Ramesses II

Hello, my name is Ramesses II, and I was a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. A pharaoh is like a king, and I lived a very, very long time ago. I was born around the year 1303 BCE. My father was Pharaoh Seti I, and he was a great leader. I watched him very carefully and learned everything I could from him. He taught me how to lead our people and how to be strong and fair, preparing me for the day I would become pharaoh myself.

Around the year 1279 BCE, I became the pharaoh of all Egypt. I was still young, but I was full of energy and ready to be a great ruler for my people. I was also a brave warrior. I learned to ride a chariot, which is a cart pulled by horses, and I led my army into many battles to protect our land. My most famous battle was the Battle of Kadesh, which we fought around 1274 BCE. It was a very difficult fight, but I showed great courage. I always fought with a deep love for my home, Egypt.

More than anything, I loved to build amazing things that would last forever. I wanted everyone who came after me to see the great things we did. I ordered my workers to build giant temples and huge statues all over Egypt. My favorite project was the temples at Abu Simbel. If you go there, you can see four giant statues of me sitting on a throne, carved right into the side of a mountain. I also built a beautiful new capital city for my kingdom and named it Pi-Ramesses. To make sure no one ever forgot my story, I had my workers carve pictures and words about my life into the stone walls of my temples.

I was pharaoh for a very long time, about 66 years in total. I had a very large family, and my favorite wife was the beautiful Queen Nefertari. After many years of fighting in battles, I decided that making peace was even better than winning a war. So, around the year 1258 BCE, I signed a special promise with our old enemies, the Hittites. This promise is called a peace treaty, and it was the first one like it in the whole world. A treaty is a way for two sides to agree to be friends and not fight anymore, and I was proud to bring peace to my people.

I lived a very long and full life, to be about 90 years old. Even today, thousands of years later, people from all over the world travel to Egypt to see the incredible temples and giant statues that I built. The stories I carved in stone still tell of my life, my battles, and the peace I made. That is why I am remembered as Ramesses the Great, one of the most powerful pharaohs who ever lived.