much is outdated, but one cannot but appreciate the beauty of the style, the liveliness of the presentation, the loving attitude towards Ancient Egypt.
There is a monograph by the Soviet historian I. Stuchevsky "Ramses II and Herihor. From the history of Ancient Egypt of the Ramessid era”(this was the name of this dynasty). The book is notable for the fact that it contains many source texts, some of them in the author's translation. The study of the French scientist and writer C. Jacques "Egypt of the great pharaohs" is also very interesting.
It should be noted that in the history of Ancient Egypt there are almost no completely exact dates of birth and death of the rulers. Egyptologists endlessly refine them. Ramses II was the grandson of Ramses I, a former chariot commander, who, after a military coup, succeeded the pharaoh Horemheb on the throne and founded a new, 19th dynasty.
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Father - Pharaoh Seti I. Mother - Queen Tuya. Her images have survived to our time, which indicate that she was characterized by arrogance. Perhaps because, according to some sources, she was originally a singer. Arrogance often characterizes the lower class …
As stated in one of the inscriptions, which is dedicated to Ramses II, "the gods cried out for joy at his birth." This is, of course, a tribute to the literary tradition. But Ramses really knew from childhood that his destiny was power. It was in him that the father saw a successor. All pharaohs had harems, which consisted of lawful wives and concubines, and many children. But, despite the fact that Ramses certainly had brothers, Seti I did not hesitate to choose one son to replace him.
At the age of 10, the heir, who, by the way, was distinguished by great physical strength, took part in one of his father's campaigns against the Libyans. Libya, like all conquered peoples, tried to regain independence at any seemingly convenient opportunity, and the Pharaoh had to suppress such protests. So at the age of ten, Ramses II was already ready for both power and for war. We can say that he spent the first half of his life on a war chariot.
As you can see, he became a co-ruler of his father - for the reliability of the transfer of power. At least one of the inscriptions of Seti I contains the following words: "Crowning the king so that I may see his perfection during his lifetime."
1290 BC BC, when Ramses was about 20 years old, he solemnly buried his father, who died a natural death, in the Valley of the Kings, and began to rule Egypt. This was about 100 years after the death of the famous reformer pharaoh Akhenaten. Contemporaries noted the belligerence and mighty fighting spirit of Ramses II: “Foreigners tremble before him! His name spreads throughout the universe, he is as powerful as fire, he is a fierce roaring lion with claws extended. The metaphor has some real foundation. The fact is that Ramses II had a tame lion that accompanied him on campaigns. The lion lay across the entrance to the royal tent and warned with a formidable roar that he would not let anyone through without the command of the owner.
Ramses' plans after coming to power are absolutely obvious. An inscription on the wall of a temple in Luxor testifies to them. Pharaoh asks the god Amon to grant him - no more, no less - power over the universe. How did the ancient Egyptians see the universe? They knew the closest peoples and kingdoms of the Middle East and the lands located south of the Nile Valley in Africa. But in the inscription of the pharaoh, a completely metaphorical image of the Universe was found: the text says that Ramses wants to be the ruler of "everything that bypasses the sun."
He began to take steps in this direction. He began to strengthen the troops. To the main military units, which were called in honor of the gods by the detachments of Amun, Ra and Ptah, he added a new one - Setha. This god in Egyptian mythology is the killer of Osiris, identified with such animals as a pig and a donkey. But Setha (or Seti) is also the name of the father of Ramses II … Moreover, Setha was considered the god of strangers. And Egypt more and more energetically conquered the surrounding nations.
Pharaoh began by suppressing riots in Libya and Nubia. With the change of government, unrest in the provinces was inevitable. But the 20-year-old new ruler turned out to be a strong fighter. The conquered territories are wealth, first of all - gold and silver mines, precious woods. And Pharaoh took care of the safety of his treasury.
After pacifying the rebels, he repulsed the invasion of the Sherdan sea pirates - those that in the distant future gave the name to the island of Sardinia and formed the basis of its population. The defeated pirates became his bodyguards.
Ramses II was also preparing for the war with the Hittites. This people of Asia Minor moved to the world stage at that time. The period of its heyday is rather short - from the XIV to the beginning of the XII century BC. e. However, it was an amazing take-off!
The ethnicity of the Hittites is mysterious. These are relatively fair-haired and fair-skinned people, which is not typical for the East. It is not entirely clear where they could have come from and why they later disappeared. The mighty alliance of various peoples created by them fell at the beginning of the XII century BC. e. - both because of internal strife and under the blows of the conquerors who invaded from the sea, including the Etruscans and Danaans - the future Greeks.
But while the Hittite state was on the rise, the pharaoh of Egypt could not help but fight with it. Indeed, between the possessions of the Hittites and the Egyptians lay seductive lands - Syria and Palestine. And every powerful neighbor sought to take possession of them.
In the fourth year of his reign, Ramses II made a reconnaissance campaign in Northern Syria. He reached approximately as far as present-day Beirut and erected a stele there. The warlike king of the Hittites, Muwatalli II, was gathering forces at this time. He created a military alliance of more than 20 nations.
1285 - in the fifth year of his reign, Pharaoh again went on a campaign, taking with him the main formations - Amun (he led him personally), Ra, Ptah and Setha. The main battle took place in Syria, near the city of Kadesh.
Among the most important sources that have preserved information about this war is the so-called poem "On the Battle of Kadesh". This is a work of fiction, although, of course, not a poem in the modern sense. The text includes dialogues, including Ramses's conversation with the god Amun.
There are also sources of a different type. The document, called by historians "the battle report", contains strict facts. There are reliefs that depict episodes of the battle with short texts explaining what is depicted. But the reliability of this information is rather relative. It is significant, for example, that each of the parties who took part in the battle - both the Egyptians and the Hittites - declared themselves victorious. How not to remember the Battle of Borodino in 1812, in which there was also no clear winner! Under Kadesh, the field remained with the Hittites, as in 1812 - with the French. However, were they the winners?
On the eve of the battle, two Bedouins made their way into the pharaoh's camp. They said they fled from the Hittites and now want to serve the Egyptians. In reality, these were not defectors, but spies who brought disinformation to the Egyptians. And although they were beaten with sticks, they did not stop repeating false information - and Ramses believed it. They assured that the Hittite army had retreated far to the North and that they could safely go to Kadesh. Therefore, Ramses decided to rush into battle, without waiting for the approach of his main forces.
He pushed forward with a single compound named after the god Amun and his personal guard (Sherdani). Stood near the city of Kadesh. The enclosed camp was rectangular in shape. Pharaoh's tent was in the middle.
There is a relief representing the view of the pharaoh's camp and the walls of Kadesh: at the entrance to Ramses's tent there is a famous lion, Egyptian soldiers are cleaning weapons … Everything seemed to be calm. And suddenly - the attack of the Hittites. 2,500 Hittite chariots plus infantry! Ramses II was surrounded. He managed to put on his armor and jump into the chariot. Together with the charioteer and shield-bearer, whose name was Menna (a rare case when the name of a common man went down in history), he fought back to the last. But the forces were unequal.
The inscriptions say that in despair the Pharaoh turned to the god Amun for help. Ramses' words amaze the modern reader. He speaks to God demandingly, from the standpoint of some inner strength: “What happened, my father Amon? Has the father forgotten his son? Have I done anything without your knowledge? Don't I walk and stop at your will? Have I transgressed your plans? I appeal to you, father, surrounded by countless enemies I never knew. When all foreign countries rallied against me, and I was left alone, and there was no one with me, and my army left me, and numerous soldiers turned away, I began to shout to them, but I did not hear one of them. And I realized that Amon is better than millions of soldiers, hundreds of thousands of chariots."
According to legend, the god Amon replied: “Come on, Ramses, I'm with you! I am your father, my hand is with you, I am the master of victory! After which a miracle happened: Amon stretched out his hand to Ramses, and he overturned thousands of chariots. An image has survived: the chariot of the pharaoh, there are many corpses of enemies around, some of them he throws into the river. One petty king, Aleppo, is held by Egyptian soldiers by the legs upside down, pouring out the water he swallowed when he ran away from Ramses and crossed the river. Surprisingly, these are clear elements of ancient satire.
Of course, there is also a rational explanation for what happened. When the attack began, the pharaoh managed to send the vizier to notify one of his units so that his troops would hurry; they approached and crossed the Orontes River. So the reinforcements arrived in time. However, the fighting spirit of the pharaoh is of great importance.
Ramses, then still a fairly young ruler, was himself shaken by his salvation. After the battle, he vowed every day to personally feed the horses that carried him out of the encirclement.
And the result of the battle was, conventionally speaking, a "combat draw" with a certain margin in favor of the Hittites, who retained part of their possessions in Northern Syria. It took another 16 long years for the opponents to understand that it is better not to fight, but to unite, to agree on friendship and alliance.
The years of reign that followed the Syrian campaign revealed completely new qualities in the pharaoh. He turned out to be the greatest builder. Under him, the capital of Per-Ramses was founded in the Nile Delta. The ancient Egyptians had several capitals before: Memphis, Thebes, Heracleopolis.
He built Ramses and his own family. His first legal wife, Nefertari, is well known for her sculptural portraits and descriptions. Her finest granite images are kept in the Vatican museums, and a seated black granite figure, also of astounding beauty, is in Turin. In the Valley of the Kings, there is her temple, discovered by archaeologists in 1904.
The second wife of Ramses was Isi-Nofret - the mother of his famous fourth son named Haemuas. This amazing man for his era was interested in architecture and antiquities, engaging in a certain prototype of archeology.
The throne passed to the thirteenth son of Ramses II - Merneptah. And in total, as far as is known, the ruler had 111 sons and 65 daughters from his wives and concubines. An image on the wall of one of the temples captured the procession of his many children.
What did the tireless builder Ramses II build? It's hard to count everything. Many statues remain from his era. These are mainly colossi, that is, sculptures of huge sizes. The name of the main architect is known - Mai. He oversaw the construction in the new capital of Per-Ramses. Mai had a high military rank. He sent long-distance expeditions for marble and granite, for example, to the south, to Aswan.
One of the wonders of the world was the Ramesseum - the memorial temple to Ramses II in the Abu Simbel complex on the western bank of the Nile, in the Thebes region. A feature of ancient Egyptian culture was that a person throughout his life took care of his burial. It was believed that the more carefully he prepared the transition to another world, the better he would be there. That is why Ramses built such a grandiose memorial temple for himself.
Later, the building was covered with sands and was discovered by the Swiss orientalist I. Burkhardt in 1812. The heads sticking out of the sand belong, as it turned out, to four seated colossus 20 meters high each. In 1964-1968, in connection with the construction of the Aswan Colossus Dam, at the initiative of UNESCO, they were dismantled, sawn into more than a thousand blocks, moved higher by 65 meters and reassembled. An unprecedented business that brought together specialists from different countries!
There is a huge granite colossus of Ramses II at Per-Ramses. Its height is about 27 meters, weight - 900 tons. One can only imagine what kind of costs this kind of construction required. Their construction devastated the state treasury.
Once, according to sources, a huge, unprecedented block of quartzite was found. Pharaoh immediately decided that it would be another colossus. He wrote to his masters (who, by the way, were not slaves) to start creating a new masterpiece.
Here are his words: “Bins will be full of grain for you, so that you do not spend a day without food. I will fill the warehouses for you with various things: bread, meat, cakes, I will give you sandals, ointments in abundance, so that you anoint your heads every 10 days … I will give you a lot of people so that you do not need anything; fishermen to bring the gifts of the Nile, and many others: gardeners to cultivate vegetable gardens, potters to make vessels to keep the water fresh in the summer. In these promises, there is a true passion - both for construction and for the perpetuation of one's memory.
Absorbed in construction, the pharaoh was forced to go on expeditions every now and then to suppress the actions of the peoples subject to Egypt. He did not conquer new lands. Meanwhile, the strength of the ancient Egyptian state was dwindling. This has already happened in previous critical eras - between the Ancient and Middle Kingdoms, then between the Middle and New Kingdoms. Anticipating the coming decline, Ramses willingly went to negotiations and the conclusion of an alliance with the Hittites. The success was also facilitated by the fact that the Hittites had a new king. The new ruler of Hattusili III was not as belligerent as his older brother Muwatalli II.
After lengthy negotiations, a silver tablet with the text in Akkadian was brought to Per-Ramses. Now we call this kind of documents treaties of peace and mutual assistance in the fight against possible enemies and dangers. The treaty was signed in the 21st year of the reign of Ramses II, that is, somewhere in 1269 BC. e. The ruler was about 40 years old.
The text of the treaty was translated into Egyptian and carved on the wall of the Ramesseum. There were also cuneiform clay tablets with the same text. One of them is kept in St. Petersburg, in the State Hermitage.
The contract is quite long and extremely detailed. Here are his fragments in the translation of I. Stuchevsky: “As for the future right up to eternity, as for the thought of the great ruler of Egypt and the great ruler of the Hittite country, then may God not allow enmity between them to happen in accordance with the agreement … He is in brotherhood with me, he at peace with me, I am in brotherhood with him, I am at peace with him forever."
The text of the treaty between the Egyptians and the Hittites is on display today at the UN headquarters as a symbol of civilized international relations. This is a sign that many thousands of years ago people could solve some issues peacefully. In an effort to learn from itself, humanity has not yet been able to achieve great success, but the attempt is undoubtedly gratifying.
It is no coincidence that Pharaoh Ramses II remained in history with the nickname Great. He is in fact a great builder and a great international figure. Having concluded a peace treaty with the Hittites, he ensured both his state and the neighboring country for about 60 more years of a relatively quiet life.
Thirteen years after the conclusion of a significant treaty, the indefatigable ruler, who was already about 53 years old, married the daughter of King Hattusili III. She adopted the Egyptian name Maathornefrura - "seeing the beauty of the sun." The sun for her, of course, was to be the son of the god Amun - her husband Pharaoh. There is an assumption that the Hittite king himself came to the wedding. However, many of the Egyptologists doubt this. Be that as it may, the ceremony was solemn and magnificent.
The images that have survived to this day show how a huge procession carries a dowry - gold and other treasures. Whole herds of cattle are driven from Asia Minor to Egypt. It is of considerable value - meat and skins. But this is also an expressive gesture: the situation is somewhat reminiscent of a once-not won victory - after all, riches arrive in Egypt, although this is not war booty … And at the age of 62, the pharaoh married, also quite officially, another Hittite princess, sister first.
In the last years of his life, Ramses II clearly enjoyed relative peace, all the while taking care of perpetuating his memory. He passed away when he was about 90 years old.
The posthumous life of the pharaoh was rather stormy. He was solemnly buried, but already at the end of the reign of the next, XX dynasty, in the XI century BC. e., the tomb was plundered. All treasures were stolen. The priests transferred the mummy of the pharaoh to the then not yet plundered tomb of his father, Seti I. But later it was also plundered.
In general, the mummy was moved from place to place four times and eventually hid in a cache. It was found at the end of the 19th century and became, as scientists delicately write, the property of science. That is, it was exhibited as an exhibit in the Cairo Museum. The safety of the mummy is amazing. In the 75th year of the XX century, when it began to be damaged, it was taken to Paris for restoration. At the same time, they were greeted very solemnly, as if an ancient Egyptian pharaoh had actually visited the French capital. And this is absolutely true. Ramses II undoubtedly earned a respectful memory of humanity.
N. Basovskaya